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back to article Man builds smartphone dock into arm

You'd think being born without a forearm would be limiting for a smartphone user. Not for catering manager Trevor Prideaux, who flipped his handicap on its head and turned his prosthetic limb into a dock for his Nokia C7, The Telegraph reports. Trevor Prideaux's prosthetic smartphone arm Source: SWNS Prideaux came up with …

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  1. Tim Greenwood

    Apple were probably right

    You have to think that if Apple had developed a prosthetic arm with a dock for the iphone there would have been some people insisting on surgery just so they could have one fitted.

    12 2
    1. Naughtyhorse
      Reply Icon

      plus

      everyone else in the world who already has a prosthetic arm getting sued by apples developers... i mean lawyers for infringing the basic concept of the iArm, which is, of course, apple proprietary kit.

      2 0
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      They wont be the first people going through unnecessary surgery in order to get an iPhone

      1 1
  2. Adrian Jones

    Phew!

    I thought that was going to be the latest publicity seeking from Captain Cyborg.

    11 0
  3. Simon Buttress
    Thumb Up

    "With the company apparently unwilling to lend a hand"

    LOL

    8 2
    1. Inventor of the Marmite Laser Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Just a bit of armless fun

      2 0
  4. James 51
    Thumb Up

    obivous next step

    Is to have the phone act as control/diagnostic device for arm. Bound to be a number of other ways it could be used.

    0 0
    1. hplasm
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      Futuraramarm;

      Inspired by Leela...

      0 0
  5. Lockwood
    Thumb Up

    Does he have to uncradle it to talk, or walk around with his arm against his ear?

    Serious question. That is an epic bit of kit, but the logistics of it intrigue me.

    0 0
    1. Marvin the Martian
      Reply Icon

      eh... just reach up with the arm. Your forearm is within reach of your ear, try it sometime.

      0 0
      1. Boothy
        Reply Icon
        WTF?

        Or use a wireless headset!

        0 0
    2. JB
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      Bluetooth headset?

      0 0
  6. Anomalous Cowturd
    WTF?

    Velcro?

    Cheaper, and works for ANY phone, MP3 player or what have you.

    Cheques to the usual address please.

    ^_^

    3 2
    1. Darryl
      Reply Icon

      Duct tape!

      2 0
  7. dotdavid

    Case

    Good idea. But surely cutting a couple of holes in an off-the-shelf phone case and threading a strap through it that could be attached to his limb by means of velcro or a buckle would be cheaper and just as functional?

    1 1
  8. IR
    Coat

    Nokia?

    With a hook like that, shouldn't he use an Arrrr-Phone?

    3 0
  9. Olafthemighty
    Thumb Up

    That's all well and good

    But will it blend?

    4 1
  10. Big O
    Thumb Up

    That is excellent!

    0 0
  11. NoneSuch Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Nice work Sir.

    Imaginative and practical design.

    1 0
  12. JDX Gold badge

    Silly Apple...

    There's not an app for that.

    2 1
  13. Anonymous Coward 101
    Thumb Up

    At first I thought...

    ...this would be about that dick from Reading Uni, whatever his name is. But this actually seems like a good idea for someone with only one arm.

    2 0
  14. Tom 7

    Is the one for the iPhone

    near the back pocket?

    0 0
  15. AbortRetryFail
    Joke

    Arrrrrrrrrrr

    Be that legal software on 'is phone?

    0 0
  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'd

    give my right arm for that...

    3 0
  17. Scott Broukell
    Thumb Up

    Customer Care

    Need I say more. Well all right then - it's those little moments, or a pretty big one for the individual concerned in this case, that make the world of difference to just one customer. One in millions, but that matters and should matter to all of us. I'm surprised that Apple didn't take the same approach as Nokia - it is just a little thing and then again so is a customer.

    5 1
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "I'm surprised that Apple didn't take the same approach as Nokia.."

      I'm surprised that you are surprised. If you are not famous or influential Apple don't give a fuck - they never give away free stuff to 'nobodies'.

      9 0
    2. Adam Foxton
      Reply Icon
      Joke

      You're surprised at Apple?

      They're the company that made infamous "you're holding it wrong". How do you think they'd react to a person wanting to have it mounted in their arm?!

      4 0
      1. NogginTheNog
        Reply Icon
        Meh

        How would they react?

        They'd probably insist it was white only.

