Justine, her rotary dial mobile phone and the pitfalls of mass production

David Lee

10.11.2023

Translation: Julia Graham

Dissatisfied with current smartphones, Justine sets out to build her own. All by herself and from scratch, no less. But that’s not a problem for her. It only starts to get difficult when she tries to launch the device.

I ordered the Rotary Un-Smartphone in August 2022. This is a mobile with a dial – the polar opposite of a smartphone. It was a pre-order and part of a crowdfunding campaign. While I still haven’t received the phone, I have had several long e-mails where developer Justine Haupt outlines where she’s at and explains the problems causing delays. And that’s problems in the plural. She writes in the first person because for years she’s done almost everything herself: from concept to design, firmware, choosing components and assembling parts.

This project dates all the way back to the beginning of 2020. It’s a story full of disappointments and complications, but always renewed hope. I’m still rooting for her today – not just because I’d like to have my phone, but also because I want her to succeed with her project. It’s brave, cool and, in a likeable kind of way, also kind of mad.

The idea

Justine’s a textbook nerd. She’s employed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory research institute and develops robots on the side. She works with Debian software, makes everything open source as a matter of course and rants about patents. Self-promotion isn’t her thing. However, because of all the interest in her project, she does give updates.

Even these are true to nerd style. She begins her first YouTube video by saying «please don’t subscribe to this channel». It wasn’t even meant as a joke. About 31,700 people haven’t heeded her request.

In this video, Justine spends the first five minutes explaining what motivated her to build an anti-smartphone and the next ten minutes describing how the first version of the phone works. The remaining long section of the video shows the assembly – Justine wants to sell the first phones as a kit.

One of the things Justine dislikes about smartphones is that she never knows what the device is actually doing. What’s going on in the background and under the hood. There aren’t any manuals any more. Manufacturers assume that users already know how to operate these devices, despite the high level of complexity.

Justine reckons that’s «bullshit».

Her phone is the antidote. It’s simple, clear and logical, with physical switches and buttons that have clearly assigned functions. Although the dial is the most striking feature, it’s not used very often. There are direct dial buttons for your two most frequent contacts. What’s more, you can access any contact in your address book and call them relatively easily. There’s a malleable e-ink display on the back that shows your saved contacts.

Making calls with this device is designed to be easier and better than with a smartphone. Signal strength is displayed more precisely and its antenna is bigger. This probably accounts for the improved reception.

Of course, it also evokes feelings of nostalgia given that the phone features a real bell, like an old wall phone. In spite of all of this, it fits comfortably in your trouser pocket. It is, after all, a mobile and much smaller than it appears at first glance.

The video is from 4 March 2020. At this point, the Un-Smartphone is already well thought out and working. Justine originally built it for herself and uses it as her main phone. Mass production wasn’t on the cards at that point.

OK, I’ll make it myself

The video only exists because the project went viral just beforehand, at the start of 2020. Countless media outlets from Wired to Der Spiegel were covering it. And then, of course, some people really want a phone like that. But Justine has no desire to become a phone manufacturer. She already has a job and is keen to set up a robotics company on the side.

As a compromise, in a manner of speaking, Justine starts taking orders for phone kits.

But instead of creating the parts with a 3D printer, they’ll be made using injection molding. Just like plastic parts in mass production. The phone’s meant to work in LTE networks and get a few other improvements. She’s developing a completely new version of the device. The e-ink screen is larger and the LED lights have been replaced by a real OLED on the front. She programs the drivers herself.

Global supply issues

Justine wrangles with global supply difficulties for almost the whole of 2021. Chips and other electronic parts are difficult to obtain and, what’s more, availability’s constantly changing. To set up mass production in a reasonably cost-effective way, Justine would have to wait for all the parts for all the pre-orders. Instead, she decides to set up her own production process. This gives her the flexibility to make small quantities of the phone.

However, the in-house production process also makes things complex – and prone to error.

