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Punkt’s Retro-Function MP 01 Cell Phone

Your American correspondent noticed something astonishing in Nuremberg. Each night after Holz-Handwerk I’d repair to a local café or restaurant, all of which were crowded at that hour. Among all of the patrons, not a single one was staring into their phone or photographing their food. They were all actually talking to each other and eating the food, and if they had smartphones, they remained out of sight.

This is a breath of fresh air to someone who lives in a city (New York) where you must now dodge sleepwalking phone-starers on the sidewalk. It’s enough to make me want to ditch my smartphone and pick up one of Punkt’s MP 01 Mobile Phones.

The MP 01, designed by Jasper Morrison, does just two things, and in just two colors (black and white): Phone calls and text messages. There’s no camera, no Twitter, no Facebook, no apps. And there are nice-looking round buttons that you must physically press. “Technology is a very powerful tool, but as our lives become increasingly complicated, it’s important to find time to disconnect and rediscover the simple things,” says Punkt CEO/Founder Petter Neby. “We’re very excited about launching the MP 01, a liberating device that removes unnecessary distractions and goes back to the essentials of communication.”

Demand has been strong enough that all pre-orders for the MP 01 sold out, and the company is now catching up, saying current availability is “good.”

The company notes that this phone is not meant to replace the smartphone, but to be used in conjunction with one, “to allow users some time off from the flurry of updates and notifications that so often shape our lives.” I could swallow the $295 asking price, but signing up for a 2G contract with T-Mobile while continuing to pay my existing smartphone bill is the stumbling block for me. I guess I’ve got to face the facts that the genie is out of the bottle, and there’s no going back.

http://www.core77.com/posts/50851/Punkts-Retro-Function-MP-01-Cell-Phone