| ANNOUNCEMENT DATE | 2009.09.09 |
| RELEASE DATE | 2009.09.17 |
| Brand | iida |
| Type | Production Model |
| Designer | Hideo Kanbara |
| Producer | Satoshi Sunahara |
| Manufacturer | TOSHIBA |
| Size ( W x H x D ) / Weight | 53 × 102 × 14.5 mm / 127g |
| Materials | Plastic, electronic components |
COLOR VARIATIONS
brown / pink / black
ABOUT
日本のものづくりが変わりゆく中で
日本のものづくりが変わりゆく中で量産らしからぬ実に手の込んだ作りで、2008 年に発表したPLYコンセプトの美しい積層構造が再現されています。コンセプトの6 層構造は量産では5 層となっていますが、マスキング塗装で5 色に塗り分けるのでなく、1 層ごとに独立したパーツで組み立てられ、層と層の間には黒いパーツがはめ込まれています。1 層1 層は細やかに調色され、艶の具合も絶妙にコントロールされています。この徹底したこだわりにより高い精度感と樹脂ならではの温かみを感じることのできる製品に仕上がっています。PLY のデザイナー神原秀夫さんは1978 年生まれ。ポケベル・PHS・ケータイと日本のコミュニケーション文化の転換期を先導したポスト団塊ジュニア世代のデザイナーです。iidaは若手デザイナーを積極的に起用したプロジェクトでもありました。2009 年は、メーカー各社の生産拠点の海外移転が進み、現場の雰囲気も変わり始めていた時代。PLYは東芝が日本国内で製造した最後の携帯電話でした。
As Japanese Manufacturing Was Changing
At a time when Japanese manufacturing was undergoing profound change, PLY was produced with an extraordinary level of craftsmanship rarely seen in a mass-produced product, faithfully recreating the beautiful layered structure of the PLYconcept unveiled in 2008.
While the concept model consisted of six layers, the production model was composed of five. Rather than simply painting the body in five colors using masking techniques, each layer was made as a separate component and individually assembled, with black components inserted between the layers. The color of each layer was meticulously adjusted, and even the degree of gloss was precisely controlled. This uncompromising attention to detail resulted in a product that combined a remarkable sense of precision with the distinctive warmth of resin.
PLY was designed by Hideo Kambara, who was born in 1978. He belongs to the post–second baby boom generation of designers who came of age amid major shifts in Japan’s communication culture—from pagers and PHS to mobile phones. iida was also a project that actively provided opportunities for a new generation of young designers.
By 2009, Japanese manufacturers were increasingly moving their production bases overseas, and the atmosphere on manufacturing floors was beginning to change. PLY was the last mobile phone manufactured by Toshiba in Japan.
