Cocoon

Here at IF! and PSFK we’re considered in some quarters as an influential blog. As a result we sometimes get sent stuff like books, event invites and other bits and bobs. However, we’ve recently been asked to take part in what is a pretty interesting PR project by UK mobile phone company O2.

Following Nokia’s N95 campaign of last year, O2 selected us to test a phone they’ve been developing called the O2 Cocoon - a 3G phone and MP3 player. Designed by Streative, the phone has a distinctive if Apple inspired look to it. Inspired by a team of trend spotters from around the world and their demands from a phone, the Cocoon looks quite unlike any other mobile on the market despite its clamshell design.

My Cocoon arrived a couple of weeks ago and first impressions were pretty good. O2 have certainly been inspired by Apple’s approach to packaging design and the box the phone arrives in is lovely (although not quite up there with Cupertino’s finest).

The phone itself won’t appeal to all tastes and proved pretty polarising to the office when I showed it to them. Girls seemed to love it, whilst boys weren’t nearly so keen. I have to admit that the phone and its white colour scheme feels more female.

As I’m not a customer of 02’s but in the knowledge that my girlfriend is I offered her the phone and she instantly adored it. It was a doddle to set up and personalise and she fell in love with the design, particularly the blue LEDs immediately. She was even more impressed when she realised that the LEDs provided caller display too. In the two weeks that she’s used it she’s found the phone far superior to her Nokia. In particular the texting function which works just how it should and the camera which has a flash.

The O2 project seems a smart one and provides a potential blueprint for brands to engage with bloggers beyond the sending of press releases. It also, hopefully gives blog readers the chance to see new products before they arrive on the market and an honest opinion of them.

O2 Cocoon Blog