While this DIY wooden phone by MIT PhD student David Mellis is in no way a smartphone by today’s standards, it looks like it has no problems getting the job done as far as placing calls are concerned. Let’s not forget how unique this phone looks and is guaranteed to draw attention to your device wherever you go, plus given that it doesn’t look expensive, no one will try to steal it from you either!
This phone is a 9-volt powered device and features a 1.8” 160×128 TFT LCD display and is made from parts worth $150. It will work regular sized SIM cards on any GSM network and is fully functional – at least as functional as feature (or “dumb”) phones are concerned. Granted that there are feature phones as cheap, if not cheaper than this wooden DIY handset, it certainly is a pretty novel idea not to mention a pretty unique looking one as well. The goal was not to create a phone to sell, but to “explore and expand the limits” of DIY, so perhaps we may very well start seeing DIY cellphone kits n hobbyist shops one day.