Disqus
The au Design Project was created by Japanese operator KDDI in May 2001 because customers complained that they’re tired of seeing the same form factors, over and over again, with minor differences based on color and materials. They showed off three prototypes at launch, the info.bar, rotary, and wearable, and after much pressure they launched a device based on the info.bar concept in October 2003. Since then the au Design Project has been introducing more concepts and products. It’s been so successful that recently the infobar, talby, neon, and “media skin” designs have been added to a permanent exhibit at the New York Museum of Modern Art. Today three models have been added to the range, designed by Yayoi Kusuma, named “Happiness with Dots (pictured below),” “Doggie Ring-Ring (picture after the jump)” and “The groovy Hand Bag for Space Travel (pictured above).” You’ve got to love that. In Europe we’re still remembering 4 digit numbers, in America they have words with missing vowels such as RAZR, and in Japan they have whole phrases. The devices are going to go on sale July 30th and range in price from $1,000 to $10,000, with highly limited availability.
[Via: Wireless Watch Japan]
About The Author
Stefan Constantinescu
Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.
-
Lars
