The handheld devices industry has been following the bigger, the better approach recently. Screen sizes have gone from a standard 4.5-inch to more than 6-inch over the past couple of years. In such a World, UK based Zanco has come up with what is now the world's smallest phone. Whether its usage is practical or not is a separate topic of debate.
Introducing the Zanco Tiny T1
Aptly termed the Zanco Tiny T1, the phone measures just 21.0x46.7x12.0 mm. To put things into perspective, it is smaller than an average human's thumb. It looks like a candy bar and weighs a mere 13 grams.
The 0.5-inch display sports a resolution of 64x32 pixels.
200 mAh battery on the Zanco Tiny T1 can be charged via micro USB. The company claims three hours of talk time or three days on standby on a single charge. The phone can store 300 numbers and up to 50 text messages; the exact amount of memory used is unknown. It comes with a single nano-SIM slot.
Issues visible upfront
Those specifications hint at a device that is good for texting and talking only. However, how good will it be in its primary tasks is something that needs to be seen when the device is used in real-life situations. On paper, it does not fare that well since the size of the device will keep the microphone too far away and catch all the surrounding noise when talking while being pressed against one's ear; and that small screen is not going to ease reading the messages you receive.
Moreover, it runs on yesteryears' 2G networks that are currently being replaced with faster 4G/5G networks across the significant part of the world. And it comes with no internet access.
Possible use cases
There is no way the Zanco Tiny T1 is going to replace your primary smartphone to help with the daily chores. However, it can act well in emergency situations when carrying/using the regular, bigger device is not a possibility.
It is ideally suited for joggers, runners, trekkers and other adventure-loving humans.
No matter how impractical the use cases are, the manufacturer is not betting on them. The idea around the product is its novelty. The fact that one would love to own the world's tiniest phone, or flaunt it among his peers at the next weekend party is enough to get the sales going.
Pricing and availability
The Zanco Tiny T1 is being crowdfunded on the popular platform Kickstarter. The initial goal of 25,000 GBP has been long achieved, with the current amount raised being more than 73,000 GBP already. Early backers are promised a unit at 35 GBP, with expected shipping date to be somewhere in May next year.
