Man Has Nokia Phone Embedded In False Limb

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Man Has Nokia Phone Embedded In False Limb

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday October 26, 2011 @01:57PM from the arm-phone dept.

judgecorp writes "A British man born with one arm has a Nokia phone dock embedded in his prosthetic limb. Apparently, Apple refused to have an iPhone suitably customized for the job. From the article: 'Mr Prideaux, of Wedmore, Somerset, said: "I think this is the first time this has ever been done in the world - and it is brilliant. I can now take calls and make texts just by using my one hand, while the phone sits inside my arm. The phone slots smoothly and securely within my limb and is easily removable, when required. I think this would help a lot of people with prosthetic arms - especially those who were not born with the disability. People who have had motorbike crashes and soldiers who have lost limbs - they could all benefit from this."'"

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Of course... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2011-10-26 14:00 · Score: 5, Funny

"Apparently, Apple refused to have an iPhone suitably customized for the job."

We all know Apple's position on people who hold it wrong...
1. Re:Of course... by rachit · 2011-10-26 14:27 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  If it was an iPhone 4S, it would have given new meaning to the phrase "Talk to the hand".
2. Re:Of course... by rossdee · 2011-10-26 14:48 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  And Apple products cost an arm and a leg, so this poor guy would be running out of limbs
3. Re:Of course... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-26 14:56 · Score: 1
  
  The Human Interface Guidelines call for further miniaturization and a much smaller form factor coupled with greater flexibility as well as a completely different approach to extensibility. Can you say iPenis? I knew you could...
4. Re:Of course... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2011-10-26 15:01 · Score: 2
  
  Far too hazardous: the closed app store makes installing a trojan unacceptably difficult.
5. Re:Of course... by siddesu · 2011-10-26 15:23 · Score: 1
  
  100% FUD. Similar items from the Apple store will install without trouble and at a reasonable cost. They will also check marital status and guide the penis to the proper orifices, so that no amoral activities and alimony liabilities occur.
6. Re:Of course... by JonySuede · 2011-10-26 16:09 · Score: 1
  
  So with iDick, I will have to stop fucking my gf ear ? Lame as a 1gen iPod, I want myDick back.
  
  --
  Jehovah be praised, Oracle was not selected
7. Re:Of course... by ozmanjusri · 2011-10-26 16:18 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  And let's face it, we've all wanted to insert the iPhone into a loud Siri user, even when they weren't amputees.
  
  --
  "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
8. Re:Of course... by Starteck81 · 2011-10-26 16:44 · Score: 1
  
  We all know Apple's position on people who hold it wrong...
  Maybe the hook acts as an antenna?
  
  --
  "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed H
9. Re:Of course... by siddesu · 2011-10-26 19:01 · Score: 1
  
  Lame, but soooo cool. I think you will be much happier if you trade your weird sex preferences for the privilege to pay for some of that magic.
10. Re:Of course... by EEPROMS · 2011-10-26 19:09 · Score: 1
  
  If he was a magical disabled unicorn who wanted an iphone inserted in to it's horn they would have done it
11. Re:Of course... by roman_mir · 2011-10-26 23:51 · Score: 2
  
  Actually Apple products cost a kidney.
  
  --
  You can't handle the truth.
12. Re:Of course... by Abreu · 2011-10-27 01:16 · Score: 1
  
  The real missed opportunity was not using an Android phone for it...
  
  --
  No sig for the moment.
13. Re:Of course... by squidflakes · 2011-10-27 02:54 · Score: 1
  
  This is why I find Apple's walled secret garden concept to be bullshit. If I want to screw around on my wife or any one of my three girlfriends, that's my business. That's why I use the Samsung Cock S8 with Android. Not only can I fuck who I want, when I want, but I have a huge choice of cybernetic Smart Dicks that run Android.
  Sure, you have to be careful in the app store, and a buddy of mine got a nasty virus on his, but if you're smart about the prophylactic software you use and who you accept connections with, you'll be fine.
14. Re:Of course... by Darinbob · 2011-10-27 07:19 · Score: 1
  
  Why need help from either Apple or Nokia to customize a phone?
15. Re:Of course... by Ocker3 · 2011-10-27 16:18 · Score: 1
  
  Apple fanbois, get it they do not, hmm?
16. Re:Of course... by lsatenstein · 2011-10-28 02:13 · Score: 1
  
  I would think that Apple's refusal was on the basis of technology. The antenna would be masked, making the phone into a conversation piece.
  Would Apple have the ability to plug in an external antenna into their device? Probably not.
  
