Modu

Almost three years after we first saw Modu at Mobile World Congress, the tiny phone maker will close down next month. According to the Israeli news site Ynet, Modu raised $123 million and owes $21 million to an Israeli bank in addition to unpaid employee salaries.

Modu caught a lot of attention at Mobile World Congress in 2008 when it introduced the idea of a tiny modular cell phone (smaller than a credit card, actually) that you could insert in a variety of interchangeable "jackets." The jackets would transform the Modu into fully functional phone with real controls … Read more

It's been a year and a half since we first saw the Modu cell phone, but the company announced Sunday that its product will finally go on sale. Modu's home country of Israel will be the nation to launch Modu, with additional releases coming later this year in Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia.

Starting Wednesday, Cellcom Israel will offer a limited quantity of Modu phones with a full release slated for later this year. The introductory Modu kit will be about $125 (500 Israeli shekels).

Modu offers a unique product that combines a tiny cell phone with … Read more

On the second day of the GSMA World Congress, Modu added to the gallery of jackets it released last week by unveiling a new music jacket with JBL. Called the Modu Music Jacket (the company really has a way with clever names), it's designed to turn the tiny Modu phone into a pretty snappy music device.

On one side of the jacket are two JBL Odyssey speakers and dedicated music controls, while the opposite side resembles a regular cell phone with a 2.2-inch display, a full navigation array, and a standard alphanumeric keypad. Admittedly, it's a little … Read more

You remember Modu? That's the Israeli company that makes the tiny modular cell phone that we first saw at last year's GSMA World Congress. The concept is simple: insert the Modu into one of several "jackets" and it becomes a fully functional phone with real controls. Each jacket, which is really just a handset shell, will bring a different design and feature set. You can change them at will to match your mood and needs.

Well, just to show you that's it's really not vaporware, the company will be showing four new jackets next … Read more

The GSM Association's Mobile Innovation Marketplace has wrapped up in Atlanta, and as expected two start-up companies won the right to go to the 2009 GSMA World Congress in Barcelona. The two winning firms are Ubidyne, a company that develops digital radio systems, and Modu, the maker of the world's lightest cell phone.

I checked out Modu earlier this year at the 2008 World Congress. The Israeli company has developed a concept for a modular cell phone that can be placed into a "jacket" that changes both the appearance and the functionality of the handset. It'… Read more

The Guinness World Records named the Modu phone as the lightest cell phone in the world. At just 1.5 ounces and 2.8 inches by 1.4 inches by 0.3 inch, the Modu is a full ounce lighter than the already miniature Pantech C300. Without a doubt, it's the tiniest cell phone I've seen outside of Zoolander.

In case you're not familiar, Modu is a modular cell phone that can be placed into "jackets" that change the both the appearance and the functionality of the handset. The Modu only has a tiny display, … Read more

The GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, is winding to a close, but that doesn't mean mobile phone news have stopped streaming in. The third day of GSMA 2008 saw AMD announcing big plans for mobile phone processors, RIM's co-CEO downplaying the recent BlackBerry outage, and the LiMo Foundation possibly giving Google's Android a run for its money with its own effort at an open, Linux-based operating system. Of course, we also took the opportunity to look at phones and carriers off the beaten path.

For starters, Senior Editor Kent German explored the large Vodafone plaza (… Read more

Modu has generated a lot of buzz for itself at the GSMA World Congress. The Israeli company has developed a concept for a modular cell phone that can be placed into "jackets" that change the both the appearance and the functionality of the handset. I got the chance to check out the Modu phone today, and I admit it's an intriguing concept that could prove to be successful if it evolves as Modu promises.

The overall concept is quite simple. The primary device is a small black cell phone, aka a Modu (clever name, huh?), that's … Read more

We were recently contacted by a PR man so excited by what he was going to tell us that we actually thought he was going to pass out. But as he managed to string a few sentences together we realized what he was so excited by--the Modu phone.

It might not look like much, but it's a very interesting concept with masses of potential. Better yet, it's not just a concept: This thing really exists and will be out later this year. So why are we so excited by a tiny phone with a strange looking keypad?

Think … Read more