It seems like only yesterday flip-phones were the hottest handhelds available, but nowadays they are practically antiques and companies are making news headlines for paying people to use them over smartphones.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first ever flip-phone, Utah based Internet and phone service provider Frontier Communications has announced it will pay someone $1,000 to ditch their modern smartphone and switch to a flip-phone for a week. The lucky winner will have to record how long it takes them to do simple tasks like texting and sending emails with the obsolete handheld, how much sleep they get, and whether their productivity increases during the one-week experiment.
Photo: wir_sind-klein/Pixabay
“That’s right. We’re looking for one brave soul to willingly give up their smartphone for a full seven days in favor of a flip phone. The madness! We know. That’s why we want to see what happens. How did you sleep? Were you more or less productive? How long did things take? Did it feel like you went back in time?” a Frontier Communications press release states. “You tell us, and we’ll pay one lucky winner $1,000 and give them a handy-dandy survival kit to keep them going. With this much throwback, you might even be tempted to tweeze your eyebrows or bleach your tips by the end. We won’t blame you.”
Apart from the old flip-phone, the selected winner will also be provided with a “boredom buster swag bag” designed to make up for some of the missing features of the flip-phone. It reportedly contains an old-fashioned paper map, to replace GPS navigation, a pocket phone book, a notepad, pen and a few CDs from the 90s to replace a smartphone’s media player and get the user in a nostalgic mood.
Frontier Communications claims that over 30,000 people have signed up for the flip phone challenge and the chance to win $1,000 so far. The only requirement is that applicants be over 18-years-old, but applicants who are active on social media or are willing to vlog their experience will receive bonus points. The winner will be selected on July 7th.
