The world’s first mosquito repellent smartphone called the LG K7i has been introduced by a South-Korean phone manufacturer, LG.
The trail blazing handset which uses ultrasonic sound waves to keep the mosquitoes at bay, was unveiled at an India Mobile Congress last week.
Already, judging from initial feedbacks, the LG K7i promises to become a groundbreaking invention that will be of help to mosquito-infested countries.
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One good thing about the latest smartphone nicknamed “Mosquito Away”, which has already been integrated in other LG gadgets like TV sets and air conditioners is that, it uses no chemicals and requires no refills. The phone rather pumps 30KHz ultrasonic sound waves through a mesh speaker on the back of the phone to keep mosquitoes away.
It has been designed in such a way that, in case one wants to use it specifically as a mosquito repellent at home, the special rear cover is bundled in the K7i smartphone kit, along with a stand.
Though the ultrasonic waves are said to be very effective at repelling mosquitoes, manufacturers say they are “absolutely safe and harmless for humans.”
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There is however some bad news for non- Indians. If you don’t live in India, you’ll have to wait a while to get your hands on the LG K7i mosquito-repelling smartphone.
This is because, the manufacturer said it will only be available in India in the meantime, while it considers launching the “Mosquito Away” smartphones in other countries, in the future.
However, there are some amount of skepticism about the efficacy of the “Mosquito Away” smartphones.
According to CNN, the American Mosquito Control Association cites 10 studies in the last 15 years that have unanimously denounced ultrasonic mosquito repellents as being ineffective. “The fact is that these devices just do not work,” the association states.
But, LG maintains that its “Mosquito Away” technology has passed multiple tests and has been certified by India’s International Institute of Biotechnology and Toxicology.
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It emphasised that its new K7i smartphone managed to repel 72% of mosquitoes during testing.
Statistics indicate that, Indian authorities spend over $700 millions on home insecticides every year, therefore the emergence of the LG K7i mosquito-repelling phone is expected to be a likely panacea to the country’s mosquito infestation challenge.