14 DAY TRIAL // The Avantgarde Skeleton luxury model seems a bit different from what Gresso has accustomed us with, mostly because it is “getting” its strength from the famous Swiss Skeleton watches. The manufacturer followed such a course of ideas because it really wanted to show us its level of skill with this new release.
[ADMARk=1]In order to really impress us, the Avantgarde comes in a titanium-designed case, and not just any kind of titanium, but a highly rare type, used up till now only in the space industry. Due to this special alloy, the device is said to be very resistant to corrosion and extreme temperatures, but, on the other hand, it must have been much more difficult for the manufacturer to apply the finishing touches.
To further add to the luxury image this phone must reflect, the back panel has been hand-polished with sapphire crystals of 42K and, even more, the whole handset has been covered with a special kind of high-tech ceramic finish. This last feature promises a scratch free device, not for the first couple of months, but for many many years, since the solidity of the ceramics is second after that of diamonds.
The Skeleton features about 23 keys made, just like the triangle found on the front panel, of aircraft steel. In the segment of innovation, Gresso left its mark by designing a magnetic look for the battery on the back panel and also adding to it a leather coverage to enrich its look. The sapphire finish is present on the back panel as well, where the logo is covered with 10 micron gold and the keypad numeric alphabet is represented by the Roman one.
Even though there have been other luxury appearances this winter, none of them seem to be even close to the Avantgarde and its exclusivity will be directly proportional to its beautiful qualities and features, since only 15 such phones are to be manufactured. All of these will be running on Windows Mobile 6 version, using a 2 Megapixel camera and coming with a 2GB memory, Bluetooth and USB support plus an MP3 player included.
Focusing further on the more conventional features, such a luxury cell will also come with SMS/MMS/e-mail and Internet Explorer, Outlook plus WAP and GPRS support. Having realized the extent the capabilities of this phone reach, the price of 3999 Euros should not come as such a surprise anymore.