Stuttgart, Germany-based Porsche Design Group and French-based Sagem Mobiles (Safran Group) have joined forces to create the first Porsche Design mobile phone, the P’9521.
Like its much-coveted automotive namesake, the new mobile phone combines sophisticated, purist design with high-quality natural materials such as aluminum and glass.
The phone’s casing is milled out of a solid aluminum block, a manufacturing technique used for engines and alloy wheels of high-end sports cars but is a unique production method for mobile phones.
With this device, Porsche Design has remained loyal to its clear design language and has utilized sophisticated materials, again in keeping with its storied tradition.
The typography, styling and colors of the phone’s menu underscore the handset’s very functional character. A double hinge made from lightweight aluminum enables the screen to be rotated 180 degrees, allowing the phone to be used as a digital camera.
The P’9521, whose local price was still unavailable as we went to press, features a fingerprint reader, which easily and conveniently identifies the user while ensuring high-security access to sensitive data.
In addition, individual fingerprints can be assigned to particular numbers or phone functions, making operation particularly easy. A fingerprint can also replace the standard PIN code.
The know-how for this technology was delivered by Sagem Mobiles, which has expertise in the field of biometrics.
The Porsche Design mobile phone P’9521 boasts an auto-focus video and still camera with a 3.2-megapixel resolution, integrated flash and digital zoom.
The rotating screen makes it even easier to use, while its 2.2-inch, 262,000-color AM-OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display technology ensures extremely high-quality colors, exceptional brilliance and a perfect view from every angle.
The quad-band handset, which measures 91 x 48 x 18.4mm and weighs 140 grams, also sports an MP3/multi-AAC-format player (with equalizer and customizable playlists) and three speakers for ringtones and voice playback in stereo quality sound.
For Web browsing, the P’9521’s EDGE technology (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) enables high-speed Internet access. It has Bluetooth, USB and PC/mac connectivity. The phone has a claimed 3.5-hour talk time, 240-hour standby time, and three-hour charging time.
Exclusively distributed locally by E-Mobile Exponent Group (tel. no. 882-7777 local 109), the P’9521 will be available in the country starting this month.
Porsche Design is a global luxury men’s brand defined by highly engineered products.
Professor Ferdinand Porsche, founder of the illustrious sports car, established the Porsche Design brand in 1972, creating products celebrated for their technical innovation, functionality and timelessness in its purest form.
Porsche Design products are sold in exclusive retail and franchise stores, upmarket department stores and exclusive specialist stores.
Sagem Mobiles of the Safran Group, on the other hand, is a leading international player in the mobile telecommunications arena.
Sagem Mobiles designs, develops, produces and markets mobile phone products that pack cutting-edge technologies such as fixed-mobile convergence, mobile TV and NFC/RFID ID solutions, together with a comprehensive range of mobile phone accessories.
Sagem Mobiles skill sets also extend to handling the development and production of mobile phones under Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) contracts.
Porsche Design and Sagem Mobiles signed a license agreement in May 2006.