Just yesterday we reported on the official announcement of the LG Optimus Sol, which we think is one of, if not the most, boring Android phones to ever grace this planet. How is it possible then that the same company can come out with devices like the E906 running Windows Phone Mango? Said smartphone sports the name of German fashion designer Jil Sander on the front of the device in a rather tasteless enlarged logo located right above the top of the screen. Other than that minor annoyance, the rest of the handset looks quite stylish. The folks at PocketNow, who received the leaked images of the E906, say it resembles the Optimus 7, but we don’t really see that. LG has been known in the past to attach brand names to their devices in order to help pick up sales; anyone remember the Prada? It’s a strategy that others have also tried (Samsung with Giorgio Armani, Nokia with Ferrari, Sony Ericsson and Motorola with Dolce & Gabbana) once or twice before realizing that most people don’t really give a shit.
It’s going to be a shame if LG doesn’t offer the E906 in a variant without Jil’s name defiling the front of the phone. Just having a brand there will undoubtedly increase the price of the handset to levels that are down right laughable. We also hope that LG sprinkles some of this design language into their Android portfolio and actually launch something that we wouldn’t be embarrassed to use in public. It’s a tall order, we know that, but there’s a reason we always call LG the other South Korean handset maker. They’re always standing in the shadow cast by Samsung, never daring to step out into the sun and become their own unique and independent lifestyle brand.
The potential is there though, now where’s the leadership?