HMD Fusion gets Venom-themed Smart Outfits that transform the phone and change its functionality

Posted on 22/10/2024 by Gaurav Sood

HMD Fusion is a new kid on the block but already with so many differences for the user to toil with. Embracing the idea of repairability and taking that notch further with support for ‘Smart Outfits,’ it allows you to clip an outfit – basically a smartphone case – to a pogo pin connector on the back of the phone and change its functionality.

The Finish company is taking advantage of this functionality and is teaming up with Marvel’s Venom: The Last Dance movie and give users an antihero experience to integrate on their phones: An experience not limited to hardware! Meant to transform the HMD Fusion’s functionality and appearance in real-time, the Venom-themed Smart Outfits bring iconic elements from the Venom franchise to the phone.

Designer: HMD

HMD has been away from the top celebrated phone-makers for a while. It has not been a very active player at that, but it’s trying to make some dishevel nonetheless, by giving users the choice of how they wish to use their phones. Customizing the experience with Smart Outfits, such as the three Venom exclusives showcased at the Venom: The Last Dance pop-up event on October 20 and the film’s premier the following day.

Clipping to the back of the Fusion, these Smart Outfits render custom theme, wallpapers, and some famous lines from Venom to put it in the intriguing sphere of the fans and the Marvel franchise to adore. Each of these custom outfits integrates “160 electromagnetic arrays controlling ferrofluid in a glass chamber” to create a venom-like effect on the Fusion’s physical appearance and software; a cool customization!

The customizations include phrases inspired by the movie that go up for instance in the boot up or when a notification sounds. When the device is booted it sounds the phrase “We are Venom,” followed by an animation from the new flick. The phone alerts on an alarm with “Eddie, the time has come,” or “Who sent that thing?” upon receiving a new notification. Interestingly, the Venom-themed HMD Fusion outfit also includes a “We are screwed” ringtone in Venom’s voice.

No matter how fascinating this may all seem, these outfits are only to showcase the unique possibilities of the Fusion and may not see the light of day. However, HMD allows interested ones with some technical skills and access to a 3D printer to create their own outfits or download wallpapers. The latest HMD smartphone is already available in Europe and pre-orders have started in the US.

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A minimalistic matching phone for your Polestar 2

Posted on 13/09/2024 by Gaurav Sood

Polestar is known for its high-performance electric vehicles and many concept gadgets have been inspired by the Swedish EV brand. There was a rumor of a Polestar phone right around the time of April’s Fool Day on the Polestar’s official website, and most took the bait announcing it as an official release by the brand.

What if Polestar decides to make a smartphone that’s embedded right into the brand’s ecosystem? A minimalistic and sleek smartphone that’s power-packed with the latest and greatest hardware for peak performance.

Designer: Xiangrong Zhang

Car-branded phones are not a rarity as Lamborghini and Porsche Design have explored bringing their unique aesthetics to the modern man’s best friend. The Polestar Phone will follow suit as the perfect match for your Polestar 2 EV. According to Xiangrong, the motive is to combine the best of both worlds, having the perfect balance of form and function. The device comes with a triple camera setup including a 15mm, 23mm and 70mm shooter having focal lengths of 2.4, 1.9 and 2.08 respectively.

The smartphone has the signature Polestar all-white hue combined with silver inserts for an immaculate look. Whether the phone runs on stock Android or a Polestar-developed skin on top can only be speculated but I want them to go for a minimal interface just like the Nothing Phone. As I said, the phone will be closely integrated into the Polestar EV ecosystem with connected features including remote monitoring, AutoStart and safety features.

The Polestar logo on the back will look classy and you’ll need to invest in a transparent case to show off. If Polestar wants to foray into the consumer tech market only time will tell but it’s highly unlikely unless the EV maker wants to spread its claws in a highly competitive marketplace of smartphones.

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With integrated ChatGPT, Play T 1 foldable phone is effortless to use via voice commands

Posted on 21/06/2024 by Gaurav Sood

When the mobile phone industry is swaying toward convenience and ergonomics, here’s one phone concept deviating from the norm but putting ChatGPT in your pocket. Well, if you’ve not been living under a rock, AI phones are already making waves, allowing enhanced photography and more applications for user convenience. With the integration of ChatGPT in its innards, the Play T 1 becomes a foldable mobile phone easy to use with voice commands.

