Technabob » rotary

iRetroPhone Takes Your iPhone Back in Time

Hazel Chua — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:30:17 +0000

Remember back in the day, when all phones still came with wires and people had to physically turn a dial to call someone? I do. And I also recall begging my mom to let me be the one to do the dialing because I liked turning the dial with my finger. Through the years, the dials disappeared, phones became flatter and more compact, and eventually, even the wires had to go.

I like the phones we have these days; punching the digits of the number you want to dial (or speed dialing from a directory) versus having to turning the rotary dial is faster and more convenient. Trust me, rotary dials aren’t your friend if you’re prone to make dialing mistakes or if you’re in a hurry to place a call. Still, if you long for the old rotary phone, you might want to check out the iRetroPhone. It’s basically a dock for your iPhone which can charge and sync while providing you with a physical handset to make your calls.

The iRetroPhone dock includes a wired handset which connects to your phone’s 3.5mm headphone jack, and lets you go old school when making calls. It can also charge your iPhone at the same time. Perhaps the highlight of the iRetroPhone is that it works with an app that lets you simulate rotary dialing on your touchscreen smartphone. Of course, you could just download the free iRetroPhone app and skip the dock.

If you ask me, it’s a bit of a hassle having to dial the old school way. But if you want to take a walk down memory lane, you can get one of these iRetroPhones for $99.99(USD) from USB Fever.

[via Oh Gizmo!]

The Space Invaders Called, and They Want Their Phone Back

Technabob — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:00:32 +0000

You know my rule. Slap some Space Invaders on something, and I’ll probably post it. Ok, I won’t post just anything with an Invader on it, but if it’s remotely interesting, I’m a pushover. Take, for example, this Space Invaders bedecked phone.

The vintage British Trimphone is covered with decoupaged Invaders fabric, wrapped around its face and on its handset too, courtesy of UK artist Vicki Lee (aka “lovekittypink“). From the looks of things, this is an earlier level of the game, and the Invaders should be moving slow enough that you should be able to shoot down most of them with ease.

And this isn’t just any phone. It’s a genuine old-school ROTARY phone. Can you even still use those here in the U.S.? Heck, do people still have landlines? Well, either way this particular rotary dial Space Invaders phone is actually set up to work in the UK, and it’s creator claims there’s a US adapter available, so what do I know? It’s available over on Etsy for £160.00 (~$255 USD).

Rotary Cell Phone: Steampunk at its Best

Range — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:26:36 +0000

It’s true that a lot of cell phones tend to look alike. That’s not the case with this cool retro concept that was created by Richard Clarkson. He calls it the Rotary Mechanical cell phone concept. It’s supposed to replicate the functionality of a smartphone, with some analog style.

Richard incorporated a rotary dial in the back of the device, which can be interchanged with a button dial as well. The body of the phone is made out of electroplated copper, which has been painted to give it a worn effect, with scratches and fading that has appeared over time.

The brass dials can be swapped out for other models and colors. The back of the phone doesn’t look like any other phone that I’ve seen and it does look pretty amazing – if not a little impractical.

[via designboom]

Sagemcom Sixty Cordless Phone Goes Back to the Future

Technabob — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 02:10:13 +0000

In a time where land-line phones are a dying breed, the idea of an old rotary phone seems even more like a distant memory. But Sagemcom is trying to breathe new life into the old desk phone with this modern tribute to Bell’s iconic rotary phone.

The Sixty apes the lines of the classic phone, but rips out its guts and cord and gives it a sleek modern look from the side. Under the hood, the bright orange phone offers DECT cordless calling, with a touch dial and a white-on-black LCD dot-matrix screen for Caller ID, time and speed dial info.

The phone has a 150 number phonebook built in, a digital answering machine, and offers a speakerphone mode too. The thing even makes those old clicky rotary sounds when you press the buttons, and little LED dots simulate the dial spinning.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

It looks like The Sixty is currently available only in Europe where it sells for £99.95 (appx. $160 USD). That’s a lot of coin for a land-line phone, but I’m still hopeful that someone will decide to import them stateside – I’d love to get rid of my crappy old GE cordless phone and replace it with one of these.

[via Bless This Stuff]

Portable Rotary Phone Gets Bluetooth Upgrade, Still Won’T Fit in My Pants Pocket Without Drawing Stares

Technabob — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:05:00 +0000

Would you believe this is a mobile phone?

SparkFun’s newly redesigned portable rotary phone ($249.95 USD) has been upgraded to work with any Bluetooth phone. Just pair the “portable” phone with your cell phone, and you can send and receive calls on this old school rotary phone. Even the ringer, analog dial and dial tone work the way you’d expect them to. And since the phone runs on a powerful rechargeable Lithium-Polymer battery, you really can take it anywhere.

Now I just need a portable version of my Batphone, and I’ll be all set.

The Rotary Dial Mobile Phone

Technabob — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 05:54:03 +0000

A while back we showed you the retro bluetooth handset you could use with your mobile phone. Well if you’re one of those people who didn’t think that took the concept far enough, you might want to check out the Portable Rotary Phone from Spark Fun Electronics.

This fully-functional, highly impractical piece of nostalgia is really a tri-band GSM mobile phone. It’s designed to let you make calls using the rotary dial, and rings a real bell when you have an incoming call. Just add your current phone provider’s SIM card, and you’ll be up and running. The phone runs on a built-in rechargeable battery, and costs $399 USD.

I can’t wait to see people walking down the street talking on these.