Posts tagged Concept at Switched

Posts with tag concept

'Escape Key' Clock is One Giant Snooze Button

by Thomas Ricker, posted Nov 17th 2008 at 1:28PM

Simple in design, perfect in execution, we bring you Santiago Cantera's Escape Clock. No tiny snooze buttons to fumble with here dozy Joe, just one big key that shuts off the alarm when meeting the business end of a morning beef hammer. Set it on edge and you've switched from alarm clock mode to an in-room stereo. The worst part? It's just a concept... for now.

[Via Design Launches]

Icono Phone Lets Your Fingers Do the Talking, Literally

by Thomas Ricker, posted Oct 18th 2008 at 3:33PM

Zinc Chan, a London-based designer, just struck fame with the speed of a back-tax owing Ohio plumber. The Icono concept telephone is inspired by the internationally recognized "call me" hand gesture made famous by pouty-mouthed debutantes and hollywood starlets -- aka "shaka" amongst surfers. As such, the microphone and speaker are split to ride the swell of the pinkie and thumb, respectively. Callers then draw a unique pattern on the touchscreen pre-assigned to their contacts to initiate a call. As far fetched as the concept may seem, work related to induction charging, body area networks for transmitting audio across human skin, round LCDs, and any number of short length wireless solutions could very well make this concept a near-term reality. One more pic after the break.

Update: Oops, reader Michael just revealed a little uncredited design inspiration from IDEO circa 2001. Now how does that expression go... something about great artists steal? [Via Textually and Core77]

Continue reading Icono Phone Lets Your Fingers Do the Talking, Literally

Meet OLO, the Netbook-Style 'Dumb' Terminal for Your iPhone

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 14th 2008 at 7:14AM

OLO Computer is reportedly thinking of bringing to market a netbook-styled device that would actually enable (require?) users to plop their iPhone / iPhone 3G into the palm rest; from there, the handset would act as the brains of the operation and double as a trackpad. At the present time, there are no real specifications to speak of -- just a zany teaser page and lots of speculation.

We shouldn't have to remind you what an epic failure the whole "cellphone companion" sector has been, as one look at Palm's axed Foleo and the deeply discounted Celio REDFLY should be explanation enough. Hey, we're not trying to discourage you from giving this a go, OLO, but we'd probably have a backup plan ready to roll in case Apple itself drops a netbook on the world in the next 48 hours.

[Via Liliputing]

Read - Official teaser page
Read - Netbook-style clamshell for iPhone is coming

Audi Working on Pure Electric Car

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 8th 2008 at 5:29PM

With an electric MINI Cooper just around the bend, a Twin Drive hybrid Volkswagen landing in 2010 and Chevrolet's Volt rolling into showrooms in a matter of months, Audi's ten-year plan is looking a little awkward. Though we've yet to hear that it's actually speeding things up, Peter Schwarzenbauer, who sits on the management board at Ingolstadt, recently confirmed that the company would be offering "a pure electric car" sometime in the future. Additionally, rumors of it being based on the A1 were dashed, opening the door for speculation that it will instead be built around the VW Up! (Lupo) concept. Here's hoping we find our prior to 2018.

[Via Autoblog]

TrekStor's Stylish USB Stick Doubles as Bottle Opener

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 5th 2008 at 10:01AM

Is this a bottle opener that also functions as a flash drive, or is this a USB stick that just so happens to double as a bottle opener? While pundits debate that one, we'll step in to tell you that this brilliant creation from the minds of TrekStor includes a solid, brushed aluminum housing, USB 2.0 connectivity and the ability to play nice with any major operating system. Regrettably, it looks as if this one will launch in Europe alone next month for anywhere between €6.99 ($10) and €49.99 $71) depending on size (1/2/4/8/16GB capacities). Please, upload responsibly.

[Via CNET]

Pea Speaker Concept Makes Multi-Room Wireless Audio Easy

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 20th 2008 at 4:47PM

Look, we never said we meant multi-channel, multi-room audio, nor did we imply that these were the real deal, but the Pea Speaker concept would make it mighty easy to fill up to seven (tiny) rooms with audio sans wires. In theory, Lu Le's peas-in-a-pod-like creation would enable each speaker to play back audio that was streamed over Bluetooth, though just one would posses a global volume control. Oh, and unless these spheres are much heavier than they look, we can imagine your kids having an absolute field day. [From: Yanko Design via CyberTheater]

Conceptual Teddy Bear Phone Shown Off in Japan

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 13th 2008 at 4:53PM

We've seen some bizarre -- bizarre -- handsets in our day, but this one is just too darn cute to call weird. The conceptual Kuma Phone was recently shown off in Japan by Willcom, and according to local reports, the audience in attendance absolutely adored it. The GSM teddy bear, er, mobile can hold up to four speed dial numbers, boasts a built-in vibration function and allows users to answer / terminate calls by "pressing the tail." An accompanying pamphlet suggested that it would run around $500 should it ever hit mass production, which leads us to wonder if they plan on using Boyds / Vermont Teddies or something. [From: CScout Japan via textually]

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Video: Sony's ODO Wind-Up Camera Really Works

by Thomas Ricker, posted Sep 1st 2008 at 1:38PM

We've seen pictures of Sony's ODO Twirl N' Take, wind-up camera before. Here in Berlin, we actually had a chance to take this eco-friendly digicam for a spin. Ha, get it? We said spin to refer to this kinetic concept camera! Amazing.

Anyway, enough with our overly-tired, undernourished gibberish, the full-on hands-on is posted after the break.

Continue reading Video: Sony's ODO Wind-Up Camera Really Works

Giro Sponge Toothbrush Has No Bristles

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 15th 2008 at 5:10PM

For those out there who've already doused their grille in platinum, Fabio Dabori's sponge-loaded toothbrush could double as the ultimate wax machine. For everyone else still rockin' the pearly off-whites, surely this thing is more comfortable than those stiff bristles found on the vast majority of brushes today. The Giro Sponge concept is an electric teeth cleaner that features a soft, round head that's particularly kind to babies and grown-ups with sensitive gums. Word has it that Mr. Dabori has patents on the idea and is hoping to get it on store shelves soon, and we can already see that those cutesy replaceable heads will be a huge hit with the kiddos. [From CrunchGear]

Dual-Display Laptop Is Part Nintendo Wii, Part Keyboard

by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 15th 2008 at 4:06PM

Perhaps it's just that nostalgia for the ThinkPad 701 but there's something about this dual-display reference design that's causing optical interrupts all over our editorial staff. It's certainly not as elegant as some other dual-display laptops we've seen, but what it gives up in looks, the Electronic Keyboards, Inc. design makes up for in practicality.

The company is currently pitching it to OEMs and will gladly sell you the related US patents if interested. Though given our choice, we'd be more interested in patents related to an elongated trackpad which doubles as a secondary glass display or e-Ink informational widget. Hey, a boy can dream can't he? [From: Electronic Keyboards via The Raw Feed]

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