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DoCoMos Finger Phone 164

Posted by Hemos from the here's-a-finger-in-your-ear dept.
A reader writes: "DoCoMo has done it again. This time they have a phone where the speaker is your finger. Put your finger in your ear and listen as you speak into the mic which is integrated into the wristwatch. Also in the wrist watch is some sort of gadget which sends the sound waves up your wrist and into one of your fingers." Thanks to Cubase de Pilsen for sending me a link to one of the pictures.
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DoCoMos Finger Phone More

DoCoMos Finger Phone

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  • This does not seem practical because it must consume too much power. The vibration attenuation through the wrist and knuckles must be tremendous. It must have to dump significant power to the speaker/vibrator(?). That combined with the small watch-sized battery doesn't bode well for prospects. Of course maybe they could use a Proton Polymer Battery [slashdot.org].

  • to stick your fingers in your ears

    Lends new meaning to waxy yellow buildup, eh?


    --
    Chief Frog Inspector
  • "We just have to establish a culture that registers an idea with people that wearing a device is a cool thing."

    Not likely, since the only people that would be willing to walk around with their fingers in their ears just to get the bleeding edge of tech are geeks...
  • Hmmm. I got some good ideas, for anyone wanting to borrow it.
  • Did you ever wonder why your voice sounds different when you hear it from a recording? The voice you hear while talking has travelled through your head bones. So your bones are well-suited to transmit audio, and I doubt there will be any problems from that.
  • If you do this:

    Put your thumb in your ear. Extend your pinky to your mouth. Talk on your phone.

    People around you might do this:

    Make an orbital motion of the index finger around their temple while pointing at you.

  • I don't know what they're using, but when I opened the link in the story to thestandard.com, IE5 informed me that the page (at thestandard.com) attempted to use an ActiveX control marked as unsafe, and because my security settings prevent this control from running, the page may not display as intended. (My job requires I use Windows NT and MS Outlook, IE, etc., and in response to the security problems, virus/worm attacks, etc. of the past, I have adopted paranoid security settings up to the limit that still allows me to do my work.)

    Anybody know what they're doing on their pages? It seems to be all of their pages that are affected.

    /dev/joe

  • Great. Mothers spend years of their lives teaching their kids to keep their fingers out of their bodily orifices, and now there's an invention that encourages it.

    "Take your finger out of your ear this instant!"

    "But Mooooom! I'm talking to Shannon!"

    Even worse...what happens when someone answers the phone and says, "Wait, he's right here...it's for you"?

  • "To answer the phone [...] the wearer taps their thumb and index finger together."

    And what do you do to hang up? Give it the finger?

  • First thing I thought when I read it. Went to the comments and searched for "inspector."

    -lx

  • What with people talking out of their asses all the time...

    Then a good alternative would be to offer an option for a microphone that can be fitted elsewhere... *firmly*!

  • Some people here point that nobody would want to talk with a finger in their ear. Actually lots of people now talk with the phone in one hand and the other on the other ear, if in a noisy environment. I don't see it a problem.

    Where I see a problem is in that with this you absolutely need one hand to talk. No more trying to hold the thing between the shoulder and the head (it's bad for your neck, you know). Now you only have one hand free.
    __

  • Re:I can't resist (Score:3)

    by scrain ( 43626 ) on Wednesday October 11, 2000 @08:06AM (#715128)
    Yeah, but imagine the look on their face when you hold out your hand to them and say, "No! Here... listen!"

    Then who's crazy? =)

  • This guy stole my idea!!! ... well, not exactly ... my idea was the sphincter phone... lets just hope that he doesn't make a move on my butt mouse idea, too!

  • Here is the original paper about Whisper as a PDF [acm.org] file. It was presented at an ACM, Computer Human Interaction conference last year. You may need to register to read it, but anyway, it is quite interesting.

    The way you hold your hand looks to others as if you are talking on a really small mobile phone (so small they can't see it :-). So actually you don't look as crazy to others as you do with just a handsfree earpiece. And the sound conduction through your finger bones is very good. So good that it is actually easier to hear in a noisy environment than with a normal phone.

