Lose some change down the back of the sofa? Drop your car keys on the beach? Afraid there is a terrorist in your midst at a family picnic? Never fear! According to MobileWhack, Nokia has patented a handset design that includes an induction coil which, used one way helps hearing aid devices better use the handset, but used another way makes the handset a metal detector.

This report comes from magazine New Scientist, which will publish a story about it next week.

What's next in a mobile? A lie detector? Man, we hope not.

(Image: Elsie esq/Flickr Creative Commons License 2.0)