We've seen super-duper Chinese cell phones at trade shows before, but we've never been able to get hold of them in the US. Enter zzzPhone, a new company that promises to customize your super-duper-China phone and send it to you ... individually.
Their base model, for $149 plus an unbelievable $5 shipping, lets you put in two GSM SIM cards at once and has a touchscreen, 3-megapixel camera, music and video players and Web browser. But the real fun comes when you start configuring your own phone on their Web site. The site is only compatible with Internet Explorer on Windows. But you can change the phone's color, add a water-resistant coating, more speakers, GPS, a TV tuner, a 7-megapixel camera, a second camera, or even ask zzzPhone to pre-install movies (legally purchased, they say), all for a price. Try the configurator on their site. It's a lot of fun, as you can see speakers and cameras appear and disappear as you refit your phone.
Some of the phone's features are pretty mysterious. For instance, even after talking to the guys in charge of the company I still couldn't figure out what operating system it runs. The Web site is vague on frequency bands, but I found out that it's GSM/EDGE 850/1800/1900 - perfect for the US.
If this all sounds a little far fetched to you, well, it sounds far-fetched to me, too. zzzPhone is run by an American guy in China who declines to have his name in print, and the company's structure is rather convoluted. I spoke to the guys in charge informally, but on the record they didn't want to give much away. They did reveal that their plan revolves around using the existing manufacturing infrastructure in China, where a whole lot of cell phones are made, and low labor costs to deliver inexpensive phones direct to consumers.
We've seen other 'radical' tech firms out there with interesting semi-vaporware - Liebermann PCs comes to mind, as does Pegasus Wireless and the Art Lebedev keyboard company. So the idea of a new, radical, yet somewhat mysterious Chinese company selling custom-made cell phones at amazingly low prices makes me a little worried. If it's real, it could be awesome, but China is the Wild West of business - there are a lot of bandits out there, and it's hard to tell who's a bandit and who's a sheriff.
I'm ordering a sample zzzPhone today, so we'll see how it holds up. I'll keep you informed.
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February 5, 2008 1:52 PM
If their WEB SITE is only "compatible" with Internet Explorer...I'd have to wonder just how "compatible" their PHONE would be (if this is an example of their "engineering"!) Maybe this is also another example of "you get what you pay for!"
February 5, 2008 8:39 PM
That is a sweet phone. When I get a job after college, I will definitely have room in my budget for one of these bad boys. One of my favorite cell phone accessories is faceplates, because I like to express myself with different designs for different occasions. Does anything think that these have faceplates available to accessorize?
February 6, 2008 3:49 AM
You read their website, huh? Then you should have noted that as well as frequency, the OS is clearly said to be WM6. Kind of odd you'd miss that since they're on the same page, no more than a few lines from each other.
February 6, 2008 9:31 AM
Yesterday, when I posted that, it didn't say Windows Mobile 6. It said "Windows Mobile (or equivalent)," and when I spoke to their executive team, they said they were still working out the details. It's good to see they worked them out!
It looks like there have been some other interesting/useful changes to their site in the past 48 hours. They've added frequency band specifications - they didn't have those before - and cleaned up the spec sheet quite a lot. The site is definitely improving day by day.
February 6, 2008 10:46 AM
this seems like a trick to me.. 6 weeks of waiting time...and a ad saying you get 75 bucks if you sell it through your site...but as you ordered your zzzphone..please keep us informed..and may be a review of it if you are delivered one.....i sincerely hope this is true...
February 6, 2008 2:01 PM
30 day warranty, six week delivery......RIGHT....
February 6, 2008 2:28 PM
Sascha, Sascha, Sascha.
You do your readers a disservice by reporting on a product that nobody has ever seen from a company that nobody knows, run by a guy who won't identify himself.
Let us know when you recieve and have "tested" the phone, whydon'cha?
February 6, 2008 2:30 PM
It does sound too good to be true, but if it is, it's sweet. The form factor is not quite me, and the lack of wifi kinda sucks, but the other options rock. It would be perfect if it had a slideout qwerty keyboard and wifi to go with it. Please let us know how your order works out, I may actually get one if I find good reviews.
February 6, 2008 4:29 PM
You're right to be skeptical, Henry. I don't suggest that anyone buy this until at least a few reliable reviewers have actually received phones and tried them out. The proof is always in the pudding, or in the phone as the case may be.
February 6, 2008 6:59 PM
Just ordered one. Kinda worried after the fact. I saw it in so many web sites and PC mag I thought it had to be legit.
I'll keep you posted
February 6, 2008 7:11 PM
A little googling on the contact email and:
Name: Lawrence Horowitz
Phone: 305-793-0775
Email: mainc123@yahoo.com
February 7, 2008 7:17 AM
That 305 area code is Miami Fla. We'll be watching to see if you ever get the phone...
February 7, 2008 8:03 AM
I just wonder why the corporation called zzzPhone doesn't come up when searched the Corporations Registration Data Search and that the phone number is to miami and the address in the whois is to las vegas, where the address is assigned to Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial, LLC.. it sound like a fraud, indeed :P
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/corps/search.aspx
February 8, 2008 3:56 PM
these phone very similar to phones on the ebay store go2gold which is based in miami
February 9, 2008 2:37 PM
Its a scam unless you are looking to purchase a phone that won't work in the US and runs Symbian and not WM6. If they are looking to build a phone and sell it in the US it will need to go under FCC testing as well, no records there.
