Samsung Armani GT-V7650

Local electronics makers are locked in a competition to create the perfect premium smart phone - and it's about to get even fiercer. Italian luxury brand Giorgio Armani teamed up with Samsung Electronics to launch the new GT-V7650 smart phone in Milan Friday.

Three companies [Samsung Electronics, Giorgio Armani, Microsoft] which each represent their respective industry have met to create the ultimate smart phone with an innovative design, cutting-edge technology and the most recent software, said Hong Won-pyo, vice president of Samsung Electronics™ product strategy division.

The rose bronze-colored smart phone, one of the first mobile devices to be powered by Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5, has wireless Internet connectivity and was designed by Giorgio Armani himself. It also includes GPS and camera functions.

This is Samsung's third collaboration with the fashion brand. The first Giorgio Armani-Samsung phone was launched in 2007, followed by the Emporio Armani-Samsung phone called "Night Effect" last year. The three Armani-Samsung handsets have not launched in Korea yet, but Samsung said that they will bring the new edition in the local market this month.

And just in time, since the high-end designer phone trend has been gaining speed here over recent months. Last month, Pantech, Korea's third-largest mobile phone manufacturer after Samsung and LG Electronics, launched a touch screen phone with French luxury pen company Dupont priced in the 800,000 won ($687) range. The IM-U510LE model targets professional men over the age of 30 who subscribe to 2G network service through SK Telecom. The handset includes the original S.T. Dupont logo on its front and is decorated in 18-karat gold. Pantech said that it might consider launching the phone overseas if it is well received in Korea.

Perhaps Samsung's biggest competition in this field is LG's Prada phone. LG Electronics has also been collaborating with luxury Italian fashion house Prada in launching its Prada and Prada 2 phones. This second version launched in Korea in June at a retail price of 1.8 million won.