Gossip

Big Bricks, retro fashion, and a mobile phone which exercises the wrist

We all want strong wrists, of course! And the original Motorola "Brick" was the way to get it - as The Boss was explaining to Radio Five Live presenter Anita Anand last night, on the subject of hospitals and mobiles and safety. But you can buy one!

The original big brick was an analogue phone. And they were even bigger. Thirty years ago, when Martin Cooper [using it, below, left] made the first cellphone call, what he was really demonstrating was the size of battery needed in 1973.

But Mockia has discovered that when the world went digital, and the original Motorola brick went digital too, only a few models were built. They were never released in the UK, and they cost over £1400.

For ten percent of that, Mockia will sell you one, in working order. "There are certain limitations with these telephones which you should be aware of; They have a much shorter battery life than modern mobiles - even though the battery itself is the size of Cheshire. Handsfree for the car? Oh dear lord no. Back in the day you would have been positively encouraged to make phone calls whilst driving your Porsche, waving your filofax in the air and listening to Dire Straits."

A museum piece, for sure. But also, a working museum piece! And if you want to watch the thing make your old CRT TV screen jump just place a call, and put the six inch long antenna next to the display...