Japan's NTT DoCoMo is developing a mobile phone with a body made from a mixture of compressed cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin with striations of lighter and darker natural brown. Yes, the phone case is made from wood.
This is just a prototype but according to Cellular-News.com, it appears to be durable, lightweight and, most important, beautiful.
The "Touch Wood" phone comes from cypress trees culled during thinning of forest in Japan's Shimanto Forest in the Kochi Prefecture.
The prototype is a collaboration with Sharp, Olympus and and "more trees," a reforestation project founded by musician Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Normal wood doesn't provide the strength and durability for a cellphone body, but compressing the wood keeps it's natural distinctive grain and color while making the phone durable enough for daily use.
But will it float?