Being on hold's kind of dull. So is listening to reams of information that is not pertinent to your enquiry. Many alleviate such periods of boredom by doodling on the back of an envelope, drumming out a little rhythm on the phone casing, or twisting the phone cable around their finger.

I propose an activity centre phone. The top of the phone casing will incorporate a scaled down etch-a-sketch, or possible one of those pads that you could draw on then pull out a layer to blank; yeah that would probably be better. To one side will be a series of buttons that are like a mini drum machine, these will play out through the headset, allowing you to supplement dull on-hold musak with some funky beats. The front edge of the phone base will have a number of pieces of twine hanging down, below printed instructions of a number of naval knots. In this way the phone will be educational as well as fun.

The springy wire connecting the handset to the base would be specially designed with high-tech shape memory materials, regardless of the amount of twisting it will always return to its neat curled position when left alone. (rather than getting all tangled and wrapped around it's elf)

Activity centre phone; saves you having to tidy up all those bits of paper with scribbles on.
-- Zircon, Feb 23 2003

Related idea http://www.halfbake...20Center_20Keyboard
[half, Oct 04 2004]

Hooray!
-- snarfyguy, Feb 23 2003


Hmm, that'll teach me to post new ideas on Sunday morning GMT when no one's here. This place is eerie on the weekends. Further to this I was thinking that there should be some way of putting the person on the other end on hold and playing music at them, but you could be playing the music your self on a little keyboard.
-- Zircon, Feb 24 2003


I can call someone on my videophone and then play solitaire or minesweeper while I'm on hold; and I can play music at them, too. Or voice clips ......
-- 8th of 7, Feb 24 2003


// The springy wire connecting the handset to the base... //

I haven't seen one of those in a while.
-- waugsqueke, Feb 24 2003


Okay, I know I'm a luddite. Here's one that'll shock you; 50% of the phones in my house are pulse dialers!! Infact the main one in the lounge is. I still hate mobiles but find that I use mine increasingly.
-- Zircon, Feb 24 2003


When I was a teen I used to open those phones up and take out the bells; that way they make a rather pleasant clicky sound when someone calls you.
-- snarfyguy, Feb 24 2003



random, halfbakery