Scosche says that when the dongle senses the car moving it will block all sorts of things on the phone including texting, email, voice calls, the camera, and more. It’s also supposed to still allow voice calls if it detects a handsfree headset. The idea is that it will prevent the driver from using the phone and being a hazard or just pissing the rest of us off. Too bad it can’t block idiots that read or put on makeup while driving too.

I see a couple issues with the $129.95 gadget though. The first thing is if you happen to roll your car and the wheels keep spinning how would you call for help? The second is that you have to be running an app on the mobile for the device to work, and the third thing is that all the driver has to do is unplug the OBD-II dongle to foil the system (though it will notify you via email if it’s removed or deactivated.) The system also doesn’t list iPhone compatibility, though it works with Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and others.

There is also a touch-sensitive input pad to allow users to interact with the display. It’s pretty cool, but after I checked out how expensive some of these portable braille boards were, putting this together might cost a pretty penny.

Still, it could allow blind users to access their phones without having to use their voice functions, so it would be interesting to see this made.

[YouKu via core77]

Like some of the more recent Tokyoflash designs, this watch uses an LCD so that the display is always on, instead of fading from view and necessitating the push of a button.

The display looks cool, but I would have preferred for only the words to be shown and the other become dark instead of the current time blinking and all of the other words continuing to display.

It’s available in a few different color combinations, from black with blue LCD to purple or green LCD with a white strap. You can buy it for an introductory price of $119 (USD) over at Tokyoflash. The price goes up by $20 in 2 days.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Tokyoflash]

However, ABI wraps more than just text messaging into their estimate, with the number including SMS, MMS, mobile email, and IM. Part of the reason the number is so large, according to ABI, is that many people in developing nations use a mobile device for emails and messaging rather than a computer.

Despite the huge number of SMS messages expected to be sent, ABI reckons that revenue will decline thanks to commoditization. The rate of adoption for SMS use is also expected to decline with the mobile market becoming saturated.

Watch the magic unfold:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The app can also spell words in reverse or even erase words from a picture. As you can see, the translation isn’t perfect, but it’s way better than nothing. This single app justifies the existence of a smartphone with a camera. And it is available right this instant – you can grab Word Lens at the iTunes App Store now. The app itself is free, but the language packs cost $5 (USD) each and are in-app purchases. Currently only two language packs exist, Spanish to English and English to Spanish, but you can bet that Good and DeWeese will add more. Star Trek fans will no doubt wait for the Klingon pack.

[via TechCrunch]

Assuming the watch ever gets made, the Instant Trend would receive instant Twitter and Facebook notifications when paired with your smartphone via Bluetooth.

Messages and time would be displayed on a bright (presumably OLED) blue-on-black dot-matrix display, set into a modern black stainless steel body.

Reading time on the Instant Trend doesn’t have to be as challenging as most Tokyoflash watch displays either. Sure, you can use one mode which tells time using blocks which represent hours, 10 minute intervals, and single minutes. Alternatively, you can view the time with numbers, on a clever multiple time zone display.

As is the case with all of the watches up at the Tokyoflash product design studio, you’ve got to go and cast your vote if you want to see this watch produced. I definitely think this one deserves your support.

[via The Awesomer]

Watch and be amazed. Freakin’ magic:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I really hope this technology gets refined and popularized. The benefits that the human race would gain from a digital, searchable database of all the world’s books and other written text is immeasurable. As amazing as that sounds, that may just be a part of Ishikawa’s awesome gifts to the world: at the heart of the scanner is what he calls the Super Vision Chip, and he and his team are looking at other applications for it, such as tracking individual bacteria and building a motion-capture system for video games.

[via Wired and IEEE Spectrum]

In Awakener, players step into the sandals (wait, is he barefoot?) of Fadi, a young boy off to visit his tavern-owning aunt. The only problem is that some guy is snoozing out front, and you’re gonna need to help wake him up. It sounds a little silly, but Awakener is also a look at the way children (and some of us adults) love to dramatize and inflate even the most mundane situations. And then actual interesting stuff happens, too, so it turns out Fadi’s attitude was spot on.

All of Awakener can be completed in moments–fifteen minutes, or maybe longer if you get distracted. It’s beautiful, funny, and best of all, free–and, Mac owners? Runs like butter in Crossover, so you are not denied this short experience.

[via IndieGames]

Created by AssistiveWare, Proloquo2Go provides users who have difficulties speaking with a mobile text-to-speech system (known as an augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC solution) which allows individuals to quickly verbalize thoughts by pressing on icons on the iPhone’s touchscreen. The system is loaded with a vocabulary of over 7000 words and phrases, and provides an easy-to-use visual interface for finding words.

