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Oct 21, 2010

Flip Phones Made Cool: Japan's Transparent X-Ray Phone

See-through things are cool. Anyone who ever pined for a transparent Game Boy (or was lucky enough to own one) knows that. Even if flippers are unfashionable, I still want to hotfoot it over to Japan to scoop this up.

Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka's x-ray phone is actually going on sale in Japan under the KDDI brand's iida range, where it's made from polycarbonate with glass fiber to give it that retro-futuristic transparent look. The 7 x 102 dot-matrix LED strip just heightens the dorky coolness of the phone, with caller ID flashing up along with new messages and the time.

It may look like something from the '80s, but there's an 8MP camera strapped on, 1-Seg TV tuner and is also NFC-payment compatible. I've no idea how much it's going to sell for in Japan, but I do know that I want an Android version pronto.

57 comments:

cannabis man said...

almost looks as cool as my transparent n64

!Cars, Cars, Cars! said...

I like it, transparent iPhone? Keep it up, i'll be here.

That Stoner Kid said...

lol looks like nintendo decided to make a phone

gnjili shepard said...

space phone.

LoneIslander said...

But can it play tetris?

Dan said...

that would be perfect if it would display texts through the phone when received.

Kate said...

This looks spiffy. i like the look of the caller ID. Dammit, Japan! You get all the cool toys.

macl said...

Don't like it too much. Looks like cheap material... too "chinese", if you know what I mean.

Anonymous said...

Looks like those old 90s travel alarms

Tip Ster said...

Damn I need 1 of these phones!

Dbankai said...

That's awesome as hell i've always liked transparent electronics

The Game Store Guy said...

Interesting, but I can't say I'm a big fan. I've never really liked the transparent electronics look.

honkhonkpt said...

I want one! Haha

Seb said...

that's so '90s :p

dylan said...

Haha that looks so futuristic and badass. Japan does it again

razortek said...

lol i don't like it xD anyway i think will be powerfull lol xD

Savage Nugget said...

LED Strip is cool. :D

DaniniPanini said...

So cool! Japan has the coolest phones.

lazy comet said...

that phone looks really cool. if only it was available in green, though...

jeanjean said...

nice one

jeanjean said...

nice one

marioman1154 said...

Reminds of the transparent N64 Controller. Win.

Brandon said...

That's pretty cool, nice find

PJMasterFunk said...

this is actually pretty cool

Anonymous said...

I love Japan, they're so far ahead of us technology-wise.

killerkun said...

transparent = sexy!!

Unknown said...

fantastic post man

RLouisos said...

sweet stuff, looks great

Anonymous said...

What's wrong with flip phones?

Mario said...

that's a sick phone!

TheCreepistMan said...

lol i saw these earlier, pretty coolio like my gameboy.

AdPlusCommunications said...

I've never really been a fan of transparent electronics.

ModerneFusion said...

looks alright, not that awesome xD

iMonei said...

dont like it that much

SituationAbs said...

I was one of the lucky kids with the transparent gameboy :D. Brings back memories. Surprised it took them so long to replicate it with this phone though!

RXD Gaming said...

Transparent phones, those crazy japanese

Torey Taylor said...

Pretty sweet stuff..

Splash87 said...

I love transparent things!

Flippy said...

I had a clear GBA back in the day. No idea where it went though. BTW, I signed up for neo bucks from your banner and it's been really good to me so far :] Hope you enjoy the referral bonus! :D

One said...

So ugly but so awesome. First thing it reminded me of was the gameboy, too.

Mark said...

Whoa, looks awesome!

Commsky said...

THE FUTURE OF CELLPHONES

Those look cool

Rarii said...

That's pretty cool!

bangerang said...

Looks like a pokedex

Randall. said...

Who cares?

It seems that it is more important for a phone to be aesthetically pleasing than to be, well, a phone.

Rezden said...

This phone is sexy. Definitely want.

pixel said...

its funny the cell phones cameras have gotten up to 8mp

AskAMassivePro said...

they're at it again. my first camera was like 200 for 2 megapixels

Discerning Gentleman said...

I wonder how well it performs though

Edward said...

Japan tends to put more creative energy into the cell phone business. Don't get me wrong, Blackberries and iPhones are interesting and all, but there's nothing quite as intriguing-looking as a Japanese phone. They just try harder... and in different aspects of the technology.

And personally, I always scoffed at transparent tech. I don't want to look at a machine's intestines while I use it.

Abul said...

I had a see through gamebody...This wouldnt be a good thing to add to the collection.

JRam said...

Wonder what other colored transparent cases are there.

iammyself said...

love it! i want one

Willow said...

Grab me one while you're there lol.

Mayhem said...

Why am I not surprised that this comes from Japan. Looks AWESOME

MineCraft said...

I would love to have a phone like that!

-CelebReports

Joel C Anatoli said...

I love japanese design. They rock