Blackberry mulls a germ-free smartphone

A study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology says 20 to 30 percent of bacteria are transferred between the cellphone and your finger.

Toronto - Do you know your smartphone is infested with germs with as many as 25,000 of them nesting in a mere square inch of your device?

A study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology says 20 to 30 percent of bacteria are transferred between the cellphone and your finger.

The good news is that BlackBerry may soon be coming up with a bacteria-free smartphone, according to company CEO John Chen.

Chen made the announcement at a hospital near Toronto recently, where he revealed that BlackBerry was partnering with ThoughtWire and Cisco Systems Inc. to provide hospital workers with a new portable messaging and alert system, reported Mashable.

However, the bacteria-free smartphone would be designed only for hospital personnel and not regular consumers, according to business media reports.

Healthcare professionals are supposed to wipe their cellphones down with alcohol to prevent germs from spreading, but many do not, another study said.

A bacteria-free smartphone would be “one less thing to wipe down”, Chen said.

Blackberry currently accounts for only around one percent of the smartphone market share and is clearly looking to revive its product range.

However, the company is so far only considering the possibility of such a device and is not down to developing one at the moment.