You know what would be great? If someone created a mobile phone in the shape of Henry Dreyfuss’s classic 500 Series handset (not the whole phone, just the handset)…

Yes, it’s rather large, but this could be used to our advantage. The space between the receiver and transmitter could hold a PDA…

Riffing with Liz at work, we thought perhaps it’s part of a woman’s handbag. The phone clicks into the bag to become the handle. Click out to use the phone, and carry the bag with a shoulder strap. Might look great on a black Prada…

I’m rather fond of this design, having had a 554 on the kitchen wall growing up.

Postscript: Owen also cites the ability to hold this between ear and shoulder as well as not appearing crazy while walking down the street handsfree and in monolog. Even better, he points to a brilliant hack, simply wiring the handset to plug into the mobile’s headphone jack. That led me to more examples. And even if you think this is all rather silly, they offer a designer-friendly view of the future: ‘The phone accessory will very soon take over from the phone itself as the wearable part of the device. …people [will] leave their tiny phones out of sight whilst their low cost / highly expressive handsets will worn as any other fashion devices. It will also allow designers to produce handsets without the need for heavy technological insight or investment.‘