Modu, world's lightest cellphone, lands in UK
By Vlad Savov 
posted July 14th 2010 4:24AM
posted July 14th 2010 4:24AM
Let's not mince words here, the Modu is as limited and frills-free as any modern phone can be. It keeps a list of your contacts and calls, does a bit of messaging for you, and plays back music from its thrifty 2GB of built-in, non-upgradeable memory. As such, it fulfills the "phone" part of the bargain by itself and then relies on its jackets to flesh out functionality a little more. The night jacket adds in ambient lighting and a 3.2 megapixel camera, while the sport option augments things with a pedometer display. There's also an 8-inch (touch-less) photo frame on offer that can act as a pretty nifty charging dock and media player.
Unfortunately, both of the aforementioned cases cost just under £50 a piece, while the frame sets you back £80, and the Modu itself is a not so wallet-friendly £130. The Modu will be exclusively available via the Purely Gadgets online store, where bundling the phone with a jacket will net you a discount, but we're still struggling to justify the expense. Ultimately it all feels more like you've stuck a cell radio inside a kids' toy rather than advanced the mobile race in some useful manner. Most of the cases at the moment are just showy pieces of plastic, though we must note that pairing between them and the phone is a very snappy affair. We'd be willing to forgive the Modu's limitations and just learn to love its colorful exteriors if it weren't for one major downfall -- its screen can be measured in thumbnails (1) instead of inches. Honestly, you put your thumb over it and the entire thing's obscured. How that's supposed to fly in a messaging-obsessed world, we're not really sure. Perhaps the idea is that you use this teeny tiny handset purely for calls and grab yourself a 5- or 7-inch tablet to sate your other communication needs.
Then again, we like to stick to one mobile device if at all possible, which is why we were intrigued to hear about plans for the Modu 2. It'll come with 3G connectivity and a jacket collection of its own (we'd previously heard that that would include a QWERTY-packing case), and we're being told to expect it by the end of 2010. We in this case meaning the United Kingdom -- there are still no plans to deliver either Modu handset to American hands. The final tidbit of interest we were able to obtain was word that Modu won't be authoring the touchscreen interface on its second phone, though the company of course remains mum on who will. Given the way current mobile winds are blowing, we wouldn't be too surprised to see some version of Android sidling up to this modular party, but we'll just have to wait and see.
modu to partner with Purelygadgets in the United Kingdom
Purelygadgets & modu to bring a new modular phone concept to the UK market
London, England-July 13th, 2010
Purelygadgets is to start exclusive distribution of the modu™ 1 phone in the United Kingdom. The eagerly anticipated modular device is a great addition to Purelygadgets' hi-tech portfolio. Since coming out over a year ago, the Brits haven't been able to buy the phone but now it is here and exclusively available from one of
the top electronic gadgets firms in Europe. modu, the Israeli based developer and manufacturer, has created the worlds lightest mobile phone according to the Guinness Book of World Records™ but more than this it is a revolution in the mobile handset industry. Purelygadgets will have the modu 1 phone and a selection of modu™ jackets available from July 2010.
The modu™ phone is a tiny modular and sleek mobile phone. In addition to complete mobile functionality, the modu phone is a music player and a mass storage device containing up to 2GB of memory. Users can modify the phone's design and features to accommodate their different daily activities, simply by inserting their modu phone into other devices in the modu™ ecosystem, including a range of stylish phone enclosures called modu™ jackets. The innovative modu phone interface changes with jackets. There is inbuilt Bluetooth, MP3 player and internal storage. Measuring just 72.1mm (H) x 37.6mm (W) x 7.8mm (T) the phone features a 1.3" OLED display with 65000 colours and a built in speaker. Purelygadgets will be offering the modu phone at £129.99 but for a promotional period with £30 off a modu jacket when bought with the phone. For more information and images on the modu phone and modu jackets, visit the company's website at: http://www.purelygadgets.co.uk/brand/view/4/274/
Sariel Engel, Vice President Sales & Business Development, commented, "Our launch in the UK with Purelygadgets is an exciting development in modu's distribution. This partnership will make the modu 1 phone and modu jackets available to a new and dynamic market. This is a winning scenario for modu, Purelygadgets and UK mobile phone customers".
Andrew Tse stated. "We are really excited to be working with modu and be the first to bring it to the UK. modu have extraordinary design, innovation and fun in their products. Things that our customers are always looking for in the latest lifestyle tech products."
About modu
modu was established in 2007 by Dov Moran inventor of the USB Flash Drive (DiskOnKey™) and other innovative flash data storage devices. modu manufactures a modular phone which is also the world's lightest mobile phone. The company's vision is to bring a fundamental change in the dynamics of the mobile phone industry. The modu™ phone enables users to personalize their mobile experience in a simple and
affordable way. Users can customize the look and features of their phone by inserting the modu™ phone into other devices in its ecosystem, including a range of stylish phone enclosures, called modu™ jackets. For more information visit our website at: www.modumobile.com
About Purelygadgets
Purelygadgets.co.uk was launched in 2004 to provide the latest cutting edge gadgets. Not just feature and review them but to have them sourced and available for sale. The loyal customer base currently exceeds 250,000 customers and sales to date over 1.5million orders. The company has an extensive product portfolio covering digital cameras, portable media players, netbooks, mobile phones and Sat nav. For the young at heart, Purelygadgets also sell fun gadgets and toys that are unavailable elsewhere. The company's offices are located in the fashionable London Docklands overlooking the Royal Victoria Dock.
