What is steampunk, really? The most common, and most accurate, answer is that steampunk a fantastical take on the sci-fi genre deeply rooted in 19th century aesthetics. Umbrellas and blimps and clocks. Machinery more advanced than anything we have today but made out of wood or whatever. The giant mechanical spider from the end of Wild Wild West.
But to me what’s cool about steampunk is seeing alternate evolutionary paths for forms of technology that just died here in the real world. And that doesn’t have to be limited to technology from a time where the world was somehow even more racist. Case in point, this working cellphone with a rotary dial feels totally steampunk.
Created by Justine Haupt, and reported by Gizmodo, this rotary cellphone was designed as a basic, less-distracting alternative to modern-day smartphones. Only instead of sliding her phone into a paper envelope to help her productivity, Haupt hacked her phone to bits and built it into something old-school and new all at once.
Haupt’s blog details the entire maker process for crafting this beauty. She repurposed a dial from a Western Electric Trimline telephone, created custom circuit boards for the old interface to talk to the modern chips, and 3D printed the case to hold the whole thing together. Not only does it work, but Haupt also included creative features like a power switch, an LED signal strength meter, and shortcuts for contacts in case you don’t want to spin a wheel a dozen times with your finger to call someone specific. There’s even a little e-ink display for showing missed calls. So steampunk!
Check out Haupt’s website for more info on this rotary cellphone, including open-source design files for building your own. For more on phones check out Samsung’s second attempt at a foldable phone with the new Galaxy Z Flip.
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