From 2G to 4G - How The Cyrcle Phone has Evolved Over the Years
by Jelyza Sheffield, The Cyrcle Phone Business Development Associate
Our team at dTOOR has been working tirelessly to prepare for the upcoming launch of The Cyrcle Phone 4G LTE with Android 10. We simply can’t wait for everyone to experience The Cyrcle Phone 4G. But before we launch our newest product, let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit its predecessor, The Cyrcle Phone 2G, and see how The Cyrcle Phone has evolved over the years.
dTOOR started selling units of The Cyrcle Phone 2G locally in Seattle on May 8, 2016 (Mother’s Day). The Kickstarter campaign lasted from August to September 2016, and all the rewards were delivered by November 30, 2016. The Cyrcle Phone 2G was a GSM phone which accepted a nano-sized SIM card, had a USB micro B port, a speaker, a touchscreen display, and a modular expansion port so that you could attach additional modules if you wanted to add features like LEDs, electrical boards, etc.
After The Cyrcle Phone 2G was delivered to all the backers, our team took several weeks off to recover. During that time, our CEO, Christina Cyr, began ordering radio module samples. However, the radio module which we eventually used for The Cyrcle Phone 4G had some issues (due to industry politics) and did not become available until nearly 2020. Yet, in December 2018, Christina finally received some prior samples, which she was able to start building with, so that the hardware design was pretty much ready to go by the time the final modules became available. Figuring out an enclosure which could encompass not only the displays, but also the external components (like the cameras and speakers), AND was a pleasure to hold AND looked stylish, took much longer.
After years of waiting, working, and weathering a pandemic, we are finally ready to launch The Cyrcle Phone 4G. This is a full-fledged 4G Android smartphone, but is still adaptable with its USB Type-C, USB Micro B ports, and its internal multiple UART ports. It has a beautiful circular display - 3.4” touchscreen LCD with an incredible resolution (the 2G model had a 1.54” touchscreen display). The Cyrcle Phone also now comes with dual headphone jacks, dual SIM support, 13MP selfie camera, and a temperature sensor. Freeform Mode is enabled by default (can be disabled in Settings if desired) so you can reduce or enlarge application window sizes to be able to focus on the content.
The Cyrcle Phone has definitely come a long way since its 2G days. There have been plenty of improvements and new features that consumers will find very useful in their daily lives. More importantly, we continue to use sustainable materials to manufacture our phones. Christina started this journey in 2014, with the inspiration that consumers should be given an option other than the mainstream rectangular phones. With the community’s continued support and dedication, we hope to be able to continue making “Non-Rectangular Phones for Non-Rectangular People.”