Gizmodo: levis

Levi's Red Tab Limited Edition Cell Available Now: For The Fashionista In None Of You

Elaine Chow — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:00:00 EDT

So, to compliment Levi's Original line of cellphones, the jeans company is releasing a limited edition version called "Red Tab." Only 100 of the suckers are available, and you can only buy them at chi chi Parisian boutique Colette. The phone has the same specs as its original release, including a 2-megapixel camera with flash, MP3 player with 64MB memory expandable to 2GB, stereo Bluetooth and a bunch of random Levi's themes and wallpapers.

In fact, the only difference is the color theme (ruddy scarlett) and the etching in the back of a flying skull in a top hat. And guess how much you get to pay to get Mr. I-used-to-be-the-mad-hatter-and-then-I-died-but-it's -cool-because-I-grew-some-pretty-awesome-wings drawn on the back of your phone?

ONLY 549 EUROS ($870 US)! That's right, in the line of all high-fashion (or mid-range fashion, since this is Levi's after all) cells, you pay through the nose for wonderfully mediocre features and in exchange you get... art? [ Gadgettell via Switchedonset]

Levi's Cellphone Finally Revealed to Worldwide Mehs

Jason Chen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 14:15:53 EDT

That Levi's cellphone (yes, the jean company) we told you about last October has finally been unveiled. To us it looks like a knockoff of a Sony Ericsson, complete with silver, black and brown trim and "shiny silver" and "shiny sand" editions.

Unlike when fashion house Prada joined heads with LG and made the Prada Phone, Levi's solution doesn't look fashionable or cutting edge. Normally we'd complain about phones only being released in Europe and not the US, but in this case we'll save our groans for another day. – Jason Chen

Press Release [PRNewswire via Gearlog]

The Levi's Cell Phone: Coming to a Pair of Jeans Near You

Louis Ramirez — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 11:48:17 EDT

It wouldn't be the first time they jump into the gadget world, but the same company that bought you your 501s is hoping to ring in your phone calls as well. Levi's and ModeLabs (the latter who's rolled out Virgin Mobile's line of cell phones) are making sweet love in an effort to bring to the world (or at least to Europe) a new line of Levi's-branded cell phones. We've seen clothing manufacturers do gadgets before so here's hoping Levi's will have the sense to not be unnecessarily gaudy. – Louis Ramirez

Levi Strauss Europe to Launch Mobile Phones [PDF Link] [via Cellular News]

Levi's iPod Jeans Reviewed (Verdict: $300 For This?!)

Jason Chen — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 20:15:46 EDT

CNET Asia got their legs into the notorious Levi's iPod jeans—they probably have a cousin working in a sweatshop that hooked them up—and took it out for a stroll. Their thoughts? The jeans look and feel as good as a regular pair of jeans, but the pocket that your iPod slides into doesn't have enough protection, even though it's hidden to protect your player from thieves.

The built-in headphones have a retracting feature, which is nice, and your iPod is controlled by a durable joystick instead of a clickwheel. The red iPod connector cable actually has negligible effect on the sound quality, but we think the whole cable idea needs to be reworked since it's real easy to get caught on something. The only problem CNET found was that the stock headphones were quite lousy, somewhere on-par with the original iPod headphones. Everything else seems to somewhat justify the $285 price tag. – Jason Chen

Levi's RedWire DLX Jeans [CNET]

First Pics of Levi's iPod Jeans

Jason Chen — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 14:36:28 EDT

Those ridiculous Levi's iPod Jeans have finally shown their denim faces—or asses, I guess. There's a big red cable sticking out of the jeans to connect your iPod to, and loads and loads of pockets to hold all your iPod accessories.

The construction worker/carpenter's pockets we can live with, but that red ribbon is going to get shredded the first time you get it caught on, well, anything. The result: a broken iPod and a snotty-face as you weep for your used-to-be shiny music player. – Jason Chen

Levi's iPod Jeans [Bright.nl - Thanks Willy!]

Levi's Testing Clothing with RFID Tags

Charlie White — Thu, 04 May 2006 12:40:46 EDT

Even though Levi Strauss & Co. says the RFID tags attached to clothing it's testing in Mexico and the U.S. are to be used simply to track inventory, we're thinking, hey, wait a minute. With a radio frequency ID tag sewn into your pants, couldn't nosy spies track your every move, unless you decided to go running around in your underwear, skinny dipping or streaking? Well, not really, at least not yet. The RFID tags are easily removed, according to Levi's reps.

Still, no thanks. Sure, Levi's says it has no plans to use RFID in any of its stores, and these tags can only be read from 1 to 3 feet away, but this idea creates a slippery slope that would be all too easy for our ever-more-intrusive government to slide down, keeping tabs on our every move.

Levi's New Style: RFID [eweek, via MobileMagazine]

Levi's Gets Into iPod Picture

tgrumet — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 09:15:45 EST

Yup, even a staid brand like Levi's has decided to partner up with Apple. Announced at MacWorld, the two companies are bringing us Levi's Redwire DLX Jeans, which they claim will integrate iPod plug and play technology. Basically, this means that there will be an iPod docking cradle built into the side pocket—which the company promises will be virtually invisible. Dunno how they plan on pulling that off, but ok (especially if anyone wears their jeans as tight as this guy). Also expect a special 4-way, joystick remote control in the watch pocket and a retractable headphone unit to manage earphone wires (not sure where that will be just yet). No photos of these stunningly high-tech jeans and no price, but they will be available for both men and women sometime this fall.

The Original Denim Brand Kicks Off the Next Revolution in Digital Music Storage; The Levi's(R) Brand Launches First iPod Compatible Jeans Worldwide [Businesswire]