Intel prototypes portable ‘Tele-Phone’

Radio powered wonder-device banishes wires, operators, etc

By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco • Get more from this author

Posted in Bootnotes, 20th February 2004 00:26 GMT

IDF Intel boffins gave us a glimpse of the future today. It's a small, battery-powered box that fits in the pocket allowing people to talk to each other - as long as they have a similar box, too.

Incredibly, no wires are involved. That's because like the newly-invented 'Tele-Vision', the 'Tele-Phone', as Intel calls it, uses invisible electromagnetic waves. Nor will users have to learn complicated Morse Code.

Will you use a wire-less 'Tele-Phone'?

Designers believe they have come up with a winning formula and showcased it today. The small box features an antenna to transmit the special radio waves, and buttons allowing the user to dial a number. The device also sports a small screen, although no one has found a plausible use for it yet. But futurologists suggest that this could one day be used to display pictures of Victoria Beckham, or black-and-white pornographic photographs.

Skeptics point out that the new box will require thousands of special radio masts to be built. Industry experts also point out that rival boffins at Texas Instruments are working on something called a DSP, or "digital signal processor". Should this ever see the light of day, it could allow manufacturers to build a low-cost alternative to Intel's own 'Tele-Phone'. But for now, we can only marvel. ®