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Indiegogo campaign for bizarre Energizer phone with huge battery fails, surprises no one

Who knew people didn't want a nearly 1-inch thick phone?

Lynn La Senior Editor / Reviews - Phones
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
Lynn La
energizer-power-max-p18k-pop-galaxy-s10-plus

The Energizer Power Max P18K Pop (left) and the Galaxy S10 Plus.

Juan Garzon / CNET

Back in February during MWC 2019, French phone maker Avenir Telecom surprised everyone when it launched the Energizer Power Max P18K Pop, a massive phone with an 18,000mAh battery and a whole lot of junk in the trunk. Though it attracted show attendees and garnered news headlines, today it failed to secure $1.2 million in funding via its IndieGogo campaign

First reported by The Verge, the Energizer phone only succeeded in attracting 11 backers to pledge $15,005 -- a little more than 1% of the goal -- towards its manufacturing and distribution. Because the campaign was not successful, backers will get their money back, per Indiegogo policy.

While it doesn't really surprise anybody that most users wouldn't want a phone with a huge profile and cumbersome design, the want for a phone with a long-lasting battery life is real. If the Power Max P18K Pop actually were to become real, it would have offered a 50-day battery life, according to Avenir Telecom. That's plenty of power to fuel its 6.2-inch display, dual pop-up selfie cameras and triple rear camera setup.