Surely they should be recycled. We have already seen the huge amount of rubbish piles of old mobiles.

I´m not at all with Greenpeace etc. (bunch of lousy people which are no real solution providers), but this product realy stinks. I don´t see any reason for having a disposable cell phone.

lol, in ireland 911 is 112, so that button wont work

the terrorists will love em... ok kinda joking... but honestly ... doesnt it make crimes / tracing criminals a lot harder if you buy those phones with cash, and just use em once. i mean 13€ ?

I have to call 911! can I borrow 13 euros!

I'm pretty sure a criminal can use a pay phone. Or borrow someone's phone. Or steal someone's phone.

I bet the US gov't is going to require a background check and 7-day waiting period to buy one of these phones if they're ever released here.

I just had to buy a replacement cellphone for one of our employees. $20 paid in cash at Target for a Motorola cellphone with a color screen, internet, text messaging and it came with $10 worth of airtime.

What exactly is the market for this phone when you can an immensely better one for the same price?

@twoeightnine:
Payphones are a bad idea. They put you on a specific location at a specific time. Often in plain sight of a lot of people / cameras. If you buy this phone you can buy it in Manchester, use it in London, and drive back to your home in York. stealing / borrowing is also a bad idea. Since if you steal a phone, you draw more attention to yourself, and if you borrow the guy who you borrowed from knows who you are.

imho. those phones are ideal for criminals and too expansive for anyone else.

@zincrox:

I'm pretty sure they may change it for regions maybe 112 as it is the international emergency number.

112 is an international emergency number.

What about 800Mhz? :(

It's 999 in the UK

I'm sure the first-responders will really appreciate that huge 911 button after the 100th call from someone who "just pressed it with my face on a disposable cell, sorry."

yuck

this phone is futile.

not unless;

you're in the middle of nowhere and your battery is dead.

your monthly subscription line was cut off.

and

hooker hot line.

Spitzer is sure to pick up thousands of these.....

this is pointless. as stated earlier, it' only useful if you're a criminal

This is no different from my 20 buck prepaid phone.

I'm going to Paris for a few days, and my CDMA phone won't work. A cheap disposable phone like this would be ideal.

I agree that I can see a use for this while travelling. Certainly it has limited uses, but I'd likely but it a few times over the course of the next 5 years while travelilng to places my phone doesn't work (= anywhere outside of North America). It sounds like significantly less hassle than some other options.

Imagine someone desperatly trying to buy a phone like this from a vending mashine while being robbed...

Coming soon! The disposable laptop computers and printers.

In 20xx, the launch of our disposable computer speakers will be out. Stay tuned!

Uhm... A tracfone is only $14.88, and as mentioned by others, you can get a phone from AT&T for $20.

"Doh! I could've used one of the these!"

- E. Spitzer

i can think of a few different uses for the disposable phone, some covert, some not
now if could only remember to pick one up when i am out shopping
hey, maybe my therapy seal will remember for me

I could see a use for this if it was like 5 euro or maybe 5-10 dollars but above that why not just go by a net10 or tracfone.

I can see a person using this if say there battery died or they don't have a phone an need one for emergency or some other reason or maybe a person forgot there phone an needs one and doesn't feel like going home to pick theres up in no way is this worth 13 euro or whatever price they charge

what an awful idea. i can buy a normal cell phone for 20 bucks. this is just going to create heaps and heaps of trash because nobody's going to remember to recycle it.

Why is it a bad idea and so great for criminals?
Go to target right now, virgin mobile has a few phones ~$20, buy a card pay cash and although you have to fear store cameras you still get the anonymity of the phone oh then activate it online at a public place. I dont think there is anything unique about the anonymity of the phone other than the convenience.

The 911 button is dumb though. Guess good when you're panicked and you're like Whats the number for 911!!1

disposable cell phone? really?

the actual cell phone challenge that needs to be conquered, and that certainly has a waiting market, is for a cell phone that won't crap out in some form after a year or so.

I'm seriously wondering about how recyclable these phones really are. In other words, what's under the hood that makes these phones so recyclable? Also, I wonder if in the end the material ends up in the dumpster anyways. Now a days, companies are often trying to appeal to everyone's "green" side, so I am always very skeptical. Disposable Cell Phone how green are you?

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about! The GSMA low cost handset project and work done by several large operators has already produced a $20 GSM cellphone. It is full featured with a B&W LCD display, rechargeable battery, handsfree, etc.

The operator I work for, MTN with approx 70 million subscribers in Africa and the Middle East, is already selling these and has been doing so since last year.

Pictures and full specs available if anyone wants them.

Most likely those who would have real need or use for these, are not the same people who read and post on this blog.

@twoeightnine: If you gotta commit a crime and call people while doing so, or setting it up, use a prepaid, works just as well, probably better.

One thing, however, activate it yourself and only use cash to pay for it.