Overview of a miniature phone Panasonic GD55

The company Panasonic has not been able to strengthen its position in the Russian mobile phone market due to strong competition from Chinese and Korean brands (Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Meizu). However, it left a good memory in the form of an unusual phone Panasonic GD55. What is this phone and what is its peculiarity?

Specifications Panasonic GD55

Just note that the phone settings 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 display with blue backlight and resolution of 112x64 pixels, it can display 4 lines of text and weighs only 65 grams. But the main feature is the size. This "kid" is only 7.7 cm in length, 4.3 in width and 1.7 in thickness. At the same time, the Panasonic GD55 battery lasts 8 hours of talk time, and it is kept in standby mode for 430 hours. Given the low energy consumption, this is logical.

Extra options

Panasonic GD55, like any other phone of that time, had a great organizer: an alarm clock, a clock, a calculator, wallpaper, a converter of different currencies, etc. There is a speaker, because of which you can talk on the speakerphone, vibration. Moreover, the WAP 1.1 standard was even available, which provided access to the Internet.

Well and further all is standard: 250 names in the telephone book, polyphony on 4 tones, memory for the last 10 missed and accepted calls. Sending and receiving text messages are attached. In general, the Panasonic GD55 does not have any unique characteristics, but the size is really impressive.

The unique size is the main advantage

At the size of a lighter or 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 of users, they never had problems with the wrong button press. Of course, if a user has large hands and fingers, then such a "kid" will not exactly fit him, but everyone else is quite.

The reliability and reception of the signal is also on top. Where other mobile phones lose touch, the Panasonic GD55 features 1-2 sticks, and this is the merit of the cool radio module. If you remember, then polyphony in 2002 was considered a cool "chip." If we draw an analogy, polyphony in 2002 is something like a good dual rear camera today. So Panasonic GD55 can be completely written in the flagships of that time. Although this term was not applied to telephones.

On reliability, you can also say a lot, but it's not only the prerogative of the Panasonic GD55 phone. Many such mobile gadgets of that time are reliable. They work till now and will work for decades without breakdowns and "glitches". So Panasonic GD55 in this regard, although it can be praised, but to highlight this feature as an advantage over the rest does not work.

Modern analogues

Modern mobile gadgets can compete with GD55. However, it should be borne in mind that today the technology has gone far ahead, so modern electronics can be much smaller than the electronics of that time. Therefore, the GD55 at one time produced a real revolution in terms of the size of mobile phones.

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 on the background of a small display they look just huge. Such a phone informally received the name of the people "babushkofon" due to the fact that some users buy it for the elderly. This is a simple dialer that is no longer usable.

Also recently, fashion has gone to phones that are designed to be keychains 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 the society that they have cars. But this is already a topic for another article.