You can’t make calls with it, it has no display, and it doesn’t require charging (because it has no battery).
We’re talking about the NoPhone, a device we first covered back in October when it smashed through its $5,000 Kickstarter funding goal, an achievement that appeared to show there are a good many folk out there interested in a ‘phone’ that does absolutely nothing.
The unique NoPhone started shipping at the tail end of last year, with thousands of the $12 units selling in the run up to Christmas. While many of them were likely bought as joke gifts, it’s possible some were picked up by smartphone addicts trying to kick the habit.
As a way of celebrating the launch of a new online store for the NoPhone, the New York City-based team behind the device is now offering it for just $9.60, representing a generous 20 percent discount on a ‘phone’ that doesn’t do much at all (just remember to use the “20off” discount code at checkout). The offers runs till March 15.
The idea of the NoPhone came to friends Van Gould, Ingmar Larsen and Ben Langeveld on a night out when they realized they were engaging more with their handsets than with each other, a scenario that must surely be familiar to many smartphone users.
“We’re so addicted, just the feeling of a phone in our hands is comforting,” the trio say on their website, adding that they decided to create the NoPhone as “a satirical security blanket of sorts, meant to comment on our present addiction to technology.”
They hope that by selling the NoPhone, they’re “giving people what they want – a life of direct eye contact and improved conversational skills. A life beyond a smartphone. A life of NoPhone.”
Oh, and for buyers interested in giving their NoPhone some actual functionality, there’s the $18 Selfie NoPhone, which comes with a mirror attached.
[Via Phone Arena]
