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The story of this gadget began as a personal project by Justine Haupt, an engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. A year ago, information about the creation of a cellular mobile phone without a screen and buttons scattered on the network and became very popular.
And although Haupt provided comprehensive documentation for creating such a device, many wanted to get it in an easier way, without repeating Haupt’s entire journey. Now Haupt has gone to meet these “sloths” and began taking orders for a DIY kit, for the final launch of which does not require special skills. Haupt says it’s enough to have a screwdriver, tweezers, some tidiness, and a free evening.
Such a rotary dial cell phone will cost $ 390. Deliveries are scheduled to begin before the summer of 2021. The phone supports 4G, 3G and 2G cellular communications, has a pocket size, a dial for dialing, two speed dial buttons and an external antenna, allows you to use a SIM card from any operator. By the way, he still has a screen, even two – a front OLED and a back one based on electronic ink. SMS can be received but not sent. Contacts are stored as a text file on a microSD card. There is a mechanical power button, a USB type-C connector for charging.
Haupt does not exclude the possibility of producing a completely finished device. However, this comes with a number of complexities, including licensing and warranty service, for which Haupt is not yet ready.