Design, Form Factor and technology are all the leading contributions Apple added to the technology world. Technology, that doesn’t look like technology but “feels right” in your hands.
Enter, “The Runcible”, announced at Mobile World Congress this year. It is strange, unique and interesting gadget. It offers many of the same capabilities as a smartphone, but it definitely does not look like a smartphone. It looks like something from an antique store while on the travels in Star Trek. However, it really made me think about what the evolution of phones could be. Why stay with these “squareish” devices? Take a look at this thing.
The creator of this gadget, Monohm, based in Berkeley, Calif., officially introduced the device dubbed Runcible at MWC. Runcible was created by Apple and Sony alumni Aubrey Anderson, George Arriola and Jason Proctor.
The Good: The design is no doubt out of the box and its unique circular features make it stand out. But what does it do? The Runcible is circular, with a wooden back designed to fit in your palm. It has a screen on the front, a camera on the back. Runcible still does most things a standard smartphone can, including making calls, surfing the Web, sending texts and taking photos.
The Bad: It doesn’t, however, run apps or have a home screen. It’s inability to run apps like Instagram or Snapchat is another way it separates itself, although, many consumers will most likely be turned off by this. It relies totally on websites designed for mobile devices. While most will not like this notion, it may be that its stylish to have this as an accessory.
Runcible runs the open-source Firefox mobile OS, and it’s meant to be a minimalistic device. The cost is expected to come in around $700 – not cheap. But at the end of the day it’s kind of a cool device and while it won’t replace my smartphone, it is creative tech. I wouldn’t mind having one.
Runcible Moving Pictures