The $12 “Gongkai” Phone

Recently, I paid $12 at Mingtong Digital Mall for a complete phone, featuring quad-band GSM, Bluetooth, MP3 playback, and an OLED display plus keypad for the UI. Simple, but functional; nothing compared to a smartphone, but useful if you’re going out and worried about getting your primary phone wet or stolen.

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How is this possible? I don’t have the answers, but it’s something I’m trying to learn. A teardown yields a few hints.

These are amazing products for a specific niche, and the young teenager in me who got his first cellphone at 13 marvels at the price of this thing.

17 Comments

  1. 2018-09-24 7:46 pm
  2. 2018-09-24 8:44 pm
    • 2018-09-25 7:56 am
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    • 2018-09-26 12:19 am
      • 2018-09-26 12:37 am
        • 2018-09-26 3:29 am
          • 2018-09-27 6:09 pm
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          • 2018-09-30 1:09 pm
        • 2018-09-26 5:25 am
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        • 2018-09-27 6:07 pm
    • 2018-09-27 6:07 pm