zzzPhone, customizable to perfection

Posted March 21, 2008 at 01:26 PM by Joe Roland

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile

While their name might sound weird, their concept definitely isn’t. The zzzPhone is trying to do to cell phones what Dell did to computers back in the 1990’s, offer customization. And when we say customization, we mean just that, complete customization. Customers will have the option to build their device from a base model, with the liberty to choose if they want GPS, more storage, a better camera or any other feature on their cell phone. The choice of operating system is still unknown although Windows and Symbian seem to be the strong contenders with hopes of Android making an appearance too. The base model boasts a 3-inch QVGA touchscreen, 2GB of memory, and a 3-megapixel camera running Windows Mobile 6. This can be upscaled to a 7-megapixel camera, 4GB of memory, dual-SIM support, GPS, and many other high-end features at lesser cost than what the major manufacturers demand.

While the base model may cost just $150, the phone becomes more expensive as you start piling features on top of it. The reason for such relatively low pricing, according to zzzPhone, is their convenient location near Shenzen, China, where most of the big players like Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola have manufacturing units, allowing them to secure parts at a low price.

All this customization is made possible by eight different motherboards, enabling personalization to never-before-seen levels. Another nifty feature on this innovative product is an interval backup battery, which can power the device for up to 20 minutes even if the main battery is removed.

The zzzPhone is expected to be shipped starting next month and as mentioned, at a price of $150 for the base model. We cannot wait to see how the major players react to such a device, but if they do take a cue from the zzzPhone, they better start rolling out similar services.

Via [CrunchGear]