Noise canceling cell phone

Did you ever notice that people on cell phones talk really loud but people on landlines often whisper into the phone? I've heard that the reason is because you can actually hear your own voice in the speaker on a landline but you can't on a cell phone, and without that feedback we make our voices louder. Another theory I've heard is that when people can't hear the other party well, they instinctively talk louder.

Regardless of why it happens, it definitely happens. And if you're not the one on the phone, its really annoying. I was riding a train in Boston a few months ago and even though I was sitting at one end of the train car I could hear a woman gabbing away on her cell phone at the other end of the train car and it was so annoying that I moved to a different train car. And these are big train cars! Can you imagine how bad its going to be when you can use a cell phone on a plane?

One approach is to try and get people to talk without making any sound but I think that's unlikely to catch on (I saw this demo of a band you where on your neck that senses the impulses of speech without you actually having to make noise - can't find the link to it right now).

What we need is some sort of noise canceling cell phone that would pick up your voice for transmission but would cancel it out from spreading to those around you. That cell phone would sell faster than iPhones... 3G is great but imagine the privacy of being able to talk without everyone around you listening? This would be viral in that you have an incentive to get everyone else to use it (so they don't bother you!).

Will somebody please invent this? Bose maybe?

Comments

[Byron Van Arsdale]

Part of the problem here, in addition to sidetone, is the ambient noise that surrounds the cell phone. Another problem, evident on my old Treo 650, was the poor quality of the sound sent through the ear piece. Someone created an app so you could crank up the volume way beyond the hardware settings.

When using the headset with my 3G iPhone, I can hear much better and talk more softly. This matches my experience when I'm calling from quiet environments holding the phone to my ear. Less ambient noise, diminished need to speak loudly.

Finally, part of this is learned behavior. I realize that people can hear me just fine even if I can't hear them well. Takes a little bit of focus to remember that I don't need to shout.

Bose makes a great product to handle situations like the train - noise canceling headsets for you! On trains (BART out of SFO), I use ear plugs. Very helpful and easy to carry anywhere.

Oh, the band you are talking about - subvocalization technology widely used in military. The Jawbone BT headset is built upon this technology - picks up the vibrations from your jaw as you speak.

I'm sure who ever invents with noise canceling cell phone will be forever known as a "hearo"!

[Richi Jennings]

Ja, old-timey telecom folks call it sidetone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidetone

It's a similar phenomenon to folks shouting when they wear headphones.

[dmorris]

One day, you may be a redneck if... people are leaving the train car that you're riding in to get away from your celular phone conversation (because you're too poor or stupid to purchase a noise cancelling model!)