People who feel the need to talk to their near and dear even after they have passed away can now do so quite literally, thanks to a special cellphone invented by a German who wanted to keep in touch with his late mother.
The system, patented by Juergen Broether and on sale since last December, consists of a one-way phone and loudspeaker device that can be buried close to the person’s coffin, and will transmit a voice message into the tomb for a period of up to a year.
Broether’s said his “telephonic angel”, as he has dubbed it, arose from a desire to be discreet while talking to his late mother, to whom he had “a lot to say” after she died in 1998.
He said that when in a cemetery, “people always feel that others are watching, they feel embarrassed, and obliged to whisper” when speaking to the departed.
“With my phone, the feeling is quite different, and one can even call in the middle of the night, when the cemetery gates are closed,” he said, adding that the sound generated by the phone cannot be heard above ground.
“It’s very discreet,” he said.
Broether, who lives in the north-western German town of Osnabrueck, said he has so far sold three of his phones, at a price of €1 495 (R11 900) each.
The devices, which are fitted with special batteries, will remain active for up to a year and allow up to 200 hours of voice transmission during that period.
After the first year, users could either return it and get €50 euros, or have it recharged for a further year for an extra €730, he said.
Users who make calls hear two rings, and can then speak, with their voice being “really transmitted underground” over a loudspeaker, he assured.
However, for users who might be hoping that their dear departed will decide to talk back, there is no provision, as the phones are not fitted with microphones.
As regards his own use of the device, Broether (64) claimed he still has a few words to say to his late mum from time to time, even six years after her death.
He calls “to tell her things that might interest her”, he added. — AFP