One of the banes of urban life is noise. You'll often find yourself in a chatter-filled diner trying to field a cell phone call, and stepping outside to find it's even noisier.

Pantech's new A1407PT cell phone may provide a good design solution; rather than a speaker-style earpiece, it transmits sound via bone conduction. Press the end of the cell phone underneath or behind your ear, and the caller's voice travels through your bones, undisturbed by the jackhammers and chatty Cathy's sharing your immediate space.

Originally targeted at workers in Japanese construction sites, we're sure Pantech will find a market in noisy cities around the world.

via digital world tokyo