Meizu's $1300 'Zero' Smartphone With No Ports Got Just 29 Pre-orders on Indiegogo (androidpolice.com)

Chinese smartphone maker Meizu generated some headlines in January after it unveiled Zero, a $1300 smartphone that doesn't have a headphone jack, or a charging port, or a physical SIM card slot, or any buttons, or a speaker grill. The company said it would make the phone available to consumers via Indiegogo crowdfunding platform. Well, the market has spoken. AndroidPolice: Meizu set itself an eminently reasonably bar for the campaign, too, at $100,000. That may sound like a fair bit of cash, but Meizu would only have had to sell 77 phones in order to meet this goal. It managed just 29. It's unclear how many of those were Meizu employees, other than to say "not enough."

Comments

It was very brave of them to remove all ports

[GrumpySteen]

So brave that they crossed the thin line between bravery and stupidity, in fact.

Re:It was very brave of them to remove all ports

[sinij]

If it doesn't have a DB-25 parallel port, I am not touching it.

Get off my lawn.

Re:It was very brave of them to remove all ports

[Anonymous Coward]

Not quite. My new Vapor phone crosses that line and then some. The Vapor not only does away with all ports and buttons, it removes the phone itself! No more interruptions by telemarketers, no more nagging alerts, no more anything, just nothing! Now available for preorder at a discount price of only $1,995. It's so sleek and stylish that you won't even notice that it's there. Packaging is 100% eco-friendly and shipping is free! Experience the disconnected life with the only phone that offers you true freedom - Vapor.

Re:It was very brave of them to remove all ports

[sheramil]

Centronics, or nothing!

Pricesless "customer" list

[sinij]

That list of 29 names contains 100% rich sucker content and such data would be priceless on the dark web.

No it didn't

[110010001000]

It got 29 fake pre-orders from their "friends".

Not very brave at all

[SuperKendall]

Apple manufactured hundreds of millions of smartphones without headphone jacks, knowing that consumers would in the end be OK with the choice.

This company said they would produce this device only if they were paid enough ahead of time to do so.

How is that brave again? Hey, I'll produce a phone made of razor blades if you you me ONE MILLION DOLLARS. Wow I am super brave!

Re: Not very brave at all

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple manufactured hundreds of millions of smartphones without headphone jacks, knowing that suckers and fanboys would in the end be OK with spending a ton of cash to purchase Bluetooth and/or overpriced Apple branded Status Symbol headphones.

Fixed for you.
Yes, Apple knew their target demographic, but for many people a $2 (or free) pair of earbuds is just fine. By raising the cost of ownership it just helps them cement their position as a maker of luxury phones, which helps stabilize their profits now that the market has reached a saturation point.

Re: Not very brave at all

[rtb61]

I always use the socket, because I bought one pair of earphones and have never lost them, it's the cable, even when they fall out of your ear, they kind of just hang there and do not fall on the ground. Tell me, how many of your stick that earphone back in your ear after it falls on the ground, and the oil from your earth, pick up all the dog and bird shite and you whack that crap right back in your ear. Which is more convenient for ear phones, blue tooth or the cable often with a switch and mic on it, to change tracks, turn it off and make a call and turn it back on again, that cable does far more than just connect the earphones, it keeps them together, stops them falling on the ground and controls them very effectively and you can charge your phone while using them and they never ever need recharging.

At least this makes SOME sense

[drinkypoo]

Deleting just the headphone jack is stupid, because there are still other holes for stuff to get into. But deleting all of the ports makes at least some kind of sense, because having no ports actually does eliminate some problems. I still wouldn't buy a phone like this, but I can see what they're trying to accomplish other than selling more expensive headphones.