    They also found that people didn't shout into their phone when using Whisper, because the finger in the ear gave better feedback to your voice volume.

    Regards,

    Jody

  • What if you need to let another person talk? The only thing that will make you look stupider than sticking your finger in your own ear is putting it in someone else's ... I see from the article too that you're supposed to control the phone by making various finger taps. I forsee a sudden rise in gang violence as you inadvertently give a hostile gangsign in the wrong neighborhood ... The picture in the article shows something that looks like it would knock you unscious if you happened to raise your hand to wipe your brow ...
  • Two Answers:

    DoCoMo [nttdocomo.com]

    Go Go Gadget FingerPhone!

  • Because you don't have to carry the phone in a "nerd pack" on your belt. That's the whole point of this -- [ordinary] people don't like to wear gadgets. A distinctly non-geek attitude that will be punished once World Domination is complete, but until then...
  • I disagree. How many times do you see someone standing in public, holding their cell-phone in one hand, with a finger in their other ear so they can hear.

    Why is this so different?
  • "Next on the list: a personal helicopter head mount."

    Already been done. [slashdot.org]

  • I hate it when a joke turns serious.

    Four international executives are playing golf. On the third hole a ringing sound is heard. The British golfer fumbles in his bag, picks out his cellular phone, turns away from his partners and has a brief conversation.


    "Terribly sorry chaps, but one has to keep one's finger on the pulse and all that." His companions murmur acknowledgment.

    On the fourth hole, there is another ring. The American says "excuse me", places his thumb to his ear and holds his pinkie near his mouth, and has an intense conversation.

    He turns back to the bewildered group. "Oh, this is the latest thing on the Coast," he says "I've got a microphone grafted into my pinkie and a receiver in my thumb. It's really convenient."

    They play on for a few more holes, at which point there is a loud ring. The German, who had been leaning over his putt, snaps to attention. "Ja, verstehen, verstehen, ja, ja. Auf Wiedersehen." He snaps back to normal.

    "This is really the state of art," he tells his playing partners. "I have the microphone grafted into my lower lip, and the receiver grafted into my earlobe. All I have to do to answer the telephone is to straighten my neck." Everyone is impressed.

    Finally, on the 18th hole, muted chimes are heard. The Japanese businessman drops his clubs, blurts "so sorry" and runs into the bushes. Everyone waits.

    After 15 minutes the American goes to check on his colleague. He finds Mr. Tanaka squatting, trousers around his ankles, eyes closed and grimacing. "You okay, Tanaka-san?" he asks.

    "Everything is fine," Mr. Tanaka replies. "Just awaiting fax from home office."

    Thanks to a page at joedietzel.com [joeditzel.com] for a print version of one of my favorite jokes.
  • (oneliner)Go go gadget phone.(/oneliner)

    In response to your question, I'd much prefer wearing a band on my arm then a headset, especally if just tooling around town. Besides, I would think secret service agents have the "hand at ear" move down pat (at least the actors who play secret service agents do).

  • Can we place it on the middle finger and give the caller an electric shock when they say something stupid? (touch-sensitive technology. Just point middle finger out, lift vertically...)

  • yuck (Score:1)

    by krich ( 161944 )
    I know I won't be asking to borrow your phone if you have one of these...
  • Nope, the third line has a few s's thrown in:
    ha hahsa hsahs ashas ah hsha hhha h aha hha hhaaha hahahahahaha ah a ahahahahahahahah ahahahah ahah

  • Photo of the device on a cute chick here: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/ap/20001003/en/japa n_electronics.html [yahoo.com]

    ...and some miscellaneous phones with an even cuter chick here: h ttp ://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/p/ap/20001003/wl/japan_el ectronics_communica.html [yahoo.com]

  • Nice to see akamai involved, should help prevent slashdotting.

