Mobile phones with interesting designs. The most unusual cell phones
In the little over a hundred years that have passed since the invention of the telephone by Alexander Bell, this device has undergone a huge number of transformations. From a large box that can only make calls, it has turned into a compact multifunctional device that can be stored in your pocket. And these metamorphoses do not stop for a second. And every day more and more new models of various phones, sometimes very original ones, appear on the market.
1. Electronic nose
This phone concept is designed for those who are constantly watching what they eat. The E-nose phone is equipped with an odor recognition system. I think this phone will appeal most to allergy sufferers, who cannot always understand whether there are foods in their food that are harmful to them or not.
2. Shoe
From films about hussars, we know that they, in order to prove their affection for the ladies, from time to time drank champagne from their shoes. These are different times. Now the world knows enough about microbes and their effect on the human body. Therefore, it is now customary to use shoes not as containers (fortunately, the industry produces a huge number of other containers from which you can drink champagne!), but as a telephone.
3. Flask
The Cheers phone will be the best gift for a man. After all, this is not just a mobile phone, but also a flask. You can pour some alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink into it and sip from the bottle in difficult times. Alcoholic, of course, is better for the phone itself. After all, the creators of the concept claim that this phone can run on alcohol. In my opinion, translation of the product.
4. Pistol
They say that in Singapore the mafia walks around with mobile phones that have built-in pistols. It's clear. But why a mobile phone should be built into a gun is completely unclear. However, Nokia presented such a concept. Apparently, super agents will like such a device.
5.Hello Kitty
Is there anything worthwhile in this world that wasn't made in the Hello Kitty style? So a mobile phone in the shape of a cute pink cat appeared.
6. Cello
A phone for classical music fans. It is made in the shape of a cello, the front of which is a telephone handset. Of course, you cannot play music with this “musical instrument.” But you can listen to it, be it classical or modern. The phone has a melody memory.
7. Gold phone
GoldVish is the most expensive phone in the world. It is made of white gold, encrusted with hundreds of small diamonds. Such a work of art, which, moreover, can ring, costs 1.6 million US dollars! Anyone want to buy? I can tell you the address.
8. Mobile camera
Many people dream of their mobile phone becoming a full-fledged camera. Of course, few people are satisfied with the quality of photographs obtained when shooting with the camera built into their phone. And now the prayers of amateur photographers have been heard! A phone is created with a camera to which a small lens can be attached. This, of course, is not a DSLR yet, but it is already a serious step towards combining a camera and a phone in one device.
You know the main players in the smartphone market: the best phones in the modern world are made by Apple, HTC, Samsung, LG, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Huawei and others.
But what about those smartphones that are not popular with us? Just because a phone isn't popular somewhere doesn't mean it's not one of the best.
Some smartphones are also just a little misunderstood. So we'll be breaking down a list of smartphones that we think you should take a look at, especially if you're ripe for an 'alternative' phone. So let's get started.
Fairphone 2
Fairphone has one key goal - to create a smartphone that is made using "ethically sourced materials". The company strives to create a smartphone using only conflict-free resources (the name Fairphone translates to "fair phone"), as well as reasonable compensation for workers throughout the production process. The smartphone will not cause heartache to those who care about the low-wage workers in China, where the iPhone is assembled.
You have to admire the company's intention. The company has now made its second phone and this time it's modular, so you can swap out parts and not have to worry about disposing of the entire smartphone in a few years.
The device runs on Android 5.1 and has a 5-inch 1080p display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and 2GB of RAM. It also supports 4G LTE and offers 32GB of internal storage.
The smartphone may not currently be in the company's warehouses, since Fairphone 2 is released in limited quantities.
Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus
You may have already heard about Wileyfox. But if not, we will tell you.
There's a lot about the Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus that hints at a premium smartphone, but the price actually comes as a surprise (at least in Western Europe).
Wileyfox is a new startup that combines a smartphone with a large 5-inch 720p display, 32GB of memory, a 16-megapixel camera and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor and is asking around $290 for all of it.
For a phone with such characteristics and a premium design (in the opinion of English users), the price is very impressive. So you can get an unusual piece of England for a reasonable price.
