LifeStyle Gadgets Headline Animator

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Throne Fit For Kid Gamer King

Gamerox is a new concept in game seating, designed for younger computer game users. Its unique design and patented mechanisms encourage full 3D body movement during game play. As well as creating a more exciting, interactive gaming experience, this movement improves circulation and aids muscle and skeletal development. Gamerox also assists in the development of coordination, balance and spatial awareness. The seat design encourages a dynamic upright sitting position so slouchers beware.

The idea for Gamerox was conceived by designer Tim Briggs after watching his younger cousin moving constantly while sitting playing computer games. The idea became Tim’s Industrial Design major project and earned him a first class honours degree from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. After finishing college Tim met with seasoned designer and entrepreneur Brendan Farrell, who immediately understood and shared his vision for the new game chair concept. They agreed to collaborate together in the development of a new design and to create a new business. In early 2008, with some well needed venture capital from David Crawford the idea became a reality and the company 4WE3 Innovations Limited was established.

This is technically a concept that’s ready to go into production. The company says they’re looking to hit retail sometime next year. In the meantime, we’ll try to get one in for review and even tho I’m no kid, that seat looks plenty wide enough for my big adult arse.

Designer: Tim Briggs [ Via: CrunchGear ]

Nokia E90 Communicator Phone

Nokia today introduced the Nokia E90 Communicator. It sets the standard for an uncompromised “mobile office” experience. The latest technologies at the core of the device bring business necessities and personal amenities to the hands of people independent of time and place. Fast and inexpensive connections over WLAN and HSDPA-enhanced 3G accelerate the mobile use of data- and transmission-rich applications. The interface to business and leisure applications and the Internet, the stunning Nokia S60 browser, with 16 million colors, is capable of displaying the full width of a web page at once. The Nokia E90 Communicator is now based on the S60 platform, making a wealth of additional mobile applications available for its users. The Nokia E90 Communicator also has an integrated GPS and Nokia Maps application to provide help in finding routes and locating services. For increased personal convenience, the Nokia E90 Communicator is equipped with an FM radio, a music player, a video player and two cameras — a 3.2Mpix auto focus camera with flash and a second camera for videoconferencing.

Design: Nokia [ Via: Gizmodo ]

Stereo Listening Rings - Two Rings to Rule Them All

Now here is a perfect example of concept design bettering the world in previously unimagined ways. The deaf of the world are not just being deprived of music, a sweet whisper and a simple phone call. They are also lacking the ability to be fairly warned of impending danger from out of sight sources. Designers Kwang-seok Jeong, Min-hee Kim and Hyun-joong Kim really deserve a round of silent applause for this inspired design. “Vibering” is an ingenious way to help the deaf, by fashionably housing a sound detection and identification system to be worn as a pair of rings and a wristwatch. The rings are to be worn on both hands and are the ears that not only listen for sounds emanating from behind, they also determine distance, position and vibrate according to source. The wristwatch aspect, identifies the sound wave and present this info to the wearer in an easy to read display. The watch is programmed to listen for certain key phrases from humans like “Excuse Me..”, your name being called and any number of car noises including the most important one, a car’s horn. This device concept could not just be a major life enhancer for the deaf, it would most certainly save lives.

Designer: Kwang-seok Jeong, Min-hee Kim and Hyun-joong Kim

A New Scoop on Measuring Cups

Measuring cup designs have changed throughout the years from the old metal design style to a more modern design. However, the newer designs have always been on the cool side of design, but far from being reliable. A New York design company, Pollen Design, has created a newer version of the measuring cup called NuScup. NuScup, is an adjustable measuring scoop that comes with a co-molded seal. There is no risk of breakage in the seal that might cause loss of product being measured. NuScup allows for both dry and liquid products, and can be opened up for easy cleaning. It also has included a magnet for easy storage. Currently selling online at Amazon for $18.00 USD.

Designer: Pollen Design

Sip Of Light

Preface; reading in the dark is bad people - like really bad. Students are especially notorious for this act. I know studying in the dark seems like a good idea because it makes you feel “cozy” but com’on, give your eyeballs a break. If you hate desk lamps that much, try the Sip of Light straw. Bend it to turn it on, straighten it to turn it off. Oh and keep drinking that caffeine. It’ll help you stay alert.

Designer: Sang-Hoon Lee, Sung-Kyu Nam & Su-Jung Kim

Fiat 500 - Driving Cinema by Tim Thornton

Life on film. Art no longer exists only in galleries and museums; it is, as it should be, part of life. Performance, music, fashion, architecture, photography and filmmaking are becoming integral to our lives in new ways. With the fragmentation and accessibility of technology and skills, an increasingly media literate population has the ability to take control, consume, manipulate, create and broadcast. The Fiat 500 should create new opportunities, possibilities and situations for Art to happen. We are all Artists. I propose that the Fiat 500 should become a Drivin’ Cinema! An extra headlight on the car will contain a projector, under the bonnet there are speakers. On the dashboard is a camera and dvd player. When parked up at night, at home, a party, a festival, a campsite in the country, a car park in the city, on a journey, with friends, or strangers, the Fiat 500 transforms into a cinema. This can recount the day’s events, share a new film, watch an old film or make a lightshow. The Fiat 500 Drivin’ Cinema would take film, quite literally, to new places. The technology should be simple. From the built in projector-headlight, a series of ports on the dash board could provide the best solution so that the user can plug in whatever they like for example, a camera, a phone, a computer or an ipod. I would also very much like to see some cameras built into the car itself. The Drivin’ Cinema provides many opportunities for personal use, and would also be perfect for events and advertising. Hmmm I can just see a row of synchronized car projections at the next Cannes Film Festival The Fiat 500 Drivin’ Cinema Taking Film To New Places.

