Build the phone before you use it.
Instead of handing you a finished phone, this kit invites you to build it and change what it can do.
In practice. A Croatian educational phone kit presented through a 2026 crowdfunding campaign; delivery of this generation is not independently established.
What to keep in view
Advertised capabilities are campaign claims, not verified delivery outcomes. Cellular compatibility, supported networks and modules vary; the maker describes this version as no-solder assembly.
Turn a desirable object into a learning tool
CircuitMess is crowdfunding MAKERphone 2.0, an educational mobile-phone kit with a physical keypad, a colour display and a dedicated expansion connection. The maker describes 4G calling and messaging, programmable interfaces, and modules including a camera, infrared control and environmental sensors. These are campaign capabilities, not independently verified delivery outcomes. The product page describes assembly without soldering and coding through MicroPython or Arduino C++, with an optional AI-assisted route. The company distinguishes the new design from the earlier MAKERphone.
A familiar consumer device becomes something a learner can assemble, inspect and extend.
Leave room to change what it does
Our reading: a phone is already interesting to many learners. The kit redirects that interest towards how the device works. The intended reward is not merely a completed exercise but an object whose behaviour can be changed. This is different from making every action effortless: selected friction is the learning experience.
Read next.
Draw a pinball table. Then play it.
A familiar object becomes something the user can change: redraw the game, or build and program the phone.
Put an idea into the world.
Both leave room for the learner to build and program. Compare a phone-shaped kit with a more general electronics platform.