Mini things are fun. Sorry, I’m not willing to hear your counterpoint. So going with that indisputable fact, tiny gadgets are great, too, especially tiny phones. You thought Apple’s iPhone SE marked the return of bb phones? You might want to sit down. I have news. There’s a smaller phone. Maybe the smallest touchscreen phone ever? The Vphone S8 has a 1.54-inch display and one button. That button is a power button. It does come with three virtual buttons, too, but whatever. Google tells me the previous smallest touchscreen phone was this dual-SIM phone with a 2.45-inch display. We're not talking about that phone, though. We're talking about how tiny the Vphone S8 is. Tiny!
The phone appears to have a speaker and microphone, but you could also use Bluetooth earbuds to make a call or plug some into the headphone jack. Yep, it has a headphone jack. I know, right? The S8 also has:
- A built-in FM radio
- A heart rate sensor
- A pedometer
- A light sensor
- 64MB of RAM
- 128MB of storage
- 380mAh battery
Some of you might read these stats and think they’re sad. I kind of agree, but I just really love how little this phone is, so it cancels out depressing spec reality. What's definitely clear here is that Vphone S8 is just a smartwatch turned into a phone. Samsung made its Gear S2 with LTE connectivity. Is that a phone or watch? Are smartwatches just phones, or are phones just smartwatches? The lines are so blurred, and I'm getting confused about language.
The S8 appears to only be available in China, so we, once again, will have to keep dreaming. I’m trying, everyone! I think if we dream hard enough we can force these cool phones to appear in front of us. Will it.
Comments
This thing needs a chain to make it a pocket-watch-phone.
By ehfz on 10.19.16 8:09pm
[insert obligatory Zoolander reference here]
By Captain Megaton on 10.19.16 8:23pm
By quantumaspect on 10.20.16 4:42am
At that size, I don’t see why they didn’t just put a wrist strap on it and make it a watch and be done with it.
By Analog Spirit 2.0 on 10.19.16 9:56pm
I need this in my life.
By AccountKiller23432423 on 10.19.16 10:11pm
Finally, a phone made for Trump-sized hands. This is yuuuge.
By op12 on 10.19.16 11:56pm
It’s not a phone – have a look at their web page:
http://www.v-phone.cc/v-phone-rugged-smartphone-vphone-s8-2.html
Half way down:
"Bluetooth Connectivity, the companion of the smart phone
With Bluetooth connecting, you can make or answer a call.
You can answer the smartphone call
if you paired up with the smarthphone successfully
Best smartphone companion all in your hand"
By escalus76 on 10.20.16 12:51am
To be fair they called it a "vphone" and the header page literally says "the smallest touch screen phone in the world"
By MisutāUrufu on 10.20.16 2:36am
I hope someone at the Verge sees this and clears up whether this is a stand-alone phone, or just a smartwatch.
By KadanaJ on 10.20.16 3:10am
I have a feeling it’s an accessory, at best a 2G/3G connected one with stand-alone capabilities; Even before the apple watch there were a number of cheap, poorly made 2G/3G "phone watches" on ebay and amazon knocking off early smartwatches, with an actual SIM slot and cellular antenna added on.
By MisutāUrufu on 10.20.16 3:13am
I expect to see this on Unbox Therapy next week.
By Black Dude on 10.20.16 12:57am
There are many phone-watches with full Android and nano SIM card slot (and microSD card slot) – for example: http://www.everbuying.net/product1209439.html
By Cile.BSW on 10.20.16 3:34am
The Xperia X10 Mini was an awesome little phone. I’d love to buy one even now.
By hefferj on 10.20.16 7:52am
I’ve been looking for a replacement for my HTC Liberty…looks promising.
By mmmotors on 10.20.16 10:50am
Oh, so NOW you want a small phone. Where were you when my beloved webOS was still alive?
By MrJspeed on 10.20.16 12:15pm
If only companies realized we valued smaller phones, other than Sony, who at least makes excellent Compact models
By bofis on 10.20.16 2:41pm
If it is a smartphone Bluetooth companion what’s the point of having a micro-sim slot? Color me confused…
By Th. Io. on 11.18.16 12:17am
"This is a standalone device, which means it can work without requiring any additional device like smartphones and tablet. But it is also compatible with all Android and higher devices as well as iOS handsets. This means the Vphone S8 should sport many useful features to help it in this deal. Honestly, not all the features are great, but there are some that will surprise you….But what’s disappointing is it has NO audio jack and it doesn’t support 3G network." Well someone is mistaken here and I don’t know who.
http://www.xiaomitoday.com/vphone-s8-review-worlds-smallest-touchscreen-smartphone/
By Th. Io. on 11.18.16 12:23am