Designer: Tim Thornton [ Source: Fiat 500 ]

TWIST and SHOUT (about forgetting the code)

Yet another “twist” on something we twist everyday. Designer Jess Han has re-imagined the simple door handle with a DaVinci Code style lock that denies entry for all but the chosen few (cue: dramatic music). This intuitive door handle dubbed the “NUMLOCK HANDLE” features a numbered dial-lock that re-shuffles and locks itself after every successful entry. Get the code incorrect and Tom Hanks gets punched in the gut by an albino assassin.  The numbers can be replaced or supplemented with braille for that extra level of mystery.

Designer: Jaeseok Han

Split Snowboard Binding Backs

Snowboard bindings? What! It’s getting into summer when I’m posting this, so it’s a bit strange to even think about snow - but hay! Like a good Minnesotan, in summer I wish for winter, and in winter I wish for summer! These bindings are split down the back, adjusting the cant of the high back for “greater support and control.” Better for your ankles? Better for your mind. But you can’t be too furry! It’ll get caught in there.

Also check out the aluminum block holding all the straps and high back in place. What’s up with your knowledge of straps? In skateboarding, as well as with snowboarding, the only thing the average first-time buyer of a setup is the design of the board. Pretty skulls and gore and knives and whatnot. Are these designed for you, the audience reading this post?

Also, what kind of bindings do you use now?

Designer: Joshua Benjamin Harris

Friday, May 29, 2009

Smoke And You Die Says The Ashtray

The first ashtray designed to weigh the amount of ash placed inside and give you an accurate indication of how much your smoking habits have brought you closer to death. Morbid I know but there’s some genius in it. This product was designed from the core to shock the smoker and make him/her think twice before lighting up.

It uses an internal weighing system. The built in microchip and LCD display then conveys how many days you have taken off your life by smoking so far. The whole tray itself gets darker as you delve closer to a wheezing end.

Wow, makes a great gift huh? (Insert sarcasm)

Designer: Anthony Voz

Bello Touchscreen PMP

The holy grail of touch interface design seems to be marrying the simplicity of hand gestures with deep navigation. This is Bello’s speciality. Designer Ryan Han wanted to create a portable media player anyone could use. You have finger swipes and flicks but also the novel ideas of shaking and pouring. Shaking the player turns all your files to iconic pieces of paper you can stack and organize. Tipping the player over another (like a teapot) initiates a file transfer.

Designer: Ryan Han

Yogis Are Now Hi-Tech

Imagine a yoga mat you unfurl from a metal tube that’s actually a stereo. It can take in memory cards or play content off an MP3 player. The real tech candy here is the mat which is made of an electronic paper screen. The idea is you can attend yoga classes from anywhere since streaming video plays right on the mat. You can even “conference” in friends so they can get in the group fun. It’s just a concept but the technologies do exist in some form now. However if this were ever to hit the market, I think some might find inappropriate uses for it other than yoga.

Designer: Hui-Zong Chen

Portable PC Theater

The Portable PC Theater is one computer designed for pure entertainment. In lieu of a display, it has a built it projector which can be removed to better positioning. Don’t worry about sound because flanking the projection lens are stereo speakers. What about messy cords? All cords retract into the unit when not in use and because it is a computer, there’s a collapsible keyboard.

All this and only 3 dvds and 2 cds wide. All you need is a blank wall, some popcorn, and a cold drank.

Designer: Jin Woo Han

Personal Water Meter by Adam Kereliuk

With the growing cost and often shortage of water these days, it comes down to an individual effort to use less. With personal water meter(PWM), people would be able to track their usage on high traffic fixtures in the home such as showers and sinks.

The PWM tracks water usage per day/week/month all in real-time, so you can see exactly what you’re using, when you’re using it. The counter starts and stops when water flow does, so when flow begins, the “single” option will appear on the screen and count from 0 liters to however many you finish with. This amount will then be added into the total liters per day/week/month. Each time frame will reset accordingly.

As water flows through the PWM it spins a propeller. Much like a car will gauge RPM’s, a small sensor will count the revolutions of the propeller, and send the information to the CPU. The speed of the propeller can then be converted into a formula that can determine the volume of water that has passed.

Designer: Adam Kereliuk

Time Is So Orbital

It’s a good thing you learnt about planets in school; otherwise this Torbit Time-Orbit Watch Concept would have gone over your head. Apparently its been totally inspired by the fascinating movents of planets in their orbit. “The digital numbers on the annular panel display indicates time while moving clockwise around the circumference of the display; also corresponding to the position of where the hands on a traditional watch would have been.” For me, it’s just a cool looking watch that craves for a SWATCH branding.

Designer: Evan Yiwei Ma

Flying Stick Camera

The title should be enough to explain what this is. In case it isn’t, it’s a flying stick with a camera! Rub it between your palms to get some kinetic energy stored up. Then release and the Flying Stick automatically takes pictures at set intervals. You know what they say, everybody looks 5 lb lighter when photographed from above.

No mention of specs like camera resolution or memory but hey it’s a concept. If anything, it’s supposed to get your mind thinking, not criticizing.

Designer: Tsunho Wang

Canvas by Kyle Cherry

Designer Kyle Cherry has envisaged a new type of computer with creatives in mind. Called simply “Canvas”, the computer is designed to increase the quality and productivity of the designer or artist. It is intended to allow a user with little or no experience to make the switch from traditional to digital workflows by building the system around a more familiar interface. This concept should even make Wacom Clinq owners jealous.

Designer: Kyle Cherry