The $10 Cell Phone
May 23, 2008 | by Nick Mokey
The Hop1800 does away with almost every single modern cell phone feature to simply make calls, and manages to hit an absurdly low price as a result.
In an age where manufacturers routinely release do-it-all phones for hundreds of dollars without consumers flinching, one company is attempting to do the opposite, cutting features – and price – to the bare minimum. Hop-On’s new Hop1800, announced Friday, has no Wi-Fi capabilities, no 3G Internet, no texting, no alarms, and not even a screen, but it costs just $10. Designed to be used as a prepaid phone, the GSM-capable Hop1800 was engineered for just one purpose: making calls. Although it lacks all the extras, Hop-On claims that a simple tactile keypad with Braille markings and Infineon chipset for call quality ensure it does that one function very well. Weighing in at just 77 grams, it also beats many conventional phones for portability, and offers an impressive 4 hours of talk time, or 150 hours of standby. Hop-On says the Hop1800 should be available in drug stores, convenience stores, and big box retailers immediately, for the promised price of $10. As a GSM phone, it will work on 40 domestic carriers with a prepaid SIM card, including giants AT&T and T-Mobile.
Post Your Comment...Comments
Jake A. on May 25th, 2008 at 1:11 AM:
They'd probably be made fun of as well by their peers. Remember when bell bottom pants were out of fashion. Now imagine if your parents made you wear bell bottoms because they were cheaper...
You wouldn't have any friends.
Philip on May 25th, 2008 at 2:12 PM:
So now the poor can make calls. Perfect for buying scratch ;)
Jerry on May 26th, 2008 at 1:25 PM:
Before you get all excited about this product, you might want to read this five year old story...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ch...
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Matt on May 23rd, 2008 at 9:43 AM:
I think this is a great idea. Especially as a gift for parents that have trouble understanding cell phones. And maybe even for kids. I hate seeing kids with the iPhones texting all day long, give them one of these and say "for emergencies only". I'm sure this would cause a child revolt around the world though.