If you’ve ever wished for a convenient and affordable back-up to your mainstay mobile phone, then California-based gadget maker Hop-on Inc. might have just what you need to obtain that blend of cheap communication and blessed peace of mind.
Hop-on looks to take Europe by storm with its new disposable mobile phone. Credit: GaetanLee/Flickr.
Specifically, Hop-on is preparing to assault European shores with its disposable mobile phone device, a truly pocket-friendly 10GBP ($20 USD) phone that the company is hoping will leave a considerable mark on the hugely competitive mobile phone world.
According to Hop-on, which only introduced its low-end GSM mobile into the European market around 2 weeks ago, popularity for the disposable device is building swiftly with initial orders having already surpassed 150,000 units.
The company is also keen to point out that the sheer weight of regional customer inquiry coming in for the phone has subsequently led to the hiring of additional support staff in order to better cope with the increase in demand.
However, despite mounting interest, Hop-on maintains that it will not be facing any manufacturing issues of the low-cost 900/1800 MHz phone, which is built on stable and proven chip sets provided by both Texas Instruments and Infineon.
“This is our biggest opportunity to actually have Hop-on become a household name in the US and throughout Europe,” trumpeted Peter Michaels, president of Hop-on. “No one sells a new 10 pounds Sterling GSM cell phone. This is a home run for Hop-on.”
Michaels went on to say that, while Hop-on is certainly enthused by the European market interest, the company doesn’t currently have the necessary resources to take its low-end GSM mobile into the North American market.
“This will come in time,” he outlined. “We want to focus on the European and Middle East markets and then hire the personnel necessary to do it right in America!”
Unsurprisingly, given the bargain basement price, Hop-on’s phone is devoid of the usual feature trimmings that adorn most of today’s mobile devices. Specifically, 10 GBP buys a phone without an LCD screen, no Net access, no digital camera, and no MP3 player -- it’s pretty much an olde phone as we once knew them.
From a plus point perspective, the disposable phone does come with an internal tracking device (why?) and can also be topped up with extra call minutes too. However, environmental group Greenpeace has already lifted a quizzical eyebrow regarding manufacturing materials along with the associated labour and shipping costs required to keep the phone down to such a low sale price.
Hop-on’s push into the European market comes on the back of positive customer feedback for its budget disposable phone, which was garnered from the recent CTIA Wireless 2008 show in Las Vegas.
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