More here:
http://www.bostonpocketpc.com/ZZZPhone++Nice+Idea+Too+Bad+Its+A+Scam.aspx
Buyer Beware!
February 22, 2008 9:47 AM
To: Steven Hughes, you seem to post everywhere that it is a scam. Did you buy it yourself? Did you even actually see the phone? Hell you keep pointing to the article that you wrote. I just find it odd that you are the only one that is chanting the fact that it is a scam.
February 23, 2008 5:56 AM
Hey Sascha Segan! Thanks for ordering a phone to actually find out if there's a product behind those pages. I've postponed my order to see how yours work out. Heard anything yet?
What did was I ordered a phone, but I never paid via Paypal. I got an email from a Matt Hammond zzzphonecom@gmail.com asking me to pay after a week or so. I replied to this expressing my sceptisism, but I've not heard anything back from him.
It's at best very,very poor customer relations, at worst it's a total scam. Using @gmail.com and so on does not improve my impression of those people. I've also noticed they've censored out the parts about possible scam in the aricles they've reference on their page.
But - a cool product idea - it is. :)
February 29, 2008 8:23 AM
Bobby:
I just pointed the facts as I seem them and want others to know as well before placing their hard earned cash on something that looks to be fraud from the beginning claiming have the option and then being a Windows Mobile device when it isn't. Maybe they do have a "legit product in the making" heck I would love to see it come to fruition, but from the specs on the site,(which seem to change regularly) a device purchased by a very reliable source and information from Microsoft stating that zzzphone didn't license Windows Mobile for this device, nor have I seen any FCC testing for the device leads me to believe that something fraudulent and the lack of full disclosure is going on. I contacted zzzPhone and have yet to hear from them. So I can only go on the information that I received. Someone else had emailed me and said from the information they received from zzzPhone, they are using a proprietary OS that is a 'Windows-type software and Java software', but will not run Windows Mobile applications and that zzzPhone has tried to obtain licensing from Microsoft for Windows CE 6 to run on the device, but met roadblocks along the way. I cannot confirm or deny this information unless I see a device or actual screen shots/video of the device in action.
I am a bit sceptical. When the advertising on the website still shows Microsoft logos and branding ...(What is this Windows XP on a phone?), call me a bit skeptical. Maybe it is legit, but for now from all the information given on the site it looks like fraud claiming something it is, when it isn't. Also the money back guarantee is for manufacturer defects, nothing about customer satisfaction with the product. When I see this alarms go off and down the line alot of unhappy people.
When I see "As Reviewed in Business Week, Computer World, and PC Magazine, but edited excerpts with no actual reviews alarms go off...
IF you think its worth it go ahead and purchase it. I just want to warn enough people to make an educated guess before purchasing. If it is legitimately running Windows Mobile, then I will be the first to admit I am wrong, but from what I saw and the facts obtained I say it doesn't currently.
Unless Windows for Mobile is their own customized OS, I am sure it isn't a licensed name since it has Windows and Mobile in it, which are licensed by Microsoft. Using this name is also deemed misleading. If they left the OS as TBD, that would be more truthful. Hopefully they will get WM on the device. It would be a truly inovative product to even have the option to choose different OSes. I just want people to make sure they look closley at what they are purchasing as they may not get what they think they are getting.
So far the product isn't "finalized" and will soon undergo FCC testing is information I received from other resellers that have contacted me so maybe we will see it and maybe we won't. I just want people to err on the side of caution before making a purchase until all the facts are disclosed.
March 3, 2008 1:43 PM
Hello,
You all make valid points, as expressed on other blogs I have been on. The specs were rapidly changing because the company was new, and were trying to have the most updated information online.
To answer some of the questions from above: The phone was going to be running what is called XP Embedded, as apposed to Windows Mobile 6.0, or CE. That changed and at the moment is running a proprietary Linux OS, with Google Android due out in June 08. I agree their customer relations are a little scarce, but that's where I come in. I speak with them daily, and can get almost any question answered.
The reason the email was being sent as an @gmail.com was because like all new start ups there were issues with getting up and running, and now the corporate email is operational.
The phone is currently undergoing FCC testing and is patent pending.
Wifi is on the way, as is many other features. Feel free to email me at info@customizeaphone.com or write back here for more information. Thank you for your interest,
Jesse Nowlin
[edited by site moderator]
March 6, 2008 6:49 PM
What company name was used for filing with the FCC?
We'd like to see the correspondences.
March 8, 2008 1:17 AM
We are the Affiliate for ZzzPhone..
Visit us at http://www.zzzphonestore.com
March 8, 2008 9:09 AM
The whole affiliate affair and the quality of the affiliate sites makes me more convinced it's probably a scam. :)
I'm curious to hear what Sacsha gets, or should I say IF Sacha gets anything. Paypal should be made aware of fraud if nothing arrives.
March 10, 2008 10:51 PM
so is this phone going to be sold on ebay? if it is with pay pal im sure a lot more people would buy it and feel more comfortable with it because of the insurance on pay pal.
March 20, 2008 1:09 PM
looking it's good
and nice