Recent interaction design grad Michael Harboun—a runner-up for the Speculative / Conceptual category of the first annual Core77 Design Awards—recently collaborated with fellow students Thomas Chabrier and Antoine Coubronne on “Angle,” a clever new take on the Bluetooth headset.

People protect their phones with cases but only a few think about protecting their ears with headsets. With Angle, fixing a bluetooth headset gets as intuitive as picking up a phone… Everything lies in the move. In an easy gesture, you activate the conversation by sliding the phone on your ear. The movement naturally lays down Angle on your ear and you can now benefit from the hands-free communication.

So yes, it’s essentially a Bluetooth headset that’s been integrated into a charging case… and if the form factor isn’t quite as elegant as, say, the Jawbone, the user-friendly design might just represent the sort of subtle behavioral shift that makes a big difference. Instead of fumbling with headphone cables or fishing for elusive earpieces, the “Angle” is more like a natural extension of a smartphone case—specifically (and tellingly) for the iPhone.

-Via Core77