The latest conceptual Sony MP3 player by Damien Crossan looks like a warped Wii nunchuk. It features a simplified interface with keys that are clearly laid out and raised. The high contrast screen features light text on a dark background, making it easy to read. Available in 4GB to 8 GB of storage space, the gadget also features FM radio.

This Sony MP3 concept would target the older generation who enjoy portable music but have a hard time with new devices due to stiff fingers, poor vision and complicated interfaces. If this one ever sees the light of day, retirement homes will never be the same.

Designer Ji-Hyung Jung is pretty clever as illustrated by this interesting mobile speaker set design. The idea is that you have a cube held together by magnets, that is actually 5 speakers and a sub-woofer.

The whole deal looks pretty sweet once the pieces are out and displayed. And if you want to take them with you, they take up much less room than typical speakers. The volume control is on the top of the sub-woofer. It’s just a concept for the moment, but it’s a great one.

I have seen the future of skates and its name is Mercury. It’s finally skating weather for those of you who enjoy it, but all that vibration due to crappy roads and sidewalks takes away from the experience, doesn’t it?

Maybe designer Pouyan Mokhtarani will make it a more pleasant experience with these skates that look like they are still scorching hot due to arriving from the future. Springs and airbags in the shoes could make skating feel as smooth as ice skating. Judging by the looks of these skates, skating may even be like flying.

The latest conceptual iPod dock is called the E-Pod Dock and has a lot of functionality. It’s compatible with your iPhone, iPod touch and iPod classic and functions as a speaker, movie projector and an alarm clock.

Forget its compact size, it will offer you quality hi-fidelity audio. Quite a device. As long as we’re dreaming, how about if it tweets everything you are watching and listening to. One thing is for sure, it would look good on any late night talk show host’s desk.

The Postal service better step up their game with gadget concepts like this one on the loose. The Stopper Postcard measures how long it takes that postcard to get from point A to point B. So, now postal workers have something else to stress out about. It’s a constant reminder of how far behind they are on any given day. Let’s hope it doesn’t push some of them over the edge.

My one question is this: How long does it count? I, like many of you have mailed things and have waited for things that have apparently been swallowed by a black hole. So, if you never receive a package, is it still counting the days up to infinity?

Alarm clocks are noisy because noise is the one thing you can’t stand in the morning. It works so good that the alarm has remained basically the same for years. What else could possibly entice you to get up and face your day? Maybe you’d be more apt to wake up for a well rounded breakfast.

That’s the thinking behind this French designed alarm clock. Instead of waking aggravated and hitting the snooze button, you’ll wake up to a glass of OJ. Just set the alarm, choose your breakfast and go to sleep. When you wake up, you’ll have a breakfast all ready for you.

As geeks, we have a certain fascination with power strips. Probably because we never have enough outlets. This particular power strip could double as a geek puzzle game. It’s called Movable Power and it allows you to adjust the entire strip according to your needs at any given time.

With this concept power strip, you won’t need to adjust your space just to accommodate a bulky strip. And as a bonus, you have a cool game to play with when you get bored. Until you electrocute yourself anyway.

This is bound to be the preferred mouse of housewives and maids everywhere. Shunning conventional computer mouse design, Oliver Rosito’s Zero Mouse concept “combines state of the art design with lightweight materials.”

We’re just a little concerned that the lack of side grips may have your grandmother holding it like an iron and accidentally fake-ironing your shirt, which has now become a mousepad, while chatting on the Martha Stewart forums and playing online bingo.

Okay, so you’ve been walking around all day and your feet are killing you. There must be some faster way of getting around without having to steal some dudes bike. What to do. If only you had a scooter kiosk at your disposal. You may be in luck if this idea catches on. It’s Anton Grimes’ entry into the Australian Design Awards competition and it would make life easier for those on foot.

The Link scooter system attaches to lampposts that are already there and it holds a lightweight electric scooter. It also charges it. The idea is that you encounter the lamppost, take a scooter and when you’re done, put it back at another station.

Things might have turned out a little differently had the iPhone been released back in the 1980s. What you’re looking at is dubbed the Touch Screen Rotary. A home phone that looks like it comes from a parallel universe, combining old school with some modern functionality.

The rotary dial has been replaced with touch controls next to a backlit display that shows you who’s calling thanks to built-in caller ID. For the outside, designer Mark Miller decided on a highly polished ABS lined with a frosted polycarbonate base which will provide a soft glow each time you get a call.

This may come as shock to you, but you are wasting energy. Everyday. How about giving back, simply by plugging into your wall? It may come sooner than you think. Nearly every room in our home has an electrical outlet. What if each one had a matching electrical “inlet” so you could give some back?

The idea is that adapter kits would be made available to convert common household products into energy-generating devices. Things like exercise equipment, for instance. Maybe even the wheel in your hamster’s cage.

A small dishwasher like this makes no sense. The Gota was specially designed for families who have no children or singles who live alone, but if you have that few dishes to wash, why not save your counter space and do it by hand?

I personally don’t get it. The pre-wash cycle fills the dishwasher with steam, while recycling the cooled down residual water for future cycles. That part at least is good for water conservation. The body is made from ABS polycarbonate which can store enough water for one round of cleaning.

Always losing your flash drives? Like body modifications a little too much? It’s all a question of how important your data is. Forget what you saw in the Star Wars prequels. This is how Anakin started to go bad.

It starts with a simple USB finger and before you know it your entire hand is a mass of ports, some inputs, some outputs. Then the standard changes and you have to sacrifice the other hand. Where does it end? Probably with a scrollwheel on your nads. This is purely a “visualization” project, but you know it will happen.

This device is called the On Time Headset System, though it’s actually a bracelet that tells the time and handles all your incoming and outgoing phone calls. It will alert you to phone calls with rings and/or vibration. Vibration is good for quiet environments like the library.

The entire face of the On Time Headset System pops out as a wireless headset and when you use it as such, you still have a display since there is a secondary LCD display built-in. Both LCD displays would be touch enabled for ease-of-use. It’s a concept at the moment, but you can easily the benefits of wearing rather then carrying your phone.

This DAB Digital Radio design looks like a pair of fancy salt and pepper shakers. That’s because they are meant to fit into your kitchen environment. Designer Anton Webb goes for a minimalist approach.

They are rubberized, splash-resistant, and feature enclosed speakers and battery operation for a more hardy form factor in their environment. The large buttons are touch sensitive, allowing to to use your elbows if your fingers are currently too busy or too greasy to be used. Also features a black LCD display with vertical scrolling text.