Yotaphone 2
If you haven't heard of the above-mentioned smartphones, then you've definitely heard about this one. Yotaphone 2 attracted a lot of attention (by the way, not only in Russia) with its unique dual display design. One of them is a traditional 5-inch Full HD display, and the second is an electronic ink screen on the rear panel. The latter is intended for some applications and saving battery power.
The e-ink display works with select apps like Facebook, Twitter, RSS feeds, messaging and e-readers and offers much longer battery life than the average full-screen display.
Under the hood is a Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.2GHz, coupled with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.
Lumigon T2 HD
Lumigon aims to attract the stylish consumer by using the words "elegant" and "exclusive look". There is some truth to this and we have to admit: Lumigon T2 HD has a nice design coupled with water and dust resistance built into the system without compromising on style appearance It has a 4.3-inch display with a resolution of 720p, a Snapdragon processor with a clock speed of 1.7 GHz and 2 GB of RAM.
The main camera has a resolution of 13 megapixels, and the built-in memory can reach up to 128 GB. Lumigon T2 HD runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. The price is expressed in Danish kroner - 4449, which in conversion will be about 39,500 rubles.
Price: $665
Peculiarity: stylish design from a Danish manufacturer
Detailed
Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus
After several years of focusing on budget phones, Karbonn has tried to break into the higher end of smartphones and the company has succeeded with its latest offering.
Despite the fact that its name sounds like something from a hadron collider, this inexpensive phone managed to achieve excellent sales figures in 2016.
The Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus smartphone runs on Android 4.4.2, has an eight-core MediaTek processor clocked at 1.7 GHz, 2 GB of RAM and a main camera with a resolution of 16 megapixels. The built-in memory is 16 GB, expandable via MicroSD cards up to 32 GB.
Ulefone Power
Ulefone offers a smartphone that will often delight you with endless battery power. The phone comes with a 5.5-inch HD display, fingerprint sensor, Android 5.1 OS, 3GB RAM and a 64-bit octa-core processor. But its real highlight is the huge 6050 mAh battery.
Despite such a battery, Ulefone managed to create a pretty nice smartphone.
Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition
What you see in front of you is not an iPhone, but a Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition. The smartphone with a 5.4-inch display and an octa-core MediaTek processor is certainly not a flagship phone.
It has 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and comes in different color options. The front selfie camera has a resolution of 2 megapixels, and the main one has a resolution of 21 megapixels. But this is not a feature of the smartphone.
The smartphone runs the Ubuntu operating system, porting efforts for which began in 2013 and ended in success in 2015.
They know how to surprise with a seemingly simple mobile phone. Manufacturers who do not follow the banal path do not get involved in the race of processors or displays, but create their own gadgets, original and unlike other models on the market. We present some of them along with their creations.
In Russia, few people know that mobile phones are even made in India. But among the producers of this country there are those that deserve special attention. For example, Micromax, which focuses on the design of phones and smartphones. True, the filling does not at all correspond to the futuristic design. Thus, a unique smartphone with a built-in Bluetooth headset and the provocative name X450 Van Gogh has the same functionality as the usual all-in-one smartphones from five years ago.
Not sold in Russia.
The BenQ brand in Russia became known due to the release of square “musical” phones. These colorful gadgets are more like mp3 players, but they are full-fledged phones with the ability to make calls, write messages and even take photos and videos. Well, and on top of everything else, they actually have a built-in player. In addition, there are a huge variety of replacement panels for the Qube Z2 model. Not only do they vary in color, but many have a raised pattern or design. Together with Siemens, the company has released an interesting phone with a separate panel for controlling mp3.
The phone is not available in official Russian retail.
KDDI is a Japanese telecommunications company that recently began producing smartphones. Of course, original, like everything Japanese. Thus, KDDI Infobar A01 has a minimalistic design, at the same time unlike other smartphones. The functional buttons in it are made in the form of “tags”. Another example is the secure smartphone G’zOne IS11CA with “electronic wallet” functionality. And two years ago, this Japanese manufacturer introduced an Android smartphone without a traditional speaker. To transmit sound, vibration is used here, which transmits sound to the eardrum.
The device is not sold in Russia.
Just 5 is a domestic brand of phones and, more recently, smartphones. First, the designers surprised everyone with “granny phones” for hipsters - the CP10S model (price - 2,850 rubles) came out in eight variants of acidic colors.
