Business

The What  Basic Concept
Mobile phones are one of the greatest technologies of the new world. Communication has never been easier with mobile phones. Not to mention, mobile phones now have built in cameras and music players. Mobile phones now also double as a mobile personal computer wherein you can browse the internet and even edit documents.

With the advent of mobile phone also comes the increasing incidence of mobile phone theft. Because of this, many lives are also put in danger which is why we have thought of an idea that will make a mobile phone something that can be used against an assailant or a mugger. We will combine two existing technologiesthe mobile phone and the stun gun (otherwise known as a taser). Sure enough, there are restrictions about owning a stun gun and the same restrictions could apply to a stun phone. Most likely, users of a stun phone will need to obtain a permit to carry one since it can be used maliciously.

The casing of the phone must be made of a light metal in order for it to conduct the electricity which will paralyze the assailant for some time and at the same time be lightweight for convenience of use. The user will have the option of stunning the assailant himself in close range just like how you would use an ordinary stun gun. The user should also be able to stun the assailant by pressing a button in a remote device. Pushing the button will activate an electrical charge and therefore stun the one holding the mobile phone which should be the mugger. If in case it fails, and the mugger does not get shocked the user can press another button to destroy the phone completely including the memory chips so that personal data could not be retrieved. There are recorded incidents of identity theft because of stolen mobile phones. Privacy could also become an issue when private photos and files are accessed from a stolen mobile phone.

It is expected that a prototype would be bulkier than currently existing mobile phones but research and development can work to improve the stun phone.

The Why  The Rationale
Safety and security have always been a prime issue in society especially in communities where crime rate is high. According to Continental Research, it is estimated that 1.3 million phones are stolen every year in the United Kingdom alone. Statistical data indicate that around 50 mobile phones are stolen everyday in the UK from children 16 and below.

While mobile phone insurance is a good thing in itself since it allows the users to quickly replace a lost phone, it will not scare off potential phone snatchers. Also, important files will not be protected so privacy is still a major issue. Identity theft can also arise from a stolen mobile device.

While mobile phone insurance is an option, this will not deter mobile phone snatchers. This may actually even empower them since they know that a user will no longer mind losing a phone since it will be immediately replaced by the insurance company. However, the stun phone is better some aspects. It can help catch crooks since it can be used for self-defense which is capable of stunning an assailant for a few minutes. It will not only work on mobile phone snatchers but on other people with criminal intent as well.

Additionally, the stun phone can protect your privacy better since its purpose is to prevent someone else from taking your mobile phone. This can be done by the remote shock which can also be used to destroy the memory chip to prevent the retrieval of sensitivepersonal information.

The How  Marketability
In order to determine the marketability of a problem, market research should be done but in this case, we do not need to do a market research yet. We are aware know that security is an ever greater concern in todays society. People are now more aware of crime and people are looking for means to protect themselves from evil intent.

The stun phone will be a first in its kind. It will combine the mobile phone with a self-defense tool which will have actually have mobile phone snatchers think twice about what they are going to do. Even if they manage to avoid being stunned on close-contact, they can be stunned remotely as soon as they hold the mobile. Even if they do somehow get away with the phone, the user can trigger a self-destruct mechanism which will also destroy the memory chips so that personal data could not be retrieved and used with malicious intent. A broken stolen phone is good for nothing.

Currently existing technology to help mobile phone users cope with mobile phone snatching are mobile phone insurance and a GPS powered mobile tracker. While these tools are useful in their own means, this does not deter the occurrence of the crime. Incidents of mobile phone snatching are expected to decline as soon as the stun phone is released in the market.