100 Mobile Product Ideas...#2...

We all need to relax. Stress and stress-induced illnesses are on the increase.

There are all kinds of health scares related to mobiles: Fried brains, or the more tangible hands-off-the-wheel, eyes-off-the-road car mishaps, some of them lethal.

To add to those scares, the prospect of the mobile causing electrical interference with the body is also another possibility. The body uses electric currents to keep everything in sync with the brain. There's also a growing theory that the heart sends out subtle electromagnetic fields to the rest of the body. It has been confirmed recently that the heart is like a second "brain". It has its own neural network and it now seems likely that we do indeed really feel with our heart.

Now, like many other people with mobiles, I use mine as an alarm clock in the morning. I use my Blackberry. In various polls and discussion threads, the alarm clock is the favourite non-voice app of many mobile owners.

It is probably coincidence, or placebo, or less email-overload induced stress, but when I decided to switch off the radio part of my Blackberry at night times, I started sleeping better. Call me a quack, but this is my suggestion for insomniacs who sleep next to their mobiles (and there are probably lots of them).

So what's my idea for the mobile?
It's to incorporate a bio-feedback mechanism and turn it into a relaxation aid.

With the appropriate sensor and application, there's no reason why a bio-feedback mechanism couldn't be included in any mobile phone.

Whenever the user is stressed, or simply has 5 minutes to spare, they tune in to their body and using either visual or audio feedback, try to lessen their tension.

Less stress...until the user reads their bill or gets another dropped call!