Credit-card sized phone only for calls

The idea of having multiple SIM cards or secondary phones for travel is not new, but one startup has a different idea altogether. The Light Phone is a prepaid GSM cellphone packed with minutes, a SIM card and an app. With modern smartphones and other devices taking up so much attention, the startup’s idea is to go out with a basic, small and inexpensive phone solely devoted to making and answering calls.

The designers wanted a device that keeps people in touch and connected, but is not demanding of attention. By removing all functions including text messaging and retaining only the call feature, they have created a device that consumers can carry with them in a wallet, pocket or purse, and avoid the ever more common look-down behavior that most smartphone users have adopted when waiting.

To that end, the Light Phone is designed to be as small and unobtrusive as possible, and incorporates a truly minimalist design. It is about 4mm thick or about the size of a credit card and works on prepaid GSM-based carriers. Calls to a consumer’s normal line can be forwarded to the Light Phone via an app loaded onto a smartphone. The creators assert that the phone’s battery can last as long as 20 days. The Kickstarter project, which has already exceeded its funding goal, allows adopters to pre-order one for $100, with a shipping date scheduled for May 2016.

What is interesting about this product is that it uses no new technologies to build, just a vision of what designers want it to be. While the software link building the app could be an obstacle, there is no reason that other manufacturers could not build a simple, small and unobtrusive phone. The Light Phone is simply a stripped down feature phone with an intriguing and minimalist design. In particular, bringing down the price point would not only allow it to be more attractive, but make it a more viable product for a child’s first phone or a basic travel phone.