Hands-On: Lamborghini Phone
Jan 6, 2015, 10:04 AM by Eric M. Zeman
Lamborghini has a second-generation Android phone at CES this year. With a price tag of $6,000, it's safe to say it isn't for most people.
Most people cannot afford a Lamborghini. That's what makes them exotic and desirable. Most people cannot afford the Lamborghini phone. That may make it exotic, but it's not to be desired. It's a huge exercise in ego that's really only for those who drive Lamborghinis. And even then, it's a questionable purchase.
To start, the device is outrageously huge — and not for good reasons. Most phones are large because they have big screens. The Lambo phone has a moderately sized screen, but the surrounding smartphone far exceeds what is necessary to safely house the display. It is also thick and heavy. Most people will have a hard time using this phone with one hand, and hardly anyone will be able to stuff the darned thing into their pockets. I will say, however, that the leather feels pretty good. Lamborghini said it is calf skin.
The design is a cacophony of angles, colors, and materials. You have gold buttons, red (or blue) leather, black plastics, glass, and several other metallic elements. None of the materials/colors is assembled in a pleasing or seductive way. I can perhaps see where the designers drew on Lambo's 80's-era Countach for select design elements, but Lambo's modern cars are much sleeker and smoother — something the Lambo phone desperately needs to emulate.
The screen is reasonably good, but the Lambo UI elements are just silly and cartoonish to my eyes. There are three capacitive buttons below the screen that work pretty well.
The screen lock button is buried along the left edge. You can't see it; it is only discoverable by feel. The travel and feedback is OK. The volume toggle, on the left side, is similarly invisible. The toggle is a bit small, and the directionals are hard to tell apart, but travel and feedback isn't too bad. The headphone jack is on top and the USB port is on the bottom.
The ports and slots for memory cards and such are hidden along both sides under doors. The doors are hard to see and even harder to open. When both are extended, it has the effect of making the phone look like a spaceship. I am sure this was intentional, but the result is comical.
If the design weren't off-putting enough, the price tag certainly is. At $6,000 or more, it's unaffordable for anyone other than a Kardashian. Stay away.
About the author, Eric M. Zeman:Eric has been covering the mobile telecommunications industry for 17 years at various print and online publications. He studied at Rutgers Newark and University of Kentucky, and has a degree in writing. He likes playing guitar, attending concerts, listening to music, and driving sports cars.
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Comments
Complete waste
Clearly, this phone, like many other overly priced tech toys is for people who have money to throw away.
Uhhh, in the event someone is really considering buying this phone, you can pass the 6 grand this way. I can think of more productive ways to spend it, and to boot, I could probably get you the new hotness of smartphones and find someone to customize it nicely, and still have plenty of money left, when I'm done.
Just sayin' Γ°ΕΈββ¬
(continues)
Lamborghini phone
