CES 2021: Smart Masks Are Here With Binatone s MaskFone
KEY POINTS
The mask features a pouch for replacable filters, including N95 filters
Phone controls are built into the mask to allow for easy use
UK-based telecommunications company Binatone saw the need for face masks rise in 2020 and knew there was a way to make a product that not only saved lives but made wearing a mask more convenient. At this year’s CES 2021, Binatone revealed their latest product, the MaskFone.
The MaskFone is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It’s a protective face mask that has integrated Bluetooth earbuds set up. This allows wearers to easily make phone calls and listen to music without having to worry about any additional hardware.
CES showed off the COVID-19 mask gimmick arms race
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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Millions of people in the US started buying face masks in 2020, and companies, unsurprisingly, rushed to take advantage of the surge of demand for a new product. At CES 2021, the gadget-ification of the mask was on full display. Leading the pack was Razer’s transparent voice-amplifying, light-up concept mask. AirPop promoted its Active+ Smart Mask, which monitors users’ breathing rates and alerts them via a smartphone app when the mask’s filter needs changing. Binatone’s MaskFone has built-in earbuds and a mic for phone calls.
CES delivers some real winners each year, but it also has a rich history as a breeding ground for weird technologies.
In years past, the show has yielded peculiarities such as cell phone radiation-blocking underwear, a waistline-monitoring smart belt, and a vending machine for fresh loaves of bread. It s hard to forget Charmin s 2020 RollBot, a robot that can bring you a spare roll of toilet paper when you run out (strangely foreshadowing the great TP shortage that came just months later).
Despite being all-digital this year due to the coronavirus, CES 2021 offered no shortage of oddities. On the list of strange new innovations is a poop-analyzing toilet that offers dietary advice, smart perfume you can customize from an app, and a headless robotic pet meant to soothe your angst. And it only gets weirder from there.
This mask doubles as a Bluetooth headset at CES 2021
Binatone s MaskFone is a $50 washable mask that bids goodbye to muffled mask mouth. Listen - 01:12
Like it or lump it, we re going to be wearing masks for a long time. Tech and gadgetsfor the coronavirus era are popping up all over CES 2021, an all-digital version of the annual tech trade show, and that includes products aiming to reduce the friction surrounding mask wearing.
One nifty example is Binatone s MaskFone. It s a $50 (£50, AU$65) washable, N95 mask with a Bluetooth headset inside, allowing you to speak to people on the phone without a mask-muffled voice.
12 January 2021, 6:14 am EST By
As health experts suggest the continuous use of face masks for a couple of years even when vaccines become available. Tech companies have been developing products and gadgets to keep peole safe against the dreaded coronavirus.
According to CNET, the ongoing virtual Consumer Electrionics Showcase (CES) 2021 becomes a platform to platform for these innovative products.
(Photo : MaskFone)
Binatone MaskFone: $50 washable mask with Built-in Mic, Bluetooth Earbuds
During the CES 2021, Binatone unveiled its MaskFone, a washable fabric mask with an N95 filter that also works as a wireless Bluetooth headset. This is really helpful for people who have to take calls while outside like essential service workers and frontliners.