How a Retro Landline Bluetooth Phone Idea Became a ₹1 Crore Business in 3 Days
There was a time when telephone landlines were a normal part of every home. A retro phone fixed to the wall, a long coiled wire stretched across the room, a little static in the background, and one number shared by the whole family. If someone was talking, everyone else simply waited. That landline nostalgia has almost disappeared today, replaced entirely by smartphones. Many younger people have never even touched a landline handset. Yet the charm of old tech is quietly returning because one tech founder wanted less screen time and accidentally sparked a viral trend.
The story of Physical Phones began two years ago when Cat Goetze, better known online as CatGPT, found herself exhausted by constant smartphone scrolling. She wanted simple conversations again, the kind you could have on a retro phone without getting distracted. Remembering how relaxing it felt to twirl a cord while talking, she imagined bringing that landline nostalgia back in a stylish way. However, getting an actual landline number in her apartment would have required paying for a new connection. So she explored a different idea and turned to old tech.
Goetze picked up a thrifted telephone and transformed it into a Bluetooth landline-style device. As she explained, she “hijacked a landline phone” and made it compatible with her smartphone. The result was a pink clamshell handset that looked vintage but worked perfectly with modern tech. She used the Physical Phones prototype to buzz in visitors and even dial out. The product looked retro and felt analog, yet it functioned like a wireless extension of her mobile.
Everything changed when she finally shared the Bluetooth landline online in July. Expecting a few amused reactions, Goetze was instead overwhelmed by people asking how to buy the device. Thinking that perhaps a dozen users might place orders, she set up a small preorder page for Physical Phones. What happened next surprised her. In just three days, Goetze received $120,000 in sales, nearly Rs 1 crore, driven entirely by the viral demand for this retro phone revival. By October, sales had crossed $280,000 (Rs 2.5 crore), and over 3,000 units of the old-tech-inspired handset had been sold.
Goetze believes this sudden obsession with vintage phone design is not random. Physical Phones, priced between $90 and $110 (Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000), come in several nostalgic styles. They pair with smartphones via Bluetooth and ring for any app, whether it’s WhatsApp, FaceTime, Instagram, or Snapchat. Users can even dial out and activate their phone’s voice assistant with the star button. For many buyers, the appeal is not just the aesthetic but also the intentional break from overwhelming screen time. Goetze says people today want to reclaim focus and feel more present.
According to Goetze, shrinking attention spans and rising anxiety are making users look back at old tech with fresh appreciation. She believes the retro phone revival reflects a larger cultural shift, one where people are actively seeking ways to disconnect from constant notifications and rediscover healthier habits. The pandemic accelerated this change, pushing people to rethink how much they rely on their devices.
Physical Phones now sits at the centre of this growing old tech trend, proving that a simple idea rooted in landline nostalgia can evolve into a viral business when users crave simplicity.
The story of
Goetze picked up a thrifted telephone and transformed it into a Bluetooth landline-style device. As she explained, she “hijacked a landline phone” and made it compatible with her smartphone. The result was a pink clamshell handset that looked vintage but worked perfectly with modern tech. She used the Physical Phones prototype to buzz in visitors and even dial out. The product looked retro and felt analog, yet it functioned like a wireless extension of her mobile.
Everything changed when she finally shared the Bluetooth landline online in July. Expecting a few amused reactions, Goetze was instead overwhelmed by people asking how to buy the device. Thinking that perhaps a dozen users might place orders, she set up a small preorder page for Physical Phones. What happened next surprised her. In just three days, Goetze received $120,000 in sales, nearly Rs 1 crore, driven entirely by the viral demand for this retro phone revival. By October, sales had crossed $280,000 (Rs 2.5 crore), and over 3,000 units of the old-tech-inspired handset had been sold.
Goetze believes this sudden obsession with vintage phone design is not random. Physical Phones, priced between $90 and $110 (Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000), come in several nostalgic styles. They pair with smartphones via Bluetooth and ring for any app, whether it’s WhatsApp, FaceTime, Instagram, or Snapchat. Users can even dial out and activate their phone’s voice assistant with the star button. For many buyers, the appeal is not just the aesthetic but also the intentional break from overwhelming screen time. Goetze says people today want to reclaim focus and feel more present.
According to Goetze, shrinking attention spans and rising anxiety are making users look back at old tech with fresh appreciation. She believes the retro phone revival reflects a larger cultural shift, one where people are actively seeking ways to disconnect from constant notifications and rediscover healthier habits. The pandemic accelerated this change, pushing people to rethink how much they rely on their devices.
Physical Phones now sits at the centre of this growing old tech trend, proving that a simple idea rooted in landline nostalgia can evolve into a viral business when users crave simplicity.
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