Mobile Phone

Badger phone in GTA IV, without Badger logo.

The phone is a portable communication device that has been carried by the protagonists of all the Grand Theft Auto games since Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, with the exception of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. In the GTA III era, the phone was essentially cosmetic, and could not be used by the player to make calls at will, but its use has been expanded in Grand Theft Auto IV.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Tommy Vercetti retrieves a phone from Leo Teal during "Back Alley Brawl", allowing him to receive calls from in-game characters about missions or other topics. The phone's design is based on early commercial mobile phones from the 1980s.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Carl Johnson has a phone which he uses to make and receive calls. Again, these may be about missions, they may relate to the general story, they may be tips from other characters, or they may serve no particular purpose — for example, the prank calls CJ receives from Catalina. The phone's design is that of an early flip-phone, with a small display for numbers.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

In Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Toni Cipriani retrieves a phone from a deceased Sindacco member in "Snuff". This phone is presumably the phone he uses from then on, as Toni originally called using a pay phone in "Home Sweet Home". The phone's function is similar to those in GTA Vice City and GTA San Andreas.

Grand Theft Auto IV

The use of the phone is greatly expanded in Grand Theft Auto IV. The player can use the phone (given to Niko Bellic by his cousin Roman during the second mission) to make calls, a new feature.

Niko can now call his friends and girlfriends to hang out or go on dates respectively, and can now receive text and picture messages from people. Niko can also use his phone to access cheats, go to multiplayer, and call emergency vehicles (like Police Cars, Ambulances, and Fire Trucks) for assistance. The second model of phone is equipped with a camera, available for use anytime, and used in certain missions. Use of the phone can also trigger some missions, like the The Holland Play, and pre-emptively calling some characters may trigger story-related dialogue more quickly.

The theme and ringtone of the phone can be changed via a website on the in-game internet after the second model of the phone is acquired. The two phones used by Niko during the game are Badger and Whiz brand phones.

Phone exploits in Grand Theft Auto IV

If the player has damaged a vehicle to the point where the engine won't start, the phone can be used to 'jumpstart' it by calling any number or contact — the engine will spontaneously function again, although no damage will be repaired. For convenience's sake, one can cancel the phone call as soon as "Calling..." is seen on the phone's display — the engine comes back to life as soon as the call is initiated.

In the console versions of the game, the phone can also be used as a kind of 'super handbrake', to instantly stop any vehicle, no matter the speed. Initiating the camera while driving will instantly stop the car — the player can leave the phone open to the 'Camera' menu option, and then press X (on PS3) or A (on Xbox 360) when they want to stop. This is presumably a bug, and was fixed in the PC version — activating the phone camera while driving on PC will merely change the game camera to the 'hood cam' perspective, and activate the phone camera as normal. As this exploit requires a camera function, it can only be performed once the player has acquired the second model of phone.

Trivia

In GTA IV the second model of the phone can be customized with themes and ringtones from websites. On the streets of the Liberty City random pedestrians will sometimes take out their phones to receive a call. If you look closely at the civilians phone, you will notice that the theme on their phone's screen will be the same as your current phone theme.

Gallery

The mobile phone in GTA 1. Spoken text is displayed to the right of its image.

The mobile phone in GTA 1. Spoken text is displayed to the right of its image.
The mobile phone in GTA Vice City.

The mobile phone in GTA Vice City.
The mobile phone in GTA San Andreas.

The mobile phone in GTA San Andreas.
Carl with his mobile phone in GTA San Andreas.

Carl with his mobile phone in GTA San Andreas.
The mobile phone as a pickup in GTA Liberty City Stories.

The mobile phone as a pickup in GTA Liberty City Stories.
The mobile phone in GTA IV renders its screen and keypad into a display on the lower right of the screen; this is replicated on the 'actual' phone Niko holds, as seen here.

The mobile phone in GTA IV renders its screen and keypad into a display on the lower right of the screen; this is replicated on the 'actual' phone Niko holds, as seen here.