Skip to Content
Uncategorized

A Jacket to Shush Your Phone

A jacket with a pocket that blocks radio waves could offer digital respite.
September 19, 2012

Victor Johansson’s Escape Jacket on Yanko Design.

A post on Gizmodo today points out an interesting design for a jacket with a pocket that automatically silences your phone by blocking radio waves, from U.K. designer Victor Johansson. The Escape Jacket also features an NFC chip in its lining that is intended to turn a phone’s antenna off when placed inside so it won’t run down the battery by fruitlessly searching for a signal.

While we don’t always want to wear a jacket (and most of us still don’t have NFC-equipped phones), the basic idea of garments that can allow us to easily cut ourselves off from digital communication is a good one. There are plenty of situations when I have to remember to silence my phone (movies and meetings, to name just two), and sometimes it’s nice to just disable digital missives altogether. Having a method as simple as a special pocket to make it happen makes a lot of sense. As the designer notes, shoving your phone into the pocket could also be a delightfully dramatic way to end a phone call.

I’m not that interested in a jacket pocket specifically, but a pocket in a messenger bag? Sign me up.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

DeepMind’s cofounder: Generative AI is just a phase. What’s next is interactive AI.

“This is a profound moment in the history of technology,” says Mustafa Suleyman.

What to know about this autumn’s covid vaccines

New variants will pose a challenge, but early signs suggest the shots will still boost antibody responses.

Human-plus-AI solutions mitigate security threats

With the right human oversight, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence can help keep business and customer data secure

Next slide, please: A brief history of the corporate presentation

From million-dollar slide shows to Steve Jobs’s introduction of the iPhone, a bit of show business never hurt plain old business.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.