If you're like us, you've probably brainstormed the "perfect" mobile phone in your head a couple hundred times, wishing you could just convince someone to make it for you. Well, now you've got your chance thanks to the unfortunately-named zzzPhone, which inspires fantasies of long naps rather than high-tech gadgetry. According to the company's website, you can build your own device made to order, using "the same high quality components as major brands Motorola, Nokia, Palm, and Samsung." Of course, the major brands don't offer you actual MP3 and video files
pre-installed on your device -- which really makes our copyright sensors hit the red. Sure, the phone appears to emanate from a dubious Shenzhen-based manufacturer, but once you see all the succulent options available to you, your ethical concerns will melt away like ice cream on hot apple pie.
[Via
Textually]
posted Feb 5th 2008 2:57PM
any clue if it has 3G support? I see that it supports the frequencies (at least for AT&T at 850 and 1900) but it doesn't say if it has EDGE, or UMTS or anything...
Uhh - the part where they say "data rates: GPRS, Bluetooth" are enough for me to say no, no they don't support 3G.
I don't understand why engadget isn't more supportive of this company.
Many people have dreamed of the day something like this would come along. I didn't think it would happen this decade.
Besides, anything out of China that has an original design (read: every phone they'll make using this program) should be applauded.
Now that I've actually been to their site, I've had a slight change of opinion.
You didn't mention that you had to choose from pre-designed bodies.
Still, the phones are cheap for all the features you'll get. No one else includes all those things.
No mention of EDGE or UMTS, but it does mention GPRS (even under supported media??), so I would assume that is your first reason for price savings.
Other interesting features: "Dual Bluetooth", "Windows Mobile (or equal)"
I like that it "Works Worldwide (except Europe)" I wouldn't worry about it though. Europe isn't a big cell phone continent. (Obscure Spinal Tap reference)
So who is going to be the first to order... I'm waiting...
The icons on the one on the left look just like the ones on the iPhone knock-offs from eBay that I've seen at my store. I've handled a few of them. They're extremely flimsy and cheap feeling. Uncomfortably light and jankedy.
I thought this would be a pretty cool service. But after checking them out some more, I found out some weird facts. First off, the contact us section if you email them, they use a personal yahoo email address. Very few legit businesses do that.
2nd, their offers for features do not seem so legit. Adding a 5 or 7 megapixel camera to a phone costs so little, yet no other phones out there for the most part have this kind of camera except maybe the Viewty.
3rd, when you call the contact number, they answer the phone "hello".
All this adds up to something that is going to end very badly for people.
I have been living in China for 2 years now, and I will not buy anything like this. Yes, they are cheap but they are cheap because they are crap. Poor audio quality, poor reception, poor reliability. Like the Chinese car crash tests you see on youtube, it looks like it is supposed to but when push comes to shove, it collapses into a pile of rubble.