Luxurious Geek: Bang & Olufsen Serene Mobile

GeekSugar — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 07:00:49 -0700

The other night I was at a birthday dinner with my family and one of our friends whipped out her new Bang & Olufsen Serene Mobile. First and foremost, it's breathtaking. It's one of those phones that has its share of the usual features (SMS, MMS from the built-in camera, and email), but looks more like a piece of art.

It features a curved drop-shaped shell and soft-touch surface. When opened, the lower shell has a screen and the upper shell features a rotary-inspired keyboard. I was most shocked by how it's controlled. You just tap on the top of the shell and it opens like a slow car trunk. (Or, as they put it "opening and closing Serene involves a gentle move with your finger, which triggers a built-in motor so the shell opens slowly and gracefully.) It doesn't seem practical for e-mail or web access - mostly because it's so small - but it sure is beautiful.

The phone is compatible with TMobile & Cingular, but at $1,275 it's more than twice the cost of the iPhone.

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