Link to Hop-on page, but read the SF Gate article! (29/03/02)

"Hop-On.com's new disposable cell phone, touted everywhere from Time Magazine to CNNfn as a landmark innovation, may be less original than it seems.

In news releases and interviews, the publicly traded California company says it has developed and manufactured an "innovative, technologically advanced" phone so cheap that customers can toss it away when they are done. Hop-On says the phone will retail for $30, including 60 minutes of calls.

But after cracking open several samples with Hop-On's name and kangaroo logo, The Chronicle found the "revolutionary" device appeared to be little more than a jury-rigged Nokia in a new plastic shell.

Underneath the red plastic casing, one sample was clearly labeled inside as a "Nokia 8260." ..."