The latest combination of crazy gadgets built to help with real problems is the “Plasmacluster” — a cell phone with an ionizing air-purifier built-in, from NTT DoCoMo, a Japanese wireless carrier and handset manufacturer. According to some studies, your cell phone is one of the most germ-infested items you carry around with you, and your hands aren’t likely to be much better. The Plasmacluster supposedly uses an “ion emitter” to keep bacteria and viruses at bay within a 12-inch radius of the phone, keeping you healthy while you chat.
To be clear, there’s little real science behind “ionized air purifiers” and other devices that promise to clean the air with the magic of charged particles, but that hasn’t stopped a booming industry of such products from hitting store shelves around the world. The Plasmacluster looks like a thicker-than-average flip phone, and is still in development according to NTT DoCoMo.
It’s likely the phone will never see a release outside of Japan, but if it does, the cell phone radiation crowd will have a field day debating whether having an “ion generator” on your phone does more harm than good.
[via DVice]
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