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Steampunk phone: trade in your SIM for a punch card
Egads. It's bulky. It's inefficient. In today's modern world, it would be a colossal hassle. I love it.
This steampunk phone is a conceptual prototype by Londoner Arthur Schmitt, and it tickles all the right spots from a design standpoint. It's got a heavy wire cover over the earpiece, gauges, visible screws, a rugged brown scheme, a spinning number-counter — oh, how we could go on. Best of all, it uses punch cards and binary phone numbers to control your phone's features and make calls, so getting someone on the line is charmingly unwieldy. Just imagine — I'd love to have a Rolodex chock-full of punch card contacts.
Bundle this phone with a bowler and a tub of mustache wax and I'll be all over it. Check out the gallery below for more of Schmitt's steampunk phone.
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Via Arthur Schmitt
By joker at 8:58 AM ON 10/01/08
Its completely outdated. No Video, No Games, no touchscreen. I want one now
By ITrush at 10:57 AM ON 10/01/08
What the.. is that really a phone? yaks.. no thanks!
By John Doe at 4:07 PM ON 10/01/08
Yes! Yes! Yes!
By Phoenix at 8:28 PM ON 10/01/08
put a rotary dial on it and im in.
By laura at 10:36 PM ON 10/01/08
rotary dial defeats the incredibly amazing punch cards though! still want one anyways
By oldskool at 11:38 PM ON 10/01/08
Wow! All it needs to do now is spit that card out as it dials like the old auto dialers from the 70's to make it complete.
By kree8iv at 1:18 AM ON 10/02/08
Doc Brown would definitely have one. Actually, it kind of looks like something he would invent. This is the epitome of "Back to the Future".
By JonTown at 8:37 AM ON 10/02/08
I like it - calling cards now have the puncholes for your phone - where's the format info? - looks like a winner :)
By kyp at 10:15 AM ON 10/02/08
I like it but the punch cards aren't very retro. I want one that uses the old style punch cards so that I have a use for my old IBM 029 card punch.
By Xeper at 12:16 PM ON 10/03/08
I'd slap my mama for that phone!!
By Jumpcuts at 8:42 PM ON 10/03/08
ET could've made it.
By kittybirg at 4:08 PM ON 10/04/08
I require one. Now. Or possibly last week. :D
By arthur schmitt at 12:00 PM ON 10/09/08
Thanks everyone for your comments.
I have to say I designed the phone along with designers Marek Bereza (www.mrkbrz.com) and Andy Broomfield.
Please visit my website for more examples of projects: www.tart2000.com
By Andy at 2:03 AM ON 10/10/08
I love it
By Drum2000 at 5:29 PM ON 03/20/09
That is very cool.
By Mobius at 12:47 AM ON 10/11/09
Praytell, how would one affect the purchase of such a marvelous masterpiece of Victorian telecommunications technology?
on your cellphone!
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Mobius:
Praytell, how would one affect the purchase of such a marvelous masterpiece of Victorian telecommunications technol...More »