Sony Ericsson's new D&G Jalou - for the ladies
Female tech lovers - you may find this a little sexist
Sony Ericsson has released the Jalou, complete with Dolce & Gabbana branding, a new phone which we think may, possibly, be aimed at women.
It's actually coming in two flavours: the 'normal' Jalou and the Jalou - designed especially by Dolce & Gabbana, with the latter adding in 24 carat gold plating, 'exclusive' packaging and content, and a Dolce & Gabbana headset which is 'lavished' with 'gold accents'.
But there's more to the Jalou... although judging by the press release all men reading should turn away and go and play fantasy football or chop some wood (whatever we stereotypically do).
Lady highlights
We'll take you through some of the 'female oriented' press release highlights: "Sony Ericsson's latest style statement is only 73mm long – shorter than your favourite lipstick and is easy to slip into the tiniest clutch."
To design this phone, with facet-cut jewel form, tiny compact design and cutting edge technology, Sony Ericsson explored art, architecture and furniture trends. Obviously, as we all know how a well made coffee table and phone are pretty much the same thing.
Just to make sure we know this phone is for ladies (not men, LADIES) the spec sheet is set out in a way women-folk can understand:
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"3.2 megapixel camera – snap your favourite outfit and send to your friends."
"Bluetooth 2.0 – upload images and videos to your social network site" (we're not sure how Bluetooth helps you do this, unless you also have a PC).
"Mirror Key – check your hair before a hot date."
"Walk Mate step counter – see how far you have walked while out shopping"
"Weight – will not weigh your handbag down at only 84 grams"
So, add in the fact the Dolce & Gabbana version comes with "exclusive photography and video clips from Dolce & Gabbana's women's Autumn/Winter 2010 runway show, with sneak peek footage from all the backstage action" as well as the fact it comes in gemstone-inspired colours like Deep Amethyst, Aquamarine Blue and Onyx Black, and you can guess the demographic SE is looking at.
Structured, intricate and hidden accents
"Structured forms, intricate corners, hidden depths and jewel accents are set to be some of the hottest fashion trends in 2010. You can also expect to see deep and natural jewel colours on the runway next year," breathed Charles Hunt, Jalou head designer at Sony Ericsson.
"Jalou reflects these trends with its delicate facet-cut diamond shape design, clean and expressive lines and variety of different shine and matt finishes that give depth to the handset.
"The design team wanted the handset to reflect beauty found in nature. They looked at structure, strength and form in various crystalline jewels, which resulted in the unique shape."
The phone will be coming next quarter, and we've no word on price yet. But anything that offers 24 carat gold plating isn't going to be in the bargain bin at your local retailer, that's for sure.
It's also got TrackID, Exchange support, geotagging and acts as a modem - but screw all that, look how SHINY IT IS!
Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.