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Disposable Cell Phones Arrive
headGasket writes "After the disposable cameras, here comes the disposable cell phones. Ideal for trash talk. Seriously, there is a $5 incentive to not dispose of it in the trash and bring it back for a rebate on the next one." These seem like a nice alternative to being locked into a lengthy contract, or for people who only need a cell phone for a short period of time.
This is great for tourists. The USA use 1900MHz for their GSM networks, so the dualband (900MHz and 1800MHz) GSM phones which are common in Europe are of no use to tourists. A disposable cell phone looks like a good way to stay in touch with home and fellow travellers.
Remember that Hop-On has been caught in the past passing of repackaged Nokia phones as their "disposable" solutions.
I believe it when I see it at my local 7-11.....
Please send all UCE to scally@devolution.com so I can f
Although I agree with the comment I think that it may not fit the case. Would someone that lives and stays in an area want one of these? I think that the most common customer will be the tourist/business trip. As this is a US thing (note 911 button for example and I doubt that it is on the ROW bands) there will be nowhere for the buyer to get a refund when they return. I think they will just end up in rubbish bin in Europe and Asia.
I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
I wonder how many non-intentional (I'd use the word accidental, but it seems inappropriate) 911 calls are going to be made with that design. It's like those stupid computer cases with the reset button sticking out from the front which you keep bumping against accidentally.
I can see this as a boon for an illicit dealer.
There was the same fear here in europe when the prepaid mobile phonecards came into use. As it turns out, they are able to track people even if they use prepaid mobile phones.
Therefore, I don't think it'll be that bad.
Actually, I think these things may give people a false sence of security, and it may well turn out to work against the criminals, not for them.
On my last trip over (March '03), I was suprised that the concept of a rechargable SIM had not caught on in the US. I tried hard to find them in both Seattle and San Francisco but could not..
With the current political climate and the perception that such a phone would only be used by terrorists and drug dealers, I find it hard to belive it would catch on or would be allowed to work.
not even that, since most mobile carriers - at least here in the UK are opting for the "electronic" top ups instead.
This means, you'll have to 'register' a top up card with your phone number, so whenever you need to top up, you simply hand the cashier the top up swipe card and the money and in a short few seconds, your pre-paid account is renewed with however much you wanted.
I believe the phone operators are offering various incenetives to get you to use the electronic top-ups. ie. small amounts of top up like 5 and 10 are only availible electronically. But yeah.. the only waste from this method, is a small till reciept proving that you purchased the credit.
Fight Crime - Shoot Back!
Clearly, if you use a phone often or for a long period of time, it's cheaper to go out and buy a real phone than to continue buying replacement disposable ones. The main market, therefore, seems to be travelers etc. who will only be in an area for a short while. I'm sorry, but why can't such people just buy another simcard for their existing phone? (As opposed to this crappy disposable one, which apparently can't even send text messages. What the heck is the point of a phone that can't send text messages?) Simcards cost about $6 in most countries, much cheaper than one of these things, and you get the benefit of still being able to use your own phone.
And a telephone analogon to dyndns is impossible is it not? ;-)
Actually, I really can see a use for these - When i go out into town, i dont want my new nokia stolen, so i take an old housebrick-sized phone. It gives me a point of contact, with very little risk - who would want to steal it? I was actually stopped (at knife point) and mugged a few months ago - he took a 20pound note, but not my phone, (or even my student card or driving licence. It's well worth asking to keep it - worthless to the theif + would cost a lot to replace) as for dialing emergency sevices, all nokias seem to have a facility to dial 999 (i live in the UK) at least once a week without you knowing. I often wonder how much nokia costs those services - even with the keys locked, it will still dial out if it's in your pocket.
It's already an annoying problem for the emegency services that phones dial 911 or 999 accidentally and they have to figure out whether its a real emergency and the person is unable to speak or whether the phone is unlocked in someones pocket.
Now there's just a single freaking button to press ? - That may be a problem.
"Free software as in beer, copy protection as in racket" - Telsa Gwynne
Don't worry, the "hey, I'm on the bus!" phase will end as soon as everyone in the States gets over the newness of cheap, popularly available cell phones. One day it will be the equivalent of bragging to people about having a color television.
Of course, judging from my experience in Japan, the people around cell phone users are half the problem. I've seen people give dirty looks at people talking on the cell phone in a regular voice on the train, even though there are people having much louder face-to-face conversations nearby.
Personally I think it's just people being annoyed that they can't eavesdrop.
Trust me, putting the 911 button like that IS a pain for 911 operators. I am one. If people would THINK before dialing 911, we wouldn't be so busy answering stupid calls. Over 40% of the calls we take are cell calls, and I'd guess that 75% of those are wasted calls. We at the 911 call center know when there is a wreck. All the phone lines start lighting up. I've even had a 911 call reporting a wreck 20 minutes after the fact. I asked the caller, isn't the police there? She said yes, but I didn't know if you knew about it. HELLO.......McFly......I'm the one who TELLS the fire/police where to go. 911 is a victim of it's own success. For 20 years, we've told people call 911 call 911. Heck, they call 911 like it was 411 now.
Pay phones still exist. And you aren't asked to produce an ID to buy a "real" cellphone, either. If I'm a drug dealer or terrorist, I have no problem at all with spending a $120 in cash every other month to buy a barebones cell phone and prepay a plan---and I'll buy a new phone every week during the month or two before a big "event." The fact I can do it for $40 every other month now makes little difference to my trade.
This is not my sandwich.
and sadly...
"Patented Technology
Hop-on has secured multiple disposable-cell-phone patents from the STX patent collection. These patents have an effective filing date back to December 1995, which we believe predates all other patents directed to disposable cell phone technology. These patents include very broad claims directed to a method of operating a disposable cell phone with pre-programmed minutes.The patents further strengthen our competitive advantage, barring entry into the market by other companies."
More toxic waste for our rapidly spreading landfills.
Just what we've all been crying out for.
I for one welcome our new purveyors of low quality shite overlords.
siggy played guitar
You are so correct. Waste, although convenient at times, is bad. I hate how society seems to care less and less everyday about the future state of the world. Everything is limited. Landfills will be tomorrow's (un)natural resources similar to the coal mines, oil and natural gas reserves, etc we rely on today. Mining these will be where some companies will make a lot of money down the road.
Hey, so many seem to wonder why they should care. After all, they won't have to suffer through it. Well, because our descendents will, and we should could give a damn about them.
-Slashdot Junky
.
Landfill Mining Co.
Managing the (Un)natural Resources of Tomorrow
So these people have been around since at least the beginning of 2003? And /. has only just reported on them?
I suppose this is the inverse of one of those "repeat story!" posts--a story that's been covered on Slashdot at least twice already and nobody remembers. There's this 1999 story on the patent being issued, and then this one from 2002 about reviewers discovering sample Hop-On disposable phones actually had the guts of a more expensive Nokia model in them because they hadn't actually tooled up their assembly lines yet.
So yes, they have been around a while...and yes, Slashdot's covered it.
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
Seems to me the best way of doing it would be to put two 911 buttons side by side on these "disposable" phones, so you have to press both at the same time for it to dial.
That's a good idea, I should patent it! (lol)
"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle