Panasonic failed to gain a foothold in the Russian mobile phone market due to strong competition from Chinese and Korean brands (Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Meizu). However, she left a good memory in the form of an unusual Panasonic GD55 phone. What kind of phone is this and what is its feature?
Panasonic GD55 specifications
Let's note right away that the phone's parameters are not impressive. They are standard by the standards of that time (year of issue: 2002). The phone supports GSM900/1800/1900 communication standards, has a blue backlit display with a resolution of 112x64 pixels, can display 4 lines of text and weighs only 65 grams. But the main feature is the size. This "baby" is only 7.7 cm long, 4.3 wide and 1.7 thick. At the same time, the Panasonic GD55 battery can withstand 8 hours of talk time and 430 hours of standby time. Given the low power consumption, this makes sense.
Additional parameters
Panasonic GD55, like any other phone of that time, had a cool organizer: an alarm clock, a clock, a calculator, wallpapers, a converter of different currencies, etc. There isspeaker, because of which you can talk on the speakerphone, vibrating alert. Moreover, the WAP 1.1 standard was even available, which provided access to the Internet.
Well, then everything is standard: 250 names in the phone book, polyphony for 4 tones, memory for the last 10 missed and received calls. Sending and receiving text messages are included. In general, the Panasonic GD55 does not have any unique features, but the size is really impressive.
Unique size is the main advantage
With the size of a lighter or a matchbox, the phone was really very convenient. Firstly, the keys are pressed easily and always accurately. A nice backlight helps to cope in the dark, and judging by the feedback from users, they have never had problems with erroneous button presses. Of course, if the user has big hands and fingers, then such a "baby" will definitely not suit him, but for everyone else it is fine.
Reliability and signal reception are also on top. Where other mobile phones lose connection, Panasonic GD55 shows 1-2 sticks, and this is the merit of a cool radio module. If you remember, polyphony in 2002 was considered a cool "trick". To draw an analogy, polyphony in 2002 is something like a good dual rear camera today. So Panasonic GD55 can be completely written down in the flagships of that time. Although at that time this term was not applied to phones.
There's also a lot to be said about reliability, but it's not just the Panasonic GD55's prerogative. Manysuch mobile gadgets of that time are reliable. They are still working and will work for decades without breakdowns and "glitches". So, although Panasonic GD55 can be praised in this regard, it is impossible to single out this feature as an advantage over the others.
Modern analogues
Modern mobile gadgets can compete with GD55. However, it should be borne in mind that today technology has gone far ahead, so modern electronics can be much smaller compared to the electronics of that time. Therefore, the GD55 made a real revolution in terms of the size of mobile phones in its time.
The very first competitor is Long-CZ J8. This phone looks like a car keychain, although it has all the necessary functionality.
The second analogue is the so-called Cardphone with a miniature screen and huge keys. In fact, they are not that big, but against the background of a small display they look just huge. Such a phone is unofficially called the "babushkophone" by the people due to the fact that some users buy it for the elderly. This is a simple dialer that is no good for anything else.
Also, recently there has been a fashion for phones that are designed as key chains for BMW, Mercedes, Porsche cars. They are not just similar, but identical, including in size. Most likely, they are created for people who want to show in society that they have cars. But this is a topic for another article.
