In other news articles we’ve posted on this site from time to time, you’ll find recommendations for replica retro handsets which you can plug into your modern hi-tech phone for a bit more comfort when actually speaking to people. But now we have found something slightly different, and even more appealing from an aesthetics point of view: a dock for Apple’s iPhone in the form of a classic Bakelite Pyramid.

Perfect for the office or home office, this wonderful contraption, entitled the iRetrofone Base allows you to put down your iPhone in a cradle, in such a way that it is almost concealed, and then take calls on a perfect replica of a classic Bakelite Pyramid, with all the comfort and enjoyment that you would expect from an original.

Admittedly it’s not cheap at $195 – but as we all know, great style doesn’t come cheap.

We’ve nothing but praise and admiration for those who manage to do these things on their own, and so we are positively in awe of the person who managed the incredible feat of turning an old retro phone into a charging station for a modern mobile phone. Yet another example of enterprising individuals striving, like us, to bring back a little bit of bygone glamour to our modern telecommunications.

Follow the ten-step, super-detailed, photo-illustrated guide, whether out of pure fascination, or perhaps to learn a thing or two about DIY and home electronics from an obvious pro.

There is a wide range of styles and fittings, suitable for most brands of modern cellphone, or for use as a Skype adaptor with a laptop or tablet computer.

Check out their website at www.hulger.com

Lots of colours are available, and it’s obviously very easy to use – just plug it into your iPhone, HTC, Blackberry or pretty much any other modern mobile phone with an audio connector, and use in the time-honoured fashion.

We must say that while we like the idea from an aesthetic point of view, we’ve yet to see anyone actually use one of these handsets in a real-life context. Perhaps some people use them at home; we feel that perhaps they’re ultimately a bit impractical. Still, they’re inexpensive and could make an amusing novelty gift. We know that we’d rather invest in a more serious retro-modern crossover such as the iRetrofone Base.

In fact – on learning of this App, Retro-phones checked it out, and discovered that there are in fact several competing versions of the analogue dialler. There’s even one called “iRetroPhone”, which we must state has no affiliation with this site, but which has a very pleasing retro-styled interface. Check it out here.

What many now refer to as ‘brick phones’ – early cellular phones, such as the one seen in this video and, stereotypically, against the ears of late 80s and early 90s yuppies – surely represent the absolute nadir of phone design, when both aesthetics and ergonomics were sacrificed for purely technological ends. Perhaps some day they’ll become collectors items out of curiosity value, but we’re certain you agree that they’ll never be able to match the sheer elegance and comfort of a genuine vintage telephone.