Thru: Lucent Mobile Phone Concept

Imagine the possibilites a translucent phone would bring. The wiping of endless fingerprints would be a nightmare but the concept is too cool and too futuristic to ignore.

Freelance designer, Mac Funamizu is at it again, mocking up translucent devices that let the imagination run wild with the clean simplicity. He’s designing the future we’ve always read about and seen in science fiction. Hopefully these designs will someday soon be a reality.

With this design, dubbed the “Thru”, Funamizu takes the idea of augmented reality to a new level, making it fun and entertaining. With the transparency of the phone, scenes and objects displayed are made to look like a natural part of their background setting. A castle sitting on a desk, a pipe straight out of Super Mario or goblins having their own civil war on your desk top. As if the internet and our mobile phones weren’t distracting enough.

Funamizu is also promoting the gamification of everyday tasks in his concept. Checking your e-mail isn’t just checking your e-mail anymore. Pull the message notification down into the Mario pipe and be rewarded with fireworks.

Gamification is already spreading through today’s cell phone apps. Just look at Foursquare, Gowalla and Scvngr. The process of simply being somewhere as boring as the grocery store is suddenly turned into checking in, earning points and collecting badges. Is this the future of everyday chores? It’s the equivalent of getting the gold star on an assignment but to a much greater extreme.

Hopefully the Thru would be somewhat scratch-resistant as I put my phones through some pretty good wear-and-tear. Whatever the future of apps, tasks and chores, I love the sleekness of this phone. To the mobile phone producers out there, take notes! This phone is as sexy as they come.

For other futuristic designs we wish we could have now, check out concepts such as the Windows Future phone, the LG Triptych and the super-sleek Kambalaphone.

Via: Behance Network and Petitinvention