Panasonic
EU 2000 (EB-3810)

The Panasonic EU-2000, also known as the G2 (model number: EB-3810) was the first GSM hand portable phone from the Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer. The phone was made by Panasonic’s manufacturing arm, Matsushita, at its factory in Thatcham, UK. Prior to launch, engineers from the company embarked on a European tour to test the roaming funtionality of the phone visiting five countries in three days in a Panasonic mini-bus. It was an exciting trip as it took place shortly after the channel tunnel opened. The company had huge challenges with the product and the team at the factory hand-tested every phone before it was shipped to customers. A much-liked feature of the phone (and other Panasonic phones at the time) was that the colour of the screen could be changed. It had two display colour options: orange and green. This proved very popular with car owners as the display colour could be changed to match the colour used on the vehicle’s dashboard backlight. The phone was shipped with two batteries: a slimline battery and a larger extended battery. It was also sold with a car kit which had a cradle and a curly cable that plugged into the base of the phone. A notable story related to this product was that the car kit had a booster that was typically mounted under one of the front seats when it was being installed. Things went wrong when several cars caught fire in South Africa as the installer in that market kept fitting them under the carpet that was part of the car’s interior trim. With the heat sink fins on the side of the booster unit covered, it quickly overheated causing it to set fire to the carpet.