Wednesday, January 21, 2004
TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION: Japanese telecom carriers unveil the "bone phone"
It won't be long, I'm sure, until someone goes the next step an implants a voice-command activated cell phone in their skull. Why bother with hands, dialing, holding up to the ear etc.?
Japanese telecom carriers, pioneers of internet-capable and picture-snapping handsets, have now come up with the world's first mobile phone that enables users to listen to calls inside their heads - by conducting sound through bone.
The TS41 handset, manufactured by electronics firm Sanyo, was put on sale by the Tu-Ka mobile phone group this month, drawing healthy demand from customers who want to hear calls better in busy streets and other noisy places.
The new phone is equipped with a "Sonic Speaker" which transmits sounds through vibrations that move from the skull to the cochlea in the inner ear, instead of relying on the usual method of sound hitting the outer eardrum.
It won't be long, I'm sure, until someone goes the next step an implants a voice-command activated cell phone in their skull. Why bother with hands, dialing, holding up to the ear etc.?
