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This Wooden DIY Cell Phone Is Way Cooler Than Any Shiny Smartphone

There's no denying the coolness of an iPhone. But what if you pulled a homemade wooden cell phone out of your pocket instead? You'd probably be the talk of the town. If you like that idea, then make it a reality by building your own cell phone!

Wooden mobile phone prototype with keypad and screen.

A team over at MIT's High-Low Tech group recently designed an elegant wooden mobile phone that you could make at home. Their DIY cell phone was made from about $150 in parts, and has a plywood and veneer enclosure that was laser-cut for the buttons, speakers, mic, screen and screws. The important parts include a SM5100B GSM Module for cellular connectivity and a color TFT screen on a breakout board.

Electronic circuit board with a small display and buttons.

"Flexures in the veneer allow pressing of the buttons beneath. Currently, the software supports voice calls, although SMS and other functionality could be added with the same hardware."

Digital input device with a screen and numbered buttons.

And guess what? It accepts a standard SIM card so you can use it with any GSM provider like AT&T and T-Mobile.

Electronics prototype with microcontroller, keypad, and various connected components.

I'm not much of a talker on the phone, so I'd prefer mine with text messaging. So I'll just wait until one of you tech geniuses out there figures that out. Meanwhile, if you want to talk-only version, head over to High-Low Tech's site (link below) for the source code, circuit design, and case design.

Photos by David Mellis

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