While the noPhone is exactly the same size and weight as an iPhone, this is about as far removed from a smartphone as you are ever likely to get.
Put simply noPhone, as the name suggests, has absolutely no functions at all…it is just a piece of plastic designed to look a bit like a smartphone.
Designed by a group of Dutch and American creatives, noPhone is not completely useless though, it is aimed at those phone owners who suffer from anxiety when they are separated from their smartphones.
There really is such an anxiety…it is called nomophobia — the fear of being without ones mobile devices — and noPhone is there to help sufferers.
According to the noPhone website, one of the things this phone does have is a website, the device is “thin, light and completely wireless.”
The designers say: “The noPhone acts as a surrogate to any smart mobile device, enabling you to always have a rectangle of smooth, cold plastic to clutch without forgoing any potential engagement with your direct environment. Never again experience the unsettling feeling of flesh on flesh when closing your hand.
“The noPhone simulates the exact weight and dimensions of your most beloved gadget in order to alleviate any feelings of inadequacy generated by the absence of a real smartphone.”
no Phone Specifications:
Battery free
No upgrades necessary
Shatterproof
Waterproof
Will survive being dropped down the toilet bowl
Front facing camera – not installed
Rear facing camera – not installed
Bluetooth compatible – no
Call quality – it does not make calls
Other technical specifications – none
Ingmar Larsen, one of the designers of the project, told ABC News: “What inspired us is the fact that a lot of people around us nowadays are focused on their mobile devices and not on the social environment anymore.
“We wanted to make people aware of their addiction by creating a product that can be used for their addiction. It works as a placebo.”
“Testimonials” on the site include:
I used to sleep with my phone in my hand, but my night terrors would cause me to hurl it across the room in an unconscious panic. With the noPhone, I can still enjoy the comfort of holding a phone in my sleep, without waking up to a shattered screen. Thanks, noPhone. -David H
With the noPhone, my eye contact skills have improved 73%. -Whitney R
Because of the noPhone, I haven’t drunk texted my ex boyfriend in one whole week. -Craig G
