New brown corduroy bag from Orange called the Wearaphone that fits a cellphone and has a built-in microphone and speaker near the shoulder so you can walk and chat to your heart’s content. Doesn’t actually appear to be that useful though:
So, what’s it like chatting on a walking speakerphone? Well, aside from the (painful) social embarrassment of broadcasting your conversation to the world, it’s something of a mixed bag (sorry – we couldn’t help it). The volume is perfect for indoor use, though – because you can’t adjust it – not so hot for outdoor use. As the Wearaphone is directly aimed at outdoor types (cyclists, skiers and the like), this is a bit of a problem. Outdoor problems are compounded by the fact that – despite specially designed ‘rustle-free’ corduroy – the microphone picks up a lot of scratching and scuffling from the bag when you move about.
