rob posted: > http://www.smh.com.au/cgi-bin/common/popupPrintArticle.pl?path=/articles/2004/01/21/1074360813226.html > > 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.
I couldn't find any links with the exact stats, but I remember reading somewhere that a lot (5% to 10%) of our regular hearing is conducted through our bones to our ears. Something like 1% of what we hear comes originally from our breastbone, and somewhat higher percentages come from our cheekbones and forehead. These numbers are all from memory -- perhaps one of the medically inclined folks on the list might be able to get better (and more up-to-date) numbers for this? Also, here's an article about a very similar (but IMO much funnier) phone... http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/4414.html Go go gadget finger-phone! By: Anthony Newman, Friday 12th December 2003, 12:04 GMT NTT DoCoMo continue research into sticking fingers in ears at the cutting edge of telecoms. Japanese cellular provider NTT DoCoMo, pioneers of advanced phone features, have managed to create a handset - if one can call it that - to redefine the whole telephonic paradigm. The FingerWhisper comes close to replicating the instinctive gesture for 'call me': little finger at the lips, thumb up to the ear. With the DoCoMo design, the user wears a wristwatch which contains the phone and its microphone. The really interesting bit is that the voice of the caller is transmitted through bone induction by the wristband, and carried to the bones of the ear by the wearer's finger. Stick finger in ear, hear voice in head. This is a big step in reducing the size of the handset while not compromising voice quality. It also claims to solve issues of hearing callers in noisy environments by completely bypassing the ambient environment, and also removes the need for buttons, replacing them with a morse code-like system of tapping for the execution of phone functions. The only issue, of course, is how to pass a call over to a friend. Reggie Bautista _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
