Review: Sony Ericsson Jalou cellphone

The Sony Ericsson Jalou cellphone.

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Picture an older gent driving a hot-red sports car, or perhaps a young woman wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt. Both bring to mind certain stereotypes, no?

Cars and clothing have been blatantly positioned to appeal to target markets since, well, forever.

But cellphones? Call me ignorant, but the main points of difference as far as I can tell are usually price and the technical specs.

Well, Sony Ericsson wasn't asleep during its marketing lectures, and has taken cellphone product positioning to a new level.

The company must have found a focus group made up of drunk Sex and the City fans, asked for their ideas and made a phone.

Introducing the Jalou. I'm not even going to talk about the tech specs, because, let's face it, if you want one, specs aren't going to be a huge priority.

Suffice to say it has all the usual things - camera, internet, music player, radio. It's a clamshell phone that's smaller than your lipstick.

Mine was purple, and has an 80s blockish style. The keypad is made up of mirrored diamonds. The interface features a screensaver with various signs of the zodiac. I think you're getting the picture.

Ladies, how many times have you pulled out your mobile and thought, "I wish it could tell me if I'm in the average weight range?"

Thankfully for all those who have indulged in a few too many cosmos, there is a BMI calculator, so you can monitor those all-important stats. It has a pedometer too, but I'm not too sure how accurate it is for drunken stumbling in Manolos.

And lest you be caught on that hot date oblivious to the fact that you have spinach in your teeth, there is a dedicated button which turns the screen into a mirror, although in practice, it really just seems to turn the screen off. The Jalou is more than a mere phone. It's a friend.

Verdict: this phone could only be more patronising if it had a pregnancy test function, but it will still sell like hot cakes.

* The Sony Ericsson Jalou cellphone costs $340 to $415

- © Fairfax NZ News