FrontRunners: Sounds Good

The AE+Y cell phone (www.aesir-copenhagen.com) has no GPS, no camera, and no Angry Birds. But it does work great as a phone, which was the aim of industrial designer Yves Béhar, who designed the AE+Y over a two-and-a-half-year period with mobile-phone maker Aesir Copenhagen. Swiss watchmakers created the phone’s miniscule screws and crystal components, and number and letter graphics are embedded into the keys so they cannot be rubbed off. The AE+Y is available in stainless steel ($10,300) or solid gold ($59,600). Aesir Copenhagen is accepting orders now and plans to begin delivering the phone in the United States this fall.