Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer has branched out into smartphones, with the Android-powered TAG Heuer Link. On the TAG Heuer website, the Link is called “the first Swiss luxury smartphone”, a claim that could be disputed by the good folk at Ulysse Nardin and Celsius.
The TAG Heuer Link runs on Android 2.2, more poetically known as Android Froyo, which is a little long in the teeth these days. The phone sports a 3.5’’ screen, 800 x 480 pixels, sitting behind a sheet of strong Gorilla glass and within a case that borrows a common feature from the world of watch design, being shockproof. Another borrowed design from watches is the crown mechanism on the side of the TAG Heuer Link, which slides out to house the phone’s SIM card.
Apps can be added via the Android Market, but out of the box are customised screen designs, widgets, animations, wallpapers, icons and ring tones exclusive to TAG Heuer.
The TAG Heuer Link is available in a selection of models:
- Classic (available in full calfskin leather, or red or black carbon leather); Price: from 4,700 Euros RRP
- Elegance (in black or brown alligator skin); Price: from 6,200 Euros RRP
- Prestige Full Gold (using 24.6 grams of rose gold, in black or brown alligator skin cover); Price: Expensive – “price on request”
- Prestige Light Gold (using 6.8 grams of rose gold, in black or brown alligator skin cover); Price: from 9,500 Euros RRP
- and the just released Exclusive. The Exclusive is covered with 1007 diamonds, all up 2.53 carats of “look at me, I’ve got bucketloads of cash, but barely an atom of taste”. Or, as TAG Heuer put it, “price on request”.
TAG Heuer Link smartphone specifications
- Operating system: Android 2.2 (Android Froyo)
- Form factor: ‘Candy bar’
- Battery: Li-lon 1400mAh
- 3G talk time: 6 hours 30 minutes
- Stand by time: up to 330 hours (~14 days)
- 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
- Edge & HSUPA (3G)
- 4 Band GSM/Tri Band WCDMA
- Internal memory: 256 MB
- Memory card: 8GB
- Music play time:: 11 hours
- Video player and recorder
- LCM Screen: 3.5 inch TFT touchscreen
- Screen resolution: 800 x 480 pixels
- 5 megapixel camera with Auto Focus
- Phone colour / material choices: 316L Stainless steel, Gold, Diamonds, Black PVD, titanium, rubber, calfskin leather, Carbon leather, Alligator and Lizard
- Size: 118 x 67 x 16.6 mm (H x W x D)
- Weight: 200 grams (with battery)
Comments?
So, apart from the cost, what do you think of this phone? Would you expect it to run on a later version of Android? Do you agree with me that the Exclusive has 1007 diamonds too many? Leave your comments about the TAG Heuer Link in the ‘Leave a Reply’ section, a little further down this page.