Do you know what a PHS is? A PHS is a cellular phone that uses Japan’s public mobile network.  The trouble with PHS phones is that they do not really do a whole lot and at least where I live; you might have trouble getting a signal.  Willcom is the company that runs the PHS network and they have brought forward some fairly innovative products in the past.  Regardless of this fact, a Willcom in your pocket carries much the same social repercussions as wearing a pocket protector.

A new PHS prototype from Sanyo is not much different.  It is certainly not going to win you any points in the cool department; it is a minimalist white cylindrical phone that runs on AA batteries.  The exciting thing about it is the battery life; a single Sanyo Eneloop AA will give you five hours of talk time or 250 hours of standby.  The batteries are easily interchangeable, so those that get lazy about charging are sure to benefit.  It is a prototype, but there are a couple of models that match the prototype in the looks department.  If the AA phone does hit the market, chances are that it will not look much better.  Do not expect any more functionality than seen on this phone because lack of an LCD screen is one of the major power saving features of it.  People will probably have to punch in their numbers the old fashioned way, though similar models do feature a phone home speed dial button.  Who knows, it could catch on and if it does it could go places other than Japan.

Source: Tech UK, Impress