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PROVO — Cell phones are kind of disgusting.
A group of Utah college students wants to do something about it, though, after learning a study had found that one in six cellular phones is contaminated with fecal matter. So the group created Phone Soap: a product they hope will revolutionize the germ-infested cellular world.
At first glance, the product seems unimposing: a sleek black box, about six inches square and two inches deep, with a sliding compartment in which to place a phone. On the inside is a phone charger and an ultraviolet light used to sanitize the phone.
The UV light automatically turns off after three minutes, allowing the phone to remain charging in the box for as long as necessary.
Now, the creators of Phone Soap are hoping to win an innovation competition, sponsored by Intel, for a share of a $100,000 prize. The group was in seventh place as of Thursday morning on the Intel Innovation contest page.
Jordan Monroe, a student studying entrepreneurship at Brigham Young University, said he and fellow students Wesley LaPorte, Dan Barnes and Brennan Crellin were disgusted by the news that the typical phone is dirtier than the average public bathroom, and wanted to do something about it.
The students' "ding-ding moment" came after putting a cell phone under one of the UV lights the university's Cancer Research Center uses to sterilize equipment.
"We wanted to find a safe way to clean people's phones," Monroe said. "We thought about a wipe, but people don't want water on their phone or trash in their pockets. We wanted them to be able to use it every day."
Short-wavelength UV radiation is often used in sanitizing medical equipment. The radiation breaks the molecular bonds in micro- organisms, rendering them harmless at a lower level of UV exposure than is harmful to humans.
The UV light in Phone Soap does not generate heat and is timed to automatically turn off once the phone is disinfected: after about three minutes. The group added a phone charger to the project in an effort to make it more consumer friendly.
"We want people to be able to easily incorporate this product into their lifestyle," Monroe said. "We didn't want it to be like, ‘I have enough things in my life to remember to clean; I'm going to forget to use this.' You can just leave your phone in overnight to charge it."
The group put the project on the contest idea feed, where Utah Valley University student Gabe Villamizer saw the entry and contacted the group, interested in becoming involved.
They are now trying to market their idea to local businesses, eventually hoping to make Phone Soap a nationally recognized brand.
Along with talking to various cell phone accessory providers, they are looking into renting a kiosk at University Mall to sell the product. The BYU Bookstore decided Wednesday to carry the product beginning in September, according to Monroe.
Bookstore representatives could not be reached for comment at this time.
Monroe said the group of students did not have plans in the past to go into business together; in fact, before the project, they were only loosely tied together. Now, though, plans have changed.
"You see something and you think it would be cool, then see if people are interested and kind of run with it," Monroe said. "Ideas come and go a lot, but this one kind of stuck."
