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Enlarge ImageMartin Hajek/@deplaatjesmaker
Some of us remember flip phones more fondly than others do.
You never accidentally bumped your screen into your keys. Your phone stayed charged for days. You felt like Captain Kirk every time you opened it. Nowadays we have big, flat phones with the screen front and center and naked. Designer Martin Hajek decided to combine the past with the present to create a flip iPhone from the future.
Hajek took his inspiration from the popularity of large flip phones, called “garakei,” in Japan. The designer named his concept the GarekeiPhone.
The detailed renders show a phone with a slick-looking lanyard so you can wear it around your neck. The flip cover, held in place by a dainty hinge, features a glowing Apple logo and a power button. The cover opens to reveal two screens, one for viewing and one for a touchscreen keyboard.
Flip-iPhone concept features three screens (pictures)
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Hajek’s envisions a slim, sleek phone that doesn’t sacrifice Apple’s clean design aesthetic. The addition of the second screen under the cover is enough to make your mind dance with the possibilities. You would have oodles of room for your keyboard and emoji. A small third screen on the outside gives you notifications.
Just because Hajek imagined it, doesn’t necessarily mean he wants one for himself. “Not sure if I personally would want a flipping phone, although I do find my iPhone 6 a tad on the large side,” he told CNET’s Crave blog.
This isn’t the first time an Apple item has gotten a fantasy makeover. Designers have long enjoyed reimagining Apple merchandise, creating fictional products as diverse as a flying Apple drone and a mashup between an iPhone and an Apple Watch.
It took Hajek several weeks to go from idea to modeling to rendering for the concept images. “Most of the time went into figuring out some details like the folding mechanism, although I am sure most engineers would tell me it is almost impossible to make a hinge in such a small area,” he said. “Then again, Apple tends to work magic when it comes to design and engineering.”
Hajek himself worked some magic with his compelling renders that make flip phones look cool again.
(Via BGR)
