Archive for October 2006

Switzerland and LA-based Zenum Technologies has been working with industrial designer Jaren Goh to design the most svelte PDA we’ve ever seen. The Opus Operis will be a Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC featuring GSM/GPRS phone capabilities in one gorgeous package.

GPS navigation devices for your car keep getting better, faster and cheaper, and the new Navman F20 keeps up that tradition. The new navigation device comes pre-loaded with detailed US street maps (versions available for other countries, too) and a very clean new user interface.

So called electronic paper and electronic ink technologies have been showing alot of promise lately, especially with the upcoming release of Sony’s eBook Reader coming out next month. At this week’s CEATEC show in Tokyo, Fujitsu showed off a prototype of a 7.8-inch paper-thin panel that can show 4,096 colors.

At this week’s CEATEC show in Tokyo, Sony showed off their web browser for the Playstation 3 console. The browser is navigated by moving two analog sticks (one for moving the cursor, the other for scrolling up and down the page).

Not since the old Atari classic “Kool Aid Man” has there been such an odd video game / food tie-in. The Home of the Whopper has announced an promotion for the holiday season in which they will be offering three surreal Burger King themed games for the Xbox and Xbox 360.

Every now and again, I like to mention the odd inventions that have been designed to be controlled (or powered) by your USB ports. Well this week, I bring you a new favorite: the USB hamster wheel.

This new mobile phone incorporates a complete Pocket PC and a cell phone in a single, compact form-factor. Rather than going the route of others by either offering the dumbed-down Windows “Smartphone” interface, or the large size of other Pocket PC phone combos, the izenMobile Krma phone attempts to combine the best of both worlds in a single device.

The new WACS7000 Streamium Wireless Music Center from Philips features a complete wireless music system in a sleek wall-mountable package. The system includes built-in stereo speakers, a 40-watt per channel amp, a cd player and an 80GB hard drive for local storage of up to 1500 CDs.

Epson Japan and design firm Industrial Facility have completed a collaboration to rethink the design of portable color printers and the result is quite striking. These new portable printers feature an integrated carrying handle and can run on batteries.

The folks at Playstation Magazine (PSM) received an unexpected surprise on Friday when Sony dropped by with a shiny new Playstation 3 for them to play with. Here’s what they had to say: You can even see the reflection of Motorstorm in the shiny exterior….

Back in 2001, the artists’ collective Temporary Services started a project with a prison inmate named Angelo in which they asked him to document how inmates adapt to their surroundings while confined. The project, entitled Prisoners’ Inventions, resulted in this fascinating 119-page book of detailed drawings that explain exactly how prisoners build contrivances from all sorts of found materials.