The journal is made to hold your iPhone within, like a case. The cut-outs on each page continue throughout the whole notebook, allowing users to jot down notes and consult their iPhones at the same time.

The notebook is A4-sized and has 176 pages. It kind of reminds me of a Moleskine – except for the odd-shaped hole cut in the middle of each page.

It’s an interesting idea for people who have iPhones, but still like to write with pen and paper.

[via designboom]

I think the eye-tracking control technology that a company called Tobii showed off about this time last year could have even more potential than other motion control systems, since it could be used while simply sitting at your desk, instead of having to flail your arms and legs about.

Last week, Tobii was demonstrating the latest version of its optical tracking technology at CeBIT called the IS-2 Eye Tracker module. The new module promises to be more responsive and fit a wider range of hardware including gaming machines than the technology unveiled last year could handle. The promise of this technology is the ability to control a videogame or mouse cursor using nothing but your eyes.

The technology uses a pair of infrared projectors that shine on the user’s pupils and a pair of small cameras that record the position of the pupils as the user looks around. The position of the eyes is then sent to a processor on board that turns that into the movement on the screen. The system is said to be very easy use and accurate. In addition to being much smaller, the new version is said to be significantly cheaper than the first-gen model. At this point Tobii, hasn’t announced any consumer products based on the tech, but is offering the IS-2 on an OEM basis to computer and display manufacturers.

[via ZDNet]

Now, the latest reason is that researchers are claiming that Wi-Fi radiation kills sperm. A team of scientists from Argentina found 29 guys willing to upload into a sample container for the study. Part of the sperm was placed under a notebook with Wi-Fi running and another sample portion was placed away from Wi-Fi at the same temperature.

Apparently, once the sperm was looked at under the microscope, 25% exposed to Wi-Fi signals were no longer swimming. The control group with no Wi-Fi exposure saw only 14% of the sample no longer swimming. Other scientists say that there isn’t anything to worry about yet. This is just one small sample, and an artificial setup, so it might not have any real world implications.

[via Reuters]

A company called mLogic has announced that it has a new docking station with a little something extra that users will appreciate. The docking station is called the mDock and it replicates all the ports on the side of the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro computers. You can plug monitors, speakers, printers and other items into the dock and then only need to unplug one device when you come and go.

The docking station has a USB port and a headphone port on the front for easy access. It also comes with a hard drive inside for backing up your data. The drive can be had in 1TB or 500GB flavors and both are Time Capsule compatible. The 500GB device is $219(USD) and the 1TB sells for $299, and both will be available this November.

Laptop owners know how annoying a hot laptop can be. Not only do its fans start to spin faster and louder, the built-in keyboard can get significantly warm too, making typing uncomfortable. This cooling pad not only takes care of your laptop, it also spares your hands. If you can raise the laptop so that its screen is at eye level, then you’ve saved your neck from some pain too.

You can order the USB Notebook Cooling Pad with Keyboard from Brando for $65 (USD). It has three built-in fans, fits laptops up to 16″ wide and includes a USB cable.

Designers Ma Yiwei and Tao Ying created the Anderson notebook to fit somewhere in-between the netbook and tablet form-factors, and I think they did a great job with their concept. The system would be about the size of a small tablet, but would have a cool keyboard module which could be used in either portrait or landscape modes.

An ingenious 2-way hinge mechanism would enable the keyboard to flip between a notebook mode and a laptop mode. I’m a little concerned about how sturdy that hinge would need to be, especially if it needs to carry cables inside of it, but if the keyboard used Bluetooth to connect to the system, then that would be less of an issue.

The entire system would measure in at just 6.5″ square, and about .67″ thick, even when closed. I guess that’s the other design concern I have. I’ve got big fingers, and have enough trouble typing on those netbooks with keys that are just a little smaller than normal ones. This would definitely not be a device that I’d want to write an essay on, but for quick emails and web surfing, it would probably be more than sufficient.

Like all of the concept designs featured in the Fujitsu Design Competition, this one will probably never see the light of day, but I’m hopeful that some of the ideas which these creative industrial designers have suggested might find their way into real products some day.

