Remember quirky designer Niharika Khan‘s novelty purple phone receiver that we told you about some time back? Front-row editors (Sandy Brant, a star Cond
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Nast editor, to name just one), too, were gabbing on them at the Spring/Summer 2012 shows, which Cathy Horyn, the *efficacious* fashion critic from New York Times, counts amongst her top fashion moments of 2011 (!). This only means that these brilliantly ridiculous handsets just might be THE fashion accessory to be seen with in 2012. SO, we’ve got the all the deets on them ‒ for you 🙂
Designed in 2009 by the acclaimed French designer David Turpin for Native Union based on the classic 1950s Bakelite set, POP Phone (that’s what it is called :-D) is a fun alternative to the drab (itchy?) headphone/earphone/bluetooth. Remember those chunky phone receivers from the 90s? Yeah, proper blast from the past! Comes in eight colours ‒ some limited edition ones in other colours/patterns are floating around; Cathy Horyn thinks a Swarovski-encrusted one will come out too to draw the bling-minded (!) ‒ with a soft touch finish for greater tactile comfort, it works just like any other headset.
Simply clip in to your iPhone/Blackberry/iPad/Macbook/any device with a 3.5mm jack (an adaptor’s available for other sockets), for (apparently) crystal clear calls thanks to its *supposedly* ace speaker, microphone and noise reduction system. There’s a one touch button for pick-up/hang-up directly from the receiver for Skype, Google Talk (i.e. VOIP calls over the internet) and, of course, regular calls. And the squiggly cable’s long enough to let you crane your neck and go *truly* hands-free!
Erm, this colourful relic had me from hello! I love the irony, the incongruous juxtaposition of the old and new. Its *reasonable* $29.90 price tag (or less, if you shop around!) was calling out to me… Until, like a wet blanket, the thought of looking like a right little tosser when using it in public cropped up… Decisions, decisions. What do you lot reckon: plain attention-seeking gadget or quirkily cool? Would you…?