14 DAY TRIAL // Luxury cell phones are not a new thing anymore, but they keep on appearing to satisfy the fashion needs of those who have larger bank accounts. SoftBank, a leading Japanese mobile carrier, partnered with Tiffany Japan to bring such a phone, that will be sold for 10 million Japanese Yens, meaning about $93,600. It cannot compete against the world's most expensive phone, Goldvish Le Million, which costs more than 1 million USD, but it's still a terribly expensive device.
The handset comes encrusted in no less than 400 diamonds, totaling a bit over 20 carats, and will be available starting this month, most probably before Valentine's Day, to make an extravagant gift.
There aren't many technical details about the Tiffany handset, except the fact that it's a 3G device. However, judging by the specs the other SoftBank phones announced for 2008 have, this diamonded clamshell might pack a good photo camera and even Mobile TV features.
The real manufacturer of the phone is unknown for the moment, but it sure isn't Tiffany, known mainly for being one of the most respectable US jewelry brands. It's hard to believe they have a secret cell phone division, so it is more likely that they only worked on the handset's luxurious cover. Most probably, as the phone seems to be a clamshell resembling the majority of the phones released in Japan (except the diamonds, of course), the non-jewelry part was created by a Japanese producer. So it could be a Sharp, Toshiba, NEC, Fujitsu, Panasonic, Sanyo or Hitachi. Hard to tell.
The new Tiffany phone is available only from SoftBank starting February, as a limited number edition, so the Japanese men who want to offer their lovers a flower and hundreds of diamonds on a phone should quickly pay a visit to their bank for a small withdrawal.