  --
  Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
Motorbikes? by hairyfish · 2011-10-26 14:00 · Score: 3, Insightful

People who've had motorbike crashes and soldiers? Is that what comes to people's minds when they think amputees?
1. Re:Motorbikes? by couchslug · 2011-10-26 14:05 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  The fatasses who lost limbs to "diabesity" are less gratifying to picture.
  
  --
  "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
2. Re:Motorbikes? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-26 14:16 · Score: 1
  
  I was thinking of clumsy people with table saws.
3. Re:Motorbikes? by demonlapin · 2011-10-26 14:19 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Fat diabetics lose toes. Skinny emphysematous chain-smokers lose legs. Missing arms are almost always congenital or traumatic.
4. Re:Motorbikes? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2011-10-26 14:32 · Score: 2
  
  People who've had motorbike crashes and soldiers? Is that what comes to people's minds when they think amputees?
  I can't speak for the public perception; but the stats differ pretty significantly depending on the type amputation you are talking about. Since this phone graft is an arm thing, and wouldn't be nearly as useful in a leg(especially just the lower bit), upper limb amputations are presumably more relevant. Those are majority trauma cases, especially once you remove the congenital cases, as he does for some reason.
  
  Circulatory issues(including but not limited to diabetes related ones) more often hit lower limbs and trauma less often does. Cancer-related and congenital issues are more evenly distributed.
5. Re:Motorbikes? by tehdaemon · 2011-10-26 15:09 · Score: 2
  
  Clumsy fools with table saws are short digits, not limbs.
  T
  
  --
  Laws are horrible moral guides, moral guides make even worse laws.
6. Re:Motorbikes? by Dunbal · 2011-10-26 15:20 · Score: 1
  
  Don't lose hope, some people can lose upper limbs to disease.
  
  --
  Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
7. Re:Motorbikes? by msobkow · 2011-10-26 15:24 · Score: 1
  
  Diabetics suffer blood circulation problems later in life regardless of their weight. It is not caused by a self-imposed obesity problem.
  
  --
  I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
8. Re:Motorbikes? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-26 16:37 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  What do you think is the major cause of diabetes? Sure, Type I Diabetes is unrelated to body weight, but this makes up 90% have Type II Diabetes which is strongly correlated with obesity. In fact, studies have shown that weight loss can cure Type II Diabetes and prevent long-term complications. So yes, I would say it is self-inflicted (in the vast majority).
9. Re:Motorbikes? by MobileTatsu-NJG · 2011-10-26 17:15 · Score: 1
  
  I never ever wanted to ask a Slashdotter this ... but.. are you typing one-handed?
  
  --
  
  "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
10. Re:Motorbikes? by Kagetsuki · 2011-10-26 22:22 · Score: 1
  
  That and construction accidents. When it comes to jobs/activities that commonly have people loosing body parts that's basically what it comes down too (unless you live in a logging town?).
11. Re:Motorbikes? by demonlapin · 2011-10-26 22:30 · Score: 2
  
  Practicing anesthesiologist, personal experience.
12. Re:Motorbikes? by hairyfish · 2011-10-26 23:31 · Score: 1
  
  No, but I do ride a Motorbike, and I'd like to think I am going to keep all my limbs.
13. Re:Motorbikes? by necro81 · 2011-10-26 23:41 · Score: 2
  
  For upper limb amputations, between 2/3 and 3/4 are due to trauma: motorbike crashes and soldiers. sources: [1], [2], [3]
  
  For lower limbs, they are mostly vascular-related, secondary to heart disease and diabetes.
14. Re:Motorbikes? by gomiam · 2011-10-27 00:03 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  ...personal experience
  Are you a previously fat, now skinny emphysematous chain-smoker diabetic who congenitally lacked an upper limb and just lost the other one traumatically? I feel for you, man.
15. Re:Motorbikes? by GameboyRMH · 2011-10-27 02:53 · Score: 1
  
  Uh, yeah? Something wrong with that? Those are the two most common amputees that would come to my mind (although not in that order).
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
16. Re:Motorbikes? by GameboyRMH · 2011-10-27 02:56 · Score: 1
  
