Industrial designers Priestman Goode have invented a simple, cheap landline telephone that fits inside an A5 envelope and can be sent via regular post.

The Post A Phone is just 4mm thick and can be made of recyclable card or plastic and is intended to serve as a failsafe backup phone for when more sophisticated products go wrong.

More images coming soon hopefully (the one above was added on 04/10/07); here is the press release for now:

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01 October 2007

Bright Ideas to Make Life Better
POST A PHONE

Priestman Goode, one of the UK’s leading design consultants has invented a new product concept, Post A Phone, to supply a simple and cheap landline phone, made from recyclable materials that can be sent in the post.

Post A Phone is made from recyclable cardboard or plastic and pops out of a A5 envelope, just 4mm deep. If your wireless phone breaks down, you can have Post A Phone sent to you, knowing that it will fit through your letterbox, ensuring you don’t need to stay in and wait for a courier. You take it out of its envelope, plug it into the socket in the wall and you’re ready to make and receive calls.

If there’s a power failure you may need a working phone. Fixed line technology is now being used primarily for data transmission but there is a large mature audience who are more familiar with using fixed lines for voice communication.

Post A Phone provides this growing part of the population with a fail safe and simple guarantee of communication. Post A Phone has been designed to be inclusive with clear type, and clearly identifiable labels for the pre-programmable buttons such as doctor, emergency services, relatives etc.

Currently, there is a move back to companies promoting their services through one to one contact via the phone rather than the internet and Post A Phone is an ideal marketing device to promote voice communication with a generation who prefer personal contact in their transactions.

Post A Phone cuts down on materials in terms of the actual product as well as packaging, it minimises transport costs in terms of delivery and is small and lightweight.

Paul Priestman, who has created Post A Phone, explains his thinking behind the product, “In a time when mobile phones are seen as throwaway fashion items, this design provides a low tech alternative with simple, no fuss delivery. Fancy details and function are not what this phone is about but there is a desirability in its simplicity and I hope that this is a phone you would want to keep for some time.”