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Hello Kitty Gets Her Own Smartphone... and a Jet Airliner

Hello Kitty is having a great month. For the popular cartoon cat, who's seen everything from $102,000 jewel-encrusted figurines to spas, toS&M hotel rooms (hello, kitty!!), now she gets her own smartphone… and a jetliner.

On September 18, she'll be headed to sunny Los Angeles on a Boeing 777-300ER, thanks to EVA Airways, Taiwan's second-largest carrier, which is exciting news for American fans who've always dreamed of hitching a ride on one of EVA Air's legendary Hello Kitty jets.

So far, she's been featured on five Airbus A330s (with cutesy themes like "Hello Kitty Speed Puff," "Hello Kitty Loves Apples," "Hello Kitty Happy Music Time," and others, naturally)— but this new jetliner is certainly the largest aircraft she's ever been on. And, it's the first time she's left the continent. Previously, the other Hello Kitty planes have only been to destinations like Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and U.S. territory Guam. Not only is this new Boeing 777-300ER Los Angeles-bound, but EVA Air reps have been saying there might be future plans for Europe as well.

EVA Airlines hasn't snapped any pics of the new plane yet, but they're saying that it's going to be very similar to its smaller Airbus cousins, which means the interior will be chock-full of pink things and Hello Kitty-branded items, like pillows, headrests, toiletries, toilet paper, and of course, food shaped like Hello Kitty's face. The maiden voyage of the Hello Kitty jet airliner will accommodate a lucky group of Hello Kitty fanatics, who will get a chance to take part in an on-board autograph session with Hello Kitty designer Yuko Yamaguchi, as well as attend a celebratory party in LA.

Chances are, you're probably not making it onto this plane's inaugural flight, but there are plenty of other chances to fly aboard this colorful jet. The 777-300ER will be making roundtrip flights between Taipei and Los Angeles three times a week. Of course, if you just want to catch a glimpse, the plane is scheduled to depart LAX on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

If that hasn't satisfied your itch yet, you might be able to get your paws on one of HTC's new Hello Kitty smartphones. Partnering with EVA Airways, the two companies jointly unveiled limited edition HTC Butterfly S smartphones. It comes with a specially designed Hello Kitty logo on the front and back of its white casing, as well as nine built-in Hello Kitty wallpaper designs. The 5" phone will retail for NT $22,900 (USD $769), and is packed with some solid specs like 1080 x 1920 resolution, an UltraPixel camera (and a 2.1 megapixel front cam, for all those I'm-on-a-Hello-Kitty-plane selfies), 16 GB storage (and expandable memory), and Beats Audio. A second model is already on deck, with more info coming out in the next few months.

This marketing move is meant to help lift HTC's lagging mobile sales, and it just might work. The limited edition run of around 3,000 units is expected to sell out pretty quick, so if you're a Hello Kitty fan, now's the time to snap it up. For avid fans outside of Taiwan, you'll have to pull some strings— the phone will only be available on EVA Air flight routes, and in Chungwa Telecom stores.