Let’s just forget about the iPhone 5 for a few hours, and think about the possibilities of what future cell phones may bring, should the patent wars ever die down. Above, we have a triple-screen Android phone that would be awesome for games and other media. Continue reading to see ten more of the coolest cell phones with designs that think outside the box.

10. Coca Cola-Powered Phone

Yes, this mobile phone is powered by Coca Cola. Basically, “the bio battery the phone generates electricity from the carbohydrates (the sugar) in the Coke and uses enzymes as the catalyst.” Best of all, it works with pretty much any sugary soda. One caveat: things can get a bit messy if you happen to accidentally pour from a bad angle.

9. Triple Screen Android Phone

Why stop at dual screens, when you can have three? This triple screen Android phone may not be practical, but when it comes to media and games, this mobile device just can’t be beat. According to its designer, “the proof that the future of android phones is bright is here.”

8. Shape-Shifting Cell Phone

Design researcher Fabian Hemmert has created an interesting shape-shifting cell phone prototype that can shift its center of gravity. A demonstration video was shown at TEDxBerlin in 2009. The possibilities are intriguing, like a status bar that could get physically hefty as it gets weighed down with icons, but we’re not sucking down all of Hemmert’s Kool-Aid.

7. Land Rover S1

Made by Sonim and Land Rover, the S1 cell phone strives to be the most rugged handset ever, at least when you accidentally place it in a 300-degree oven, mud or beer. As for the specs, it has 1500 hours of battery and a 2-megapixel camera. And, most notably, it has an “extra loud” ringtone so you can hear it under elephants.

6. Chocolate Bar

How about a phone that looks like a melting chocolate bar? The Sharp SH-04B fits that bill. Available in Melty Bitter / Strawberry or Whip White / Pink varieties, this handset features a 3-inch WVGA display, 8.0-megapixel camera, built-in 1-seg digital TV tuner, and Bluetooth. Sharp says the cell phone, jointly developed with Tokyo-based accessory maker Q-pot. It’s limited to a total of 13,000 units.

5. John’s Phone

John’s Phone is touted as the world’s simplest cell phone, as it “can’t send messages, take pictures, or play music — it can only make or receive calls and comes with a physical address book and its stylus is an actual pen.” Fortunately, it does one thing very well, and that is making calls, no matter your location.

4. Dual Touchscreen Cell Phone

Fujitsu unveiled a futuristic dual-touchscreen cell phone concept at CEATEC 2010, featuring “a 3.4-inch capacitive touchscreen on top and a 3.5-inch version on the bottom, with both displays having 480 x 960 resolution.” One screen can be rotated by 90 degrees, and both screens switch between landscape and portrait modes automatically. What’s cool is that you can actually separate contents on both screens, for example using Twitter on top and checking emails on the bottom.

3. KDDI Fuel Cell Phone

We have seen the future of cell phones, and they just might be fuel cell powered. That’s right, this prototype was co-developed with Toshiba. The timeline for commercialization has not yet been decided. This prototype has a 3.5 ml tank built in, and a single refill enables it to be on standby for two weeks. So if all the fuel in this 50 ml cartridge is used, the phone can be on standby for about six months.

2. Mozilla Seabird

If Mozilla released a Firefox phone, the Seabird is what it might look like. Featuring a built-in Pico Projector, 8.0-megapixel camera, wireless charging, and Google’s Android OS. While the video above may only show it in concept form, Mozilla is looking to make this handset a reality sooner than later.

1. Transparent Double-Sided Phone

While it may be more of a novelty…for now, this nifty transparent, double-sided display by Japan-based NTT DoCoMo and Fujitsu accepts simultaneous front and back touch inputs, allowing for more creativity from mobile developers. The prototype has got a screen that measures 2.4 inches, but they hope to increase its size when they go into production. They still need to improve the overall brightness of the screen so that it’s more visible in high light levels as well.

Author

A technology, gadget and video game enthusiast that loves covering the latest industry news. Favorite trade show? Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.