Concept Phones: It's Time to Stop!

 Concept phones are over.

Sometimes it feels like a day goes by without a new concept phone hitting the headlines. Just last month, Nokia Research celebrated its 25th anniversary with Nokia Gem. A refined concept phone with a touchscreen all over the body. But have you ever wondered what concept phones are for and why designers keep making them?.

My phone rang for the first time in the office - it was the old Nokia ringtone we knew and loathed, but suddenly we felt inexplicably nostalgic. This caused a stir. I also explained to my colleagues that since modern phones store contacts in their own internal memory and/or in the cloud, I have absolutely nothing stored on my Nokia SIM, which means I have an honest "new phone, Who doesn't like "every brand new phone call or text message. A few seconds after I finished this explanation, my phone rang. I politely replied, and a co-worker giggled, who had just made my first prank call in at least 20 years. Wonderful.

Concept phones are a waste of money.

I love when the same people that make a big deal about the crazy concept phones then complain that all devices today are too similar. Which is it do you want different phones or not? Personally I love seeing things like these. Even the LG Wing was cool in my opinion because at least it was original[3].

For real, I wish people would stop being so negative about everything that doesn't perfectly match their specific needs and wants. Weird phones are great; they give people new options to consider and OEMs new ideas to push forward. Even if some don't pan out, it's not like we won't get our traditional do-it-all slabs as an option regardless.

Concept phones are only useful for novelty purposes.

Concept phones like all concept designs are often beautiful and awe-inspiring. Yet they don’t overcome real world design challenges and rarely, if ever, make it to the production line and into people’s hands. So why do designers bother with what some people might consider frivolous exercises in exhibitionism? Are all designers simply narcissists desperate for us to ogle their work? Fortunately not.

Because concept phones are only limited by a designer’s imagination, they help them explore every possible angle. Like brainstorming, concept design encourages designers to think outside the box and reduce the risk that they might miss a great idea. Concepts are sexy, too. Just look at Italian concept cars. By mixing blue sky thinking with rich visualization, concept phones evoke strong emotions and thoughts from us, their audience. And despite their impractical nature, they do have a practical function. By placing ideas into the public consciousness and giving designers something to aspire to, sometimes dreams turn into reality.