Stephen Forshaw won the Sony award for his product PS Call Me, which acts as both a letter and a telephone, and can be personalised by the sender with a photograph or short message.

The paper phone includes a chip number, which the buyer rings from a normal phone to log it in the handsets memory. A letter is then written on notepaper and posted in the normal way.

The recipient will open the letter, read the message and fold the paper into an oblong shape, placing a supplied earphone in their ear. The PS Call Me chip is then pressed connecting to the senders number and the two have a conversation that can be recorded and kept.

Forshaw, who is a final year BSc (Hons) product design and development student, said: Weve lost the value of traditional communication, and this device is an attempt to recreate the romanticism of traditional letter writing with a technological twist. The design uses the concept of printable circuits, which is currently under development in the US.

Forshaws design won the first prize from the judges of a 4,600 travel award. He will visit Sonys headquarters in Tokyo to present his prototype design and have the chance to work with Sonys designers.

Story by Andy Scott