  You will, if you're careful and a little bit lucky.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
17. Re:Motorbikes? by c++0xFF · 2011-10-27 06:30 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sure this has been posted many times, but it's a rather intuitive way to type with only one hand.
While I.. by monzie · 2011-10-26 14:02 · Score: 4, Funny

..Sit with a blackberry phone up my ass. (Posted from my BB playbook 'Bridged' with my BB )
1. Re:While I.. by alanshot · 2011-10-27 02:38 · Score: 1
  
  Bullshit. No one actually uses a playbook.
  actually you are wrong. Last month I had the pleasure of meeting one of the 5 in the world that do.
Headset by dissy · 2011-10-26 14:06 · Score: 5, Interesting

Now all he has to do is put a bluetooth headset in the artificial hand.
Imagine, speaker embedded in the tip of the thumb, and mic embedded in the tip of the pinky finger.
That would look awesome!
1. Re:Headset by Samantha+Wright · 2011-10-26 14:08 · Score: 1
  
  Do you work for Chief Quimby?
  
  --
  Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
2. Re:Headset by Commontwist · 2011-10-26 14:48 · Score: 2
  
  Be even cooler if he could learn to interface with it directly using biometrics between the artificial and the real to pick up nerve signals.
3. Re:Headset by damn_registrars · 2011-10-26 14:57 · Score: 1
  
  Now all he has to do is put a bluetooth headset in the artificial hand.
  
  Imagine, speaker embedded in the tip of the thumb, and mic embedded in the tip of the pinky finger. That would look awesome!
  Unfortunately that probably wouldn't count as "hands-free" in states where it is required, and you'd end up getting pulled over for talking into your (artificial) hand.
  
  --
  Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
4. Re:Headset by Mitsoid · 2011-10-26 15:22 · Score: 1
  
  He'd probably get off by giving the officer a laugh..
  "Look, it's hands-free!"
  But in seriousness, the article points out the guy can put it in speakerphone, which can satisfy most state laws on hands free.. I think the design is actually quiet handy and well thought out to support both ""Holding"" it to his ear (those who didn't check the article, it's embedded in the forearm) .. but also serves very well for texting (like a Power Glove (tm).. of sorts.. just with a phone UI)
  IMO, great idea.. I'm glad someone was willing to work with him on that.. if only such things could be more main-stream ;-)
5. Re:Headset by justanothersysadmin · 2011-10-26 17:12 · Score: 1
  
  Is this close enough?
Power source by Dan+East · 2011-10-26 14:08 · Score: 4, Insightful

Just think of the additional batteries you could fit in an area the size of a prosthetic limb. You could probably get upwards of a month of normal smartphone use without recharging.

--
Better known as 318230.
1. Re:Power source by Pence128 · 2011-10-26 14:37 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, there's a problem where prosthetic limbs aren't nearly as heavy as the parts they replace. Loosing a 5-10kg arm is pretty bad for your spine.
  
  --
  404: sig not found.
2. Re:Power source by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2011-10-26 14:47 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Apparently the roughly approximate arm of a roughly approximate man would run in the 3.5-6.5 kg range.
  
  If, in the spirit of wild-ass guessing and general laziness, we assume that your amputee-at-the-elbow loses half their arm mass and needs some, but not a whole lot, of headroom for purely structural replacement, you are still looking at 1.5-3ish kg of battery. A good Li-ion or Li-polymer will give you ~200Wh/kg, so 300-600Wh.
  
  By comparison, the Nokia BL-5K battery in the C7 is a 3.7v, 1.2Ah unit: ~4.5Wh. An arm-battery would be somewhere between 65 and 130 times the capacity...
3. Re:Power source by CAIMLAS · 2011-10-26 15:35 · Score: 1
  
  You could probably get upwards of a month of normal smartphone use without recharging.
  And maybe 2 or three days with an iPhone.
  
  --
  ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
4. Re:Power source by Spykk · 2011-10-26 16:36 · Score: 1
  
  Three men were killed this morning when a high-five over extended battery life resulted in a devastating explosion. More at 11:00.
5. Re:Power source by LordLucless · 2011-10-26 20:07 · Score: 1
  
  I dunno, I think a lot of prosthetic limbs are themselves powered, and require a battery for their own operations. I imagine the whole weight/cost/longevity issue has probably already been optimised around the arm's own function.
  
