Endgadget: Energizer's giant battery phone reached just 1 percent of its funding goal

[Slayven]

https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/30/energizer-p18k-pop-crowdfunding/

Remember the comically enormous phone that Avenir Telecom showed off under the Energizer brand at this year's Mobile World Congress? Its subsequent crowdfunding campaign has crashed and burned, as The Verge points out.

The P18K Pop, as the name suggests, had an 18,000mAh battery (for reference, a typical smartphone has 3,000mAh) and consequently was about the thickness of three iPhones.
The phone got lots of attention and headlines, but as has been proven time and again in tech, those don't necessarily translate to sales. That lesson has come down on Avenir Telecom like a tonne of bricks (or brick-sized phones) now that the phone's crowdfunding page, which ambitiously asked for £927,873 (about $1.2 million), has closed at just 1 percent of its target.
Avenir's Indiegogo page attracted just 11 backers, who contributed a total of £11,602 (about $15,000). The campaign perks ranged from a single P18K handset at £425 ($549) to a three-pack at £1,227 ($1587).

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Honestly I kinda of like it, but like 200 dollars like it.

 

[HStallion]

Now that's a phone that can stop a bullet... only to explode.

 

[Books]

I dig it. Battery life is my main factor in looking for phones. Also makes me look like I have a big dong when its in my pocket.

 

[Deleted member 8860]

I'm shocked that people wouldn't actually pony up for a thick-as-a-brick phone with astounding battery life.

Well, not that shocked.

 

[Slayven]

Now that's a phone that can stop a bullet... only to explode.

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ANd burn through your body and the concrete underneath

 

[ILikeFeet]

I don't mind a thicker phone if it meant more battery, but that's comical

 

[Deleted member 3058]

Dropping that phone would be a dangerous proposition.

 

[Slayven]

Dropping that phone would be a dangerous proposition.

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Hit your toes just right with a corner and lose them

 

[Gernau Morat Gurgeh]

I desperately want reasonably priced high capacity phone, but to coins phrase, this ain't it

 

[Hey Please]

ANd burn through your body and the concrete underneath

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'twas a lightsaber inspector.

 

[Another Castle]

 

[HStallion]

I'm imagining Macguyver using one of these phones to melt through the lock on a bankvault door to escape just in the nick of time.

 

[Alligatorjandro]

Why do they need crowdfunding

 

[Max|Payne]

Jesus, how much does it weigh?

 

[Deleted member 19003]

Damn, that's a chonk of a phone. I do love the idea of long battery life though.

 

[Randomly Generated]

I'm imagining Macguyver using one of these phones to melt through the lock on a bankvault door to escape just in the nick of time.

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More like MacGruber.

 

[MrPoppins]

Why do they need crowdfunding

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They aren't dumb enough to put up their own money to build these.

 

[lenovox1]

I desperately want reasonably priced high capacity phone, but to coins phrase, this ain't it

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I believe ZTE makes and sold that type of phone under the Max moniker when they could still sell handsets in the US.

 

[Slayven]

Jesus, how much does it weigh?

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Only spec i can find is 500 grams, and I am calling bullshit

 

[Static]

All that space and no room for a headphone jack.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

lol look at that thing

 

[Johnny Blaze]

Do people even buy those battery cases that just add a little bulk? Nobody asked for this.

 

[Yung Coconut]

A) Too big of a monstrosity.

B) I'm not taking part in crowdfunding products from companies that don't need crowdfunding.

C) My current phone already lasts the entire day even if I don't charge it during work hours.

 

[Slayven]

Imagine getting into an arguement with your partner and they throw the phone at you. They be on trial for manslaughter

 

[Mechaplum]

I presume they didn't do any user research, or if they did it was highly flawed.

 

[FTF]

 

[DJ_Lae]

They should have put it in a bag.

 

[LastCaress]

But will it fold?

 

[Slayven]

But will it fold?

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Well it's mass folds space and time

 

[kurahador]

We have power bank, no need some extra weight on the phone.

 

[Android Sophia]

I guess you could say that battery's life... ran out.

Or maybe you could say it... didn't keep going. >.>

 

[rjinaz]

The LG Fiesta 2 has a 4500 battery and that lasts like a whole weekend on battery. My phone, after a year, has yet to die on me. Cut the battery in half with the size and you might have a product people would buy.

 

[Aurongel]

Their mistake was turning this into a public crowdfunding campaign when the product itself should have been targeted to industrial applications. I could easily see something like this becoming the Toughbook of smartphones, useful in military deployments or expeditions.

 

[Falchion]

This just doesn't seem like a very good idea.....

 

[Carnby]

Does it come with cooling gel?

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

Damn, my eyesight is bad I was wondering why they left it in the box it comes in a first.

 

[8byte]

Why not just make a phone with solar panels on the back instead?

Actually, how efficient would solar panels at that size be?

 

[SpecX]

All this girth and there's still no aux port? No wonder this thing failed!

Why not just make a phone with solar panels on the back instead?

Actually, how efficient would solar panels at that size be?

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Not sure, but can you imagine dropping a phone with a solar panel on it the the repair costs?

 

[Alucrid]

They should have put it in a bag.

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[Corporal]

Neat idea... but way too much heft. They went absolutely crazy there.

I'd consider a slimmed down version with, let's say, 6000-8000 mAh - roughly double the usual amount in today's phones. Ideally, it would be somewhat ruggerized and could survive a few tumbles. A "working man's phone", so to speak. All while still being somewhat manageble in size.

As if I'd ever consider chipping in for a crowd funded project run by decently sized companies though. That's for disaster relief and indie stuff, dammit. Asking me to pay for their market research is a bit much.