Samsung and Armani Launch Another Handset

Giorgio Armani, Samsung and Microsoft have launched a new Giorgio Armani-Samsung smartphone. Giorgio Armani himself personally designed the handset as he did with the first Armani Samsung mobile in 2007 and the Emporio Armani Samsung “Night Effect” mobile in 2008. In 2009, the new smartphone makes its debut with what the company claims are more powerful functions and superior usability. The next rendition of this technology partnership includes Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5, a unique two step tilt hinge form factor with both full touch screen and QWERTY keyboard hybrid, and a stunning 3.5 inch Ultra Brilliant AMOLED full touch screen.

Giorgio Armani, President and CEO of Giorgio Armani S.p.A., commented, “Today more than ever, elegant dressing is part of daily business life. When Samsung asked me to design the new business and lifestyle smartphone I decided to use my fashion aesthetic to create it. I simply aim to create a smartphone which is not only an elegant tool but also functional and useful, perfect for today’s managers. The result is a unique smartphone perfectly suited to every moment of one’s business and private day. This is the Armani aesthetic – to combine beauty with function in a simple and timeless way.”

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

JK Shin, Executive Vice President and head of the Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics said, “We are delighted to have reached another threshold in the collaboration between Giorgio Armani and Samsung Electronics. This latest-generation mobile masterfully combines our experience in technology with a design from one of the world’s best known designers and the functions offered by Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. What’s more, the Giorgio Armani-Samsung smartphone is a demonstration of our commitment to offering customers cutting-edge technology in our products, along with exclusive design and fashion.”

The handset features -

• 3.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen with an 800 x 480 pixel resolution
• Slide out QWERTY keypad
• 3G with 7.2Mbps HSDPA, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth with A2DP, USB 2.0
• GPS with A-GPS
• 5MP camera, LED flash
• DivX, XviD video support
• MicroSD card support

The Giorgio Armani-Samsung smartphone is one of the first phones available with the Windows Mobile 6.5, which includes a new start page and dashboard that simply and intuitively displays key productivity features such as e-mails, text messages, missed calls, and calendar appointments. The free My Phone service lets users access, manage and run backups of the personal information contained in the device using a password-protected Web-based service. Synchronization and automatic backups guarantee users that their contacts, appointments, text messages, and other information is kept up to date and is always easy to retrieve if the phone is lost or when changing phones. It’s similar to Vertu’s.

The handset will be available in Italy, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Russia, China, and UAE (Dubai).