Duck – From the “life imitates art” files, local inventor Dr. Emmett Braun has taken the shoe phone concept popularized by Don Brown’s “Get Smart” character and added a beach themed twist. His Flip Flop Phone are being worn by approximately 100 volunteers throughout Dare County to test range, durability, water resistance and foot fungus exposure.
“Flip phones are making a comeback,” Dr. Braun explained to the OBX Report. “And flip flops are the most popular footwear on the beach. It’s a natural pairing.
“When you are at the beach your hands are full of chairs, towels and those stupid inflatable dolphins nobody ever plays with. If you are a woman in a bikini or one of those Euro wannabes wearing a man thong you don’t have pockets and so where better to carry your phone than on your foot?”
According to Dr. Braun, testers have reported a few issues that will require some tweaking before the phones are made available to the general public. When set to “vibrate” the flip flop phone creates a tickling sensation which has caused several people to fall to the ground with uncontrolled laughing. Several wearers have inadvertently “heel dialed” random people and at least one tester accidentally took over 700 pictures of the arch of his foot before realizing the camera function had been activated.
But the main drawback to the flip flop phone seems to be the perpetually cracked screens caused by wearers repeatedly stepping on the phone. Dr. Braun admits technology has a ways to go to catch up with his genius and until a more durable screen material is invented, the phones may never leave the beta testing stage.
“I guess you could wear a phone on your wrist, but that seems a little silly,” said Dr. Braun. “You’d have to hold it up to your ear to hear it then everybody would think you were checking to see if your watch was broken. If you are holding a flip flop to your ear you are obviously talking on a cool new flip flop phone or trying to hear the ocean.”