With ChatGPT from OpenAI integrated into the phone, it would be helpful for users, limiting them from having to toggle between tools. A simple voice request would get photos and documents altered, emails perfected, and of course, webpages or lectures summarized for you.

Designer: Yeongkyu YOO

This is the right time for a product concept like the Play T 1 to energy. Only a few days back Apple announced the integration of a layer of AI into its new operating systems for iPhone, Mac, and iPads. The newly integrated artificial intelligence features would bring a striking change to Apple’s stream of gadgets courtesy of revamped Siri support, the ability to compose emails, or even create personalized emojis among other things, without the user having to use multiple applications for a task.

The Play T 1 with embedded generative AI at the core of its functionality will offer unimaginable capabilities to the handheld. The device is not a basic handset; it has been designed to be modular, such that different thickish modules can add up for functionality. The foldable smartphone and its accessories – the detachable 5000 mAh battery – are made from compostable plant-based materials, which make the phone essentially eco-friendly.

The detachable battery clips to the bottom of the Play T 1 mobile phone using magnets and can instantly charge the phone. By magnetically fastening it to a speaker base, the phone can effortlessly become a high-performance ChatGPT speaker you can command at will.

As the pictures depict, this folding ChatGPT phone is in itself pretty thick for modern smartphone users and when the magnetic battery pack merges with the main body, it does form a nice unified unit, but at the cost of additional weight and thickness. If the design is slimmed and the folding creases evened out, who knows the GenAI-based Play T 1 can have a future.

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HMD’s Clamshell “Boring Phone” is a nightmare for productivity but lifesaver for offline social life

Posted on 17/04/2024 by Gaurav Sood

Smartphone usage has become a nemesis for people of all generations, and this addiction isn’t going to die anytime soon. Some try to get out of the clutches with strong willpower, others try to restrict themselves with minimalist phones, and most of us simply give in to the temptation of using the smart device. Eventually, those who can’t limit their screen time succumb to the overhyped online world and damage their mental well-being.

The idea here is to get super bored with your phone, so that you barely find it interesting, to concentrate on more fruitful activities. That’s what HMD Global wants to achieve with a translucent flip phone developed in collaboration with Heineken and Boston-based creative streetwear firm, Bodega. The flip device carries a retro vibe and lets you connect with friends and family via phone calls or SMS. Yes, no social media or other time churning apps on this one folks. Not even the freedom to connect at 5G speeds. Can you take that challenge up when everything around you seems ultra boring, and you have nothing to fall back on?

Designer: HMD, Heineken and Bodega

Those who have seen or owned the Nokia 2660 Flip will instantly be hit by nostalgia, as this tech-handicapped device is based on the retro flip phone. The transparent casing paired with the monochrome theme makes the Boring phone interesting, at least looks-wise. There’s holographic Bodega and Heineken branding all over the device’s rear to pep up its desirability quotient. Functionally the device is super boring but looks steal the limelight here.

The barebones specifications will not interest nerds we are sure, as it comes with a 2.8-inch QVGA (240x320px) primary display and a 1.77-inch cover screen. On the rear, there’s a 0.3MP camera with an LED flash, but don’t bank on this to take normal photos you are used to even in broad daylight. To kill your time, there a snake game, FM radio (goodbye Spotify and Deezer), and a headphone jack to listen to your collection of songs.

128GB of storage should be more than enough to host your collection and if that isn’t enough you can expand it via a microSD card slot. The 1,450mAh battery lasts at least a week on standby and 20 hours on calls. HMD has fitted dual SIM slots and 4G connectivity, thank god for that if you ultimately buy this phone and decide to go on an adventure spree!

The Boring Phone is limited to just 5,000 units worldwide and it won’t be available to buy, spoiler alert. HMD will hand out the transparent flip phone to users via giveaways, competitions and consumer engagement events. This will start at the Milan Design Week on 18 April, and if you want to reclaim your offline social life, find a way to acquire one!