Contents
- If competition breeds ingenuity, it’s not a surprise that the cell phone market is replete with fashionable hardware. With technology so similar, manufacturers have sought to use form as a way to get an edge in the marketplace. Although this has led to some unique and innovative design concepts, it has also brought about some of the more hideous looking devices ever put to the human ear. The following are 5 of the ugliest cell phones ever made:
- 5 Virgin Mobile Lobster 700TV
- 4 Toshiba G450
- 3 The Siemens Xelibri Line
- 2 Motorola ROKR E1
- 1 Vertu Bucheron Cobra
- About the author: Article written by Clive Brookes from Internet Speed Test.
If competition breeds ingenuity, it’s not a surprise that the cell phone market is replete with fashionable hardware. With technology so similar, manufacturers have sought to use form as a way to get an edge in the marketplace. Although this has led to some unique and innovative design concepts, it has also brought about some of the more hideous looking devices ever put to the human ear. The following are 5 of the ugliest cell phones ever made:
5 Virgin Mobile Lobster 700TV
When people think of style, technology, and comfort, some people think of lobsters, which would be funny if it weren’t a sign of dementia. In 2006, the demented geniuses at Virgin decided to capitalize on the public’s insatiable appetite for lobster and lobster type things, designing their phone in honor of the hideous sea insect. More specifically, the Virgin Mobile Lobster 700TV is in the shape of a lobster’s claw, although thankfully the company decide to abstain from painting their phone in the crustacean’s signature red. Although quite frankly, the cell phone’s signature bump looks more like a tumor, the kind cell phones get from talking to themselves.
4 Toshiba G450
No doubt inspired by nerds and vision aids, the Toshiba G450 combines the curves of a glasses case with the circular containers used for contact lenses. Fortunately, the nearsighted may not be able to recognize how hideous the design is, although they may be a bit confused when they stick the # key in their eye.
In addition to being hard on the eyes, the Toshiba G450 provided poor functionality, offering a strange amalgamation of cell phone, mobile storage unit, and USB broadband modem.
3 The Siemens Xelibri Line
The entire line of Siemens Xelibri phones appear to be going for a retro hospital look, because there is nothing hipper than outdated medical equipment. Launched in 2003, the brand lasted for only 18 months before being pulled off the shelves, most likely as a safeguard against elderly folks using them to take their temperature.
2 Motorola ROKR E1
Most of the phones on this list are crimes of artistic hubris. Like Icarus flying too close to the sun, when artists take a chance to innovate, they risk failure and ridicule. Your derision is tempered by a whisper of admiration, thinking this phone wouldn’t be this hideous if the designer weren’t so brave.
The Motorola ROKR E1 does not invoke these feelings. The insipidness of its boxy frame is only surpassed by the uninspiring vapidness of its monochrome interface. The ROKR E1 is as bland as bland gets, like a brick of styrofoam with buttons and iTunes.
1 Vertu Bucheron Cobra
At first glance you might yelp and cover your eyes. At second glance you open your fingers and peek through the slit, simply out of curiosity. At third glance, you are completely nonplussed, unable to believe what you are seeing. You ask yourself, my god, is that a snake? No, it can’t possibly be a snake. You lower your fingers and at fourth glance realize it is indeed a snake, a purple, bejeweled snake, and now you are cringing, cringing so hard your lower lip is almost touching the base of your chin.
A cell phone appropriate for a Bond villain and perfect for a parody of one, the Vertu Bucheron Cobra is moderately priced at $310,000 plus tax and dignity.