  • From the article:

    Demos of the prototype work well, but there are obstacles to Whisper ever becoming a product. "In Japan or the U.S., people are not willing to wear wearable devices," Fukumoto says. "The only gadget that people allow themselves to wear today is a wristwatch."

    The heck? What about all of us who have two pagers and a cell phone on our belts? (Well, I dropped pager #1, but I have to keep the other because of work--text messaging and all.) As if those aren't "wearable gadgets". I wouldn't want something clunky per se, but if you give me a watch that tells time, serves as a cell phone, and isn't the size of Montana, I'd probably wear it.


    --
  • I guess that's the difference between Americans and Japanese that the inventor cited in the article.

    Americans see that as crazy.

    Japanese see it as neeto-keen.
  • This is going to move phone sex in a whole new direction.
  • Pressing your finger against your skull (behind your ear) should also work, no? Vibrations are vibrations...

    .c

  • to "pull my finger".

    Stupid lameness filters. How are we supposed to do one-liners?
  • ...and you open up some interesting possibilities, that is, assuming the phone can recognize some hand movements. For instance, flicking my middle finger might speed-dial 911 (or whatever the local police number is).

    Too bad they can't just transmit all the way up the skeleton, though. Maybe a phone-collar, with mike and speaker attached to one's skull...
  • "What are you doing?"

    I've got a fax coming through...

  • what will they come up with next? And when do we get to see cool stuff like this? And why wasn't that 'Ask Slashdot' about cool toys in Japan not on the front page?
    --
    Peace,
    Lord Omlette
    ICQ# 77863057
  • Hey, buddy, I got a call for ya -- right here!

  • vibrations & your bones (Score:3)

    by onet ( 109352 ) on Wednesday October 11, 2000 @05:40AM (#715153)

    The vibrations will range from 100Hz and higher for voices I would think.

    I don't know, but how much vibrations can your bones stand before it starts to become a (medical) problem?

    Is this another fast way to get RSI?

  • With a miniaturization trend like this, we can fully expect it to be installed in small, attractive objects, such as stuffed animals or plastic fruit, which could lead to the ruining of the perfectly good punchline:
    Sorry, I can't hear you, I've got a banana in my ear.



    --
    Chief Frog Inspector
  • What if you are disabled?
    Would you rather not use headphones or a standard hands-free kit?

    In which way is this an advance? Sounds like a pretty stupid idea to me. I`m sure if this system had been invented first, the creation of a way of NOT using your finger would be seen as an advance!
    "No more filthy fingers! Keep both hands free while you talk!"

  • Why don't they try to put common communication devices (namely, telephones) in ballpoint pens?

    A friend of mine used to work at a convenience store, and one of the regular patrons often would be engaged in conversation with my friend and then suddenly interrupt, "hang on, I've got a call coming in". My friend would grin and say, "Okay, Hank." He'd then step back, click the top of his ballpoint pen, and begin muttering and arguing with it, for lengths of up to 5 minutes. He claimed that his boss contacted him regularly through his ballpoint pen.

    Might be scarcely believable if the guy didn't spend his spare time collecting aluminum cans fromt the dumpsters outside. *grins*


    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.

  • so (Score:2)

    by British ( 51765 )
    So when all those people were giving me the finger, what they were really meaning to say was "Someone wants to speak to you!"

    So in the UK could they put it on two fingers(middle and index) just to make it look derogatory?
  • If you ever wanted to play "Secret Service Agent", now's your chance.
  • Apparently you don't recall the introduction of the Sony Walkman, when Sony hired attractive actors to walk around wearing headphones in order to get people accustomed to the idea that wearing them was stylish and not geeky as hell. It's testimony to their strategies that today we don't think twice about it. Still think they can't rearrange our values and ideas? Welcome to the power of mass marketing, my friend. Just wait until they start convincing us that VR goggles are the height of chic.

  • Actually, I want a phone that sits unobtrusively in my ear. I have a Jabra earpiece for my cellphone now, but it's a little big and the wire dangling down is awkward. I'm thinking something more like an in- or around-the-ear hearing aid. Not sure what to do about the wire, though...

