Are we looking at the new Heaveyweight champion in luxury phones? Famous watchmaker Tag Heuer thinks so. It started with a Smart phone in 2008 and now comes the new LINK Smart Phone - the second major mobile phone from Tag Heuer. The Link hit the stores back in July and is supposed to be tough as nails. One major complaint many people have about super high-end phones is that they are no more, or less durable than normal phones.
Without discussing price, the name Tag Heuer should give you an inkling that its for the well to do. I would love to hear from anyone who own this phone or thinking about purchasing and secondly, if the LINK will survive drops, disasters, like they are boasting. Tag Heuer goes into great detail discussing how it is water-tight, fully air-sealed, shock-resistant, and used some type of a hard material over the screen called Gorilla Glass. I don't know what the phone will put up with... but at least it puts up with a bit of abuse. Maybe Tag heuer finally figured out how someone will actually get their money's worth with high end phones.
Watch the promo video below:
This phone is just dripping with all kinds of oohs and ahhs as far as detail is concerned. The case itself comes in steel, 18k rose gold, and titanium. Trim includes rubber, alligator (we call "Gator"), leather, and other materials. The LINK Smart Phone has a functional crown on the side of it.
Most luxury phones are pretty limited in terms of their functionality, but Tag Heuer really wanted to come out of the expensive but limited functions conversation - so being an Android powered device is a good idea. While it does ship with the older Android 2.2, that will likely be upgraded down the line. Tag Heuer is said to throw in a bunch of goodies that will be anything from special ring tones to pictures, and so forth. Internal memory is scant at 256 megs, but the memory card that is included has 8 gigs. With the iPhone setting a lot of bars, I cant see how high-end phones don't have at least 16-32 gigs of storage, but that is another discussion.
I do have to say that the Link does look very chic and good looking. I'd be more than happy to tote around the black and gold model.
The rundown from Tag Heuer:
Unlike anything else on the luxury market, the TAG Heuer LINK is a high-performance machine of unprecedented functionality. Extreme reliability and robustness are guaranteed through a battery of quality tests well exceeding industry standards.
Stand out features include lightning-fast connectivity, 16-million color screen resolution, a large 3.5’’ display, a high-definition 5-mega-pixel auto-focus camera, 11 hours of music play time, and, through its avant-garde Android operating system, download access to over 250,000 applications. Â It also comes fully loaded with a host of TAG Heuer add-ons: customized screen designs,widgets, animations, wallpapers, icons and ring tones.
Swiss Watchmaking tradition allied with the latest in high-tech telephony
The TAG Heuer LINK is instantly recognizable as a top-end TAG Heuer product, avant-gardeboth for its ergonomic design and its very contemporary elegance. Motion, purity, curve, precision, a shimmering dynamism in its form and silhouette – these are its signature values.
The luxury handset is composed of classic watch components and cutting-edge technology. Fully shockproof, the body is engineered like the case of a TAG Heuer watch. As airtight and locked-down as a strong box, it provides full protection of the precious contents – your videos, photos, files and data – sealed in its interior.
Other signature TAG Heuer references include the screws on the handset’s reinforced chassis, which echo those on the casebacks of TAG Heuer chronographs. The unique autolock system on the side, which gives quick access to the SIM card, the connection port and the memory card, sports the TAG Heuer’s shield in black lacquer and looks like a classic TAG Heuer timepiece crown.
A luxury design object of ultimate prestige and performance
Luxuriously crafted and detailed, the TAG Heuer LINK incorporates the most prestigious materials and advanced components in the watchmaking and automotive worlds, including black PVD, diamonds and rose gold. The mirror-polished and fine-brushed stainless steel is premium grade surgical 316L, corrosion-resistant and hypoallergenic. The big display front is made from visually stunning, lightweight, and highly damage-resistant Gorilla glass®. The exclusive, hand-worked coverings are in calfskin, alligator or lizard. Every material, precious stone and exotic skin or leather is sourced within the strictest industry standards.
Tale of the Tape:
Size: 118mm (H) x 67mm (W) x 16.6mm (D)
OS: Android 2.2
Form factor: Bar type touch screen
Weight: 200 grams (battery included)
3G Talk time: 6 hours 30 minutes
Stand by time: up to 330hrs (~14 days)
Battery included: Li-lon 1400mAh
Messaging
SMS / MMS / Email (Predictive Text Input XT9)
Image formats supported: JPEG / GIF / BMP
Sound formats supported: MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / RA / WMA
Connectivity
Stereo Bluetooth
AGPS, Wifi, WAPI
Compatible with any SIM card
Radio
Edge & HSUPA (3G)
4 Band GSM/Tri Band WCDMA
Music / Photo & Video
Internal memory: 256 MB
Memory card: 8GB
Music play time: 11 hours
Photo & Video
LCM Screen: TFT 3.5”
Screen resolution: 800*480 pixels — 16 millions of colors
5 Mega Pixel Camera Auto Focus
Video player and recorder
Applications
Android Market with up to 250 000 applications such as:
Adobe Flash Reader
Google Search, Google Maps
GMail , You Tube , E-Blogger
Phone Materials
316L Stainless steel, Gold, Diamonds, Black PVD, Titanium, Rubber, Calfskin leather,
Carbon leather, Alligator and Lizard
