With its products, Société BiC, that French company featuring the well-known ball-headed mascot, is celebrating a carefree world “at your disposal”: disposable ballpoints, disposable shavers, disposable lighters. The economic designs of these have long acquired cult status. So much in fact, that the BiC line-up’s classics BiC Cristal (a ballpoint) and J1 (a lighter) have been granted each their own exhibit in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Disposable items by BiC are highly affordable — they aren’t cheap though, because they’ve got style, they convey a way of life. So it’s hardly any surprise that BiC also offers its own sportswear collection for surfing and other aquatic sports. And, as of mid 2008: cell phones.

The BiC “disposable cell phone” is available in two fresh color variants

In collaboration with Alcatel’s hardware forge TCL and telecommunications operator Orange, BiC developed the BiC Phone — so far released to French metropolitan areas only. As with the iPhone in Apple’s case, the BiC Phone reflects the particular philosophy of its company, which is devoted to the paradigms of “less is more” and “form follows function”: uncomplicated, economic, ready to go.

Those who’ve never known better but to fret about how, with each new generation, cell phones get equipped with more and more fancy-schmancy extra functionality will be delighted by BiC’s purist formula: no cell phone cams, no built-in Internet… and no mobile entertainment whatsoever. Just plain phoning and short messaging. For a suggested retail price of €49 the device is available at the tobacco shop or the newsstand round the corner, and it’s instantly ready to go — with its pre-charged battery, free 60 minutes of credit and its own phone number pre-registered.

However, la Société doesn’t stay true to herself entirely. In the according press release BiC expressly points out that the BiC Phone is NOT a “disposable” cell phone. When the 60 minute credit is over, it can be recharged. Perhaps a streak of guilty environmental conscience after all?