Students Design Future Handsets

What will your sales representatives be selling five years from now? Probably not a bug-shaped phone, but that's exactly what one student envisions. He is a winner of the Wireless Universal Access International Student Design Competition sponsored by Motorola and the Industrial Designers Society of America. The contest challenged the world's future designers to create a unique wireless device that overcomes physical, cognitive and environmental-access limitations. Winners were announced at January's CES show.

Winning designs included a device that combines a wireless phone and a digital camera, and the Bug Cell Phone, a hands-free, voice-activated wireless phone designed for the teen audience.

Students hoping to get jobs designing these devices for Motorola won't get in for an interview anytime soon.

Motorola recently shut down its Harvard, IL, manufacturing operations, and plans to lay off 2,500 employees.

However, Nancy Valley, manager, special markets group, said Motorola wants to encourage future designs to look at the concept of universal usability in telecommunications.