HARIS HAMID FAROOQ

Introduction

Supreme, a luxury fashion and street-wear brand founded in New York, USA, is no stranger to the public. Starting out as a small skateboard brand and later transitioning to streetwear, they have managed to create a $1 billion dollar portfolio. Perhaps Supreme is a subdivision of its own, as many would point out. Some of the notable products they manufacture are clothing items and accessories, sneakers, watches, skateboards, phone cases, and apparently phones too.

The BLU phone company is headquartered in Miami, USA, with total assets valued at $2 billion. The name ‘BLU’ stands for ‘Bold Like Us’. They manufacture Android smartphones and cell phones.

In the Fall/Winter of 2019, Supreme launched a classic burner phone in partnership with BLU. Immediately the phone was sold out. This happened primarily because Supreme has ventured into technology only a few times.

Specs

Originally priced at $60, the Supreme burner phone closely resembles BLU’s Zoey 2.4 and is available in both red and black colorways. The phone features a metallic logo detailing above the dial pad and a large Supreme logo on the back. The phone comprises of a 2.4-inch display and a VGA back camera.

Although the phone consists of just 128MB of internal memory and a 64MB Ram, a 16GB memory card is included in the box. It sports a 1000 mAh battery which can be abundantly charged in approximately one hour. The device also supports 3G and GSM connectivity.

Review

Upon its initial launch, the phone sold out swiftly, which led to many buyers still in a quest to purchase one. Corresponding with any product carrying a certain amount of hype behind it, buyers bought the handsets in bulk and listed to sell them at a rather elevated price. Fortunately, time went by and the stockpiled products needed to be vended, which meant that the prices had to be lowered.

The phone had been sold out for a while, and I was unable to discover a trustworthy website selling it. As soon as I found one, my innate reaction was to check the reliability of the seller. Once that was cleared, the phone was ordered for approximately $110.

The excitement of using a burner phone sold by a luxury clothing brand was overwhelming. I realize that it sounds rather unwise to buy a classic cell phone with a dial pad and no touchscreen, but it is quite the contrary. Considering how well one’s privacy is maintained, it is exactly what is required in this day and age. Feel free to disagree, though.

The red color looked incredible as I unpacked it. The large font used for branding is very clearly visible as well. Although the phone supports 3G connectivity, which is slow at best, there is not much to do. There is no FaceTime or Whatsapp, and social media applications can be accessed through the phone’s browser application.

That may not be convenient to many in this era, but I still felt somewhat at home, having had the pleasure of using cell phones when ‘Snake’ was the only playable game on a phone. ‘Brickbreaker’ on the Blackberry phones was perhaps my most played game, though.

Back to the subject at hand, the phone fits in my pocket with ease – quite unlike my current smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, which feels like a brick in my pocket.

I attempt to spend the least amount of time on social media, so it is ideal for me. What I do most is call and text, and this phone is for just that. On the other hand, the repeated pressing of the ‘7’ key to type an ‘s’ can be exasperating once you’ve become accustomed to the smartphone, though.

The phone can be charged using a micro-usb cable which is appropriate, bearing in mind the number of other devices that similarly support the micro-usb. The battery life is good if compared with smartphones. Since this is not a smartphone, however, it should be compared with similar phones, and I believe it truly fails in that category. The battery does not last more than 2 days with minimal usage, which is plainly absurd. On the contrary, classic burners phones with the same features could go weeks without a charge. Many assumed that the battery life of the phone was exemplary since it is a burner phone, but that is not the case. I have been using the Supreme burner phone for a little over 1 year and I have witnessed the battery of this device draining in the same fashion since day one.

The phone is durable to a certain extent, but not nearly as durable as the Nokias, of course. Therein lies the problem. Many burner phones support 3G and are built more durably, but remain to be priced more reasonably than the Supreme and BLU collaboration. That being said, only a few, if any look as good or better. The phone serves its purpose, and the look and the branding are just the icing on the cake. It feels unique and it is safe to say that no one you know owns this particular device. It is a burner phone produced by a luxury clothing brand and that makes it stand out.

While the battery is not great, it should not be problematic for those who charge their devices often anyway. If you prefer to own something exclusive and classy while valuing your privacy simultaneously, you should get the Supreme BLU Burner phone FW19.