JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A startup company has invented a newly designed pistol that is shaped like, and resembles, a cellphone.
The "Ideal Conceal" .380-caliber handgun is expected to go on sale in the coming months. More than five million people have viewed a video posted to the company’s YouTube page just a few weeks ago.
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The footage demonstrates that the pistol really works. It shows how easily a portion of the gun can be folded out to create a handle and reveal the trigger.
Business Insider described the gun as a double-barreled pistol that can carry two bullets and comes with laser sights. The pistol grip can be folded up to disguise the weapon as an “unassuming mobile phone, leading it to be dubbed the ‘iPhone gun.’”
Ideal Conceal, which is based in Minnesota, intended for the weapon to “hide in plain sight,” so to speak. It fits easily into a purse or back pocket, making it pretty undetectable.
People who hope to own one of the handguns will need a concealed weapons permit, and will also want to stay extra careful with where they keep the gun.
“My biggest concern is someone having this at home, sitting on a coffee table,” said Gil Smith, a crime and safety analyst with WJXT Channel 4, in Jacksonville. “A child will come up, they deal with cellphones (and) they pick it up. Now they have a gun in their hands. They have a weapon in their hands, and they can pull the trigger.”
Smith said that when these guns are more mainstream, it's only going to add to what law enforcement and the TSA need to look for when checking people for weapons.
Right now, the guns can only be purchased online by people with a Federal Firearms License, and they are on back order.
About 12,000 people have already signed up to buy an Ideal Conceal pistol. The gun will sell for $395.