At this moment, I probably have about 30+ videos and 200+ pictures of shows that I will never look at again. I like to think that I will, or that I’ll show them to someone, but I don’t. Then I end up cleaning out my phone when I run out of storage, why? To take more pictures and videos. It’s an endless cycle of futility that I just can’t seem to escape.
For those of you who are like me and find it difficult to have any sort of impulse control, Yondr wants to help. Their entire business model revolves around keeping phones out of the show, and keeping the audience present in the moment. 
HOW IT WORKS
As people enter the venue, our staff will place their phones in Yondr cases.
Once they enter the phone-free zone, the cases will lock. While all customers will maintain possession of their phones, they are now free to enjoy the experience without distraction.
If at any point they need to use their phones, they can step outside of the Yondr phone-free zone to unlock it.
The largest issue I can see Yondr encountering is a logistics one – in a venue like Madison Square Garden or the Los Angeles Coliseum that can each seat up to 20,000 and 90,000 people, respectively, that’s a lot of cases to hand out. Obviousy, Yondr wasn’t meant for those kinds of shows, rather testing it in a few smaller Bay-area music venues.
Another quite reasonable worry that some users may have is access to their phones if they receive an emergency call – Graham Dugoni, the founder of Yondr, said that “if the phone vibrates they can step outside to text or call,” so that takes care of that.
Personally, my phone has become a part of me. I can’t leave home without it and when I do, I feel “naked.” Then again, sometimes it’s really nice to just be away from the constant stream of information readily available at my fingertips. There are sure to be proponents and opponents of this technology, regardless of its supposed benefits. I’m really curious to know what our readers think. Let us know in the comments below.
Read more at Pigeons & Planes, and visit Yondr for even more info.
