Vodafone has announced its five-year sponsorship of the Mobile Phone Museum, an online museum launching in November 2021, dedicated to showcasing a complete history of mobile phone handsets to celebrate and safeguard key devices from the last 35 years and inspire the next generation of engineers and designers.
The idea for the museum was born in 2004, but it was in 2019 when creator Ben Wood joined forces with fellow mobile industry veteran Matt Chatterley that the vision started to gather real pace, with the co-founders leveraging their industry connections to add rare and iconic devices to the collection.
Today, the Mobile Phone Museum has more than 2,000 individual devices, spanning from the dawn of the mobile era to the present day; it is a fascinating journey of mobile phone technology through the ages – from the very first “portable” handsets to the latest smartphone models. The museum will launch online in November, with pop-up physical exhibitions planned in future to ensure the museum reaches as many people as possible.
Founder Ben Wood (who is also Chief Analyst at technology research firm CCS Insight), said: “I’ve been collecting phones for more than 25 years. Over the last three decades the mobile phone has become part of the fabric of society and the design diversity, from early transportable phones to the latest smartphones with flexible displays, is something to behold. When the online museum launches later this year, we want it to be a rich learning resource and a way to inspire young people to go on to create incredible mobile innovations of their own in the future. We are delighted to welcome Vodafone as our first major sponsor to help bring the museum to a wider audience and ensure that more people have the chance to be amazed and inspired by these devices and the fascinating history of mobile communications.”
Vodafone recently reaffirmed its position as the best place for the latest smartphones with the launch of Vodafone EVO, an innovative new offering which enables customers to get the handset they want at the price they choose – including the new iPhone 13 series.
