Adding Background Noise To Your Phone Call

lww writes "By way of a Gizmodo article, you can now add your own background noise to a cell phone call. A company called Simeda is offering a product called SounderCover that allows you to play selected background noises such as traffic, construction, and even the dentist during your phone call. The possibilities are endless! 'Hi honey, I'm going to be late -- I'm stuck in the middle of a circus parade...Bye! Hey Joe, another round for me and the boys...what? Oh, whoops *click*'"

Comments

Seems to require a Nokia...

[rjstanford]

Although I do have to confess that I love this one from their website:

Is one of your mates a chronic talker that just doesn't know when to stop? Use the Phone Ring 15s background and your friend will hear a phone ring 6 times, 15 seconds into the call. Tell him that your other phone is ringing and that you have to go.

Especially since you can start the background noise at any point during the conversation. Oh, so tempting...

Anyone stupid enough to use their "traffic jam"...

[catbutt]

...sound here will get busted. Too many horns. I'd know it was fake and I'd think most people would.

MiaHM by RAH

[MykeBNY]

I've been waiting for this to come about ever since reading The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert A. Heinlein. In it, a computer (as in the kind you build a room around, not the kind you carry into a room, it's an old book) renders its own videophone calls to simulate a person's office, including all the proper background noise, even taking into account the general location of where the office should be, and computing noise based on traffic reports. (And even those little white lies, such as his "secretary" picking up, "He's in a meeting right now," *flushing sound in background* "Oh, looks like he's just finishing up, would you like to hold?")

Nice and portable, unlike the original...

[linuxtelephony]

I couldn't find it with a quick Google, but this is almost just like something I read about several years ago.

It was a special "phone booth" that was targetted for bars and other places. Had special sounds like "Office chatter", "traffic", etc. I don't remember if it was a full booth (and soundproof) or not. I think it had like 4 or 6 sounds you could choose from. Of course, you had to pay for it, I think a $1 or $2 for the call. Never did get to see one in person.

I think I read about this about 10 years ago. Anyone else remember hearing (or better yet, see in person) one of these phone booths?

Just like this software it was meant to fool the people your talking to into thinking your somewhere else.

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[account_deleted]

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So not worth 15 euro

[Kris_J]

I downloaded the demo version and installed it yesterday. It does exactly what it advertises, but I have a hard time believing that there's 15 euro worth of value in there. 4 euro would probably be pushing it. Postcardware is probably more approriate.

Wouldn't Help 9/11 Divorce Guy

[handy_vandal]

Hoax background noises wouldn't have saved this guy ...:

"The first divorce directly related to the September 11th terrorist attacks has been filed in New York. It appears a guy with an office on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center spent the morning at his girlfriend's apartment wit his phone turned off. He wasn't watching TV either. When he turned his phone back on at about 11am, it rang immediately. It was his hysterical wife, "Are you OK? Where are you?" He said, "What do you mean? I'm in my office of course!"

Source

-kgj