By Kate Solomon on Thursday, 2nd September 2010

Mobile phones may be many things, but comfortable isn’t necessarily one of them. Thwacking a chunk of plastic against my ear and talking for potentially hours is not my idea of a good time to be honest, so I’m intrigued by Robert Potter’s Earos concept.

Earos is a cushioned ear-rest that clips on to ‘most phone models’ using a small clip-style fastener that slips over the transmitter by the ear. Its ergonomic design fits nicely against the contours of your ear and the cushion is crafted from synthetic suede for a cosy ear resting experience. When you’re not on a call you can easily swivel the earos out of the way as it rotates on two axes.

Potter’s design has been shortlisted in Designboom’s ‘Design for All’ competition, for which the winners will be announced at the Seoul Design Fair later this month. There’s no guarantee that the Earos concept will ever make it to production, but anything that can make those hour-long phone calls to my mother a little less painful is A-OK by me. Perhaps for use only in the privacy of my own home though, that big cushion on my phone might earn me a few funny looks in public.