Review: The Brick from Binatone

When one of the first press releases I saw from CES this year was the announcement from Binatone that they were bringing back the old Brick cell phone form factor from the late '80s/ early '90s I was sceptical.  When I read further and saw that it could not only work as a 2G cell phone but could also function as a bluetooth handset for my iPhone, I get a little more intrgued.

While the exterior dimensions are familiar to anyone who grew up with these phones, the first thing you will notice is the weight being greatly reduced.  Modern electronics are a lot smaller and lighter, and it is noticeable.  The Brick will support an optional XXL battery that will provide up to 6 months of standy time(!), but ships with a battery that provided me with about 3 days during normal use connected via bluetooth to my iPhone.

In addition to it's bluetooth functionality it also has a built-in FM radio, calendar,  everyones favorite cell phone game snake, an alarm clock, and will access your address book via bluetooth from your smartphone so that you don't need to program numbers into it to dial.

In all, it works as designed, and has that old school charm that will bring back those early days of technology for a lot of us.  Sound quality is very good, and volume is surprisingly loud from the speaker.

I must not be the only one intrigued, as their inventory is completely sold out and backordered for several weeks.  I'd pre-order now, as they are likely to stay sold out for a while.  The device can be ordered for $69.99 from their website.

CES 2014: The Brick is Back (kind of)

The Brick, from Binatone brings the '80s backThose of you in your 30s like me likely remember early cell phones from TV.  Huge brick shaped things with no battery life that were hugely impractical but were the only portable option short of the suitcase phones that Motorola first launched.  The folks at Binatone have brought back the basic design with a modern battery that can last up to 3(?) months on a single charge.  In addition to being able to be used as a very basic cell phone with any SIM card, it can also function as a bluetooth handset, allowing you to make and recieve phone calls without the distraction of a smartphone when you don't want it around.

I don't know if the idea will take off, ut I have reached out to the folks at Binaphone for a demo unit to see how it works. 

 

You Can Have a Zack Morris Brick Phone Without Going Back In Time:

You Can Have a Zack Morris Brick Phone Without Going Back In Time