It’s a rather unusual phone that we’re showing to you today: named Offone and designed by Marko Lazic, it uses e-ink, the display technology found in the famous e-readers. It’s very minimalist, offering basic functions such as calls, text messages and certain applications that can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The phone is therefore less omnipresent, less aggressive on the eyes and more durable. In fact, its design helps to extend its lifespan, with a reduced carbon footprint in particular. But what particularly interests us is the way it was produced. Marko Lazic used 3D printing to create the phone’s casing, offering both customization options and a method that is, on the face of it, more respectful of the environment.
In 2024, according to a study by Ifop, 65% of participants said they were dependent on their smartphone. In fact, 46% consider it an indispensable tool in their lives. These results obviously raise questions about the place of smartphones in our daily lives. When you think about it, they can now do everything, from cameras and GPS to online shopping, food ordering and games of all kinds. Do you know how many applications you have on yours? And how many of them you actually use? With this in mind, Marko Lazic decided to design a device that simply integrates the basic functions of a cell phone: making calls and being reachable. He simply added the Maps, Waze and WhatsApp applications, to the detriment, for example, of the camera.
Offone integrates basic features
Marko Lazic is rather discreet about the production of this phone. He simply mentions having used 3D printing to design the casing. We have no information on the process or the material, although it’s likely that extrusion was favored, probably with a technical thermoplastic to offer greater resistance. In any case, the device fits in the palm of one hand and uses e-ink to display numbers and icons. This method mainly helps reduce eyestrain.
It would appear that the phone is not on the market – and it’s hard to say whether it ever will be. If this remains a little unclear, the intended targets are less so. According to Mark Lazic, Offone is ideal for “business people who travel frequently, grandparents who need a less cumbersome communication device and, in general, people who want to take a step back from apps and incessant notifications.” In any case, this is an application that proves once again that 3D printing is a method that offers greater flexibility and is ideal for personalizing everyday products.
E-ink is the display technology preferred by the designer
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*All Photo Credits: Marko Lazic