A conceptual mock-up of the new phone: by the author. (Original image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)A new cell phone uses bone conduction to transmit sound to your inner-ear. So, now, instead of having to lift the thing all the way up to your ear, you can just press it to your jaw instead.

The conduction of sound through bone is part of the reason we all think our recorded voices sound so weird – they’re missing the resonance of our skull and jawbones. Using bone conduction for something like a cell phone should allow for the operator to hear and be heard better making calls in noisy environments.

Some potential issues occur to me. What about people who, like me, have beards insulating their jawbones? Are we to be left behind? Or what if we don’t want to look like this person? Some of us have enough social concerns with having to be seen holding a remote control to our heads every time we make a call (which may not be all that often, but still).

No doubt this has all already been considered by scientists.

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