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Originally designed for smartphone users who are hard of hearing, Kyocera showed off their new “bone conduction” technology at CTIA and it could make a traditional speaker earpiece obsolete. This new tech was shown off in a Kyocera demo unit and essentially uses a vibrating display to rattle the skin and bones of its user, creating perceived audible sound waves. This new tech is especially useful when a user is in a noisy environment, like a concert or event, where a regular earpiece just wouldn’t cut it.
I know, it sounds weird but apparently it works well enough for Kyocera to green light the tech in future devices, though, no word on when we can expect those. New technology isn’t exactly new territory for Kyocera. You may remember that it was only last year the company released the world’s first dual-screened Android phone, that, although great in theory, wasn’t exactly well received from consumers or developers.
What do you guys think? Supposedly, the results are impressive for those that have tried it, although, I think OEM’s and carriers should keep the focus on HD voice to improve audio quality in devices than just good vibrations.
[Via TechPounce | Engadget]
Would be great… if I still talked on the phone
Bone conduction technology? NEW? Seriously?
We hear our voice through bone conduction. That’s why most people freak the first time they hear their own voice recorded and played back. Because they’ve never heard it through air, they’ve only ever heard it through bone.
OK, so it MIGHT be new as a PHONE technology, but the transduction method has been in place since we crawled out of the swamp.
As for it’s usefullness, if it works as well as our built in bone conduction, it will be awesome…. although a little disconcerting at first! Hearing all your classic albums resonated through your skeleton WILL sound completely different to hearing them through air.
But think of the reduction in noise pollution this potentially opens up! I’m all for it, based on that idea alone!
Sounds pretty interesting.
For phone calling that might be awesome. I wonder if it uses more battery tho.
Echo 4G LTE anyone?
So whos the first person i can phone bone?
*raises hand* o/
lol I wasn’t expecting that.
bone induction is a great tech for a million reasons, however the “how well will it work with a cellphone?” part of it is an entirely different story altogether. So we’ll have to see it in practice to know for sure.
When we climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge, each person was given a
headset for communicating with the group leader. Because of the noise
from the big winds, they used this technology, instead of traditional
headsets. Sounded fine. Can’t see why it wouldn’t work with a phone,
especially for those who have trouble hearing through a traditional
device.
It’s not a new thing.
”
I think OEM’s and carriers should keep the focus on HD voice to improve audio quality in devices than just good vibrations.”
When you are hard of hearing, HD does nothing for you. When you can’t hear certain frequencies, it doesn’t matter how good it sounds. I have a father that has lost most of his hearing due to ear infections and this technology sounds perfect for him. It is nice to see companies pursuing this specific set of users. I can imagine that their are a lot of people in the world that need it. Seeing my father go through his hearing loss, I now know how life changing (in a bad way) it can be. If this works it could make a lot of peoples life much more manageable.
So… does the device actually have to be touching the person’s head to work? If it’s a 1/2 inch off, is it silent?
uhmm, so… you have to play all your apps muted now?
What about movies or listening to music?
Replace the earpiece fine, so long as the tech works well enough, but what about the loud speaker o_O?
Bone induction isn’t new. It’s been used with 2 way radios for over a decade. So if a technology that old isn’t common by now it won’t be ever because it is flawed. You can make your own bone induction radio by attaching an electric motor to a pencil and running your audio through it. You bite down on the pencil with your teeth and you can hear the music through the vibrations. Nifty science project but wouldn’t want to listen to music this way. Maybe they have refined this technology, we’ll see…
So freaking tired of “HD” being tagged onto everything! Say HD again, I dare you! SAY HD AGAIN!
(this HD comment sponsored by….)
HD
didn’t they have FM radio lollipops a few years ago? Listen to bad music and get cavities at the same time! yay!
Does anyone actually hold their smartphone up to their heads any more?
The Beach Boys
That would be sweet for having a conversation and my boy is talking about how stoned he got the night before and no one around me could hear it lol. My parents are always like so how stoned was he????