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Orange’s disposable mobile handsets en route

You’ll shortly be able to buy a one-time-use mobile handset complete with pre-installed SIM card with 60 minutes worth of traffic — extendable by top-up vouchers. So reports StrategyEye.

The deal is coming to us courtesy of everybody’s favourite maker of plastic pens, BIC. Yes! The mobile phone is now truly becoming a commodity. Alcatel-Lucent are knocking together the handset with BIC. Orange reckons the handset will retail for around 49 EURO. Or about, what, 35 quid?

The StrategyEye report mentions a possible launch date for the BIC Phone or “BICPhone” in France at the end of this coming summer. No news if we’ll get it in the UK or beyond.

So, disposable handsets? A good idea?

Well they’re already here — the Woolworths shopping chain, for example, routinely sells PAYG handsets for sub £20 pounds. They’re not BIC-pen-disposable though. At least, they’re not meant for that.

Case in point: Get yourself an Alcatel OT-S520 on Virgin for £19.99:

Picture 8

Or browse the best sellers:

Picture 7

Granted, these handsets don’t come with 60 minutes airtime — at best, they usually come with enough for a minute or two’s worth of chatting. It’ll be interesting to see if the BICPhone stands up to the existing PAYG favourites.

10 COMMENTS

  1. Now, I'm not the most environmentally friendly person… I don't recycle and I leave my computers on all night… my carbon footprint probably looks like a dinosaur footprint compared to most peoples.

    But even I can see that this is a bad idea, surely it wouldn't be too much to setup a recycling point in each Orange store and take back these BIC handsets for re-cycling in exchange for a

  2. Disposable phones?
    I've heard of these on CSI (a great source of knowledge though!), but even so, I can't see the point in them. If you want a Pay as You Go phone, buy one. As highlighted, Woolworths sell a number of phones (which arn't locked, I've bought (in the past), phones from there and used them with a number of sim's.

    I'll also point out that the “beloved” Carphone Warehouse are also selling a number of cheap phones, I think there is even one that is

  3. Hiya,

    I'm writing you in response to your article about the BIC ® Phone..
    First of all, this mobile phone is not disposable. It can serve as a primary, or an emergency, mobile phone.. This device is rechargeable, comes with its own battery, and has a life span identical to any other mobile.No matter how affordable it is, the BIC ® Phone is not disposable.
    That’s all for the details !
    If you would like more information about this product, please visit http://www.bic-phone.com.
    Thanks

    Samuel

  4. Hiya,

    I'm writing you in response to your article about the BIC ® Phone..
    First of all, this mobile phone is not disposable. It can serve as a primary, or an emergency, mobile phone.. This device is rechargeable, comes with its own battery, and has a life span identical to any other mobile.No matter how affordable it is, the BIC ® Phone is not disposable.
    That’s all for the details !
    If you would like more information about this product, please visit http://www.bic-phone.com.
    Thanks

    Samuel

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