Awesome Phones

Technology advances quickly, so the difference between today’s gadgets and those you could buy in the 1980s is dramatic. That said, the decade did give us early cell phones, portable tape players, VCRs, and personal computers. Twenty-something YouTuber Liam Thompson wanted to see what it would be like to live using only tech from the ’80s for a week.

After dropping iPhones into toilets and oceans, I’ve come to appreciate phones that don’t bankrupt me. The pre-paid TCL 40 XE 5G looks like a pricey smartphone and does a good job behaving like one too, but holey moley, the Android 13 phone is priced at $120, making it TCL’s most affordable 5G smartphone yet.

After realizing how much time he spends on his phone, JBV Creative was inspired to build an electro-mechanical artwork as a commentary on the distracted nature of today’s gadget-dependent society. The finished piece features a group of phone-holding figures that wobble along on a conveyor belt, smash into a wall, fall down, and do it all over again.

Keeping your phone dry during outdoor adventures — like kayaking, fishing, or reaching into a beer cooler — is easy with Chums’ Floating Phone Protectors. The detachable lanyard lets you carry it around your neck, and the bright colors make it easy to spot. Your phone slips inside where welded seams and a waterproof closure keeps it safe.

Given the environmental impact of making electronics, Apple wants to make more of its tech using recycled and recyclable components. Fully Charged Show host Robert Llewellyn toured an Apple facility to see its Daisy recycling robot. It can identify 23 different iPhone models and tear them apart to extract their materials.

An unnamed artist from China shows off a unique handmade phone case that’s so steampunk that its gears actually turn. It might not be the most practical design, but it sure looks awesome. We found a similar case you can actually purchase over on Etsy, or you could just glue some gears on your own and call it a day.

Remember when you were a kid and you pretended a banana was a telephone? Well, now you can talk to someone on the other end of the line thanks to the Banana Phone. This fruity accessory connects via Bluetooth, so you can make and receive calls on it. It doubles as a speaker, though bananas aren’t known for their acoustics.

Before cell phones, phone booths were the best way to get in touch when out and about. Enclosed for privacy, the confined glass spaces served as a useful prop for scenes of secrecy, suspense, revelation, and wonder in movies and TV. Little White Lies pays homage to the once-ubiquitous street fixture in this great video essay.

Frustrated with the hyperconnected world of smartphones, engineer Justine Haupt designed and built a custom cell phone that replaces the modern touchscreen with an old-fashioned rotary dial. She’s had so many requests from followers that she’s open-sourced the design and is offering a partial kit so you can build your own.

If you grew up in the 1980s, Garfield was everywhere. The cynical, lasagna-loving kitty was licensed beyond belief. Snellby Reviews looks back at perhaps the greatest Garfield merch ever – Tyco’s phone that was shaped like the fat orange tabby, along with a strange story about the phones washing up along the coast of France.

Hearty Hardware’s playful phone dock features a design inspired by retro payphone. But instead of putting dimes or quarters in to make a call, you just pick up your smartphone and start dialing. Its marquee lights up, and it can be ordered with or without a wireless charging dock in case you want to use your own.

IDIDTHAT creates whimsical and functional art by reclaiming vintage objects. They have lots of cool stuff in their Etsy shop, but our favorites are these old rotary phones from the 1950s and 1960 which have been converted to desk lamps. Their coiled cords can be bent into various positions, and their LED light source is nice and bright.

There’s been a long-held concern that the electromagnetic radiation that emanate from cell phones, power lines, and other devices could cause harm to our bodies. But is there any truth to this concern? Kurzgesagt attempts to separate the fact from fiction in this controvertial topic.

There are tons of smartphone cases on the market, but many of them can actually trap heat inside your gadgets, potentially shortening their lives. Suorlite’s iPhone case has thousands of tiny perforations, helping ventilation while still protecting your phone.

Xiaomi co-founder and president Lin Bin teased the company’s prototype for an OLED phone that folds on both sides. This allows it to transition from a mini tablet to a smartphone with no bezels on the side. It’s certainly impressive, but its palm rejection better be on point.

It needs some serious rebranding, but the Phoozy phone case could save your smartphone and other gadgets from an untimely death. It shields whatever’s inside from impact as well as extreme heat and cold, and it floats on water too.

TheSorryGirls show us how to make affordable and easily removable skins for your laptop, smartphone and more. The project involves printing a high resolution image on printable vinyl and sealing it with protective film.

Want a second phone number, but don’t want to deal with the ridiculous fees mobile companies charge? Ring4 lets you add phone numbers using its mobile app. This special deal in The Awesomer Shop gives you a permanent number, and a 1-year calling and texting plan.

If your landline still gets a lot of mileage, check out the beautiful Swissvoice L7, which has a timeless angular design. Its base station functions as an answering machine and has an intercom connection with the handset.

Unlike phone holsters and standard mounts, you can use Clipless to attach your phone or other mobile device to a variety of surfaces as well as clothing. It will also offer an NFC-enabled mount.

(NSFW: Language) Gather round kids, and check out this thirty second vid on how to make a little kid toy phone curse and swear; don’t try to hack it unless you want to get busted by your parents.

Gresso’s Luxor World Time Gold phone offers an 18K gold body, two-sided sapphire crystal screen, Italian leather on the rear panel and six independent Swiss clockwork mechanisms.

Those among us of a certain generation may think that the idea of people using phones with extra long cords in the house is just an old wives tale, but it’s the truth, and this video is a testimonial.