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Consumer electronics

Breathing and Shape-Shifting Mobile Phones Shown off

by Jay Garrett on February 1, 2010

How do you feel about having a mobile phone that pulses with a heartbeat or rises and falls as if calmly breathing in your pocket?

Nah, me neither – that would just be too freaky.

But Fabian Hemmert does have some less creepy ideas when it comes to shape-shifting blowers.

In the video below he talks through his prototypes that he presented at his TEDxBerlin talk in November last year.

One of his designs is a phone that can get thicker on any of its four corners, and another that can shift its center of gravity so that they’re easier to handle.

I think it would be kinda neat to have a status bar that could get physically heavier as it gets weighed down with icons :)

I also dig the idea of rotating a phone into landscape mode and it altering itself so that it makes itself into a kickstand.

Watch, be amazed and slightly baffled at the video below.

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Map2 – The London Paper Map That has Zoom Function!

by Jay Garrett on January 24, 2010

Ok – hands up all those with touchscreen phones that now get confused when attempting to navigate a regular mobile?

Well, I’m guessing it’s the same when looking at one of those old-fashioned paper maps.

You can see where you want to be but no matter how much you pinch at the paper it does not zoom!

Here’s The Map2, which is described as being a “zoomable map on paper,” is a high tech, low tech map that lets you zoom in to a more detailed view without going digital.

On the original scaled page each of the four quadrants can be unfolded to reveal a more detailed map of that area – essentially zooming in.

I think it’s a great idea.

If you’re visiting London get one – it’s only £8 and very groovy indeed!

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The GenevaSound S Designer iPod Dock – Classy Sound and Comparatively Affordable

December 19, 2009 Click to read more →
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I think I’ve found the perfect iPod dock to sit in the same room as the retrotastic Philco PC
GenevaSound have just announced a newer, smaller, and more affordable dock called the GenevaSound System Model S (for small).
This GenevaSound S apparently has one of the smallest hifi speakers ever released (?) at just [...]

Colour e-Book Reader Seeks OEM – Qualcomm Mirasol Display

November 18, 2009 Click to read more →
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Qualcomm’s Mirasol displays have appeared in mobile phones, Digital Audio Players (DAP) and GPS devices but now it seems that its going to join in on the latest craze.
E-book readers
The full colour, 5.7 inch display touting prototype just needs a friendly, loving and understanding OEM partner to take it home and nurture it – and [...]

Free Wi-Fi at (in and around) UK Phones4U Stores

November 12, 2009 Click to read more →
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Trying to grab a free Wi-Fi connection when you’re out and about can be a bit tricksy – especially if you’re not in the largest of towns.
Soon sidling up to your nearest Phones4U may help.
Phones4U has become Freerunner’s (the free public Wi-Fi network) first UK commercial retailer.
Freerunner Wi-Fi will head to 450 stores across the [...]

iPod Shuffle tapSTICK – Protective Case, Controller and Headphone Adapter all-in-one

November 11, 2009 Click to read more →
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When is a case not a case?
When it also gives you control over your iPod Shuffle and allows you to use your own cans without having to use Scosche’s adapter.
Scosche’s new iPod shuffle case, the tapSTICK (no – not Chapstick!), is now available and it looks pretty neat.
The Scosche tapSTICK simply slides onto the iPod [...]

Double Your iPod Classic Storage – Tiny Toshiba HDD

November 5, 2009 Click to read more →
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Fancy cramming in 320GB into a tiny place – perhaps a DIY iPod upgrade?
Well, from next month (December) Toshiba will be releasing their new 1.8 inch 5400RPM line of SATA drives in which they have managed to up the space to that magic number.
The first is the MKxx33GSG series of 5400 RPM 320 GB, 250 [...]

Brothers of Stokholm Wall of Sound – The Worlds Most Powerful iPod Speaker

November 4, 2009 Click to read more →
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If you’re no longer impressed by your iPod dock and friends just stand there; pointing and laughing at the small speakers hooked up to your iPhone – it may be time to scare the living bejeebus out of them!
What you need is a wall of sound – not just any wall of sound though.
You need [...]

Gear4 Video Buddy – From iPod Nano to Widescreen TV

September 29, 2009 Click to read more →
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After last week’s reports that a US gym has banned the new iPod Nano due to fears that it could be used for catching scenes of sweaty, lycra clad folk on the treadmill and an actual arrest in Kobe, Japan, after some bloke hid the Nano in his shoe, and somehow filmed up an 18 [...]

