iPhone transformed into 650,000-volt stun gun, shocking

If you think your phone bill is shocking, get a load of the iPhone that delivers a 650,000-volt electric shock. A charged-up robbery victim is calling for money to help develop the Yellow Jacket, an iPhone case with a Taser-style stun gun built-in.

The Yellow Jacket iPhone case contains an electroshock zapper, and when applied to an attacker the resulting jolt is "incapacitating and capable of inflicting pain and injury." Shocking -- poshitively shocking.

The people behind the design emphasise that making it safe is their number one priority. To avoid accidentally juicing yourself in the ear with a 650,000 volts when your Nan calls on your birthday, there's a safety catch and a rotating cap covering the electrodes. But in case of attack, the two can be quickly opened ready to fire. After the sparks fly, the hapless shockee should recover in minutes.

The whole thing is housed in a rubber case that measures one-inch thick and weighs 8oz with the phone inside. It charges via the phone's cable and gives you up to 20 extra hours of regular use when not tasing queue-jumpers, people who talk in the cinema and traffic wardens right in the nuts.

The Louisiana-based creators were inspired to create a device that protects you as well as your phone after one of them claims to have fallen victim to a home invasion robbery. They're asking for financial backing on crowdfunding website Indiegogo, which allows you to pledge as much money as you want, earning you increasing rewards for higher pledges from a tiered list of incentives.

$30 gets you a Yellow Jacket t-shirt, while $85 and upwards gets you the stun gun case itself -- in a choice of black, white or pink colours, no less. You can also get a limited edition metallic gold Yellow Jacket for $150, and cases for the iPhone 5, HTC Evo and Samsung Galaxy phones are promised in future.

The Yellow Jacket is set to be sent out in early September to those 178 people who have invested at the time of writing. Sadly, it won't be sold here in Blighty and many other countries, as well as US states where they think lighting up passers-by with half a million volts is a trifle antisocial.

For a glimpse at the effects, check out this video of a Taser built into an MP3 player -- then zap me with your comments on our Facebook page.