The production machine’s broken

On 13 February 2022, Justine lets everyone know that the first 84 kits for North America will be shipped in February if all goes to plan. The remaining 114 pre-orders are still awaiting an OLED – another case of supply issues. Justine offers to send the phone without the OLED screen and deliver that later. In passing, she mentions that the assembly machine’s broken.

On 21 February, Justine issues an update saying the assembly machine’s still broken and the first kits can’t be shipped. The new estimated date is now March. Justine points out – not for the first or last time – that pre-orders can be cancelled at any time.

Then comes an update on 6 March. The spare part she needs in order to fix the machine can’t be shipped immediately – of course. The spare part arrives on 15 March, but that only solves part of the problem. Justine tries to repair the machine herself and it gives her a headache.

So it’s a sigh of relief on 12 April when the machine is finally up and running. Does that mean Justine can now produce and ship the pre-ordered phones?

There’s always something

Er, not quite. By the end of June, Justine still hasn’t shipped a single phone. Mass production isn’t reliable. But that’s set to change in mid-August. The first 200 orders for North America are due to leave her workshop in September. This good news does the rounds on tech portals. That’s when I first hear about the rotary Un-Smartphone and decide to order one. But I need a version for Europe. You see, Justine has to build different versions of the phone for different parts of the world.

By 2023, she expects to be able to make newly ordered phones straight away – just «like a normal business».

But this certainly isn’t a normal business. At the beginning of September, Justine writes to tell us she’s not started mass production yet but will do any day now. There’s just the slight issue of a little hardware bug.

Meanwhile, the preview video is funny and entertaining. So, there’s been progress in this area as well.

On 15 November 2022, disillusionment sets in. The dials don’t always work. Sometimes they dial the right number, other times not. All of the phones that have already been assembled need to be scrapped. 770 devices should’ve been ready by Christmas, but there’s not enough time to reach that goal now.

Justine offers to return people’s money. But that’s not what I want; I want the phone. She asks us to let her know if we’re not in a hurry for it. So that’s what I do.

There are also two comparatively minor problems that need to be fixed. For one, the headphone jack only works for listening, not speaking. And the battery life is just 12 hours. There’s always something.

2023 – now it’s really starting to get complicated

At some point in early 2023, Justine actually manages to solve all the issues. Only to be saddled with a new problem that’s even bigger than all the previous ones.

US network operators now require certification for every phone, which has to be conducted by an independent lab. This is despite the fact that the individual hardware components have already been certified. For a billion-dollar company like Apple, it’s no big deal but it poses huge problems for a one-woman business. Justine has no idea how long it’ll take her to get this certification. For the first time, she doesn’t even have a fixed date in sight.

Anyone who’s already ordered can – as always – opt out and ask for their money back. Alternatively, you can wait for the certification or choose to receive the phone as an experimental kit. I decide to wait. The phone might actually work in Europe, but I’m not in the mood for tinkering about and messing with endless troubleshooting.

All in: there’s no turning back

Justine doesn’t have this option either. There are moments when she’d love to throw in the towel. But she’s already invested too much time along with her heart and soul for that. If she gave up now, it’d all have been for nothing. And everyone who ordered would be disappointed. So, it’s just not an option.

However, getting certifications doesn’t just take time; it also costs money. And it’s long been obvious that Justine can’t deal with everything herself. Just answering the thousands of e-mails would be a job in itself. Since giving up isn’t an option, there’s only one thing for it: to expand the company.

That’s why Justine brings a business partner on board who’s also the CFO. The company moves to new headquarters and goes on to hire more people. The operating-out-of-the-garage phase is over. Nevertheless, this also leads to a lot of other work that needs to be done before Justine can deal with getting certification for the phone.

Side note: the production machine breaks down again after making a mere 15 mobiles. Justine is concerned that people will lose faith in her.

However, the machine will be up and running again soon and half the kits will be finished by September. So that’s something. The other half of the kits are once again waiting for chips.

In terms of delivery date for the finished, certified phones, the answer is still «no idea». Maybe mid-2024. In which case, I’ll wait a bit longer.

All the best, Justine.

David Lee

Senior Editor

David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.ch

My interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.

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