[via Yanko Design]

Since the police wouldn’t help Kaufman, he took to posting the photos of the thief, named Muthanna Aldebashi, on the web. After a few million hits to the site Kaufman set up, the police finally decided to do their duty and arrested the douchebag this week. Sadly, no reports of police brutality were reported.

Kaufman said that he had filed a report with the police and given the police the location of the notebook and the photos but nothing ever happened. The police had been notified two months before they finally took action. The officers involved in the investigation claim the case was “incorrectly closed” but it sounds more like someone just didn’t want to bother until it became a big deal online.

[via Gizmodo]

The sleek curves and silver aluminum casing are impressive, and it reminds me a lot of MacBooks, but the best thing would be the folding screen. The design assumes that a flexible OLED screen could be built with no seam where the top two pieces hinge. One thing that I don’t think we’ll need is the pop-out mouse. I’d rather have a Kinect-like sensor could just track your movements and translate them into actions, or just project a virtual trackpad on the side instead.

Another thing is the optical drive. I barely use mine and there will be MacBook Pro models next year which will completely remove it. I’m fine with that, but Hoof’s concept still has one. How futuristic is that?

Regardless, once we’re able to get folding screens, this design proves there could be compact laptops that end up being as useful as desktops.

[via Yanko Design]

Fujitsu has unveiled two new notebook computers that both have the option of removing the optical drive and putting a little pico projector in its place. The tiny LED projector slides out of the optical drive bay and has a resolution of 800 x 600. I think most folks will be able to live without an optical drive, especially during business presentations.

The S761 is a 13.3″ screen notebook with 1366 x 768 resolution, 1GB of RAM, 160GB of storage and it can be fitted with a Celeron B810, Core i3-2310M or a Core i5-2520M. The smaller P771 has a 12.2-inch screen, and the other features are the same. Both models will hit Japan in mid-May, unfortunately with high prices to go with. The S761 will retail for ¥219,450 (appx. $2680 USD), and the P771 will go for ¥255,150 (appx. $3100).

[via Akihabra News and PC World]

Reports have surfaced that Chrome OS notebook will be available for consumers this summer. Sources cited by Neowin claim that they will be here in late June or early July. The weird thing about this to me is that you won’t be able to just buy the notebook if you want one.

Instead, you’ll have to subscribe and and pay a monthly fee to Google to use the notebook with its cloud-based OS. The monthly fee will reportedly be about $10 to $20 for each user. The other issue is that the current OS is pretty basic by most accounts making it only appealing to basic users who need productivity and web access.

On top of letting you take notes, the app lets you draw freehand in it as well. This means that after typing something, you can go over your text with a pen to underline it, draw a picture or an additional diagram. Users report that the drawing feature isn’t as smooth as it should be, but that will no doubt be fixed in a future update.

All in all, for a free app, it’s pretty cool. The handwriting recognition could also be a bit better, but otherwise it’s a nice addition to the app family. The app is available for via iTunes now. And no, this isn’t how it works…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Moleskine]

Designed by Park Hyun Jin, the Lifebook X2 concept has a tri-fold form that allows it to fold into a tablet, UMPC, or netbook. When folded, the thin little gadget would be easy to carry. In netbook mode, it has a QWERTY keyboard and a trackpad. If the bezels of the screen could be made as small as the renderings show, the gap would barely be noticeable.

The concept carries the Fujitsu brand, but I doubt it is an official Fujitsu design. I wish they would give this thing a try though, it has all sorts of cool possibilities to be a device that can be any form factor you want.

The main downside to the thin design is that the performance and battery life would probably be limited.

[via Yanko Design]

The notebook has many options that the user can choose from. Blu-ray is optional and the CPU can go up to a Core i7-2620M. The machine can be fitted with a 256GB SSD or up to 750GB of HDD storage and up to 8GB of RAM. Graphics options include a Radeon HD 6630M 1GB hybrid graphics card.

The machine has Bluetooth, WiFi, and a backlit keyboard as well. It can be purchased in black or white colors. Battery life is quite good too. The standard battery is good for up to 7.5 hours of use per charge and with the optional sheet battery that connects to the bottom of the notebook the machine can run for up to 15 hours. The notebook starts at $969.99 (USD) and the sheet battery is a $150 option.

