Japan's leading mobile phone operator NTT DOCOMO has announced late June/early July 2010 launch plans for the new Conran-branded mobile phone in the docomo STYLE series.
This is NTT DOCOMO's first candy-bar shaped mobile phone in two years.
The phone and graphic elements of the GUI are designed by Studio Conran, manufactured by LG and branded under the Conran name.
In Japan, arguably the most technologically advanced mobile phone market in the world, the Conran phone is positioned as a lifestyle phone and is aimed at 20-40 year old design conscious men and women.
This is the latest in NTT DOCOMO's series of lifestyle mobile phone design collaborations with top designers worldwide, which in the past included Alessi designer Stefano Giovannoni, French macaroon king Pierre Herme and Japanese art director Kashiwa Sato.
In a market characterised by all-singing, all-dancing technological wizardry, the Conran phone's design strips back the bells and whistles to create a sleek object of desire.
Ensuring a seamless balance between the screen and the physical phone, Studio Conran designed a range of screens named after London areas and menus in a monochromatic palette named Dawn and Dusk for the pale and black faces respectively.
The Conran phone is characterised by a 176-degree angle which echoes the natural contour of the human face.
It wraps gracefully and gently in the hand and on the face when making calls and rests comfortably in pockets.