Nokia plans magnetic tattoos that vibrate when you get a call

Do you love mobile phones? Would you say you've got them under your skin? Nokia is researching a way to literally put them there with magnetic tattoos that vibrate when you get a call.

The Finnish phone fanciers have filed for a patent on a magnetic implant planted on or under your skin that informs you what's going on with your phone, if taking it out of your pocket and looking at it is too much like hard work.

The idea is you get ferromagnetic material tattooed, stamped or sprayed on your skin. That pairs with a phone or tablet, like a Bluetooth headset, and can then notify you of new calls, texts or other alerts. If your battery runs low or you have a meeting or anything else your phone needs to remind you about, then the implant in your finger, arm or stomach vibrates.

The strength of the vibration can be altered. And everybody's magnetic field could be unique enough to act as a technological fingerprint, unlocking a phone or computer.

It's not the first time tattoos have been mooted as high-tech indicators: a band of US scientists has developed an impossibly thin array of LED lights that could change colour to show how you're feeling.

Other tech-tastic implants that turn you into a cyborg include a heartbeat-powered battery, smart contact lenses and a Google implant. And this week the BBC told the story of a woman considering replacing her paralysed arm with a bionic implant. We have the technology, we can rebuild you...

Would you get ink linked to your phone? What tattoos would suit each brand of phone? Will we all be cyborgs one day? Ink your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook wall.