My wife and I watched Suspicion S1:E7 Questions of Trust (2022 – created by Rob Williams and directed by Chris Long). A few minutes into the episode, we looked at each other incredulously. Before telling you why, let me first mention that the series is fine and makes you constantly say to yourself: “This is suspicious.” It makes sense, as it is precisely the name of the show. Without spoiling it for you, I can only say that it ends in a pseudo-twist (that you can guess toward the end).  

But let’s get back to our topic, shall we? When we watch a show, there is often a moment when we claim that they jumped the shark! And we generally end up not watching the end of the show. We are not always in synch, but we were stunned this time. Indeed, Tom Rhys Harries (Eddie Walker) gives a phone call in a scene. Kunal Nayyar (Aadesh Chopra) confronts him with an apropos “show me the phone.” It is when Tom shows the device that we were shocked.

To be sure that we got it, Aadesh and Elyes Gabel (Sean Tilson) give us the download:

Seanwhy the bullet phone?

AadeshThe what phone?

SeanMinimal metal components, so they don’t set off alarms, and small enough to be packed you-know-where.

We conjured the shark; after all, there is no way such a small phone exists, and a James Bond-issued device didn’t make any sense in the narrative. But before calling the episode done, I checked. And guess what? This thing does exist. So, I ordered one to test it and sourced a pre-paid T-Mobile SIM card. The phone was dirt cheap.

The device arrived a few weeks later, and I tried to operate it. But first, let me tell you that it is even smaller than what we initially thought (62 x 23 x 11 mm). This thing is an actual phone! It works with the following frequencies: GSM850/900/1800/1900. It has an excellent, readable OLED (16.7 mm diagonal), and the keyboard is surprisingly usable with your nails. It is feature-packed and accepts nano SIMs. It charges a 300 mAh battery via USB and is audible-ish. I have some hearing problems these days, so I am unsure if the issue is with me or the device. But as is, I doubt I could hear it in a loud place. Note that the bullet phone can connect to another phone – a big one this time – using Bluetooth and using it to pass calls, which is possibly the primary use for this lilliputian phone. Of course, we finished the series since we know that Henry Winkler (Fonzie) didn’t jump the shark. Unbelievable, but not suspicious anymore!