Over at caseable, you can opt for the rectangular looking classic style or the more purse-like sport slim style. Each one is lined with soft material to offer some protection in addition to style. The cases can be fully customized by you with your choice of a number of colors for the body, zippers, handles, and other sections of the bag.

You can also choose the graphics for the bag and even upload your own pics to adorn the laptop bag if you don’t care for the stock designs available up on caseable. They’re available in a variety of sizes to suit most laptops and netbooks, and each of the cases will run you about $70 (USD).

In the 5 minute-long clip, Google Chrome UX designer Glen Murphy puts his Chrome notebook through some basic paces – creating documents, editing images and whatnot. All the while, his computer keeps getting snatched and sent off to meet its maker. Seconds later, his notebook is replaced with a fresh one, and everything Glen was working on is restored, instantly.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

While I’m sure that you won’t have a spare computer lying around if this were to happen to you, it does prove a good point. Cloud-based computing could definitely be a god-send for corporate IT teams. Imagine never having to re-image or restore a machine from backups, since everything you do is centrally stored. And if your home PC were to fall into a vat of liquid nitrogen or be grilled alive, you could get back to work as soon as you bought a new machine.

And if you’re still not convinced, and want to stick with your old-school laptop, that’s cool. You can still enjoy the video for the wanton destruction.

The thing is called the Desktop PC notebook bag and it’s not actually a bag to put a desktop computer in. It’s a small black brief case designed to hold your notebook. The bag actually turns into a desk with metal legs so you can work comfortably using your laptop.

It’s cool when set up, even if it looks like a bar stool with a bag for a seat.  and it even has an integrated cooling fan for hot notebooks. Other features include a mouse in the front pocket and more. It sells for ¥5,980 (appx. $74 USD) here (JP).

The coating originated in the military and was used to protect the leading edges of helicopter rotors to make them last longer. Zagg has announced that the scratch prevention film is now available pre-cut specifically to fit the new MacBook Air notebook computers.

The film is easy to install and is available to fit the 11-inch and 13-inch models. The full body coverage for the 11-inch notebook is $54.99 (USD) and you can order a set of the films right now.

The notebook has a 15.6-inch screen with HD resolution and has lots of options when it comes to the processor. The user can opt for Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 CPUs. The notebook can have up to 8GB of RAM at 1333MHz. Graphics for the machine are via Intel HD series and an optional ATI Radeon HD 5650 mobile GPU with 1GB of RAM is available. Screen resolution is 1366 x 768.

The machine comes standard with a DVD burner and can be optioned with a Blu-ray drive that can read Blu-ray discs and burn to CD and DVDs. Power is from a standard 6-cell battery and an optional 9-cell is available.

There’s no word on pricing or a release date for the Inspiron 15R Alloy Edition yet, but you can find more information about the notebook over at Dell.

Kensington has unveiled a new notebook lock called the ClickSafe Keyed Laptop Lock. The new lock has a metal prong that is separate from the lock itself that inserts into the notebook. The lock portion is attached to a steel cable and simply clicks onto the locking nub placed onto the notebook.

The lock is pick proof and the cable can’t be cut easily. The idea is that the new easy to connect locking mechanism will make people more likely to use the lock to prevent theft. The ClickSafe doesn’t need a key to be installed, but does need a key to be removed. The ClickSafe lock sells for $49.99 (USD).

Logitech has unveiled the new Logitech Speaker Lapdesk N550. The thing is designed to support smaller notebooks and netbooks (up to 14″) in the lap of the user to keep your privates from overheating. The lapdesk has 4-layer construction to keep heat away from the user and uses air-mesh fabric to allow body heat to escape as well. It’s also padded to keep your lap nice and comfy.

The N550 also has a pair of speakers on each corner that connect to your notebook with a single USB cable for power and connectivity. Those speakers will improve the sound quality of your notebook while the lapdesk raises it to a more comfortable viewing angle. This thing may be perfect for watching movies on the couch or listening to music. You can pick one up this month for $59.99 (USD).