The hugely sized buttons, the unique space design of the case, and even the charger in an unusual bright orange color turned out to be non-standard. As a result, these phones, originally designed with the older generation in mind, became popular among hipsters, clubbers and other fashionable youth.
After the “space backgrounds”, the company released two models of retro phones at once: brutal Brick “bricks” with a retractable antenna and a design in the style of the 90s from Artemy Lebedev’s studio (price – 2,950 rubles).
The brand's latest designer phone is SURF, with an appearance a la Nokia 3310 and a price of about 900 rubles.
At the end of the year, the manufacturer of seemingly only “hipster dialers” and acidic “granny phones” released the Just5 Spacer smartphone, which turned out to be the first designer Android phone in Russia. In addition, today it is also the most affordable 5-inch smartphone with a 4-core processor - the device will cost less than 5,000 rubles. The device comes with two replaceable back panels – dark gray and white.
5. Swiss Gresso.
Luxury phones are manufactured by Gresso, a company registered in Switzerland, and are included in the Top 10 most expensive phones in the world. All devices are made of high quality titanium alloy, which is widely used in the aerospace industry. All models are hand-made and decorated with engravings made of titanium, white or yellow gold. At the end of the year, the brand released its first smartphone, Gresso Radical. With all its external splendor, the gadget also features a very modern set of characteristics: a 4-core processor, a 4.5-inch screen, an 8-megapixel camera and two slots for SIM cards. However, the characteristics for owners of models of this brand are not the main thing, the main thing is the image. In Russia, phones are sold at prices ranging from 55 thousand rubles (for the version with titanium engraving) to 70 thousand with yellow gold engraving. Moreover, the first owners are invited to choose a unique serial number for engraving. For those who already have a fashionable smartphone, but want to dramatically increase its prestige, the company offers bumper cases made of titanium and crocodile leather with engravings in yellow and white gold for the iPhone 5S and Galaxy S4.
According to statistics, by the end of this year the number of pipes will exceed the number of inhabitants of the Earth. Although most of the devices do not stand out from the crowd, real legends are sometimes born in the world of advanced technologies.
The first cell phone, which hit American shelves in 1979, was intended only for wealthy buyers. Its price, $3,895, exceeded even the cost of a Toyota Corolla, and a minute of conversation cost more than a gallon of gasoline. And even now you won’t surprise anyone with its high cost: for example, sales of the new iPhone 6 start at 32 thousand rubles. The counterbalance to luxury new products that break price records are simple dialers equipped with only the most necessary functions. The cheapest of these is the HOP1800, which sells for just $10.
This truly budget model is not equipped with an alarm clock, calendar, backlight or games. It not only lacks a memory card and camera, but even SMS and address book support. The purpose of the HOP1800 is simple - dial a number and make a call, just like the good old days.
The smallest mobile phone
In 2011, a new champion settled on the pages of the Guinness Book of Records. The miniature sWaP Nova mobile phone, first demonstrated to the public at the Berlin IFA 2010 exhibition, is so small that it can be used as a keychain. The device weighs only 43 grams, and its size is inferior to the credit card format and does not affect functionality in any way. sWaP Nova is equipped with a touch screen, a built-in book reader and an operating system that supports 8 languages. Thanks to a special module, with one movement of the hand the mobile phone turns into a regular flash drive powered by a USB port. 
For the convenience of making calls, the kit includes a BLUETOOTH headset with wireless USB charging and headphones. The baby, weighing no more than 40 grams, can withstand up to 2.5 hours of continuous conversations and even play video.
Most popular mobile phone
After analyzing sales markets in 35 countries, the chartists said: in May 2014 alone, more than 7 million fresh iPhone 5s were sold. But despite the craze for Apple gadgets, it was not their prestigious product that became the most popular mobile phone in history. The world sales record was set by the old Nokia 1100, released in 2003. 
Statistics say: the total number of phones of this model sold exceeded 250 million. The device, released on the Chinese markets, sold out like fresh baked goods: up to a million copies of the 1100 line were sold every week. The mobile phone was simple, functional and practically immortal. She easily survived bathing in the toilet, falling from a height of human height and “communicating” with children. The only bells and whistles of the monochrome Nokia 1100 were the flashlight.
