listen by aran mun from usa

Inspired by the contest’s theme of inner flow we began to think about how music influences people’s lives giving them energy through the day. Could a phone use it as its direct source of energy? We began to brainstorm about finding a solution to powering a phone through sound. Later it was the sound waves that inspired the phone’s aesthetic appearance. The ripples and waves that adorn the phone are homage to the way sound is visualized.

Our new concept the Listen has a ripple inspired simple and elegant form. Microphones are located on the corners of the phone to pick up any sound easily from your pocket or your bag. It is slim (w: 99.0mm*h: 48.2mm*d: 8.7mm) and light weight (73g) because there is no battery. An attractive touch screen interface makes navigation easy on 9.6 centimeter widescreen. It also supports mp3 music player and 2 mega pixel high quality camera.

Without a battery the Listen becomes an environmentally friendly phone. Currently more than one billion cell phones are used worldwide. Many of these phones should be headed toward a cell phone recycling center rather than towards the likely landfill. If cell phones are tossed into a landfill rather than recycled, they can leak several toxic chemicals that have been known to cause severe harm to humans and animals, as well as long term damage to the natural environment. If everyone took advantage of being able to recycle their cell phones and batteries, an estimated 100,000 tons of waste could be eliminated.

Many people are not aware of how many hazardous materials are used in making cell phones, in particular, rechargeable batteries that power cell phones are highly toxic. Although there is a battery recycling program, to collect and recycle these batteries, few consumers are aware of this program and simply throw their batteries into the trash.

So, how can we get rid of this problem? Using eco-friendly materials, new technologies and natural power sources we can begin to find solutions. The Listen is powered by a limitless energy source, sound, through soundwave converting technology. It has no battery and is made of eco-friendly materials the Listen has fewer toxins and be more biodegradable than others.

With the Listen, you have an environmentally friendly phone that you will never have to charge again. While you are walking on the busy street, listening to the music, meeting friends at the bar, or watching a soccer game, you phone is charging. It listens…