  --
  Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
6. Re:Power source by gomiam · 2011-10-27 00:14 · Score: 1
  
  Ok, what part of having the same weight as before did you miss? I mean, it's not as if the person in question would be lifting more weight than before losing half an arm, right?
7. Re:Power source by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2011-10-27 00:30 · Score: 1
  
  Admittedly, the lower arm contains a number of muscles, it isn't just deadweight, so operations involving manipulation of the hand relative to the elbow joint might well be more difficult in the prosthetic case if the prosthesis weighs more than it has to. Operations from the perspective of the shoulder, moving the whole arm, though, should be(approximately) similar, assuming the distribution of weight along the arm isn't too disrupted.
8. Re:Power source by quacking+duck · 2011-10-27 00:55 · Score: 1
  
  You could probably get upwards of a month of normal smartphone use without recharging.
  And maybe 2 or three days with an iPhone.
  Only because iPhones owners actually use their smartphone features regularly.
9. Re:Power source by Crasoose · 2011-10-27 02:58 · Score: 1
  
  Just think of the additional batteries you could fit in an area the size of a prosthetic limb. You could probably get upwards of a month of normal smartphone use without recharging.
  By the time he got to his car in the morning he would be exhausted by the weight he just had to lug around.
10. Re:Power source by GameboyRMH · 2011-10-27 02:59 · Score: 1
  
  You'd think they could take a cue from the gaming mouse manufacturers and have a compartment for lead weights.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
11. Re:Power source by gomiam · 2011-10-27 19:29 · Score: 1
  
  It's missing weight. As other poster has already said, one of the problems of lacking an arm is the body becoming unbalanced. The muscles you lack will be lacking whether you wear a prosthesis or not, but wearing it will at least partly compensate your balance. Your back will be grateful. And since it is a good thing to have a prosthesis with adequate weight, if only for the aforementioned reason, you can fill that weight with whatever you need/want/consider good.
Wow. by Slutticus · 2011-10-26 14:11 · Score: 1

Talk about being permanently attached to an OS. I hope he really really likes WinMo 7
1. Re:Wow. by Triklyn · 2011-10-26 14:22 · Score: 2
  
  yeah, getting locked into an OS is really going to outweigh him actually being able to use a device, which almost requires dragging interaction, without having to balance it on a semiflat non-stable surface. Also, apple, they is dicks.
2. Re:Wow. by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2011-10-26 14:53 · Score: 1
  
  The C7 is a Symbian^3 device. If reviews are to be believed, that probably means that he would love WinMo 7. Or Android, or the sweet embrace of death, or just about anything, really.
3. Re:Wow. by timeOday · 2011-10-26 15:51 · Score: 1
  
  Maybe WinMo 7 is good? Usually Microsoft gets it right shortly after people stop caring.
4. Re:Wow. by wvmarle · 2011-10-26 18:47 · Score: 1
  
  Does anyone still really care about Windows Mobile, now named Windows Phone 7? According to your theory they probably have gotten it right by now. The video demos that I have seen about it do look good. App support is most likely their greatest hurdle.... developers, developers, developers! isn't it?
5. Re:Wow. by dunkelfalke · 2011-10-26 22:27 · Score: 1
  
  Unfortunately Windows Phone 7 is not just a renamed Windows Mobile, otherwise I would use it instead of Android.
  
  --
  "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
6. Re:Wow. by GameboyRMH · 2011-10-27 03:02 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sure the Apple employee who turned this guy down has already been fired (mid-elevator ride, in memory of Steve). Talk about an epic PR failure and lost opportunity...
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
7. Re:Wow. by GameboyRMH · 2011-10-27 03:05 · Score: 1
  
  I dunno, Symbian and WinMo are both on the same level of suckitude in my book.
  Didn't Nokia release some MeeGo phone recently? (I stopped caring about it when I found out it didn't have a hardware keyboard). That would have been a good choice since he's not going to type fast with one hand anyway.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
iLimb by bp2179 · 2011-10-26 14:16 · Score: 1

We all know it's coming, that is why Apple wouldn't do it. What prior art? On a side no
1. Re:iLimb by Mitsoid · 2011-10-26 15:25 · Score: 1
  
  if they can patent a rectangle, they can patent a limb :-)
2. Re:iLimb by necro81 · 2011-10-26 23:44 · Score: 1
  
  One of the main players in prosthetic hands is iLimb. (Not an apple subsidiary)
Android? by javakah · 2011-10-26 14:20 · Score: 1

