If there is one thing any rock band is incomplete without, it’s the black and gold stack of Marshall Amps behind them.
Marshall Amps has become the heart and soul of Rock & Roll since the 1960’s. It has become a term synonymous with music itself to some extent.
So when Marshall decided to launch its very first smart phone called London, a lot of the world was taken by a surprise.
So we at ED decided to take a close look at the phone and what the phone’s release symbolically means for the music industry.
Phone Specifications
| Display | 4.70 inch |
| Resolution | 720×1280 pixels |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon |
| OS | Android 5.0.2 |
| Front Camera | 2-megapixel |
| Rear Camera | 8-megapixel |
| RAM | 2GB |
| Storage | 16GB |
| Battery Capacity | 2500mAh |
The Marshall London, a $499/£399 feature phone has a dedicated music button, two headphone sockets and a scroll wheel to move through playlists quickly.
Being branded as the loudest Smartphone ever, the two headphone sockets also have individual volume control. As far the speakers go, it has a separate sound card that’ll push music through front-facing “dual speakers using enhanced bass”, and since music enthusiasts are its natural market, there’s a stereo noise-cancelling microphone for recording.
Design
This is something that will distinctively appeal to the Marshall loyal fanbase, with the phone being modeled on the design of a famous classic guitar amp.
The phone is flat, and the rectangular headset has a soft touch faux-leather finish, with knurled gold color buttons.
It has a black matte backside which provides a better grip in the hands and adds that raw feel to the phone. It also has a wheel like volume control which allows precision in place of the two button volume control as in most phones.
Verdict
While the announcement may excite a lot of people on the outset, some people haven’t taken to this change this well. For them, Marshall will always remain the iconic image of an amp and with expanding to something such as a Smartphone will dilute its brand because the niche value takes a hit.
While we are extremely impressed with the design team and the sound capabilities of this one, we also agree that the phone packs in rather average specs at the proposed price. While the phone may perfectly define as the rock & roll person, it does not bring along that much utility. With this being said, it is but obvious to have its own share of market stake and we are nonetheless looking forward to what impact this phone can bring about on the Smartphone industry.
