We have seen how smartphones have changed our world with several positive and even more negative aspects. People suffer from smartphone addiction, anxiety due to social media and don¡¯t even get me started on mobile gaming addiction.?
Space Engineer Justine Haupt felt similarly too?and wanted a phone that wasn¡¯t so complex -- a phone that could dial back in time, literally. With this aspiration, she created this Rotary Cellphone.
If you¡¯re a 90s kid, you could surely have come cross rotary landlines -- the clunky bright-coloured phones with a dial that you¡¯d put your finger in and turn to input the desired numbers -- a cumbersome process, but a fun one for many nonetheless.
Haupt has installed a rotary dial from an old landline phone by Western Electric Trimline on to a custom-built circuit board with all the necessary chips to power the phone.?
In case you didn¡¯t know how one dials on a rotary phone -- the round dial has a silver clip. You need to insert your finger in the desired numerical slot and slide it till the clip -- once for each number.?
You also have an antenna popping out from the side, reminiscent of the first era of mobile phones. At the back is a tiny curved e-ink display that shows basic necessary information like missed calls, dialer info etc.?
The phone also as a 10-LED network strength indicator. All this is fitted into a white custom 3D printed case that¡¯s really chunky! It even has a power button that actually switches instead of holding down a button to turn on or off.
In case you have a few numbers that you want to connect to instantly, the phone has speed dial buttons that can be linked with specific numbers.
In case you liked the idea and wanted to try making one for yourself, Justine has simplified the process with a detailed instruction set on her website.