Dispensable Cellular Phone Put on Sale

“Dispensable cellular phone” which can be used for a limited period is put on sale. Dispensable cellular phone aims for the people who think that proceedings for the subscription, payment and device upgrading are troublesome. Dispensable phone can be thrown out after using for some period.

It is developed by Hop-on, an American firm, and was introduced in CES 2003 in Las Vagas. It could be used in Korea, as the Hop-on prepares to put on sale a model with international roaming function for travelers.

This product is sold in California and other regions at about 40 dollars. Anyone can buy it without any identification or subscription and use it for about sixty minutes, which is paid in advance.

Dispensable cellular phone can be produced due to the revolutionarily reduced cost of production. In addition, this product has every necessary function such as sending, receiving, emergency calling and so on. Hop-on explains that the device supports every technological standard such as CDMA, GSM, TDMA so it can be used throughout the world. The possible frequency is variable as 800, 900, 1800, 1900MHz.

The device is 11 centimeters long 6 centimeters wide and 1.5 centimeters thick so one can carry it conveniently and it can be also used with hands free kit. After using paid amount, the user can either throw out or recharge and use it again. The production company gives five dollars to users who get back the used device, to promote recycling of the device.

Tae-Han Kim freewill@donga.com