NTT DOCOMO's Touch Wood mockups make naughty puns easy

We're still not entirely sold on the intersection of gadgets and wood. Nevertheless, companies keep pumping out the concepts in response to our greener times. Here's NTT DOCOMO's effort using surplus wood leftover from Pacific culling operations. The Touch Wood prototype was developed in tandem with Sharp and Olympus and is based on the SH-04A slider. A Touch Wood mockup (pictured above) resembling a more feminine bean was also announced. In either case, the Touch Wood body is made of cypress without adding any artificial coloring or paint. And by using Olympus' 3D compression molding technique, they've manage to maintain the kind of durability, and resistance to water, insects, and mildew that you'd expect from, well, a tree. With any luck, these handsets will be on exhibit in October at the ITU Telecom World and CEATEC Japan shows... touch wood. SH-04A prototype pictured after the break.

[Thanks, Stop Spamming]

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 24th 2009 5:27AM]

That's not a phone in my pocket, I'm just happy to see you.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 24th 2009 5:39AM]

Someone's got wood.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 24th 2009 9:02AM]

Sir, we cannot use that for your transplant. That's a wooden phone not a kidney...

[000000 Posted Sep 24th 2009 9:02AM]

Wood and shaped like a bean... STOP IT ALREADY! Quit redesigning a phone and start fixing the problems customers actually complain about. Bad battery, no 3.5 jacks, pricing...

Never have I heard, "OMG I wish my phone was shaped like a bean and made of wood. Then it would be perfect"

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 24th 2009 9:10AM]

I had a hard day, I had to pass kidney phones.

[quillaja Posted Sep 24th 2009 5:32AM]

think there's a left-handed version of the bean? nah...
sucks for you lefties.

btw, these are pretty cool, but i'd take a normal gadget. metal, preferably.

[Phrank Posted Sep 24th 2009 8:56AM]

The phone does WHAT for us lefties??!

That might be worth a total lack of ergonomics, for some of us.

[ImDaIllest Posted Sep 24th 2009 5:45AM]

"Is that morning wood baby"?
"Umm... No it's my wooden phone."


"You wanna touch my wood honey"?
"WTF!"
"Hello? I was referring to my phone, which b.t.w. is made of wood, da!"

[Higher Up Posted Sep 24th 2009 6:56AM]

Don't quit your day job.

[Bosco Posted Sep 24th 2009 11:49AM]

imdaillest's idea for a screen protector... are you all ready for this... ok, "a condom"! get it? Hahahahahahahah! How do you like them apples?

[pokes Posted Sep 24th 2009 5:52AM]

oh no they didn't

[Mr Blue Posted Sep 24th 2009 9:51AM]

Oh yes they did!

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 24th 2009 5:57AM]

(humming around...)

i, once had a phone.
isn't it good?
it's called...touch wood.

[Tritium Posted Sep 24th 2009 6:05AM]

Is that a kidney?

[kitsune Posted Sep 24th 2009 6:12AM]

exactly my thoughts ; "they make wooden kidney that make calls now?"

[808bah Posted Sep 24th 2009 6:17AM]

heh, heh, heh... he said "wood"....

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 24th 2009 6:24AM]

Idiots- if you get out of the US for once in your life, you'll know that in 75% of the world, "touch wood" is used instead of "knock on wood" - a phrase used in response to an unfortunate incident.

Idiots.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 24th 2009 7:11AM]

Or to avert such incidents, general bad luck or being jinxed.

[Drey Posted Sep 24th 2009 7:33AM]

Idiots- if you get into the US for once in your life, you'll know that in 75% of the country, there's such a thing as humor and sarcasm.

Idiots

[projectdecember Posted Sep 24th 2009 10:08PM]

Pshhhhh, are you daft? Everything in the US is foremost. Idioms included.

/semisarcasm

There is an Engadget Chinese that might serve you well.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 24th 2009 6:28AM]

That's a squashed booomerang

[MegaJapan Posted Sep 24th 2009 6:29AM]

Awesome, more ugly touch phones!

At this rate, seriously makes me wonder where there'll be a phone that can put iPhone's overratedness down -_-'...

[Liamness Posted Sep 24th 2009 7:02AM]

BTW, you 'touch wood' for good luck. You've all just got dirty minds.

[icecreamsocialist Posted Sep 24th 2009 7:11AM]

It's been done. This is a cheap imitation of http://www.vimeo.com/6713094

[Winbot Williams Posted Sep 24th 2009 7:52AM]

Giggidy.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 24th 2009 7:55AM]

*Guy walks around with Touch Wood phone*

Random girl: Wow your phone looks so hard...and big. Can I touch it?

[bureX Posted Sep 24th 2009 8:08AM]

Are termites a legitimate threat?

[Chief2 Posted Sep 24th 2009 8:42AM]

Is "surplus wood of trees culled during forest-thinning operations" similar to "surplus meat of whales euthanized during scientific research?"

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 24th 2009 10:12AM]

iWood

[Jigielnik Posted Sep 24th 2009 12:07PM]

my girlfriend can't stop yankin on my wood, i think shes testing if its got an accelerometer.

[Gorilla800lbs Posted Sep 24th 2009 12:41PM]

This needs to be take one logical step further. Someone needa make these enclosures from "surplus bovine BONE left over from Midwest slaughterhouse operations".

Touch Bone would have even more, umm, poignancy to it.

[Ken J Posted Sep 24th 2009 2:44PM]

Sweet!

I've been waiting since Olympus first started producing electronic enclosures with their new wood molding techniques. Now lets stop making concepts and start making products!

http://www.core77.com/blog/materials/wooden_camera_5227.asp