Cellphone of the day entry #2

Today marks the second day of this blog being launched! I know, I know, such an esteemed anniversary. Anyways, today I wanted to make a quick entry featuring the Infobar.

The Infobar cellphone, designed by Naoto Fukusawa. Image obtained from The Verge

The infobar is a stunning masterpiece of Japanese keitai design. The shape is very sleek and slim, with a rectangular shape common to the era, matched with a gorgeous “candy-inspired” colour scheme. The Nishikigoi colourway (featured above) quickly became the most-popular colourway, the colourway inspired by Japanese Koi fish. Other colourways of the phone can be seen in the photo below.

The various Infobar colourways. Takahiro Shutoh, flickr.

The model has received various upgrade throughout the years, pictured below is some upgraded models.

The phone’s popularity among youth and it’s symbol of pop culture of the time can even be seen in the popular anime and manga series, Death Note, notably the nishikigoi colourway.

A screencap from the popular anime series Death Note, with the main character, Light Yagami, holding what appears to be a phone inspired by the Infobar.

A fun phone with iconic design elements from the time, making it a classic in keitai design, and a must have for collectors.