Simply MAGIC

Korean actresses, Japanese magicians and local personalities show up at Sony Ericsson handphone launch

IN A community where Transformers and Skynet are spoken of as if they're friends of ours, an invitation to meet W995 and C903 is certain not to raise an eyebrow.

In fact, skirts yes, eyebrows, no, but less of that later.

Sony Ericsson, those clever people whose little green ball of a logo has practically replaced the heart icon for 'love', had a big bash to launch their latest phones.

Typically, the Japanese love to give their techie items two-syllable cutesy handles - in this instance, Satio, Aino, Yari. You don't anyhow SAY!

For the majority of Singaporeans, who can be accused of being a nano robotic, W995 and C903 work better on our wallets.

And so a few hundred people, fans, regional media, trade partners and well-placed personalities assembled in Red Dot - the building on Maxwell Road that looks like a ginormous ang koo kueh - for the event. Talk about being shunted from pillar to post.

There were time tags (for when you could view W and C and their numbers up close) and press passes and waiting under this and that tentage while catering crew tried to serve nibbles on trays right in the carpark.

The carpark was turned into a sports arena of sorts, where a team of Frenchmen on amazing pogosticks for legs bounced and leapt and hooped the hoop. Here is where you don't make jokes about leap-frogging, kodok.

Meanwhile, in the lobby of the Red Dot Museum, name guests were striking poses (this is the raised skirts part). Then suddenly we were herded into a dark enclosed space of white noise and red lights and blue cordons.

I used to buy my phones off brand booths pitched up outside Orchard Road malls, but this 'roadshow sales style' has the advantage, if you have time.

The time to check out the addresses from the Sony Ericsson bosses, models parading the new phones, the appearance of a Korean actress Miss Lee Min Jung, and the spellbinding performance by Cyril- no-surname, quite the coolest-looking cyber-magician this side of the Pacific.

Magical

The dude is California-born, to a Japanese father and French-Moroccan mother and an illusionist of the highest order. Judge that yourself when his show debuts on AXN later this year.

And now a bit about the phone. It's entertainment unlimited to give you 100 games to play, 300 music videos to vibrate to, and 50 blockbuster movies to watch, from Angels And Demons to a film titled Quarantine.

Quarantine, aarrgh, delete that word!