Nokia 6205 The Dark Knight Edition Debuts, Heath Ledger Rolls Over in Grave

Recently Nokia came by to show us the Nokia 6205, a relatively unremarkable flip phone available today from Verizon Wireless with a very obvious movie tie-in with the upcoming Batman flick, The Dark Knight. During the demo we heard a ringtone of the Joker, played by recently deceased Heath Ledger, and I squirmed a bit in my chair. I quipped, “What’s that, the beyond-the-grave ringtone?” Yes, I know there’s a difference between the Joker and the actor who played him, but it still seemed a bit creepy. Then I caught today’s press release for the phone and was absolutely floored.

Not only is Verizon pre-loading this clamshell with Ledger’s admittedly awesomely evil cackle (seriously, he makes Jack Nicholson sound like Barney the Dinosaur), the carrier is launching a contest that will give customers a chance to win The Joker’s “bag of cash” containing $10,000 using a Joker playing card with a code and a link to www.fightforgothamcity.com. Wow. Maybe I’m being a bit oversensitive here but somehow I don’t think Heath Ledger’s family and friends would find this phone and promotion in good taste.

Think I’m overreacting here? Sound off in our poll.

Poll

Do you find this special edition phone to be offensive?

	Definitely, the ringtone is one thing but the Joker’s bag of cash giveaway takes it too far.
	A little bit, but you can’t blame Nokia and Verizon for wanting to pimp the movie.
	Not at all. People know the difference between a ficitional character and the star who played him.
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