Arduino Powered Phone Kit Offers DIY Handset Design

As the weekend approaches and the itch to tinker with something crawls up the spine of nerds everywhere, open source hardware projects like this one scratch it like nothing else: There’s a card called an Arduino GSM Shield available now, which essentially lets you add GPRS/GSM connections to your projects. In other words, you can build your own unlocked phone with it.

Arduino GSM Shield

The device can be shipped along with Arduino’s Uno, MEGA, and Leonardo boards, and the GSM Shield itself comes with a SIM card. (You can, however, use whatever SIM card you like.) With the shield, you can implement features such as making and receiving phone calls and sending and receiving SMS messages.

Arduino GSM Shield

The shield is available now directly from the Arduino store online for about $90 USD, with wider availability starting on March 25th. Grab a case of Mountain Dew, stock up on Ranch Doritos, and clear your weekend, because this is sounds like an enormously entertaining project to tackle.