Proloquo2go features a human-sounding text-to-speech (TTS) engine which provides North American male, female, boy and girl voices. You can also download an update which allows these voices to be swapped out for British ones. There’s also a simple TTS typing interface if you want (and are able) to type words. You can even retrieve recently used phrases at any time and play them back without having to recreate them over and over again. This is a really thoughtful touch.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

While many of you might think $189.99 (USD) is a lot to pay for an app, I can only imagine what a bargain that might seem like if I had difficulty speaking. Especially knowing that traditional AAC devices cost thousands of dollars and are a huge pain to lug around. It’s nice to know that our fun and disposable gadgets can occasionally serve a meaningful purpose. Kudos to AssistiveWare for making a difference.

You can find Proloquo2Go on the iTunes App Store.

Designed by Biegert & Funk, the QLOCKTWO displays text that describes the current time using statements like “IT IS NINE O’CLOCK” or “IT IS FIVE PAST TWO”. Individual minutes are conveyed through the tiny white dots in the corners of the clock. A flip of the switch, and the seconds appear as a giant dot-matrix display behind the letters. And if you’d prefer your time in a language other than English, you’ve got a choice of German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, or French versions too.

The handmade German clock features a painted acrylic or stainless steel face, which tops a sturdy wood box that houses an array of LED backlighting and circuitry required to tell the time. This sophisticated timepiece uses an atomic-synchronized time-signal reciever and automatically adjusts its brightness based on the ambient light around it.

Here’s a demo of the QLOCKTWO in action (in German):

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As much as I love the design, the QLOCKTWO isn’t cheap. It retails for €1099.99 (appx. $1565 USD), and interchangeable color faceplates are available starting at €95 (appx. $136 USD) each over at the Biegert & Funk store.

Now for the good news. If you happen to own an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can now grab a nifty little program over on the App Store that simulates the QCLOCKTWO’s functionality on your wonderdevice for just 99 cents. That’s definitely within my budget.

[QLOCKTWO via Design Milk]

At $49.99, the add-on may seem a little expensive, particularly when most gamers gravitate toward voice-communication in online gaming, but sometimes a little typing is necessary. The keypad can also be used with the PS3′s web browser, which is where it’s likely to be most helpful. Unlike the Xbox 360′s Chatpad, which fits into the bottom of the controller, Sony’s keypad nestles into the top.

Sony’s wireless keypad is set for release December 15 and can be pre-ordered at Amazon. If you simply can’t wait, you can get one at Play-Asia right now for $49.90. If you could afford a PS3, you might just have the cash to burn.

Here’s how it works: “In this interactive sculpture, thousands of recycled keyboard keys are embedded into a continuous textile. The keys spell out a line-by-line transcript of the email correspondence between the artist and fabricators regarding the creation of the artwork. As a result, the sculpture documents its own making. Viewers can also type their own messages on the active keys amid the first three rows of emails. These new messages are then projected onto the opposite end of the fabric, thereby continuing the virtual dialogue.”

TEXTile was made by Jean Shin, and can be found at the Permanent Collection of Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia. You can see more pictures at Jean Shin’s website.

I’m feeling pretty bummed right now because I was just on the East Coast and I didn’t yet know about this. It looks like it would be insanely fun to see, touch, and play around with!

[via Notcot]

Singapore designer Hans Tan created the Idea of a Clock II using a green LED bulletin board to display the current time using a lengthy textual description. For instance, at 12:29, the clock reads “This is the idea of a clock that tells you the time using words at exactly twenty-nine minutes past twelve”.

Now that’s just a bit too wordy to offer at-a-glance time checking, isn’t it? By the time you’re done reading the entire message, the time probably will have changed.

Idea of a Clock II is a limited edition timepiece, with pricing available upon request of the artist.

[via Dustbowl]

Conceived by Dutch industrial designer Christiaan Postma, the clock goes beyond the simple dial and number paradigms we’re all used to seeing, and really thinks outside of the box. Postma used over 150 individual clock mechanisms to power the 55-inch square timepiece.

For those of you with Flash installed (who doesn’t these days?), check out the animation below to see how it really works.

At this point, it’s not clear if Postma plans to produce the word clock, or if it’s simply a design prototype. Regardless, it’s a really unique idea, and I’d be thrilled to hang one on my wall if he ever does bring these to market.

[via Pan-Dan]

Web programmer Richard Moore coded up this great text-only version of Namco’s arcade classic. Who needs fancy 8-bit pixel graphics and a joystick, when you can let your QWERTY keys direct Pac-Man down corridors and chew through his power pills?

I was never able to stumble my way to any blue ghosts, but I did manage to bump into a couple of walls. Wokka-Wokka-Wokka.

[via Digg via Kotaku]

Warren Harding (Linux geek, not the 29th President) put together a script which uses the text-based Lynx web browser along with Mplayer to to render the video.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Unless you’re a real Linux geek, you’ll need to jump to about 4 minutes into the video clip to get to the good stuff.

[via Hacked Gadgets via TechEBlog]

The pocket-sized device costs £14.99 ($30 USD) and can store up to four messages at 30 characters each in its internal memory.

The Spacewriter comes with English and European character sets, as well as some funky special characters. It’ll also generate some pretty cool special effects if you choose not to move it in a straight line.