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The Banana phone – slipping into the niche fruit themed phone market next to Apple and
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BlackBerry.
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It's time to see if this newcomer can hold it's own during a durability test.
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The box says “Talk more, smile more, and save the gorillas.”
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I wasn't planning on saving any gorillas this morning, but this phone just talked me into it.
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Let's get started.
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[Intro]
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Inside the box we get some instruction booklets, the Banana phone itself, and a micro USB charging
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cable.
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Pretty simple design so far.
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My Banana has 3 buttons and is about the same size as a real banana, which I've included
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here for scale.
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Apparently by buying this phone, 1% of the sales are donated to Gearing up for Gorillas,
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an organization working out of the Congo.
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So that's kind of cool.
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Grabbing my Mohs picks, there is no screen on this contraption, mostly because it works
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exclusively through Bluetooth and acts as a wireless Bluetooth headset for your current
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phone.
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The whole thing appears to be made from yellow plastic - up here by the earpiece as well
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as the stem is all plastic.
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The yellow buttons are also made from plastic, and the rest of the shaft down here next to
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the microphone is plastic.
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It's literally now possible to pair a Banana with an Apple via Bluetooth – and if that's
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not the future, I don't know what is.
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Peeling the Banana down at the bottom near the micro UBS charging port reveals more plastic.
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I can see why the box said “Do not eat”.
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You'd have to be bananas to eat this Banana, because going bananas means...yeah...right.
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But is the Banana structural?
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That is what we've all come here to find out.
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Gripping the tropical fruit with both hands and flexing the construction reveals a solid
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build quality.
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There is some creaking along the outer plastic peel, but the Banana remains solid and intact.
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I would not worry about keeping this Banana in your pocket – unlike a real banana which
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would definitely not be safe in your pants.
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Here in the United States bananas are usually eaten raw, but in other parts of the world
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there is a member of the banana family called Plantains that is fried and is surprisingly
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delicious.
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My lighter doesn't cook this Banana real good, but I'll include a recipe in the description
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if you want to make some real plantains for yourself.
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You're currently watching a grown man play with a banana.
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Let that sink in for a second, and figure out what life decisions got you to this point
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and then let's keep going.
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It's time to take this Banana apart and review it from the inside.
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The Banana has no visible exterior screws but does have a nice seam along the outside
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that allows the Banana to peel in half, getting our first look inside.
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And I'll be honest, there's quite a lot of wasted space in here.
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There is plenty of room for wireless charging or even a headphone jack.
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This is not an efficient Banana at all.
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Curious enough though, there are 2 Phillips head screws holding down a large block of
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solid metal.
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People generally associate weight with quality, so adding a metal banana core, while decreasing
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nutritional value, would indeed provide a false sense of quality and substance.
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A nice little trick there Banana maker.
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There are 4 screws holding down the motherboard to the Banana peel.
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There is no water proofing inside the Banana but there is a lot of hot glue holding in
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all the components.
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It's a very inexpensive, yet effective construction technique.
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Up top we have the largest earpiece I've ever seen inside of a phone, held in place by the
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same hot glue we see everywhere else.
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It's hard wired to the motherboard just like the microphone down at the bottom of the Banana.
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Repairability wasn't high on the priority list during the Banana design process...no
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Lego connections anywhere.
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I was finally able to pop the charging port out of the device, but not before it snapped
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in half rendering my Banana un-chargeable in the future.
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But at least we got to see the insides.
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The battery is a 450 milliamp hour, which gives this Banana about 10 hours of talk time.
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Apple's usually have closer to 14 hours of talk time, and finally Apple beat another
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phone at something.
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Thumbs up for that.
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The 3 buttons are all injection molded into one piece.
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Overall I would have to say that the Banana shape is a great form factor for a cellphone.
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It has a nice curve to it – way better than something round like an orange...or this carrot.
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I love carrots.
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Do you like carrots?
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What's your favorite fruit?
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Do you think Banana phones are going to be the next big thing?
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Let me know in the comments.
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If you want a Banana phone of your own, I'll put a link down in the video description.
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And thanks a ton for watching.
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I will see you around.
