The quietest gadget in Spectre is a small silver phone in a grey box. The Samsung GT-S5611 Spectre phone is a modest 2014 mobile, and it does the one thing Daniel Craig’s Bond needs: it lets a man working outside the rules keep one trusted line open. We find that more instructive than the usual hardware.
In the film
In Spectre, Bond sends Moneypenny a phone disguised as a gift, so that they can stay in touch while he pursues the organisation behind Sciarra on his own. It arrives in a dark grey box tied with a grey satin ribbon, with a handwritten card reading “Thank you”. The phone is a metallic silver GT-S5611 with the Samsung logo removed. One of two prop sets was sold at Christie’s in February 2016; EON kept the other.
Details of the Samsung GT-S5611 Spectre phone
Almost nothing to it. It is a basic phone with a 2.4-inch screen at 240 x 320 pixels, and it measures 118.9mm tall, 49.7mm wide and 12.9mm thick. At 91g it is light enough to disappear into a jacket pocket.
A battery you can swap. The 1000mAh Li-Ion cell is removable, and standby is listed at up to 310 hours on 3G. A spare in a drawer is a more sensible habit than a power bank.
Sensible basics. There is a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with an LED flash, a microSDHC slot, Bluetooth 3.0, stereo FM radio, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microUSB port. It takes a Mini-SIM and works on GSM and 3G (HSPA) networks.
The logo that wasn’t there. In the film the Samsung branding has been removed. That anonymity is the best thing about it: an object meant to be forgotten.
Owning it now
The phone is out of production, so it is found second-hand; our button runs a search on eBay. We would not buy this as a daily phone. It works on 2G and 3G bands only, so check what your network still supports before you spend anything. As a second device it is another matter. A phone with no Wi-Fi, no GPS and a standby time listed at up to 310 hours makes a good travel handset, a weekend phone, or a number you give only to people who matter.
It is also a quiet collector’s piece for anyone who follows the Craig films. The phone was made in white, grey and dark blue; the grey, officially Metallic Silver, is the one that matches the film. Buy a complete example with a good battery, and remember that a retail phone still shows the Samsung logo that the prop did not. If you want a wider view, our gadgets and electronics pages are the place to start.
In the same spirit
These are current alternatives, in the spirit of the look. None is the piece from the film.
- Nokia 3310 Grey (No Time To Die): another plain handset from the films, for the same idea of a second phone that does little.
Specifications
| Model | Samsung GT-S5611 (also known as Primo / Utopia) |
|---|---|
| Colour | Metallic Silver (also listed as grey) |
| Size and weight | 118.9 x 49.7 x 12.9mm, 91g |
| Display | 2.4-inch TFT, 240 x 320 pixels |
| Camera | 5MP autofocus, LED flash |
| Battery | Li-Ion 1000mAh, removable |
| Connectivity | GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 900/2100, Bluetooth 3.0, microUSB 2.0, Mini-SIM |
| Storage | 256MB internal, microSDHC slot |
| Released | February 2014, now discontinued |
| RRP | Not available; discontinued |
Samsung’s support listing for the model is on Samsung’s Levant support site.
Questions
Is this the phone Bond sends Moneypenny in Spectre?
Yes, it is the same model: a metallic silver Samsung GT-S5611. The prop used in the film had the Samsung logo removed, so a retail phone will not match it exactly.
Can you still buy the Samsung GT-S5611 new?
No. It was released in February 2014 and is discontinued, so any example you find now is second-hand or old stock.
Will it work on a mobile network today?
Only where your carrier still supports its bands: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 for 2G and HSDPA 900/2100 for 3G. Check with your carrier before buying.
Where is the film prop now?
One of the two prop sets was sold at Christie’s in February 2016. The other is still held by EON.
For the rest of the era, see Craig’s Bond, or browse all the films.
