liscio

Separated at birth: Onyx, Haier phones

We thought there was something familiar about this phone from a new U.K. company called Onyx, and our eagle-eyed colleague Kent German spotted the reason why: It looks remarkably similar to the "Elegance" handset introduced several months ago by Haier, the Chinese company of household appliances fame.

Haier, interestingly enough, described its version as a "lipstick-case-sized luxury phone" while Onyx is marketing its "Liscio" for the compact convenience of its 3.5-inch-long handset--perhaps accurately reflecting the difference in high-end standards between the two markets. It would be difficult to label this as a … Read more