    The big reason why I don't wear the Jabra all the time is that it makes me look like a doofus. I wouldn't mind it if it was a socially acceptable thing to do. Yes, I think changing society's perceptions so that being wired is cool is a good thing!

    And while we're at it, I also want a head-up display superimposed directly on my optic nerve. Just so long as I get to pick what's on the display, and I can turn both it and the phone off at my own discretion!

    Next thing you know, we'll have huge flat screen TVs you can work into your walls....

    I've attended a couple trade shows this past month. I've noticed that the big flat plasma displays are really popular amongst exhibitors! Almost all the booths use them now. I'm hoping this means that the prices will drop into the consumer range soon.

  • The first time I get a phone call from someone inadvertantly dialling me while masturbating, DoCoMo is going to have a lot to answer for!

    Reminds me of one of my old managers when she bought one of those vibrating pagers. For about a week, she went around saying 'Page me...Please! Page me! '

  • What happens if you're a girl geek and have long fingernails? Ouch!

    And what happens when all those cops who *don't* know about new technologies see people wandering around city streets talking to themselves with their fingers in their ears? Will the "white coats" be sent after them?
  • I disagree. How many times do you see someone standing in public, holding their cell-phone in one hand, with a finger in their other ear so they can hear.

    Why is this so different?

    because everyone knows they're on a cell phone and cell phones are "cool."


    Vote for freedom! [harrybrowne2000.org]
    ---

  • Advantage: nobody wants to lend your telephone and have your finger sticking in their ear.

    Mark
  • I understand the cocnept of bone conduction, its been used for a long time for ear-piece only mic/earphone sets and unobtrusive (collarbone placed) mics.

    But who is honestly going to buy a product where you have to walk around with your finger in your ear to use it? Was marketing on an offsite when engineering came up with thsi idea?
  • DoCoMo is the wireless arm of NTT, Nippon Telephone, the largest telephone company in Japan. In fact, I think DoCoMo is the largest wireless company in the world. Don't be surprised if you start seeing them more in the US. I know they have started advertising in Newsweek, but I don't know if they are selling anything in the US yet. DoCoMo's wireless phones in Japan are very popular and much more featureful than anything you can find in the US.

    Bonus points to anyone who can explain what the abbreviation DoCoMo stands for.

  • Don't put that finger in your ear!! You don't know where that finger's been!

    Smells finger suspiciously....

  • Put your finger in your ear and listen as you speak into the mic which is integrated into the wristwatch.

    No, no, no. You stick your finger in your ear and say ting-a-ling-a-loo!
  • yeah, i wanna be walking around with my finger in my ear all the fucking time...

    who will buy this crap?

    - A.P.

    --
    * CmdrTaco is an idiot.

  • "Are you using your cell phone?"

    "No, I'm just an idiot -- easy mistake."
  • Reminds me of a Kevin Bloody Wilson [wilson.com.au] song, Dicktaphone [wilson.com.au]


    --
    Chief Frog Inspector
  • "Hello, chief? You're where?"
  • This had to be a non-US concept of use, I can't see people sticking their fingers in their ear to talk.

    What with people talking out of their asses all the time, I think you're overconcerned.

    Stefan.
    It takes a lot of brains to enjoy satire, humor and wit-

  • I'm not crazy! Not me! Here let me stick my thumb in your ear to prove it! You can talk to my hand friend too. It's OK, I swear.
  • there is a great book called "101 Usless Japanese Inventions".

    It's great. My favorite one is a mouth guard type thing that you can put over your teeth while you eat, so you don't have to brush them.

    -sam
  • Eww. Sorry, but the idea of having one of these phones and picking your nose is just too horrible. I've got this mental image of accidentally dialling someone who picks up the phone to the sound of me picking my nose...