@bbqbspareribs
thanks Engadget for quick deletion of ridiculous comments.
@bbqbspareribs
Ridiculous comments ?
@Inf Yes, it's clearly ridiculous that someone should feel so strongly about the brutalisation, murder and oppression of a people and deem it necessary to incite on a tech blog such as Engadget peaceful rejection of this behaviour through boycott of any and all products leaving said opressor until these hostilities cease. Clearly ridiculous.
@alsheron
What comment the heck are you talking about ? Or am i blind ?
Reminds me of the Dreamcast memory card.
@Warzone
How about a nice game of thermonuclear war?
@Warzone
thats a really cool phone, at least look-wise.
@Warzone HAHAHA! Ditto
This would compliment my iPhone 4 wonderfully.
@Warzone Can't wait until someone makes an iPod Touch case jacket for this thing =p
@Warzone And it would have been an awesome phone...if it came out when the Dreamcast did.
@Warzone
I was thinking zoolander
I think my girlfriend will want it
Yeah I heard she likes them small
@BlackedOut I bet you like the big ones. 5+ inches :)
@2beers
You said 5 inch is big. Fail
@2beers sad
@2beers Hahah, funny response. I don't know what to make of the smiley, think it was a joke and not a fail...
Why the hell would someone downrank this.
@N900androidOS I don't know what to make of the smiley in his answer. Joke or fail!?
Hilarious anyway, why downranked!?
@labrat Crap, sorry for double (now tripple) post.
/Blames Engadget comment system
@labrat well it was a joke. I was thinking of dell 5 inch phone/tablet. anyway, sometime you lose, sometime you don't win ( regarding the vote system) :)
@2beers
Nothing Beats Will Ferrel's cell phone in SNL:
http://media.photobucket.com/image/will%20ferrell%20on%20SNL/Mpavleshyn/willf.jpg
back then, it seemed like a great idea. then they got in over their heads and tried to charge the earth for it.
@Wiggy Fuzz
couldn't agree more.
@Wiggy Fuzz that's sad. But I always did love the idea of having a base device that you could just be modular with, like having a superpowered smartphone, that when docked, kicks in a more advanced OS to act as a computer.
This thread will break the record for the most "that's what she said" replies.
@linuxamp Or not. :P
@iKid That's what she said.
@quillaja I saw what she said there.
The irony would be pairing it with a bluetooth headset... which is larger than it. lol.
This phone has nothing on Zoolander
@slipdisc That is immediately what I thought of when I saw it.
This thing looks useless without the larger, phone-like "jackets" it supports.
I see a music player but no jack port.
Is audio out supposed to go through the mini-usb port ?
@thewild Sadly yes.
i prefer my tesco spare £10 party phone, about the same size and weight AND it doubles as a skimming stone when im bored.
@jjrp123 How do I get one of these in the U.S.?
But how's the web browser?
Knowing what one is and being it fullhearted is what builds success. This is the lightest phone. Period. If they would have tried to make it a bigscreen blogging tool they would have failed in every way. IMHO this is the definitive phone.
I want one!
This thing is like a Shuffle .. like an iPhone shuffle .. calling someone from outside your contact lists might be a pain though .. but it's useful in some cases. Clip this on and you don't need to carry a wallet or a purse around .. more useful for gals i guess who wear dresses that don't have pockets.
A great peace of hardware. If it delivers sound and coverage without problems, it has the potential to be successful.
I have GOT to have one!
Can you use it without one of those jackets?
@(Unverified) Yes.
This thing was clearly designed 4-5 years ago when the smartphone & touch boom was still a futuristic ideal. Functionality was pricey back then, and so they thought of these "jackets" to bring down prices and offer modularity. Clearly this idea is ultimately lame nowadays...
I think they should market the only thing that is still noteworthy: the tiny size. Not many (if at all) current manufacturer makes tiny cellphones, and I think there's a clear market here...
So, dear Modu team, if you want to save your business, forget these jackets and focus on functionality.
Sorry, but this phone is a joke. The "jackets" idea is simply ridiculous. Without the jackets this phone is just a very limited tiny 2G phone, not even sure it it's the smallest one in existence (not that it really matters).
I've seen the real thing, speaking on it is really inconvenient, dialing a number outside of your phone book is a pain in the ass, using it as a modem is, well, too slow (it's 2G only) etc etc.
The basic idea of this phone was to make it the same for the cellular as a flash memory is for a USB drive today, so you could stick it anywhere to extend the functionality of that other device. Yet, it was still supposed to function as a simple phone, by itself, as well. But with all the bluetooth and USB connectivity most normal phones got, that idea is kinda too late now. Today it's just a barely useful, tiny and overpriced phone, nothing more.
Sorry, Dov Moran, USB flash drive was an epic win, but this one is an epic failure. Move on and invent something better than that.
@Inf
It's a phone. Who cares if it's 2G, 3G, or over-9000G?
If you want many "G's", get a smartphone.
@whiskers
It's a phone that was supposed to be a "communication module" for other devices. And i care about how fast those devices would be able to communicate. The modu idea wasn't to be "just a phone".
@whiskers
By over 9000g, you mean Japanese?
How do I hold it? I just wanna make sure there isn't a "wrong" way...