It’s official: Mobiles are going the way of digital watches

We’ve known this. I’ve been ruminating on it for a while.

I saw a mobile phone for sale the other day for $4.99. I can’t remember where. I didn’t have my phone/camera with me at the time to document it but I made a mental note. Goodness me, I thought, they’ll be giving them away with Kellogg’s Frosties soon.

Er, yeah. Actually, they will.

Stefan at Intomobile caught this one via All About Symbian. A girl’s magazine, Girl Talk, is reportedly giving away a Nokia 6630 handset with every purchase. I can’t work out if Stefan is outraged, shocked or despairing. Or impressed:

You can’t make this stuff up people. Buy an issue of Girl Talk and get a free pink Nokia 6630 running the 2nd Edition of the S60 operating system. I’m speechless. This device was announced in June of 2004 with an estimated retail price of “less than €500.” It took 4 years to become free with an issue of a magazine riddled with gossip about teenage boys and what to do to get their attention.

Not just that. If you read the front of the magazine, you’ll see it proudly proclaims:

“EIGHT GIFTS INSIDE”

Then, helpfully, the free gifts are numbered — watch where the Nokia handset is listed —

1. Charm bracelet
2. Mobile phone
3. Heart sticky notes
4. Star sticky notes
5. Pen
6. Pencil
7. Eraser
8. Stick-on jewels

Right. If I was the editor of Girl Talk, I think I’d have led the frontpage with ‘FREE NOKIA PHONE’. Although I think sales would plummet. Clearly the editorial team have carefully considered their offer — in that, a free handset is quite possibly of mild interest for their tweenage audience hence the other stuff like ‘a pen’ and an ‘eraser’.

Has it come to this? As Stefan points out, the handset was, four years ago, a whopping 500 EURO. Technology moves fast.

I wonder what they’re doing about the phone charger?

HEHEHEHE

April Fool!

But actually… not really that far off from reality.