In the automotive world, coachbuilding is the age-old business -- recently making a resurgence among the extraordinarily wealthy, interestingly -- of taking established, off-the-shelf production models and turning them into totally customized, bespoke works of art. Commissioning a coachbuilt car is one of the most excessive displays of materialism known to modern man, but at the end of the process, at least you've got a functional keepsake and an heirloom that can be kept in the family for generations. Cellphones, though -- let's just say they don't have the same staying power that an exotic car has, which makes luxury manufacturer Mobadio's new Grand 350PRL a tough sell. The previously-rumored phone represents the first model in the company's new Grand Line, which introduces a new industrial design distinct from its other two lines, but let's concentrate on what's really going on here: it's a dressed-up E71. Mobiado has taken a great (and great-looking) smartphone that can be easily had for under $300 and applied enough sapphire, stainless steel, and mother-of-pearl to raise the sticker well into "if you have to ask" territory. Sure, if that's your thing and you've already put a couple coachbuilt Ferraris in the garage, be our guest -- but don't come running to us when you realize that the E71 has a better keyboard anyway for a trivial fraction of the price.

[Via Unwired View]