Story posted on: May 09, 2008

Fancy a portable Xbox? I'm sure many people have thought about it before, and it will really see Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony slug it out both in the living room as well as on the portable front. How would you like the portable Xbox to look like? There are several major pitfalls for the big M to look out for, and one of them would be the lack of connectivity. Microsoft's Xbox Live is one of the biggest attractions to date, and has not seen any serious competition from either Sony or Nintendo, so that will be quite a problem unless WiMAX is rolled out extensively. Also, disc changing on the go just isn't viable, so Microsoft will have to think of a way to circumvent this. Should one be able to engage in online multiplayer, there is also the issue of lag to deal with - will there be a good enough coding like Quakeworld to compensate for latency found using 56k modems? As for the number of games available, I wonder whether Microsoft has it in them to court developers over to their side in such an unchartered territory.
Story posted on: May 08, 2008

At first glance, this doesn't even look remotely close to a motorcycle - the nUCLEUS concept takes on the "Square against Air" electric motorcycle design, hoping to make things more aerodynamic for the masses should this actually roll out of a factory somewhere. You get a thin, comfortable saddle as well as horse-like behavior that lowers itself when idle and raises when in motion. These pieces of metal are but blades from the front, and I have absolutely no idea how this will fare at high speeds, assuming it can even go that fast in the first place. Definitely not something you would want to use when picking ladies up from the club on Saturday nights.
Story posted on: May 08, 2008

The Cuusoo concept phone that you see here heralds from Japan, boasting a detachable screen portion that allows one to hold video phone calls on-the-go. I'm surprised with the technology that we have at the moment, something like this has not been realized yet. I presume that battery issues could be the main stumbling block though, since a screen does sip a significant amount of juice, even more so when it needs to transmit data wirelessly from the main handset. I like the way different attachments can be added to the concept handset, allowing one to turn it into a widescreen display or a dual screen viewer.
Story posted on: May 08, 2008

Sounds very zen, right? Apparently not. The Bright-F concept device aims to help translate colors into sound, based on visual feedback. It will be able to detect the brightness, saturation and color hue of whatever you're pointing at, organizing them into groups with similar tones. Perfect for those who have no idea on how to match their clothing whenever they go out. Folks who are blind or live with vision impairment will definitely find this to be extremely helpful in their daily living. Now if only somebody can bust this out of manufacturing lines...
Story posted on: May 08, 2008

Inventables has just rolled out its Pocket Pal MP3 player concept which features an interface on the outside, controlling your tunes which are located within your pocket without having to reach inside of it.
This is a concept for a control interface using a magnetic knob on a MP3 player. The knob can be removed and placed outside your pocket to control the volume and skip to the next song. It can be implemented using hemispherical oriented magnets and existing magnetic field sensors.
And I thought that data and magnets don't really play nice with one another...
Story posted on: May 07, 2008
The Cerva MC08 concept vehicle could potentially be the transport of the future, being oval in shape and sporting one of the most ridiculous form factors I've ever come across, bar those in other sci-fi movies and series. The Cerva MC08 is modular as it features a three wheel axle extension that can be mounted on the vehicle for use on the hard road. It is supposed to be able to ferry up to two people simultaneously, but I think the manufacturers are referring to kids and not full grown adults as I can't think of how. Chances are by the time this thing is actually released, we won't be relying on gas to power it any more.
Story posted on: May 07, 2008

While the NES was the king of home consoles back in its heydays and product redesigns were practically unheard of at that time, Javier Segovia decided to pay homage to the little home video game console that could by coming up with an industrial concept redesign - 25 years too late, I might add. Called reNESED (for obvious reasons), it certainly looks easy on the eyes, and I just love the blue glow on the console itself.
Story posted on: May 07, 2008

Eggs are one of my favorite foods - there is nothing quite like a couple soft boiled eggs to begin the day. Since they're also associated with new life, it makes perfect sense for this Egg concept device to function as a pair of satellite speakers when 'cracked' open, with its base functioning as a subwoofer. In addition, the base will also double up as a dock for a compatible MP3 player, charging your device through induction. Designed by Nathan Gabriele, I'm just curious to know why this design has not been given the green light yet to be manufactured. It'll surely sell a bunch, and best of all is there is no high cholesterol to worry about.
Story posted on: May 06, 2008
Guess the final frontier where cell phones are concerned will finally be broken with the Smellophone - this chip might be able to usher in a whole new era of phones as it aims to send scents through cell phones, with the hope of seeing the final chip hit the market two years from now. It is tipped to churn out around 100 different prefabricated scents on the chip, so hopefully no fart smells will be able to be received on the other end. There is no need for additional hardware, as all you need is a mobile scent phone and a chip which works through SMS and MMS. Good thing the user can choose to accept or reject an incoming scent message just in case the sender wants to play a practical joke with an electronic stink bomb.
Story posted on: May 05, 2008

Hopefully this design won't turn out to be some rotten egg and remain a concept forever. Designer Roman Tubl's concept handset features a soft, rounded body that is surrounded by an illuminated red strip. Features include a flexi true color display for tactile touch screen feedback, Bluetooth connectivity, USB, WiFi connectivity, a 3.2 megapixel camera and up to 4GB of internal memory. I wonder how viewing videos on its curved surface will feel like when you do so for long hours on end.
Story posted on: May 05, 2008

There's nothing quite like waking up to a cup of fresh coffee every morning, and the HeartBeans Coffee Grinder will definitely win points with the more artistic ones among us. This artsy coffee grinder operates differently from any others we have in the market currently as it works according to the user's heart beats. Features include an integrated motor that is controlled by an apparatus to measure the beating heart's pace, and you hold it pretty much like how you would cuddle a baby or musical instrument. This is but a concept at this point in time, but it definitely tickles my fancy. For those who want their coffee to come out consistently and quickly, I think you ought to give this concept a pass.
Story posted on: May 05, 2008

Perhaps Sony can take a closer look as these concept designs for future Cybershot digital cameras courtesy of Young Hwan Kim. Dubbed 'Snap', the design is inspired by a man's wallet as evidenced by its leather surface. Similar to other compact Cybershot cameras, the cover must slide open in order to activate, and pivots from a corner for an easy one-handed operation. What do you think of the design?
Story posted on: May 05, 2008

The Blu-Jacket you see here is designed by Lunar and uses flexible organic e-paper to show passers-by your current mood (that is, if they're not too hot when it comes to reading facial expressions), a choice of subway maps (as shown) or even play back advertisements. I wonder how sustainable this is - after all, it would give plenty of 'wolves' out there an excuse to stare at an ample chest, claiming that they're trying to trace their train route from home to the workplace. Anyways, this will probably be out of reach for most people as electronic fabric isn't exactly the cheapest in the whole world and chances are it will cost many thousands of dollars.
Story posted on: May 04, 2008
The Everglide Bicycle Concept is certainly an eye-opener after it picked up third place at the recently concluded International Bicycle Design Competition (IBDC). This innovative, multi-purpose design sports a bicycle with a backpack. This is made possible by folding it down to its rear carry-case, allowing it to be wheeled, backpacked or cycled, depending on the situation. This integrated solution also enables one to satisfy a variety of needs for short-distance cyclists, making it convenient to carry aboard other forms of public transport such as cabs, trains and buses. It features a shaft-drive mechanism which is light-weight and compact, providing a clean smart drive solution while allowing handheld devices such as phones and iPods to be plugged in and regeneratively charged via frictionless magnetic dynamo technology. Can't wait for the day such a design is realized.