        0 0
  18. a well wisher

    Captain Cyborg (Kevin Warwick) will be devastated

    That this guy beat him to it

    1 0
  19. deains
    Megaphone

    Missing the important part

    This guy has a hook for a hand. A hook for a hand! I mean, that's just awesome.

    3 0
  20. Mondo the Magnificent
    Coat

    So...

    Does this docking device limb use an ARM processor?

    11 0
    1. LaeMing
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      Dang

      you beat me.

      0 0
  21. CraPo
    Terminator

    @lockwood

    It looks like he's got the earpiece cradled towards the crook (and conversely the microphone towards the "wrist") so even if he could comfortably raise his left forearm to his right ear, the phone would be "upside down". Unless he just cradled it that way for the pictures. Is the form factor symetric?

    1 0
    1. Snowy Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Thumb Up

      Looks like it is symetical the phone in the bottom picture is the other around to the top one.

      0 0
  22. Fryerman

    The real reason Apple dropped outj

    The dock was better suited to a device with an ARM chip.

    1 1
    1. LaeMing
      Reply Icon
      Facepalm

      The A4 processor used in iPhones is an ARM device.

      2 0
  23. Bad Beaver
    Thumb Up

    Nice

    And the Nokia is just sugar on top. Send the man an N9!

    2 0
  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm more interested in

    The attachment at the end of his arm. It looks like it could brew up a cuppa. Very handy.

    1 0
    1. TeeCee Gold badge
      Reply Icon
      Alert

      Not quite so handy for scratching your balls though.......

      2 0
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Not quite so handy for scratching your balls though.......

        True, but wouldn't you prefer to keep the cuppa-brewing and ball-scratching functions separate?

        0 0
  25. Adam Foxton
    Joke

    I guess that's

    running an ARM processor?

    0 1
  26. Eddy Ito

    Useful & novel

    That probably explains why Apple wasn't interested, besides they didn't see any gestures to patent.

    1 0
  27. andreas koch
    Pint

    Barast technology?

    This reminds me of the 'companion' implants in Robert J. Sawyers Neanderthal Parallax trilogy. Those used something like Siri, though. I guess Sawyer stole the idea from Apple and just published the book earlier to try and get away with it.

    Oh, and @ CraPo: either the speakerphone or a BT headset would take care of that.

    1 0
  28. sazzle
    Thumb Up

    HELLZ YEAH

    pppfffttt...who wants an iphone anyway!!! Apple are a-holes.

    Good on him, looks très AWESOME!

    wish I had a hook hand sometimes.....

    2 1
  29. Richard 20
    WTF?

    When I saw headline I assumed said man was Kevin Warwick

    Surprised to see it was not the case…

    0 0
  30. Guido Esperanto

    incorrect apple response.

    Apple did actually offer to help, but advised they only provided an all-in-one prothesis which cost 50% more than comparable types but the phone and dock were non-replaceable parts.

    All Apple required was a fingerprint from each han....err.....

    "We are unable to help"

    1 0
  31. stucs201

    If he replaces the hook with a hand

    Then he can go for the correct way to mount a phone in an artificial arm: mic in the end of the little finger, speaker in the end of the thumb.

    1 0
  32. nichobe
    Thumb Up

    Man + Motorola Droid Bionic = Bionic Man

    Truly awesome!

    1 0
  33. NogginTheNog
    Coat

    Imagine the conversation come upgrade time

    "Yeah, a new handset would be great, but will it fit my arm..??"

    1 0
  34. Daniel B.
    Happy

    ARM powered

    Now that's a one true ARM-powered smartphone!

    0 0
  35. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apple - rotten to the core

    Apparently people with missing limbs are not cool enough to own Apple products.

    0 0
  36. pullenuk

    Cooooool

    So when he holds the phone up to his ear, the poor kid behind is never going to watch Peter Pan again......

    Gotta admit that isn't a bad idea. Since apple won't do it, he best put a patent on it!

    0 0
  37. Lord Elpuss Silver badge
    Coat

    Missed chance

    Can't believe he didn't go for an Android.

    0 1
  38. Studley

    All he needs now...

    ...is to lose a finger on the other hand, and get it replaced with a stylus.

    0 0
  39. Martin Huizing
    FAIL

    I like tittles!

    I am a bit surprised to see a hook. Aren't we at a stage that we can have good looking prosthetic arms and hands with fingers that can open and close? (maybe too expensive? Please enlighten me)

    Regarding a slot for a phone, Why not get a wrist-watch phone? Seriously! They even operate with blue-tooth ear pieces.

    0 0
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