Bored of your neat, rectangular phone? Do you crave a unique gadget not like any other? Well then Cyrcle is just the right gadget for you!
It is a non-rectangular DIY phone that you can assemble yourself and can fit in both your pocket and hand. Cyrcle is a start-up owned by two women who wanted a unique design for their phones. The finally did it and now want to teach others how they made it happen. They are offering a $199 makerspace class that will give you the following:
- Working circular phone prototype
- SIM card with nationwide coverage
- Information on how to make more mobile phones so you can teach others also
The Cyrcle phone is based on the design by SEEED Studio’s RePhone Kit. The phone will be able to receive and make calls and accept texts. It has a circular touchscreen and offers 2G connection (first model). Both of its hardware and software are open source. Although this phone might not be a replacement of your high-functioning smartphone but a small, circular phone that you assembled yourself is definitely fun and worth showing off to friends.
The instruction classes are being held at various makerspaces (creative places where people can build stuff together). After the class you will get to walk away with, well, knowledge of the course and more than $100 worth of electronics and equipment. Cyrcle strikingly resembles a flip-open pocket watch or a make-up compact. The prototype’s circular casings are made via 3D printing and the interior is designed using RePhone Kit. Thus, you can build your own DIY phone from the open source components available in the kit.
The makers hope to modify the phone and make it less distracting by making it capable of filtering out more important notifications (e.g. those from close friends and family or you can set it for work also) from others so you don’t have to check the phone constantly. Have a look at the Cyrcle’s Kickstarter campaign for more details.
It is said that the device has a feminist touch to it as it is conceived by two women. Would you find a non-rectangular phone refreshing? Would you like to try and build your own phone? Let us know!