90s babies, assemble. There are some sounds that don’t need an introduction. One little tilili and suddenly you’re back in the early 2000s, waiting for someone to call your mom’s Nokia 3310 so you could hear that iconic ringtone.
And yes, I’m talking about the Tilili. The Bhopopo. That unmistakable old-school cellphone. Now, imagine that nostalgia… but with TikTok, WhatsApp, YouTube and Uber.
Enter the Telkom Citrus LO5, a phone that somehow manages to feel like it belongs to the past and the present at the same time.
I’ve been using the Citrus LO5 for the past month, and honestly, it has been giving me throwback. There’s something strangely satisfying about holding a phone that takes you back to the days when your biggest mobile concern was whether your airtime would last long enough to send an SMS.
At one point, using it had me reminiscing about playing Snake on my mom’s 3310, except this time, instead of trying to beat my high score, I’m scrolling through TikTok, texting and video calling my friends on WhatsApp. Oh, I also downloaded Uber on it.
That’s the clever thing about the Citrus LO5. It looks and feels like a little nod to the phones we grew up with, but it’s built for the new school.
For only R299 at Telkom, the phone comes preloaded with a Telkom SIM and a 1.5GB WhatsApp bundle, meaning you’re connected as soon as you walk out of the store. No complicated setup, no downloading everything from scratch and, most importantly, no immediate panic about where your next bundle is coming from.
And while the nostalgia is definitely part of the charm, the LO5 isn’t trying to pretend it’s 1999.
You’ve got WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok and Uber, basically, the essentials for navigating modern life without needing to spend big on a smartphone.
It’s giving old school, but with a Wi-Fi password.
It’s giving “Please call me” but make it WhatsApp.
It’s giving Tilili, but definitely for the cool new-school crowd.
For anyone who remembers Nokia 3310s, polyphonic ringtones, Snake and phones that could survive being dropped from a second floor, the Citrus LO5 is a fun little trip down memory lane, without completely disconnecting you from the world we live in today.
90s babies may remember the Tilili. The new school gets to carry it.
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