Hmm, if you are going to get a smartphone dock built into your prosthetic, it really ought to be an Android phone.
hands free? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-26 14:34 · Score: 2, Interesting

Does it count as a hands free kit when you're driving? Even if you only have one hand?
1. Re:hands free? by finnw · 2011-10-27 02:59 · Score: 1
  Interesting question actually.
  In the UK at least:
  
  Driving with your right hand on the wheel and a phone in your left hand: illegal
  Driving with your right hand on the wheel when you do not have a left hand: legal
  If the laws were there just because of the distraction, using a hands-free phone would also be banned, but it is not.
  --
  Is Betteridge's Law of Headlines Correct?
Should have used more hackable phone by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-26 14:38 · Score: 1

He should have gone with the Nokia N9 or N900, the latter even more accessible than the former, software and hardware wise - you can just hack away in any language you want, even just shell scripting, no need to learn an all new programming language/framework and no need to get any sort of license to be able to write apps etc.
With a little hardware tweaking he would have a device in his arm that could basically function as a full PC (the N900 is designed for landscape mode), a short range FM station (integrated FM receiver and transmitter) AND as an infrared remote for his TV et al. (IR transmitter programmable by software)! How cool would that be?
1. Re:Should have used more hackable phone by 93+Escort+Wagon · 2011-10-26 14:53 · Score: 2
  
  He should have gone with the Nokia N9 or N900, the latter even more accessible than the former, software and hardware wise - you can just hack away in any language you want, even just shell scripting, no need to learn an all new programming language/framework and no need to get any sort of license to be able to write apps etc.
  Yes, because if there's one thing the typical shopper is looking for when buying a smartphone - it's shell scripting.
  
  --
  #DeleteChrome
2. Re:Should have used more hackable phone by lister+king+of+smeg · 2011-10-26 16:36 · Score: 1
  
  you have to remember this is slashdot. to this crowd myself included a phone i can write/execute shell scrips on is going to be a definite plus especially if it is for all intents and purposes going to be a body part, hell i would want to get the most functionality in that thing possible, i would see if they could add a couple usb port to it. of course that would bring a whole new meaning to thumb drive.
  also it could be argued that is is probably not your typical smartphone shopper
  
  --
  ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
3. Re:Should have used more hackable phone by Confusador · 2011-10-26 16:48 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, because if there's one thing the typical shopper is looking for when buying a smartphone - it's being able to interface it with their prosthetics
  I'm going to go out on a limb and say this guy just might be a power user.
4. Re:Should have used more hackable phone by pnot · 2011-10-26 17:17 · Score: 1
  
  I'm going to go out on a limb and say this guy just might be a power user.
  Did you elbow your way into this thread just so you could be humerus?
5. Re:Should have used more hackable phone by 93+Escort+Wagon · 2011-10-27 05:45 · Score: 1
  
  also it could be argued that is is probably not your typical smartphone shopper
  Anything's possible... but given that the user in question is a catering manager, the odds are against him being concerned about shell access.
  
  --
  #DeleteChrome
so why not just use a bit of sticky backed velcro? by peted56 · 2011-10-26 15:04 · Score: 1

Could have used any phone then.
Why not? by evil_aaronm · 2011-10-26 15:22 · Score: 2

I have a cochlear implant for hearing; why can't they implant a whole phone? I could answer calls and texts with brain waves instead of muscle movements.
1. Re:Why not? by AlecC · 2011-10-26 22:05 · Score: 2
  
  Wait ten years. It takes that sort of time for gee-whizz new tech to become commonplace enough that people with skills in other fields (such as medical implants) can build the components into unrelated gadgets.
  Though all you need is the control system and bluetooth in your brain. If the brain can touch an imaginary screen like fingers touch a real one, the rest of the phone can be in your pocket (easier to charge, upgrade etc).
  
  --
  Consciousness is an illusion caused by an excess of self consciousness.
Megaman by antifoidulus · 2011-10-26 15:28 · Score: 1

Hasn't this dude ever played mega man games? A mega-buster in the arm is way cooler than a phone, not to mention with a mega buster you will always have access to a phone as you can simply "borrow" the phone of whoever is next to you.

