Having your smartphone stolen in a street mugging is never a nice experience. And often it’s not even the monetary loss that hurts the most, but the fact that your whole life is stored in the phone’s memory which really grates. So it’s hardly surprising there are people who prefer to take direct action to protect their handset, rather than just rely on insurance.

The iStun from Guard Dog, is a 3,800,000 volt stun gun built to look like an iPhone. Well a fat iPhone at least. The idea is that when a villain demands that you hand over your precious phone, you pull this out instead and give them a serious talking to about the evils of a wasted life. Or something.

Of course, there’s always a danger that they’ll start ‘talking’ back, so we’re not going to comment on the rights and wrongs of this approach to life, save to say that you’ll need to check whether your local police force will be happy or sad that you’re carrying around a gadget like this.

The product has an LED flashlight built in and comes with a ‘premium leather case’ to offer a bit more protection and a touch of class, no doubt. It also features an integrated rechargeable battery and a safety switch to prevent any unfortunate ‘episodes’ while rooting around in a pocket or bag. Priced at $25.82.