The most reliable mobile phone
Nostalgic for the past, we often remember how faithful the Nokia 3310 was to us. It was not afraid of falling into a puddle and did not break down from hitting the floor. She was not afraid of either cold or heat, and the monochrome screen, even cracking, worked like a clock. But despite its enviable durability, the brainchild of the Finnish transnational company failed to win the reputation of the most reliable phone in the world. 
The Guinness Book of Records lists the achievement of the Sonim XP3300 Force phone. The field test, carried out at the request of the fire department of the Dutch settlement of Epe, attracted thousands of onlookers. The mobile phone was checked with all severity. She continued to work even after she fell from a 10-story building, and after she became a victim of being hit by an SUV. Sonim XP3300 Force was immured in ice and remained under water for half an hour, but never lost its integrity.
The most expensive mobile phone
Walking by leaps and bounds, progress has made the most seemingly unfulfilled desires come true. Now even the simplest phones have everything your heart desires: a camera, a player, Internet access and even fingerprint reading. But how can you stand out using your mobile phone, focusing on wealth and status? Luxurious Vertu devices, decorated with sapphires and covered in soft leather, are not the ultimate dream. After all, the most expensive smartphone on the planet is the iPhone 5 BlackDiamond, created through the efforts of Stuart Hughes. 
The British luxury designer is by no means new to the world of the Rockefellers and Abramovichs. In 2009, he released the iPhone 3GS, decorated with 136 diamonds, and a year later, the iPhone 4 in gold. Its bull's-eye was set with 53 diamonds and its return button was set with a 7.4-carat pink diamond. The cost of Hughes's most expensive creation is $15 million. This sparkling miracle, made for a rich man from China, is studded with 600 diamonds, the screen is protected by sapphire glass, and the Home button is set with a 26-carat black diamond.
The ranking of the most expensive phones also includes other models...
But which cell phone amazed buyers with its strangeness?
The most unusual mobile phone in the world today
Responsibility for the most amazing cellular communication device, as usual, lies with the Chinese. These inventors came up with the Haier P7 Pen Phone, a non-writing but ringing spy pen phone, and the ZTEs312, which charges from solar energy. But the pinnacle of originality was the Wang XYW 3838, which flooded all English-language tech blogs. 
This Chinese curiosity, designed to look like a pack of cigarettes, looks like a cross between a Rubik's cube, a non-original Rolex and fashionable inauthentic mp3 players. But it's not a matter of appearance: the average phone with a color screen can not only make calls and take photos, but also be used as a cigarette case. The case, painted in the colors of Chinese Chonghwa cigarettes, holds seven cigarettes. Enterprising residents of the Middle Kingdom also took care of a model for export: their line includes a phone designed to store Marlboro.
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Nowadays, the vast majority of mobile phones are equipped with touch screens and have a standard bar-shaped or soap dish-like design and differ only in dimensions, color and case materials. Less often - the presence of a physical keyboard under the screen or in the form of a slider. Few truly memorable phones are produced. Previously, designers fantasized and perverted much more and truly extraordinary products came out, sometimes poorly suitable for comfortable use and raising an involuntary question: “what drugs were the creators using.” Below are some of the devices released into mass production that surprise with their shape.
Toshiba Portege G450
Let's start with the Japanese company Toshiba, which at one time released a very strange mobile phone, the Portege G450, which could also serve as a part-time 3G modem. It had very compact dimensions ( 98x36x16 mm), oblong shape and rounded ends. The front panel consisted of three circles, the first of which housed an OLED screen, the other two were a keyboard unit divided into two parts. In them, the buttons were placed in a circle, around the central one. In the first case it was the "5" button, in the second - "0". This design was not particularly ergonomic and many used the gadget exclusively as a portable USB modem.
CEC F88 Wrist Watch (Telson TWC 1150)
The following device can be considered one of the first “smart” watches. CEC F88 Wrist Watch (produced in India under the name Telson TWC 1150) is visually similar to some device from science fiction films. This massive miracle of technology really had to be worn on the arm. On the wide strap there was a block of digital buttons, above there was a color screen and a navigation block. It was possible to connect a headset and a remote camera to the device. Everything a budding secret agent needs.
