Tablets and smartphones get the designer treatment

CONSUMERS LOOKING for something extra in a phone or tablet can rejoice at the Pierre Cardin tablet and the Ferrari branded Acer smartphone.

The elaborately named Pierre Cardin PC-7006G tablet will stand out in a crowd. At the first the device looks just like any other rival 7in tablet but flip it over and it has Pierre Cardin branding, the only thing distinguishing it as a designer tablet.

What's strange is that the tablet doesn't even have a designer price tag as it costs only £224, which includes a 'stylish case' and a 4GB SD card. For its price the 7006G runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and has some decent features such as a Cortex A8 1GHz processor, a capacitive touchscreen and an HDMI port.

Kam Kothia, managing director of the Pierre Cardin tablet business said, "One of the driving principles of any fashion-led business is the need to continually adapt to the demands of the market. In keeping with the principles of 'fast fashion' we have listened to early adopters and developed the PC-7006G in response to their valuable feedback."

If the tablet being designer means you can expect it to be sleek and sexy then you'll be disappointed to discover that the device weighs 520g and is 14mm thick.

Acer hopes to tempt motorsports fans with a Ferrari edition of its Liquid Mini smartphone, following on from its other Ferrari branded devices. The rear cover is Ferrari red and sports the famous Ferrari prancing horse badge.

There are also Ferrari themed icons, wallpapers and even Ferrari engine ringtones to feed your thirst for all things Ferrari. In terms of technology the phone has a 3.2in touchscreen, Android 2.3 Gingerbread and a 5MP camera. µ