You know this has happened to you before. You’re walking down the street texting like crazy about nothing important. Forget that you are literally bumping into people — suddenly it starts pouring. Now what? You really need to text a cute picture of your cat to your BFF, but your phone isn’t waterproof.
So you pull out your umbrella, if you’re lucky enough to have one, and try to juggle holding that clunky thing in one hand and control your monster phablet with the other. You lean the umbrella on your shoulder and support it with your arm so both hands are free, but darn, the rain is coming at an angle and your phone is getting wet. Meanwhile your BFF is sitting patiently waiting for that one-of-a-kind photo of your adorable cat, so how are you going to pull this off?
Ladies and gentlemen … let me introduce you to the Phone-brella. What is the Phone-brella you ask? You’re probably thinking that it’s some sort of smart umbrella that James Bond would use, but no sir. This is way cooler than something 007 would use.
This umbrella has something so incredible that we’re trying to figure out why no one thought of it before. It sports a C-shaped handle that goes around your wrist like a bracelet, thus freeing your hand to text away and keep your phone dry at the same time.
The Phone-brella was created by kt design, which is the design arm of Korean telecom giant KT. It received top honors at the Red Dot Design Awards this past Monday.
The video below will show you exactly how the Phone-brella works. Just make sure to forget that the guy with a traditional umbrella is literally standing next to a rain-resistant awning. Maybe he was just too scared to be next to the attractive lady sitting comfortably on the bench. Thankfully she was able to rescue him, and the rest is left to your imagination.
The Phone-brella comes in five colors: Classic Grey, Smokey Gray, Blossom Red, Royal Red, and Chic Black. Right now it’s only available as a limited edition gift for kt customers, but we presume it will become more widely available soon. We’re not sure how much it costs, but I’m all in if they offer an attachable selfie-stick.