While driving down a highway and talking on her mobile phone one day, she became frustrated with the signal of the phone and wanted to throw the phone out of the window. This moment was in her mind for quite a long time, which eventually pushed her to seek an alternative option to mobile phones. In November 1999, Altschul teamed up with Lee Volte, the Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Tyco, to create the first disposable phone. Their product was called the Phone-Card-Phone because it was the size of a phone card. The phone was less than a quarter-inch thick and was made of materials based on recycled paper. The phone also had a chip on it that allowed the owners to make purchases and use it as a credit card. In essence, this was the first attempt at mobile payment in history. The phone would sell for around $20 and could be used for up to one hour. People who returned the phone after usage would receive a credit of two to three dollars. In...
Comments
Post a Comment