If you drink, don't dial
LG's LP4100 has a built-in breath analyser that, when blown into by an intoxicated partier, gives them a warning not to drive.
We're beginning to think there are just three basic driving forces in advancing technology: sex, gaming and, of course, preventing tipsy people from calling their ex-partners.
Back in 2004, we spotlighted a service that let users "block" certain numbers during those hours when one would be most likely to make a phone call they might regret in the morning.
Now LG has taken the concept a step further by offering a phone that incorporates a breathaliser -- the LP4100. Okay, the main reason for the feature is to let the owner know when he or she should not be driving (if, after blowing into the phone, the user is over the alcohol limit, the phone emits a warning and shows an animation of a car unsuccessfully attempting to weave through traffic cones). But the LP4100 "CYON" does more for the over-imbiber than that: it allows users to program the phone to prevent the dialling of specific numbers on certain nights and after a certain time.
Strangely, the anti-drink driving CYONs, already a big hit in Korea, have been designed to look like racing cars. But perhaps this is so the over-the-limit owners can at least amuse themselves by pushing the phone across the bar making vroom vroom noises.