Haier Pen Phone P7
Another fruit of a not entirely healthy fantasy is a mobile phone, which in shape resembles a cross between a pen and a thermometer. With its impressive (especially for that time) length of 15 cm, the device was thin and narrow ( 27x18.2 mm) and weighed only 65 g. At the same time, a colored LCD display, voice recorder with 90-minute recording option, a digital camera with a resolution of 0.3 megapixels and the usual set of controls, including a digital pad and joystick. Despite the external similarity, the gadget could not measure temperature and write, but it supported GPRS mobile Internet, and the battery lasted for 4 hours of calls (ideally, of course).
NEC Medias W
The Japanese company NEC managed to make an Android smartphone quite exotic. Its device, called Medias W, was a horizontal clamshell with two touch screens. This was done in order to get some semblance of one large screen when opened for more convenient browsing or using one of the screens as a QWERTY keyboard without reducing the area of the second. The smartphone used two 4.3-inch screens with a resolution of 960x540. The smartphone was running OS Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, inside there was a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 processor with a clock frequency of 1.5 GHz, 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory.
Nokia 7600
The Finnish giant Nokia at one time did not hesitate to experiment with form factors and design of its devices, and there are many strange models in its portfolio. The company could afford this without any special plans for the commercial success of such a single device. Nokia 7600 is a fashion device of a non-standard shape, vaguely reminiscent of a tree leaf. This is an asymmetrical candy bar with a color display and buttons on the sides of it. From a technical point of view, the 7600 was quite packed (by 2003 standards): there was a built-in VGA camera, Bluetooth, an infrared port and an MP3 player.
Motorola A925
We recalled many interesting and innovative Motorola mobile phones in the corresponding article, and here we can recall the strange all-in-one A925. It was equipped with a touch display and physical buttons, both on the top and bottom of the screen. It was large in size, had a large antenna and looked like a tourist GPS navigator, which is not surprising: the GPS module was almost the main feature of the smartphone, and it was possible to connect an external antenna. The gadget had a built-in camera, supported memory cards, GPRS Internet, Bluetooth 1.1, and it ran on Symbian OS v7.0, UIQ 2.0.
Samsung SGH-E910 Serene (Bang & Olufsen)
Samsung has occasionally collaborated on phones with Bang & Olufsen and each time the result was strange mobile phones with a memorable design, but very controversial ergonomics. One of these devices was the image SGH-E910 Serene. It was a clamshell similar to a powder compact with an automatic opening mechanism, the ability to work in different orientations (the image was rotated upside down) and a round keyboard block. Inside there was a navigation circle, around which there were alphanumeric buttons.
Sharp Touch Wood SH-08C
Another strange Japanese phone is the Sharp Touch Wood SH-08C, which was shaped like legume seeds. It was released in a circulation of 15,000 copies in its homeland. The main body was made from specially treated cypress wood. The wood is heterogeneous, as a result, all specimens were unique. Despite such unity with nature, telephones were quite technologically advanced: they were equipped with 3.4-inch screens with a resolution of 854x480, supported work in GSM and 3G networks, had a slot for MicroSD memory cards and a 5 megapixel camera.
BenQ Qube Z2
Shortly before the purchase of the Siemens mobile division, in the same 2005, BenQ released the square-shaped Qube Z2 mobile phone, which was visually reminiscent of cheap Chinese MP3 players. The navigation block was located under the screen, the remaining buttons were to the right of it. I'm not sure that this solution was easy to use. The phone had a color screen, M P3 player, support for miniSD memory cards, 1.3 megapixel camera and FM receiver with recording capability. The phone supported the transmission of MMS messages, GPRS (class 10) and Java.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X5 Pureness
Today's latest mobile phone is the first gadget of its kind with a transparent screen. Sony Ericsson Xperia X5 Pureness is a fashion device into which the manufacturer deliberately decided not to cram as many functions as possible, but to concentrate on an unusual appearance and “lightness”. The phone had a 1.8-inch transparent screen, which was not always readable, but this did not cancel the “wow” factor. Xperia X5 Pureness had relatively modest dimensions: 102x43x13 mm and weight: 70 g. And yes, despite the Xperia in the name, it was not a smartphone and was not equipped with a built-in camera. Only a set of basic functions and a media player.