In cell phone land, is purple the new red?
The LG Lotus in purple.
(Credit: LG)Remember not so long ago when almost every cell phone was black, gray, or silver? Then, thanks to the Motorola Razr V3, pink was suddenly an "it" color for cell phones. But gradually, red became the new pink, and now it seems that purple is the new red.
Though we don't agree just yet that a purple wave will sweep cell phone land, Sprint is pushing the line that purple is the new hot hue for cell phones. Indeed, two of its new cell phones introduced at CTIA Fall 2008 come in the color of the royals. The Samsung Rant is offered in purple, red, and black, and the LG Lotus comes in purple and black.
Previous purple phones includes the Sony Ericsson W380a and S500i, the Motorola W755, and the LG CU515. While those handsets appear to be laying the groundwork for a trend, time will tell if purple develops into a full-blown design fad. After all, that whole champagne thing never really caught on. Personally, I'm still hoping green handsets have their day.
What do you think? Is purple here to stay? What cell phone colors would you like to see?
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent. 
