Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness launches at Selfridges

18 November 2009

It looks great... and that's about it

Sony Ericsson has the guns a-blazing this quarter, and its Xperia line has been on fire with the recent X2 launch (video demo here) and announcement of the Android-powered X10. Next up, the high-design Xperia Pureness goes on sale at Selfridges next Tuesday, and it's the concept phone to beat all concept phones.

Made of a very, very lightweight plastic, the Pureness is half black - the excellently tactile and minimal number keypad – and half transparent. Yes, the display is completely see-through until you turn the phone on, at which point a coloured backlight comes on (your choice of blue, green and maybe a few others) with an old-school pixelated display.

It's tiny at just 102x43x13mm, and looks incredibly retro. For extra verisimilitude, it has almost no features. You can talk and text, and because it's Sony Ericsson, listen to music with 'MegaBass' and identify new songs with TrackID. It has resisted the urge to pimp it out with even a wee Cyber-shot cam though. Still, in deference to the 21st century, you can go online, and you can email,  with synching to Microsoft Exchange.

Primarily though, the Pureness is just a phone, albeit a cool looking one – and that's just the way a lot of people will like it, particularly as it's a limited edition at a few hundred units, and for a rather princely £600 each. Don't shamble off mumbling your kids' college funds yet – that also includes 'Xperia Services' phone support (they say they'll replace any Pureness that stops working) and 'Pureness Concierge' which promises to get you a booking at any restaurant, event, health club or actual club you want.

Check out the official Pureness page here.