KDDI's cell phone prototypes look great on the web but rather dull in reality

KDDI, Japan’s second biggest mobile phone carrier, showcased a number of cell phone prototypes in their five-floor Design Studio [JP] in central Tokyo. The phones were designed by award-winning design wunderkind Hideo Kanbara [JP].

I went to the so-called Ply Exhibition [JP] (which ended yesterday), made some pictures but actually left mildly disappointed. The phones (featuring built-in projectors, game controllers and tissue dispensers) look quite cool on the web (click on “Exhibition” on this Flash site [JP]) but look rather unspectacular in reality. And of course, these are just concepts and not actual pieces of hardware.

Have a look at the concept pictures and compare them with the “live” pictures I made below.