Here’s an interesting concept from designer Andy Kurovets, called the Bend mobile. The idea is that it is compact, with a second screen and a camera popping out from inside. The idea is not without precedence. All kinds of cameras used to fold out and become larger, accordion style.

Basically, it grows to nearly double it’s original size, which should appeal to those who feel their current cameras are inadequate. Treating the device like a swiss army knife is a great way to pack lots of features into a mobile device and it should probably be taken seriously by manufacturers. The whole thing is also curved, for easy sliding in and out of your pants pocket.

The idea behind the Motorola Sparrow is to provide retail stores with a mobile point of sale device that solves increased service demands from consumers and decentralizes the check out point, so you can get out as quick as you can.

It’s got a scanner, point of sale system, RFID, communication and credit card reading capabilities all in one mobile device. The front and back of the Sparrow are touch-sensitive for ease of use and navigation. This is a huge improvement of an old idea. It would be great to see in the retail world. It looks kinda sexy even.

The Touch Sight concept is a camera for the visually impaired. It records sounds by transferring images with 3D embossing technology so that people who can’t see can have a recording of the sounds of the event. Those who can see use their eyes to view a photo, the blind will use their sense of touch to actually “see” the image.

It’s an innovative idea and so naturally it was one of the winning designs for the 2008 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), which honors stand-out designs in products, ecodesign, packaging, research and concepts like this one. It’s absolutely brilliant.

My guess is that the Maple Phone is made out of maple. It was designed by Hyun Jin Yoon and Eun Hak Lee and their goal with the phone was to make a phone that’s cheaper to mass produce, no matter how many trees scream over the high pitched wail of chainsaws. The screen is behind a slider and it uses a touch sensitive keypad with a backlight that shows through the wood. I’m thinking this is the perfect phone for the Amish. Or maybe for a Hobbit.

Consider this a concept that that might have been and may still be, should Steve Jobs get a bit too enamored with The Matrix. It could be the next hot Apple item, leaving the iPod and iPhone in the dust. Designer Paul Micarelli came up with it.

The Symbiosis™ Neural Interface:Direct brain-computer link means your mind and computer are one. It sports Intel Fusion™, Quantum Processing that uses the power of the atom to instantly compute at the speed of thought., Holographic Data Storage thanks to the iThink’s tiny internal holochip with an amazing individual capacity of over 666 Yottabytes for seemingly infinite augmented memory, Intra-neural Communication lets you mentally allow or block any kind of signal you want. With the iThink, it wont be long until you are docking yourself like some Borg in the hive collective, rather then docking your iPod.

The iPhone may have some competition if this dual screen display concept is ever realized. It’s called the Plica phone and it’s like the Nintendo DS of phones. One of the screens is a touch screen keyboard, the other functions as a touch monitor. You can also view an entire web page on a single display or have them spread out across both.

Designer James Piatt’s idea was no doubt inspired by the DS Lite and has a ton of potential. It’s one concept that has a decent chance of seeing the light of day. I’d say that if Nintendo were going to build a phone, it would be something very similar to this rather then a Wii phone.

Here’s a new wireless Philips concept by Flynn Product Design that offers something drastically different and ultra-awesome in a Sci-Fi kind of way. So awesome in fact that you’ll be watching it from the corner of your eye, waiting for it to ponce and suck out your insides.

If spiderwebs suddenly appear near this thing, get rid of it immediately because: A. It’s alive. Or B: It’s attracting little baby spiders that think it’s their mama, who will grow into big spiders. Creepiness aside, this might be the best webcam design yet. Soon spider cams will be no doubt be following us everywhere. I’d like to extend a warm welcome to our new overlords and I’m looking forward to working with you in return for my life.

Samuel Lau took both devices, put on some Barry White, uncorked the champagne, then tucked them in bed together and closed the door. The result is a somewhat sexy sliding screen incarnation with a QWERTY keyboard underneath.

Unfortunately this baby is just a concept. Still pretty sweet. It’s a concept that comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera in back, a webcam in front, motion sensors, touch screen display, even geo-tracking so you can stalk other PSP owners. I wish this existed.

The Magic Tricycle is aptly named because it’s capable of switching from three wheels to just two, becoming a motorbike for those tight spaces. On the highway it uses all three wheels, but when you have need just well, transform. I thought the Proxima concept car was cool until I saw this beauty.

The entire passenger cabin rotates as the third wheel is lifted into the air, which sprouts some kind of foil that keeps the chassis stable.Yes, it looks like a Transformer from the upcoming sequel and we’d all love to see it do battle. Alas, it’s a design concept by student Seyyed Javad Ghaffarian, created for Car Design News’ 2008 design contest. I think Michael Bay should give this guy a call don’t you?

Almost anything drinkable is or has been available in can form. Wine may be next thanks to Swedish designers Jens Andersson and Jonas Forsman who have made their recyclable wine cans slightly resemble a wine bottle.

The prototypes are available for any wine companies that want to take the plunge and enter a bold new mode of distribution. They haven’t had any luck so far. Probably because the elite don’t want others to think that they are drinking some low-class carbonated beverage. How appalling.

Timex recently teamed up with Core77 and held a design competition called 2154: the future of time design. It was Timex’s way of celebrating 150 years of making watches. The runner up is a fascinating concept that’s not for nail biters.

Like nails on a…clock board…The TX54 would be worn on your thumbnail, and would remain clear except when you activate it. Then all you do is what you do now. Glance at the time. One thing though. Even those with large hands might find it difficult to read the time on their fingernail from say, half an arm’s length away. Pretty nifty though.

Here’s a merry-go-round with pods on the bottom for coma patients. The idea is that you spin them around real fast and hopefully they wake up. No…I kid. The idea here is that we can recover lost smells that no longer exist due to our changing environment.

In that sense, it’s probably the closest we are likely to come to a real time machine. At least until Doctor Who shows up. You would experience a kind of community based immersion in the capsule, and as we all know smells are linked very heavily with memory. So just like that you’re time travelling. Hopefully not to a point in history that smells really foul. It’s a concept for now so, smell ya later.

It’s not easy to do other things while trying to hold onto your umbrella. And what if you don’t have this one handy. Mikhail Stawsky’s Bluetooth Umbrella concept wants to help in that department. Sure it keeps you dry, but this one also sports Bluetooth.

It will let you answer a call and talk into the handle. I’m hoping you won’t have to have it against your ear. A touchscreen display will give you the usual options like answer/divert and volume. It’s also a radio so if you’d like to re-enact Singing In The Rain or some other wetness themed song, go for it as onlookers stop and gape.

Whether you just like to bike everywhere or you’re the 40 year old virgin, this concept sure would come in handy and you might even earn some respect for having a cool gadget type bike. The bike weighs just 5.5 KG and is 60cm in length and is stored easily in your back pack. As a bonus it even doubles as a hand cart.

Some of the bike features include a headlight, back light and turn signals. The whole thing looks pretty unsafe if you ask me. You’re not going survive any kind of impact. In fact, you’ll probably get severely hurt hitting a pot-hole. It’s just a concept for the moment.

Forget the fact that this thing looks like it’s designed to comfortably seat your helpless child and then snap it’s jaws shut while it digests your little tot, it’s actually designed with the safety of your child in mind. Designer, Aldo Barreto, a student from Ontario Canada, designed this modern baby car seat for a competition held by Samsonite.

He wanted to design a child transportation vessel that is more convenient. The ‘Tot Pod’ has a built-in child restraint system, carrying handle and even a storage compartment in the back, and drop down wheels to convert it from a car seat to a stroller. When not in use, it’s just an ominous looking clam shell.