Turn your blinds into an air conditioner

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on November 5th, 2009

Turn your blinds into an air conditionerThe Briz is a concept air conditioner that dreams big while keeping the form factor small. Small as in the size of blinds. Blinds usually just block out the sun, but when these blinds are open they keep the air inside cool. Neat idea.

It uses water-filled tubes that run beneath the bottom part of the blinds to emit a dry mist into the airflow. As the water evaporates, it absorbs heat and cools down the surrounding area. Your blinds can’t do that. Your Google blinds can’t even do that.

Recyclable Paper Laptop

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on November 3rd, 2009

Recyclable Paper LaptopMost of us buy a new computer every couple of years. For such a complex product, we go through them very quickly, and you can imagine what that must add up to in e-waste.

Computer companies are already looking to make their products more recyclable, but designer Je Sung Park is taking the idea of a recyclable computer about as far as it can go. His Recyclable Paper Laptop is made from pulp and reprocessed materials, and when you are done with it, it would be broken down into the same.

Toyota’s Gullwing Door XBOX Halo Warthog Concept

Posted in Automotive by Conner Flynn on November 3rd, 2009

Toyota's Gullwing Door XBOX Halo Warthog ConceptToyota is clearly out to capture the hearts of gamers with the Tacoma All-Terrain Gamer (ATG) concept. It’s a Toyota pickup with four, yes four Xbox consoles inside, a Warthog from Halo and a Monster energy drink dispenser to keep you going during your intense gaming marathons.

In the center cabin there are four 24″ LCD monitors from Samsung, which swing out to give each gamer their own display. Oh yeah and the outside is also cool to look at, despite all the action going on within.

Ericsson Spider PC concept

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 29th, 2009

Ericsson Spider PC conceptAt the Taiwan Broadband show Ericsson showed off it’s take on a portable computer of the future. It uses a pico-projected screen and laser-projected keyboard. At least you won’t make any noise while typing. Pictured above is just the prototype.

Ultimately they would like to house it in a spider-leg tripod design. It would have wireless broadband connectivity and of course a battery. Laser projected keyboards by 2020? We can do better than that by 2020 can’t we? I think so.

DOoP Multi Sensory Alarm knows how long you have slept

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 11th, 2009

DOoP Multi Sensory Alarm knows how long you have sleptWe are so busy and so sleep deprived these days. That’s why everyone is trying to invent the perfect alarm clock. Designer Tan Weihao Rios has one that he would like to share. The DOoP Multi Sensory Alarm. Creepy no?

This alarm clock will tell you how many hours you have been sleeping and how much you actually need. That’s important info that most of us are oblivious to. It features red and green dials on the face and will tell you where you are and how much sleep you need.

Kohjinsha Netbook concept with dual 10.1-inch screens

Posted in Netbook by Conner Flynn on October 6th, 2009

Kohjinsha Netbook concept with dual 10.1-inch screensDual-screen notebooks are still popping up and the latest is Kohjinsha’s dual 10.1-inch screen netbook prototype, which was spotted at the CEATEC show in Japan. Just like the Lenovo W700, which started it all, one screen slides behind the other so you can use one or both.

Of course this makes it just a bit thicker than your average netbook. Under the hood you’ll find Windows 7, a 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor, maximum 4GB RAM, and a 160GB hard disk.

Foodle is a fork, knife and spoon that lets you doodle

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 5th, 2009

Foodle is a fork, knife and spoon that lets you doodleKids love to doodle. And they love to do all kinds of things at the table rather than eating the meal in front of them. Well, the Foodle should have them covered at the dinner table. It’s a fork spoon and knife that they can eat with using one end and a colored pencil on the other.

It lets kids eat and doodle on placemats simultaneously. How much do you want to bet that kids confuse which end is which and continually stab themselves? Foodle is just a concept for now, thank god. Otherwise there would be a lot of kids with eye patches.

Alessi Laser Shot watch

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 3rd, 2009

Alessi Laser Shot watchWho needs old fashioned hands that go around a dial, when you can have lasers? That’s the thinking behind the latest concept watch from Alessi. Supposedly, the Laser Shot watch won’t burn your hand as it pew pew pews the time on your wrist using a laser beam.