    Actually, what I'm currently finding more worrying is that, of the three kind (if misguided, see below) moderators who modded me up, two gave me a funny. I can see it's mildly amusing, but it's not a windup or a joke. I'm being credited with writing a joke _I_ don't get ;)

    Even more worrying, though, is that the post hit 5. It's OK, but not one of my best ever - yet it got a 5. The only things I can see which are different are that

    1) It's early - #17 or something
    2) It's short

    Neither of which should really help it. It's a serious post, not karma whoring before I get moaned at, but not _that_ good. Come on guys... For the second time, I genuinely want to mod one of my own comments as overrated.

    SLASH is being rewritten, right? Any chance of a mod where it only lets you moderate if you're viewing in Newest First (so reducing this problem) and not at all until a thread hits a certain number of comments?
  • reminds me of the businessman whose ass was a fax machine...
  • I'm English. And the guy who made the root comment to this thread, for those who aren't concentrating :)

    Note a .uk e-mail address and website address, and a request for work in England ;)
  • What's the problem? The finger in the ear worked on Mork and Mindy! You too could have the opportunity to "call Orson"!

  • What's his middle name?

    Fukunokia?

    -LjM
  • I'm not sticking my finger in anybody else's ear...

    Ewwww
  • Lean over so I can stick my finger in your ear...

  • PRESS RELEASE (Score:3)

    by Frac ( 27516 ) on Wednesday October 11, 2000 @05:50AM (#715183)
    PALO ALTO, CA (Routers) - Professors at the User Interface Group at Xerox PARC is introducing a new wireless input interface that replaces the mouse and keyboard altogether. The apparatus involves a pair of tap dancing shoes, and wearing a 10-pound "wearable PC" white underwear briefs, which wirelessly connects to the computer and shoes.

    The user can create keyboard events by tap dancing predefined sequences on the floor with the shoe. Mouse clicks and movement is created by sticking the two index fingers up each nostril, and pointing the palm of the right hand at the screen allows for the positioning of the mouse pointer, and wiggling each index finger in the nose simulates mouse clicks.

    "This new interface is intuitively easy to use for users that have never used a computer before," said Roozbeh Ghaffari, PHD Atomic Microscope scientist at Xerox PARC. "We are currently exploring ways to simulate the third mouse button, possibly by creating a hoola-hoop motion with the user's behind."

  • The first time I get a phone call from someone inadvertantly dialling me while masturbating, DoCoMo is going to have a lot to answer for!

    --
  • Stick your finger in your _what_?
  • What if you want to pass the call to someone else to say a few words? You have to stick your finger in their ear! Not likely to be popular with either party, I suspect. :)
  • Don't they know the speaker goes in the thumb and the microphone in the pinky? That way, you can make the little "call me" wave and have it actually make some sense!
  • How about microphone on the pinky, speaker on the thumb. That way, you can do the 'Call Me' sign you learned when you were 3 1/2.

    Added Bonus: when you don't like what the person on the other end is saying, just rub your pinky and thumb together: instant feedback!

  • Four big executives are playing golf together and on the second tee they hear a phone ring, and Michael Eisner reaches into his golf bag and pulls out a cellular phone and talks to his office for awhile. And they play the second hole, and on the third tee there's a little buzz and Warren Buffett puts one finger in his ear and one finger to his mouth and talks, and afterward he explains that he has a tiny microphone installed in one fingernail and a tiny speaker in another, so he can keep in touch with the office. Everyone is impressed. And they play the third hole and on the fourth tee, suddenly Ted Turner starts talking--no phone or anything. And afterward he explains that he has a microphone in a filling in his tooth and a speaker in his ear, so that he can always talk to the office. They are even more impressed and move on. And suddenly they see Bill Gates pull his pants down and squat and reach into his golf bag for a roll of toilet paper, and he looks up and says, "It's okay. I'm expecting a fax."

    Not my joke, I take no credit.
  • Public acceptance of this may not be too bad.