--
Monstar L
Big whoop by PopeRatzo · 2011-10-26 15:37 · Score: 1

I don't think it's such a big deal to put a cell phone in a wooden leg.
I had an uncle who kept a typewriter and a box of cuban cigars in a cedar chest.
(yeah, yeah, I know the article doesn't say anything about the artificial limb being made of wood, but I get to use that joke so seldom, that I felt this would probably be my best opportunity for some time.)
Get it? Wooden leg...cedar chest...? See...oh, forget it. I'm going back to Rage to kill some more Jackals. Those sons a bitches are pain, but they make a great noise.

--
You are welcome on my lawn.
The $200 Man (on contract) by JustinFreid · 2011-10-26 15:49 · Score: 1

I don't know how many manufacturers will customize their product for a single customer, especially when that customization amounts to a case that's embedded in a prosthetic limb.

--
Hey, how's it going?
Re:Reading Comprehension FAIL by nomadic · 2011-10-26 15:57 · Score: 3, Informative

Possible explanations: (a) the distinction you make is not an important one. Just the casing is not standard Apple issue, and could arguably called customized. (b) the submitter might be a fanboi and didn't want Apple to sound as much like jerks as they actually were. Refusing to customize an iphone is one thing, refusing to provide even a blank casing is a new level of jackassry.
so by n3r0.m4dski11z · 2011-10-26 16:09 · Score: 1

nokia seems to have really gone out on a limb for this guy!
booya!

--
-
Accomplished what most of us have wanted. by Trax3001BBS · 2011-10-26 16:30 · Score: 1

There has always been talk of sporting a Dick Tracy watch.
- It would appear Trevor Prideaux has bested all attempts.
Oblig. by derfy · 2011-10-26 17:51 · Score: 1

http://xkcd.com/644/
Re:Come on, everyone take cheap shots at Apple aga by Rennt · 2011-10-26 18:53 · Score: 2

The guy went to his local O2 store to upgrade his old phone and the workers there agreed to help him... to get in contact with the right people at Nokia.
I think you are reaching a bit to say Nokia didn't know about it based on the contents of the article. I mean, the author mentions "chiefs at Nokia" several times, I'm pretty sure they were not talking about O2 employees.
Idiot by Hognoxious · 2011-10-26 20:46 · Score: 1

I can't her you, but I prefer Lead Zeppelin, Motley Crew and Limp Biscuit myself.

--
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
An embedded phone AND a pirate hook by Hentes · 2011-10-26 20:47 · Score: 1

This man is cool.
Re:Swype anyone? by Sockatume · 2011-10-26 21:14 · Score: 1

Swype is also available for Symbian, albeit in beta form.

--
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
arghh by queBurro · 2011-10-26 21:15 · Score: 1

ring ring... "helloaarrrgghhhh me eye"

--
sag
Talk to the arm.. by minus9 · 2011-10-26 21:41 · Score: 1

Is the Nokia C7 ARM based?
1. Re:Talk to the arm.. by mfnickster · 2011-10-27 06:14 · Score: 1
  
  Mod parent +1 Beat-me-to-it!
  
  --
  "Slow down, Cowboy! It has been 3 years, 7 months and 26 days since you last successfully posted a comment."
Re:I have had a phone dock for years by Kagetsuki · 2011-10-26 22:23 · Score: 1

So that's why the edges are rounded on the iPhone!
He's a catering manager, not a geek by fantomas · 2011-10-26 23:31 · Score: 1

He's a catering manager, not a geek. He probably doesn't have a clue what shell scripts are, he just wants to text his wife and let her know he'll be a bit late home from work, phone customers while in his office, etc. Maybe Nokia told him he'd have to pay extra for a N900 and he's happy enough with the phone he's got. Maybe got other more important things to spend money on than an expensive phone.
You do make cool suggestions, you should drop him a line, maybe he'd be interested.
Shame on Apple for turning him away though.
Not surprised. by Beorytis · 2011-10-26 23:46 · Score: 1

I'm not surprised this was done, but it's hard to believe that it wasn't done before.
1. Re:Not surprised. by sunderland56 · 2011-10-27 00:45 · Score: 1
  
  It was probably summer when he did it. Once winter arrives, he'll figure out how to answer a phone while wearing a sweater and a coat.
2. Re:Not surprised. by Beorytis · 2011-10-27 02:17 · Score: 1
  
  I'm gonna guess prosthetic limbs are immune to frostbite. Not sure about Nokia smartphones.
Re:Come on, everyone take cheap shots at Apple aga by flibbidyfloo · 2011-10-27 00:51 · Score: 1

