What does a mobile phone and an empty crisp packet have in common? Well until now, not much. However, with the new Hop-on disposable mobile phone coming to the UK at £10 each, communication really has become accessible to everyone.

On the surface, a disposable phone may seem a bit gimmicky, after all there aren’t many people out there who don’t already own their own non-throwaway mobile. The Hop-on disposable phone could however, be handy for parents as it’s a cheaper phone option for teenagers, and also doubles as a tracking device. It could also be a handy phone to keep in your car or handbag for those inevitable days when you forget your phone at home. Because there is no contract involved, it is also an option for those who simply can’t get approved, or don’t want to be locked-in to two years worth of bills.

The Hop-on has been selling in the USA since 2002. This has given international visitors another option to using phone cards or paying exorbitant global roaming charges when making calls within another country.

For those of you worried that such a basic phone would have absolutely no features, well your fears are almost justified. There is of course no MP3 player, camera, games and there isn’t even an LCD screen. For the price though, I was quite surprised that you get what is actually included. Namely, a choice of 12 ringtones, multi-language enabling, phonebook, speed dial and a standby time of 240 hours with 3 hours talk time. Not bad considering ten quid could buy you either all that or a sandwich and a coffee from Starbucks.

For companies, the Hop-on disposable mobile provides for some very cool merchandise. Your competitors may be giving out holographic business cards at the next trade fair, but you’re giving out branded disposable mobile phones- how much more cool and tech-savvy are you!

As we are now considered a “throw-away society”, I am concerned as to the environmental impact of a disposable mobile phone. Indeed, Greenpeace has also made comment concerning not knowing what the phone is actually made of. Despite the name of the phone, the Hop-on is reusable and can be topped up again with a credit card. With £10 worth of build quality though, I’m not sure how long you could keep reusing one before it deteriorated in your handbag. If you do send your phone back to the manufacturers, you will receive a small rebate which would at least promote the recycling of these phones.

Source: Hop-On via GadgetVenue

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