As the smartphone market becomes more and more competitive, especially at the top end, manufacturers have to look for new ways to create demand. Creating specialist branded phones is one way to do that. And unless we’re prepared to face a world in which everyone owns either a BlackBerry or an iPhone (shudder), we should welcome this diversification.
Expectations – I haz ‘em 
The Puma logo sets certain preconceived ideas into motion. When I see the Puma kitty-cat, I expect branded sportswear and fitness-related items. So when I see a Puma-branded phone I expect something that is essentially going to be a workout-buddy. I expect lots of fitness-related apps, with a pedometer, a GPS, and a heart-rate monitor at the very least. As a social media fan, I also hope for a decent operating system, with user-friendly Facebook, Twitter and Youtube apps.
Unboxing
The Puma phone’s tagline is “I’m not like all those other phones”, and when it comes to the packaging this is certainly true. Your Puma comes cocooned in something that looks like a cross between an egg-carton and your guy’s toolbox. The light, moulded cardboard is highly eco-friendly and gives you a pleasantly ‘green’ feeling to open. Plastic is kept to a minimum on the inside, and the manual is a little pamphlet rather than a dead-tree telephone book.
Getting started
There’s a little slot at the bottom of the phone to pop the cover off. Not wanting to insert the kitchen carving knife into a loan phone (you’re welcome, Puma), I used my fingernail, which promptly broke.
Much cursing followed, but I forgave the manufacturers for my ruined manicure when I switched the phone on and was greeted by Dylan, the live puma. I have completely fallen in love with Dylan, and am hoping he turns out to be an interactive app, like a virtual pet.
I’ll spend the next few days getting acquainted with the touchscreen (not particularly smooth, at first glance) and seeing how the phone operates in daily use. Stand by for a full report-back in my in-depth review...
