New Phone Uses Vibrations To Send Sound

Sanyo has announced a new wireless phone in Japan that sends vibrations through the human skull to relay sound.

The phone, manufactured by Sanyo Electric Co. and called TS41 by the mobile subsidiary of Japanese telecommunications company KDDI Corp., is going on sale this month for about 10,000 yen ($93 U.S.), company spokesman Kiyoshi Yamasaki said Wednesday.

It works as a regular cellphone when the folding handset is opened, but users can also use it when it is closed by putting it next to their faces. The tiny vibrations from the phone travel through bones in the face to the ear