Aiming to kill the thousands of germs that live on your smart phone and make some money from germophobes, Japan’s Kyocera has developed a phone that can be washed with regular hand soap.
The phone, which will go on sale on 11 December, can be washed with conventional foaming hand soap of the type found in many kitchens, according to the manufacturer.
Of course, soap can be used to clean just about any smart phone currently on the market and waterproof phones are easier to clean, but many won’t stand up to repeated rinses with soap and water. That is where this new phone differs.
Cellular carrier KDDI has released a video showing the phone falling into the tomato ketchup sitting on top of a plate of Om Rice, a Japanese kids favourite made from egg and rice.
In the video, mom comes to the rescue and cleans the phone and rinses it clean.
Several studies have found smart phones to be especially dirty pieces of equipment, covered in bacteria because of the wide number of places they are taken and the numerous surfaces they are placed upon.
The phone has another special feature: a bone conduction speaker.
When the phone is held to the side of the user’s head, vibrations created in the phone travel along bone and cartilage into their ear. The result is a sound that’s as clear if not clearer than that from a speaker. The technology has advantages especially in noisy environments.
The phone is a fully featured smart phone running Android 5.1 and with a 127mm (5″) display and 16-megapixel camera. It will cost around ¥57,000 (€426) in Japan and there are no plans to release it overseas.
Martyn Williams, IDG News Service
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