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Nokia’s 8800 mobile phone has won the “best of the best” prize at the red dot design awards, the world’s largest design competition.  The 8800 beat off all competition to become the only mobile phone to receive this renowned design quality award.
The Nokia 8800 was singled out for its innovative, high quality design as well as for its smooth deskstand.  It is the first mobile phone to use stainless steel and mineral glass in its sleekly sculpted body. Its features include a 260,000 color screen and ringtones created by Ryuichi Sakamoto one of the world’s leading composers.

Dr. Peter Zec, President of Icsid and initiator of the red dot design award said, “Only products with outstanding design qualities are rewarded with a red dot best of the best award. With its innovative use of precious material, combined with extraordinary high quality usability and features, the Nokia 8800 really does represent design excellence.”

Out of 2,068 products submitted to the product design 2006 awards, only 36 received the coveted best of the best award for the best design in their category. In addition, 485 products were given the “red dot” seal of quality including products from Sony, Phillips, BenQ, Nokia, Motorola, and many more.

Read what the designers had to say about the Nokia 8800 and see some more pictures.

A mobile phone reveals a lot about its owner. People choose a model according to their personal lifestyle and taste, the ring tone is a favourite piece of music and here people store their most personal data such as addresses and photos. The design of the Nokia 8800 is well thought-out and clear, and for its owner it is an expression of a self-assured individuality. The phone presents itself as a statement of purism, accentuating a harmonious balance and sublime sensuousness, which follows the maxims of Zen. Its language of form was developed from the challenge to create a new housing shape for innovative technologies; a housing that would nevertheless maintain Nokia’s recognisable and familiar look. Softly rounded forms made of stainless steel give the impression of flowing surfaces with a tension of natural appearance. The design of this mobile phone seeks to attain its balance in a clear arrangement of detail and function and, thus, was inspired by watch and jewellery making. Due to borrowings from these fields, the Nokia 8800 now resembles an accessory with a feel of exclusiveness. An important design element is its precisely engineered slider mechanism for opening and closing the phone. It implies sophisticated functionality yet with a high degree of understatement. Attention to detail is evident even in the design of the sound quality, and in this regard too, the aspect of harmony is underlined: The Nokia 8800 has its own characteristic sound, by which one can recognise it. The “soundtrack” was composed by the Japanese musician and electronic music aesthete, Ryuichi Sakamoto, who found inspiration for his composition in the language of form and the organically rounded curves of this mobile phone.

Read [Nokia]
Read [Nokia Red Dot Page]