Armani Phone with Built-in Rape Alarm?

When I heard about the Armani phone, I wasn't exactly excited about it, because with any high-end phone comes a high-end price. Besides, the iPhone was on my list as the must-have of the year. But today I learned something rather fascinating about the Armani phone: It has a rape alarm! The Daily Mail covers in detail this safety feature that's been so blatantly left out of all the other Armani phone coverage, so hats off to them.

The so-called built-in rape alarm function allows the owner to program up to five phone numbers of close friends or relatives who will be alerted in case of an emergency or when the user feels their life is in danger. Pressing the volume control button four times in a quick succession triggers the alarm sending out an SOS text message to each individual on the emergency contact list. The recipients can then call the owner to gauge the situation and call the police. This safety function also activates a GPS tracking system built into the phone that pinpoints the owner's exact location. That ought to make some people feel safer. If the phone is ever lost or stolen, the GPS tracking system is able to locate the handset as well. Now that's something the iPhone doesn't have.

The luxury mobile was unveiled at Milan Fashion Week and already has a waiting list that includes big names like Spike Lee and Samuel L. Jackson. Besides having a 3-megapixel camera, touchscreen LCD, Internet capabilities, microSD expansion, and a music/video player, the phone also has a haptic feedback user interface that vibrates each time the user touches icons on the display. The phone will be released in Europe this November. Just in time for the holidays.