We first found out about Hop-On’s plan to offer disposable cell phones for about 13 Euros (about USD$20) back in April. The Hop1800 is now available both in the U.S. and other countries across the world. One of the new breed of ultra convenient cell phones, the pre-paid HOP1800 is ideal as a backup cell phone, when traveling abroad, or for anyone looking for a super affordable cell phone that does one thing extremely well: make phone calls.
The Hop1800 comes in two versions: The first features dual-band 850/1900MHz GSM connectivity while the second offers 900/1800MHz band coverage for Europe and Asia. Other than that they are identical. It comes with a tactile numeric keypad with Braille markings, support for polyphonic ring tones, 4 hours of talk time and 150 hours of standby time. It only weighs 77 grams. As expected, it does not come with a display. There are no contracts; you simply buy a local SIM card, pop it in and away you go.
The Hop1800 will be available in the U.S. at retail and convenience stores for USD$10. To promote recycling, Hop-On will give you a USD$5 rebate if you return it rather than simply throwing it away. It’s not clear where in which other countries it is available currently.