Sophisticated design, high performance racing engines and the quality of the printed page proved the perfect muses to inspire the creation of AURA. Its form recalls the timeless beauty of luxury watches with the introduction of the world’s first circular display on a mobile device. Technical precision and mechanical excellence are met with a Swiss-made main bearing and more than 200 parts that create a seamless opening for the handset. The quality of a photographic print is celebrated in the brilliant interplay of 16 million colours and 300 dpi resolution on the unique, round liquid crystal display. Capped with a Grade 1, 62-carat sapphire crystal lens – one of the most scratch-resistant materials on earth – AURA is simply elegant.
Turning the phone over reveals a window into its mechanical heart. The Swiss-made main bearing, gears composed of Rockwell 50-55 hardened steel and 130 precision ball bearings work in tandem to drive the assisted-opening blade, an effect more like opening a luxury car door than accessing a mobile device.
Its custom engineered rotating mechanism is composed of more than 200 high precision individual parts, and the gears are protected from harsh conditions with the same coatings used in high performance racing engines.
AURA is expected to be available around the globe beginning in Q4 2008.