I'm not sure where you're getting your words, but the article doesn't say anything about the O2 workers contacting Nokia. It just says "The catering manager sought help from medical experts and communications chiefs at Nokia to build the special prosthethic." It doesn't say that he actually received any assistance from Nokia directly, so we can't really tell.
But my original point still holds. Nothing from Nokia was "customized" from what I can tell. It sounded to me like they basically made a cast from a phone that they could use to size the hole in the prosthetic. You can't blame Apple for not wanting to ship some random dude a blank iPhone shell just because he asked nicely. I'm pretty sure that if he had called Nokia and asked the same question, and they said yes, it would have been in the article.
Pipboy from Fallout by Destoo · 2011-10-27 00:55 · Score: 2

It actually looks like a pipboy from Fallout. He can even use it as a flashlight!
Now he needs a Geiger counter app..
I've been wanting to build one for a few years, and with a cheap ipod touch, it's feasible.

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Nouvelles de jeux et technologies en français. TC
1. Re:Pipboy from Fallout by Darinbob · 2011-10-27 07:22 · Score: 1
  
  Speaking of flashlights... I saw this made-for-tv movie on the syfy channel (short for syphillus) where some police investigators in an unlit tunnel used their phones as a feeble and inadequate light source rather than using the bog standard issue flashlights you would expect. I was wondering how could any writer be so stupid then I remembered this was a Hollywood writer.
Can I borrow your phone? by Slider451 · 2011-10-27 01:01 · Score: 1

Can I borrow your phone?
Talk to the hand.

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Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
Is this really something special? by NetNinja · 2011-10-27 01:19 · Score: 2

Seriously this is the same sort of stuff Car stereo installers have been doing for years. Modifying consoles to imbed electronics.
Now I can see maybe doing this to an artifical arm may affect structural intergirty but is this really special? It's just a phone imbeded into a plastic arm.You can now make phone calls with one hand, but I guess having it there in your arm is rather convenient.
My old phone could do some things better by RalphTheWonderLlama · 2011-10-27 01:42 · Score: 2

"I can now take calls and make texts just by using my one hand"
I used to be able to do this, back when my phone had raised buttons. I didn't even have to look. Hold one button down for speed dial. I could text without looking since I had the keys memorized, which was great for driving. I don't even try to do that now. A glass touchscreen and more functionality is nice but it's less specialized as a result and not an improvement on older phones in every way.

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simple, fast homepage with your links: http://www.ngumbi.com/
Pirate by odirex · 2011-10-27 02:09 · Score: 2

I saw the picture and all I could think was "That is one high tech pirate!"
That aint right. by tom229 · 2011-10-27 03:19 · Score: 2

Did no one else notice the phone is upside down in the picture?

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If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Re:Come on, everyone take cheap shots at Apple aga by tehcyder · 2011-10-27 03:43 · Score: 1

So some guy calls Apple and says "Hey can I get an empty iPhone shell to test out in my fake arm?" and they said no. The guy couldn't just go BUY an iPhone? Or borrow one?
I think Apple were extremely lucky this wasn't some amputee war hero just back from Afghanistan. What sort of a miserable fuck would you have to be not to have agreed anyway?

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To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Bad Joke by thoughtlover · 2011-10-27 04:59 · Score: 1

Q: So what do you get when you put a telecommunications device in your prosthetic?

A: A phoney limb!

Really, thanks folks, I'll be here all week...

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No sig for you! Come back one year!
What kind of processor is in this phone? by jmcwork · 2011-10-27 05:51 · Score: 1

Anyone? Anyone....
TANSTAFL by zenbo · 2011-10-27 06:31 · Score: 1

"Man. . . Man my best friend. . ." But when I say, "Mike?" he doesn't answer.....
Now you can talk to your phone and do it by sean.peters · 2011-10-27 08:50 · Score: 1

No need to type at all - just say "call so & so".
1. Re:Now you can talk to your phone and do it by RalphTheWonderLlama · 2011-10-28 02:14 · Score: 1
  
  Yes that is better. I'll have to wait for that until my current phone (iphone 4) dies I guess. You do have to hit the one button though, right? Ah, you hold down the home button, so that's good. No looking for the button on the screen required.
  
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  simple, fast homepage with your links: http://www.ngumbi.com/
Predator? by rmullins · 2011-10-28 01:10 · Score: 1

All you need now is a shoulder-mounted, triple-laser guided canon.