Cell phone users can now save the gasp when their device slips from their hand. Honda, the Japanese car maker, has devised a case with integrated airbags designed to prevent damage from devastating and costly accidents.

The built-in airbags for the smartphone works in a similar fashion to cars. The airbags in cars come popping out at the time of collision, whereas when a smartphone slips from a user's hand, the six small airbags from the 'Smartphone Case N' gets inflated before the device even hits the ground.

Resembling a box, the Case N contains materials that are found in car air bags. Inside the case, it has sensors to determine when the smartphone is falling from a dangerous height.

According to Honda, an accelerometer comes into action when it detects the phone is falling, and within 0.2 of a second, a canister of carbon dioxide gas fills six different air bags, preventing damage against sudden and forceful impacts, Digital Trends reports.

Much to the disappointment of the users, it is just a concept and Honda doesn't have any plans to sell the protective case as of now. The company might want to get the pulse of the customers before giving final touches to the product and making it a reality in the market.

When they decide to launch the product, the company has to also rethink the size of the case, as the current prototype is too big and might not fit into one's pockets.

However, the phone accessory is surrounded by patent controversy even before it enters the market.

It is claimed that Honda is not the first company to invent the concept. Sony patented a similar airbag system in 2007 and followed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2011, Elite Daily reports.

It will be interesting to see whether all these companies will collaborate together to push the concept from the shelves into customers' hands or if Honda will think of an alternative.

Tags Honda, Damage, Smartphone, Cars