Seoul, Sept 01: South Korea's top mobile phone services have introduced mobile sound that repels mosquitoes. South Korea's top mobile phone operator, SK Telecom Co, is now offering a new service that allows mobile phone users to download a sound it says repels troublesome mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes are common irritants during the hot, humid summers in Korea.
The sound inventor and CEO at Dots Mobile, Ji Sang-chul explained why he created the programme. "Since most people have been very familiar with their mobile phones, it may not be just as communication tools, but play a role for living tools, so as a result, we invented this mosquito programme (for mobile phones)," said Ji Sang Chul.
SK Telecom claimed the sound was capable of clearing female mosquitoes within a range of one and a half metres.
It also claimed that since female mosquitoes hate male mosquitoes' approach during their pregnancy, for which female mosquitoes need human blood, they hate the sound from male mosquitoes. The sound programme has controllable timer and sound volume, so it hardly interrupts the human ear while people are asleep.
Repelling the bugs exhausts up to 30 percent more of the phone's battery, said SK, but it's not harmful to human health because it releases sound wave instead of harmful electromagnetic wave.
"Not only for mosquitoes, but also for cockroaches or bees, especially during the fall when people cut the grass (around a grave), people may want to use mobile phones to expel bees, so we are planning to invent more programmes (for mobile phone) applied by insects' noise", said Ji.
More than 50,000 people had downloaded the program in eight days after the service started. It costs 3,000 won ($2.54) to download the sound via the firm's wireless Internet service.
Meanwhile, one of the SK Telecom mobile phone stores that's located at COEX mall in Seoul has given the mosquito programme to their own clients for free, considered as a service for their own clients. Bureau Report