AE+Y phone kicks smartphone features to the curb, but will the rich care?
Feature-rich smartphones aren't cheap, and critics of pricey mobile devices often claim that they are too expensive, despite their wide-ranging capabilities. Those people will want to look away now, as the newest device from Danish luxury retailer Aesir is sure to make their blood boil. Introducing the limited edition AE+Y phone — an 18-carat solid gold handset that can't use apps, email, or mobile internet, but still carries a ridiculous price of 42,000 euros (roughly $60,000).
The lavish device boasts groundbreaking features such as speed dial, call forwarding, and even a built-in calculator. Its LCD screen measures a modest 2", and its battery can handle a measly 5 hours of talk time — compared to the Droid Bionic's 11-hour, and iPhone 4's 14-hour limits. But Aesir is focusing more on form than function, and the manufacturer is quick to point out that the edge-to-edge key design is a first in mobile handsets.
The AE+Y's barebones user interface was shaped by renowned designer Tom Hingston, and the phone's unorthodox keypad is laser-engraved and features "advanced LED backlighting." We're not quite sure how that varies from regular LED backlighting, but I guess we have to take Aesir's word on that.
Aesir's target market is clearly the super rich, but do the wealthy not also desire useful gadgets? Then again, if you're affluent enough to drop $60,000 on a solid gold phone, you're probably too busy playing polo and ordering around your servants to care about apps or email anyway.
For those of you who are only rich — as opposed to super rich — Aesir is also making a stainless steel version which will retail for a slightly less mind boggling $10,000. Both devices will debut this fall in Europe, and shortly thereafter in the U.S.
The Aesir AE+Y is more shiny than smart
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