Whether you find today’s smartphones over-the-top complicated for your purpose or you are sourcing around for the first phone for your young ones, the OwnFone 3D-printed Mobile Phone might be worthy of your consideration. If the name OwnPhone sort of rings a bell, that’s because we have feature this kids-friendly phone a couple of years back. However, back then, it is only available to U.K. residents and those living in Northern Ireland, which means international consumers have been missing out this cute but functional phone. Well, not anymore. The London-based company has taken OwnPhone to crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, and wants to reach out across the pond to the United States, as well as neighboring EU countries.
While the functionality remains largely the same as the 1stFone, such as preprogrammed numbers and the ability to assign emergency numbers, it now boast more customization – from the materials to the shape, buttons, texture and even the graphics. As before, it does without a display and hence there is no distracting text and it will never have Internet connection issues, because it doesn’t have one. What you get is the world’s first custom printed mobile phone and the simplest one possible that does just one thing and that’s to make calls. And if you’re just using it as an emergency phone, you will be glad to know that its built-in battery can last a full year on a single charge.
That said, it may not be your main phone if you can’t put social network away, but it could be a handy second phone that serves as an emergency communication device when your main device conks out. Looking at the range of customization it has to offer, who knows OwnPhone might just make owning a simple phone hip once more. Customization is done through an online service, or if you are adventurous enough, you can also acquire the DIY kit and make your own. If you’re all up for it, you can support OwnPhone’s endeavor by backing the campaign. For as low as £66 (or around US$100), an OwnPhone could be yours – if the campaign meets its initial funding goal of a rather lofty £200,000 in the next 37 days. Continue reading to catch a self-explanatory pitch video.
submitted via TIP US page.