    Now, just imagine the disaster that the penis phone might have been. :-)

  • Am I the only one who thinks this is cool? (Score:4)

    by zbose ( 2060 ) on Wednesday October 11, 2000 @06:24AM (#715197) Homepage
    I have read through all of the comments (just about) and I have yet to find one person who isn't more concerned with how they would look using one of these than the actual practicality of it. I find it hard to believe that a bunch of geeks, who will wear shirts that have lines of perl code, and wear tool belts with leathermen and palmpilots on them actually care about what other people think. Personally, I feel stupid using my cell phone period. I don't use it because I think it looks cool, I use it because its incredibly convinent. A wrist/finger type phone would allow one to be much more discreet, not to mention it would be much nicer to carry around.

    Just imagine, you are in class, you feel a vibration on your rist, check the little lcd to see who the incoming call is from, decide you will take it real quick. You tap your fingers together and hold your hand to your ear and tell your girlfriend you will be home in 30 minutes. I will be the first one inline to buy one of these (assuming they aren't too bulky on the rist).

    Maybe someone will point and laugh at me because I have a finger in my ear, but I will still have my other hand free to give them the finger with.
    ---
    Remove the -x- from my email address to send.

  • By an interesting coincidence ... (Score:3)

    by NetWurkGuy ( 240604 ) on Wednesday October 11, 2000 @12:11PM (#715199)
    Another /. topic today is "Force-Feedback Devices Provide Virtual Texture". put these stories together for a new concept of phone sex.
  • Not far out.
    Some companies, I recall Sun Microsystems, were experimenting with computer embedded finger rings (Java powered) to replace swipe cards. I suppose you could put a mike in there too.

  • It means 'anywhere' in Japanese.
    It would more normally be romanised as 'dokomo'.
  • What's going to happen when you want to put someone else on the phone?

    Do you stick your finger in their ear? That will look quite silly. Won't "giving people the finger" become a socially accepted way of saying hi?

    Geoff
  • "Honest, I'm not picking my nose ...."
  • This had to be a non-US concept of use, I can't see people sticking their fingers in their ear to talk. Then again, with the bozos on HWY 17 yapping away, I think some have mutated a 3rd arm. In that light, it wouldn't seem so strange. :-\


    --
    Chief Frog Inspector
  • How in the world are all the morons supposed to talk on the phone and drive with THIS thing?

    On the plus side, you won't need to buy those fake phones anymore to look cool, just plug your finger in your ear and yak away into whatever watch you have!

    I really want to see a picture of someone using this thing, I can't imagine how stupid it must look..

  • Sounds cool, but... (Score:5)

    by GregWebb ( 26123 ) on Wednesday October 11, 2000 @05:29AM (#715230)
    ... people tend to think it's rather rude to use a mobile in a lot of public places, or to stick your fingers in your ears, while talking to yourself (which is what you'll appear to be doing until people work out about these things) tends to get you dismissed as mad. As far as I can see, this combines each and every one of those problems with remarkable efficiency.

    I'd guess public acceptance will be a huge problem, I'm afraid. This may simply be a leap too far.
  • Sorry. Anything that uses up a hand is a loser. I have the MP3 handsfree kit for my Ericsson T28. When I'm wandering around the city (or whatever) I'm listening to music. When the phone rings the music stops and the conversation begins. When the conversation ends the music starts back up. Look Ma, no hands.

    Failing this, clothing with speakers and a mic suitably placed are probably a better option than sticking your finger in your ear.

  • Fukumoto says. "The only gadget that people allow themselves to wear today is a wristwatch."
    The subject line is recycled from a previous post. I don't wear a watch -- they're a pain in the arse. I keep scratching them and getting them caught on stuff. I have quite a large Swatch collection and occasionally I wear a "Skin" (<3.5mm thick) watch that you can barely tell you're wearing, but not often. Since I got my first mobile phone (just over 18 months ago) I've stopped needing a watch.

  • These guys are INGENIUS! (Score:4)

    by TheTomcat ( 53158 ) on Wednesday October 11, 2000 @06:08AM (#715240) Homepage
    The band houses a tiny microphone, plus a device that converts audio signals into vibrations.

