Samsung and Armani make simple but startlingly unstylish chav-phone
This branded tie-in phone from Samsung is a mixed bag, as they say, when it comes to looks. Its apparent simplicity and minimalism have the blunt appeal that such characteristics always have, but the fashionable additions are quite comical. Neon ricer lights? Really? Does it come with a VTEC sticker, too?
Such things might make sense in the style-challenged milieu of gadget design, but allow us to put it crudely and make the point clear: Could you really imagine someone pulling this €300 piece of teeny-bopper trash out of an Armani suit in a dark nightclub?
Actually, don't answer that.
The specs, irrelevant as they are: quadband GSM with HSDPA, a 2.2" glass display, 3.2 megapixel camera, FM radio and BlueTooth. Spot the front-facing camera!
Samsung's Armani 2 Night Effect Cellphone Forgets to Include Stylishness [Giz]
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Chav really isn't a nice word and wraps up such a nice bundle of social prejudices. Please don't stoop to Daily Mail standards of prole-baiting!
Anyone who would buy a phone or any other gadget because it has the name Armani (or any fashion designer) on it, is a complete jerk.
(Sorry)
Noted. It's a lazy shorthand and we can do better than to exploit it.
The branding will appeal to the Chavs. Nothing wrong with stating that - any old shit with an acceptable brand name will do.
I actually find it an appealing design, including the neon strip lighting, ruined and made undesireable only by the perceived status-enhancing mark.
"Could you really imagine someone pulling this €300 piece of teeny-bopper trash out of an Armani suit in a dark nightclub?"
... Yes. But of course said pulling will occure in a deft and fluid motion, flashing the E-A logo for anyone who cares to look (a look that will reveal them as potential targets for a chavinistic (sic) approach)
Looks strikingly similar to the MOTOFONE, which ironically costs about £15.
Actually, without the Armani logo, I'd call it a reasonably slick design.
Of course, no sort of sensible design will ever be permitted to make it to the US...
@#1 Soylent Grey
Just out of curiosity. What exactly does the word Chav mean? I've always taken it to be the English equivalent of the Australian 'Bogan' or perhaps the American 'Trailer Trash'.
Am I correct in these assumptions?
It's generally used for young working class folk dressed in the almost uniform get-up of sportswear (tracksuits) with Burberry cap and enough goldwear to qualify as an econo-version of Mr T (sovereign rings, chains etc).
The term exploded a couple of years ago and while the etymology is a bit complicated/unclear, the main source seems to have been from the Romani 'Chavi' meaning child. I'm not 100% sure on the usage of 'Bogan' I'd say Chav is closer to 'White Trash' than just plain 'Trailer Trash', as the adjective only ever seems to apply to white delinquents. The racialist connotations in that alone make this a rather iffy epitaph.
The Wikipedia entry on Chav is surprisingly tight so give that a look for the full low-down.
>"I'd say Chav is closer to 'White Trash' than just plain 'Trailer Trash', as the adjective only ever seems to apply to white delinquents. The racialist connotations in that alone make this a rather iffy epitaph."
So us white folk can't take aim at a subset of white folk without being labelled racist now because that subset is generally composed exclusively of white folk?
Good grief.