Lëkki: Vintage Phones with a Modern Twist

With the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show getting underway in Las Vegas, the media is focused on the gadgets of the future. Not so for the French company Lëkki. It's focused on updating the phones of the past.

Lëkki sells vintage second-hand cell phones—the Motorola StarTAC 130 and the Nokia 3210, two of the most popular models from the 1990s, renowned for their quality and design—but gives them a modern twist with bright new color schemes. The result is a custom phone with an intriguing retro aesthetic. Both are for sale through the Lëkki website. The Nokia model costs around $110 and the Motorola around $185.

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By using second-hand phones, Lëkki is helping to ease the environmental burden of creating and trashing new electronics. And while these phones can only call and text (no Angry Birds), they have one advantage the iPhone can't boast: They're unique.