Businesses putting lid on cellphone chatterboxes

Move over, smokers - writes USA Today.

"In a crackdown reminiscent of the campaign against nicotine addicts, a widening array of states and businesses are restricting cellphone use. There are limits not just on planes, trains and automobiles but also in restaurants, gyms, golf courses, churches, banks and post offices. Some restaurants are creating cellphone areas, akin to smoking sections, where people can talk without bothering other diners. "

Here's a roundup of some favorite "isolation from cell phone" concepts:

A cell for cell phone users - Steelcase's "Cell Cell" is a felt cylinder that hangs from the ceiling so you can duck under and make private calls. Only a prototype, there's currently no hope to see them on the market.

The Portable Cellular Phone Booth - The Portable Cellular Phone Booth created by Nick Rodrigues is designed to illustrate how disrespectful people are when they dare call their friends and family in public."

MIT Gizmo defends against cellphone chatter - Another isolation from clel phone chatter idea, this time by Limor Fried a graduate student at the MIT Media Laboratory. "She calls it the "the Wave Bubble" because it creates a cellphone-free bubble of silence 4 meters in diameter. It does so by jamming the phones' radio-frequency bands with a junk signal of a few milliwatts.

Individual Isolation from Cell Phones - Another option for people trying to isolate themselves from cell phone disturbances, by Ingrid Hora, "who has focused her attention on mundane eccentricities, such as talking to oneself or listening to other people's conversations".

silenceplease.com - And our suggestion, for the personnel of no-cell-phoning policy establishments. Have your staff wear a constant reminder.

emily | 3:05 PM | Isolation from Cell Phones ideas |
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