Not even ten years ago in Germany, a radio station imagined a very peculiar prototype of a bone-conduction pen. The connected object slid into the mouth between the teeth and allowed discreet listening to football matches at work. Despite its success, the pen was merely a promotional item and, therefore, was never commercialized.
Stimulating the inner ear through the teeth
On the occasion of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia – won by France – the German platform Radio.net (Radio.de) and the Havas Düsseldorf agency had imagined a rather interesting connected device: the Football Pen. The goal was to discreetly follow football matches during meetings throughout the tournament.
Its operation was fairly simple. Wirelessly connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth, the pen – or at least its upper part – would be placed in the mouth between the teeth to transmit micro-vibrations. Then, the sound waves would travel through the teeth and the jaw bones, a signal bypassing the eardrum to directly stimulate the inner ear. Similar to current bone-conduction headsets, only the user of the Football Pen could hear the match commentary, without disturbing those around them.
An ultra-limited series
Despite its impressive capabilities, the Football Pen never entered mass consumer production and therefore was not produced in large quantities. At the time, this device simply represented the core of an operation aimed at promoting the German radio. If the number of pens produced remains unknown to this day, it seems that several hundred people received them: journalists, bloggers and other social media influencers but also listeners (contest participants). It was therefore a very limited series.
Although the Football Pen was theoretically capable of streaming any audio feed from a smartphone, its use was software-restricted. Indeed, the user had to download the official Radio.net platform app to activate and use the device. Once connected, the app locked the audio stream to broadcast exclusively the partner radio stations that were airing the football matches live
For the radio, the sole objective of the operation was to generate downloads of its own mobile app and boost its audience during the World Cup. Thus, enabling listening on other platforms – like Spotify or YouTube – would have deprived the campaign of any marketing value. Moreover, the small number of units can also be explained by the strategy adopted. The aim was not to make the pen universally owned, but for everyone to talk about it.
No consumer bone-conduction pen
The Football Pen indeed housed a very interesting technology. It was therefore not simply a “goodie.” The pen still contained Bluetooth chips, rechargeable batteries and piezoelectric transducers for bone conduction. Thus, it makes sense that the German radio did not mass-produce this object, as it would have generated astronomical costs for a short-lived campaign. It should be noted that the operation lasted only a month, the duration of the World Cup.
In reality, the most curious part of this story lies elsewhere. Since 2018, no company has revived the concept even though tens of thousands of people would have liked to own a Football Pen. Today, there is therefore no consumer bone-conduction pen available. On the market, headphones, earphones and even glasses incorporating this technology are available and not locked down. Yet, one must admit that the Football Pen possessed a certain charm.