Quirky Kickster – iPod Nano 5G Case With Video Grip and Stand for Under $20

September 14, 2009 Click to read more →
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Since first clapping my eyes on Digi Dude I’ve enjoyed Quirky’s work.
Now they’ve gone and slapped down another one of their painfully cool ‘designed by community’ offerings – this time for the new iPod Nano 5G.
The Kickster is a $14.35 iPod nano case that features a hard shell, cord wrap, and a kickstand that bends [...]

Apple to Refresh Entire iPod Range – September 9

September 1, 2009 Click to read more →
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So, what’s gonna happen in the next eight days?
Apple has already confirmed it’s having an iPod bash on September 9 and now they seem to have axed their current line of tune chuckers.
Apparently Apple Authorized Resellers have commented that current iPod stock is rapidly running out, if not gone already, and that all of the [...]

Slide my Shuffle – Tiny iPod with Hide-away Screen

August 26, 2009 Click to read more →
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Here’s a very cool design concept that could be used for the next-gen iPod Shuffle.
Designer Tryi Yeh has put forward a small, square-ish player that sports a slidey-up screen.
As well as looking totally sexy and making the unit smaller (depending on the mode it’s in) the peek-a-boo display would also be nice and safe.
Yeh [...]

Leyio Shakes Up Tune Transfer to Your iPod

August 14, 2009 Click to read more →
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Remember that clever little Leyio?
You know: the gadgety way of sharing data and stuff at the shake of your wrist?
Yeah – it hasn’t exactly caught on and I forgive you if you’ve forgotten all about it since the beginning of the year – the main problem is that ideally you need to find someone else [...]

iPod Nano Cassette Cases – Retro Cool

August 6, 2009 Click to read more →
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If you miss carrying mix tapes in your pocket and own a 4th Gen iPod Nano have a look at these.
The 45 Nano Cases are made from reclaimed cassette tapes.
The magnetic media cases are gutted, routered and rebuilt to fit Nano nice and snug and have that total retro coolness.
They’re priced at $49 from CAD

Splitter Bot Wants You to Share Music by Sticking Your Jack in his Eyes

July 30, 2009 Click to read more →
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Could this be the cutest way to share you music?
The adorable little robot works as a headphones splitter.
Logically names the Splitter Bot.
Shove your 3.5mm headphone jacks into his eyes….. ouchy! – but could’ve been worse
The helpful bot comes complete with a keychain fitted to its body meaning that the Splitter Bot will never [...]

Loewe Individual Selection will Fit Any Decor

July 30, 2009 Click to read more →
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If you’re one of those people with an eye for design and believes that everything in a room should co-ordinate you must get pretty peeved with the choice of colours out there for televisions.
How do you co-ordinate either black, silver or white with that funky patterend wallpaper?
Well, now you just need to look at Loewe’s [...]

Leather and Felt Phone – The Feutrefon by Matthias Pugin

July 7, 2009 Click to read more →
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This is the rather groovy Feutrefon concept phone designed by Matthias Pugin.
Pugin came up with a stylish phone that removes the ugly joints to present your eyeballs with a sleek mobile phone that’s constructed primarily from leather and felt – hence the name: “Feltphone” or “FeutrePhone”.
I’m not sure if there are any other production devices [...]

Firefly gloPhone and flyPhone – Mobiles for Kids Come to UK

June 24, 2009 Click to read more →
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American company Firefly has plans to sell a mobile phone aimed specifically at kids in the UK by the end of the year.
Apparently more than half of under 10 year olds in the UK already own a moblower anyway, which means that Firefly will be entering an already competitive marketplace.
The gloPhone (pinkish) handset [...]

Monster Home Theatre Remote – Retro Cool and Affordable (Unlike Other Things From Monster)

June 11, 2009 Click to read more →
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Monster unveiled plenty of new kit at the Consumer Electronics Association’s New York showcase including a super-thin cable for HDMI, high-speed cables for HDMI, a tabletop universal remote, and new speed tiers for its PowerNet networking solution.
To be honest it’s the controller from Monster that’s caught my eye purely because of its retro-ness.
I can’t find any [...]