Yes, you read that title right. Marshall, the famous guitar amplifier maker has decided to make its own smartphone. The company has been for sometime venturing further from its primarily musician-focused business model. The company has been selling bluetooth speakers and headphones, which show Marshall’s interest in musical equipment other than amplifiers. Though it should be noted that bluetooth speakers, headphones, refrigerators, and the new smartphone are not actually built by the amp company.
The latest product from Marshall is a smartphone it calls London. And it’s a really, really cool looking phone. It closely follows the established Marshall esthetic. The phone runs Android Lolipop and will also include pre-installed apps for music lovers.
“Marshall London delivers the promise of high-quality listening; thanks to its dual speakers using enhanced bass technology and the dedicated hifi-grade sound card. The London is capable of crystal-clear playback of lossless FLAC files, giving justice to your old music files. The stereo microphone is perfect for recording on the go and features excellent noise reduction.”
While London may look nice, the insides are not that exciting. As Ars Technica mentioned, London’s specs are pretty lame.
“You get a 4.7-inch 720p IPS LCD, a quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, an 8MP camera, a removable 2500mAh battery, and a MicroSD slot”
Those specs are on par with some pretty low-end phones, like the Moto G, which costs $180. But if you don’t mind a somewhat slow phone, and really like music, London may still be something to consider. You will get a really pretty phone that your friends probably won’t have.