Novel handsfree device: Want to speak through your ear?

NS-ELEX Co, a Japanese manufacturer, has developed a novel device that works like a microphone and an earpiece by detecting air vibrations inside the ear to send your voice to the other end of the line, according to an intomobile.com report.

The handsfree device allows people to almost 'speak' through their ear so they can use their mobile telephones in noisy places. e-Mimi-kun deciphers vibrations, made when people speak, into audio which is transmitted by wire or Bluetooth, to the phone during an outgoing call.

The device is called e-Mimi-kun, which translates as 'good ear boy' in Japanese. When connected with the phone, e-Mimi-kun reduces external noise by as much as six times and a noise-cancelling chip (developed by Sanyo Electric) in the device helps reduce noise 10 times further.

The earpiece can be attached to a phone or it can also work wirelessly through Bluetooth.

The company, along with Sanyo, is likely to go to the market with its innovative gadget in 2008.  

e-Mimi kun, developed by NS-ELEX Co, works like a microphone and an earpiece by detecting air vibrations inside the ear.

Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images