What ELSE Would You Want?

Having been alerted to the new and ‘next iPhone killer’, we spent time absorbing the slickest, heaviest and at times, most frustrating marketing mobile experience. The mobile phone called 'First ELSE' comes from Israeli mobile design house Else and runs on a Linux platform, jointly developed between Else and Access, a Japanese mobile software company.

It is hard to describe the demonstration as you feel caught somewhere between the Matrix and The 5th Element, sci-fi meets surreal meets slick graphics and design. At it heart is a concept of menu control similar in its simplistic approach to when we first saw the original iPod wheel or the touch screen ‘pinch’.

First Else is designed to be application-centric and offer the best of experience whether it is a phone, music player, mail service, navigation tool. They claim that its like rolling the best devices together and creating one best of class. Navigation is a single handed thumb driven touch screen experience. Importantly when you receive a call from a partner the phone automatically displays the information about them you would expect plus much more. The additional information may be the last email they sent you, documents or folders flagged against them.

The potential of what they have done is so simple, so elementary that it will frighten many mobile players still struggling with clunky systems and will certainly raise the bar for all. Whether they fail or win, they have clearly brought innovation to the market and whether we see the others follow is not a case of ‘if’ but ‘when’.

The phone itself will not be available until next year but check it out before you commit to that 18 or 24 month new contract. Try it out yourself