    I certainly hope they get a patent on the as-yet-unnamed 'device that converts audio signals into vibrations' before someone tries to copy it. I mean, jeez, they're definately onto something here! This whole time, I thought that audio signals WERE vibrations!

    (I love it when journalists pad stories to make them more.. uh.. interesting. Good thing there's no -1 sarcastic (-: )
  • That's right, you know that Farenheit 451 is about book burning... but did you know that it's about pervasisve media too?

    "Sooner or later, wireless phones will look more like earplugs, and people will wear them," Fukumoto says. "We just have to establish a culture that registers an idea with people that wearing a device is a cool thing."

    . Remind anyone of "the SeaShell" that Mildred (Montag the fireman's wife) wears in the book? It was acceptable in their culture. How about a FREE ear-cellphone, folks -- all you have to do is accept continuous programming?

    Next thing you know, we'll have huge flat screen TVs you can work into your walls....

  • Honey! It's for you! (Score:5)

    by mwalker ( 66677 ) on Wednesday October 11, 2000 @05:29AM (#715251) Homepage
    Why doesn't anyone ever answer the finger in this house!?!?

  • I know that it is nowhere near April, but I keep getting the feeling that some of the recent posts on Slashdot are April Fool's jokes.
  • 1) "Again"? WhoTF is "DoCoMo"?

    2) Why hasn't anyone brought up Inspector Gadget yet? This is EXACTLY how he talked on the phone.
    --
    An abstained vote is a vote for Bush and Gore.

  • Cell Phones (Score:3)

    by cluge ( 114877 ) on Wednesday October 11, 2000 @05:30AM (#715255) Homepage
    Now when a pretenious over eager wallstreet type interupts your movie, or dinner you have a few choices
    • Point out how dumb he looks
    • Suggest he stick something else in his ear
    • Grab your shoe and do a "Maxwell Smart" impression (Don't worry Chief I have the villian in my site!)
  • Great. Now we can all be like Inspector Gadget for this phone thingy. Next on the list: a personal helicopter head mount.

    ---
    He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an after life. He then realized there was a contradiction there, and simply hoped there wasn't an afterlife -Douglas Adams

  • > ...plus a device that converts audio signals into vibrations Wow. We can call this new device... a speaker.
  • NewTechUser: Yeah

    ---Pause---

    NewTechUser: Yeh!

    ---Pause---

    NewTechUser: Yeh Yeh!

    ---Pause---

    NewTechUser: Yeh, yeh, yeh!

    Dude! Shut the f^%$# up! Do you have *ANY* idea what I look like? Call me back in twenty minutes...

    AT HOME!

    For f*&^$%'s sake don't call me on this number again!

  • Re:Stick it in your ear! (Score:3)

    by slickwillie ( 34689 ) on Wednesday October 11, 2000 @07:02AM (#715267)
    Instruction manual:

    Step 1. Stick finger in ear.
    Step 2. Twist arm around so microphone is aimed at mouth.
    Step 3. Dial by wiggling thumb.

    I just tried it, it looks like I am shooting myself in the head with a "hand" gun.
  • Do you have to stick your finger in your friends ear if the call is for them?
  • I think the last bit of the article hits the nail on the head. Wearable computers aren't cool.

    No teenage kid, college kid, soccer mom, or business man is going to stand in public with a finger in his ear, talking to his wrist.

    This sounds like really really cool technology, but it's not going to be the "cool" thing to wear to the mall anytime soon.

    wish
    Vote for freedom! [harrybrowne2000.org]
    ---
  • Call me when they do a "a string and two cans" type phone

    Sorry, Charlie, but I've *already* got a patent on this! =-]


    --
    Chief Frog Inspector

  • be careful... (Score:4)

    by bmabray ( 84486 ) on Wednesday October 11, 2000 @05:33AM (#715277) Homepage Journal
    Fukumoto says users can send multiple commands to the wristband by tapping their fingers in various rhythms.
    I can just see myself wearing one of these, listening to music, tapping my fingers to the rhythm, & accidentally calling Australia...

    human://billy.j.mabray/

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