Former BMW designer to style phones at Samsung
An American known for controversial car designs at BMW has been linked to a job at Samsung.
Chris Bangle, known for making the back of the BMW 7 Series so awkward it was nicknamed as having a “Bangle Butt” will work with Samsung to design smart phones and netbooks.
Bangle worked at BMW for 17 years, calling it quits in 2009 to focus on his own projects.
During his tenure, the Bavarian automaker pumped out some of the most outrageous car designs with vehicles wearing a technique Bangle called “flame surfacing.”
I’m not entirely sure how much flame surfacing we’ll find on future Samsung phones and netbooks, but there’s no doubt design plays a huge roll in electronics’ sex appeal.
Let’s be honest: if the iPhone 4 looked more like a slab of wax, I doubt it would be selling so well.
Samsung won’t have Bangle all to themselves – he’s apparently able to work on outside projects as well (though, probably not for any competitors).
But the electronics company is going to make sure they get their money’s worth. AutoBlog reports that Samsung is setting up a European design studio just for the American to help design phones and netbooks for the Korean company.
Samsung will also staff it with about 10 “researchers” to collaborate with him.
How important is a smart phone’s design to you? Does it matter what a phone looks like?
- Maurice Cacho, MSN Tech & Gadgets
Comments
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Posted by: *Shannon | Mar 15, 2011 8:18:25 AM
I think the shape of the phone is probably the first thing you notice, the keys - re they easy to see, or does the touch screen have good feedback. When you pick a phone your committing to seeing it every single day for at least 2 years barring it getting lost and stolen. I think there is a huge amount of design that draws us to phone purchases and decision. I'm an apple person - All American Good Looking!
Posted by: Albert | Mar 16, 2011 3:59:33 PM
Indeed, the appearance of the phone is crucial to 90% when choosing a phone, and in women by 99%.
Posted by: AMIR02 | Mar 26, 2011 5:46:45 AM
The samsung galaxy tab is here and ready to challenge the iPad as a serious competitor in the Tablet market. As a long term user of Samsung products I have always been satisfied with their quality and features. Their recent smartphones have been getting great reviews for all major tech mags and blogs. With that being said let's get to the tab!