So it’s totally safe. Unless you wake up one day to find the time permanently tattooed on your skin and glowing. In which case, it’s time to get a new watch. But hey, that’s the price you pay for having cool things.

Work out some aggression with the Punch Camera

Posted in Cameras by Conner Flynn on October 1st, 2009

Work out some aggression with the Punch CameraLike to take pictures? Like to punch things? Then this is the camera for you. This camera will make you like Mr T, meaning that when you punch things, you get results. Sucka. The Punch camera takes regular digital images, but allows its users to punch a rasterized image of their photo.

The punched image also has information which can connect its users to the digital gallery. According to the creator, “This is a camera which was inspired by the loss of tangible memories. It is meant to connect both physical and digital while minimizing excess materials and the hardships in sharing images.”

iRock iPod Air Guitar concept

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on September 29th, 2009

iRock iPod Air Guitar conceptThis air guitar defies convention by not being made of air at all, but it’s still an awesome idea. It was designed by Julien Duquesnoy. The iRock is basically a guitar frame with a spot in the center for your iPod. See where this is going?

The neck of the guitar is a speaker, so what you have is a complete self-contained instrument of rock. The iRock is constructed of lightweight aluminum and would fit the iPod Classic and iPod Touch. It’s just a concept right now, but we can see this thing being produced and selling well.

Ora Watch measures hours in inches

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on September 29th, 2009

Ora Watch measures hours in InchesThis measuring tape watch called the Ora watch is sadly just a concept and not real. It uses a measuring tape to display the time. The creator says that “It focuses on the display of time via an unconventional mode, by replacing the expected dial arrangement found in the vast majority of the mechanical watches with a set of three interwoven tapes—one to indicate the hour(s), one to indicate the minute(s), and one to indicate the day.”

We’re just saddened that we can’t actually buy the thing. But maybe some DIYer out there can make a version and offer it up for tons of money.

StressWatch will calm you with colors

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on September 27th, 2009

StressWatch will calm you with colorsWe live in stressful times. Traffic is stressful, so are long lines at the grocery store. So is your job, since your boss is always on your case. Oh and all of those bills. It’s enough to make you scream. Serenity now! The StressWatch can help. Maybe.

It’s a design concept that reads heart rate and body temperature data and then interprets them as levels of stress on the trippy screen. The black bar at the bottom is the stress line. And if the cool colors on the watch turn into hot pink, red or orange, man you are stressed. The idea is that it will help you know when you need to calm down.

Intel debuts concept notebook with four displays

Posted in Notebooks by Conner Flynn on September 22nd, 2009

Intel debuts concept notebook with four displaysHere’s a notebook for some extreme multi-tasking. Intel’s latest laptop outdoes them all with a large primary display, along with three sub-displays above the keyboard. These little OLED touchscreens will be able to display video, music playlists, whatever your wandering attention span desires.

They can work as a single screen or as one continuous surface (the “albums” in the video spill across multiple screens). It’s mainly a proof of concept intended to show that they’re working on these kinds of displays for their laptops.

Pet Care Robot

Posted in Robots by Conner Flynn on September 14th, 2009

Pet Care RobotGoing out of town and leaving Fido behind? Why not leave the Pet Care Robot behind so that your pet can live in terror the entire time? The Pet Care Robot is a concept thank god. It’s a Wi-Fi controlled robot that can let you peek in on your pet and make sure everything is fine, using a web interface.

The interesting part is that this robot allows you to play fetch long distance, using a remote controlled ball that you can steer around the house, even while talking to your pet through a built-in speaker.

Lexus LF-Ch concept sports headrest-mounted iPhone docks

Posted in Automotive by Conner Flynn on September 14th, 2009

Lexus LF-Ch concept sports headrest-mounted iPhone docksThe Lexus name is all about luxury, so why not incorporate some iphone docks? That’s just what they’ve done with the hybrid Lexus LF-Ch Concept. They’ve added rear seat headrest-mounted iPhone docks. That should help keep your little hellions quiet on your next roadtrip.

Assuming you or your kids own an iPhone of course. But hey if you are driving a Lexus, I’m sure you can afford one or two iPhones. The LF-Ch also has storage in the rear seat armrests for small items like iPods, PDAs and cell phones.





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