Kitchen Client concept
June 6, 2007 by girlrobot
Filed under House Gear
Is Microsoft on a quest to take over the homes of every single person, starting with America first and the world next? That would seem to be quite the case from their humble beginnings with MS-DOS, slowly proliferating to the endless versions of Windows operating systems, the Xbox and its successor the Xbox 360 in the living room, and now - a Kitchen Client concept that boast some level of awareness and interactivity with Windows Live. What you get includes a terminal complete with recipes, calendars, and the all important family bulletin to help mom keep track of everybody’s schedule.
No idea on whether this will be grease resistant or not, but it sure as heck will turn the everyday cooking experience into something interesting. Surely the specifications for a Kitchen Concept computer won’t be too high end, unless you want to see your recipes streamed in High Definition. Do you think this concept will take off, or will it remain a pipe dream for some years to come?
Source: Crunchgear
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Pikachu Yellow Pokémon headed our way
Looks like the Pokémon fever has yet to die down after more than a decade in existence. In fact, one can safely say that Pikachu alone has won over millions of fans with its cute disposition packaged into a small and yellow electrifying package. In honor of the July 20th opening of the latest Pokémon Center store in Tokyo, Nintendo will be unveiling a new Pikachu-branded yellow DS Lite to gamers and collectors alike. While that is good news, one must realize that not anyone can just pick up these highly desirable DS Lites with almighty cash. You will still need to submit an application (deadline currently stands at July 1st), where a successful application will be notified via postcard later within the same month.
Nintendo has not taken this opportunity to make a little bit more money as each Pikachu DS Lite will still retail for a mere 16,800 yen (approximately 138 clams). Unfortunately, I fear that import shops will drastically raise the price on whoever wants to get their grubby paws on one in North America. Are you currently satisfied with your vanilla DS Lite, or do you think a limited or special edition version will get that old gamer blood pumping again?
Source: DS Fanboy
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Cantilever Umbrella goes wherever the sun goes
June 1, 2007 by girlrobot
Filed under House Gear
With summer just around the corner, it is time to bust out the suntan and have some fun frolicking under the sun (sorry to you folks living at the southern tip of the earth though). The heat could get unbearable at times though, sending you scrambling under a garden umbrella in order to avoid getting roasted despite slapping a health amount of suntan lotion all over already. Often times, you find that you have to reposition yourself as the sun moves, but the Cantilever Umbrella does away with that annoyance as it comes with the ability to follow the sun wherever it goes.
Measuring a whopping 11 feet in diameter, the Cantilever Umbrella is more than capable of providing a whole bunch of coverage for your family and friends. A foot pedal located at the base enables you to move it up to 360°, keeping you and your bunch of merry friends under the shade at all times. Heck, it even comes with built-in LED lights that give off ambient lighting in the area long after the sun has set. Brookstone is offering the Cantilever Umbrella for $900 a pop.
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DS Lite chargers get new colors
Nintendo might have sold millions upon millions of Nintendo DS Lites all over the world, but one oversight potentially cost them millions of dollars in the process. Everyone knows that the DS Lite comes in more colors and limited editions than you can shake a stick at, but unfortunately the AC adapters packaged with each box comes in only two colors - black and black. Guess those who already own the Black DS Lite are currently sniggering at the other owners, but steady your emotions. Third party manufacturer ToyTech has come up with different DS Lite AC adapters that are available in pink, light blue, white, black, and navy blue colors.
These different colored AC adapters retail for approximately $17, making them almost double the price of a normal Nintendo-endorsed adapter, but I guess that’s the price to pay for color coordination. Will you be getting one just to have a uniform color when charging, or do you think this is a needless luxury?
Source: Silicon Era
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Diamond-studded mouse a girl’s best friend?
They say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but I suppose that only rings true when the diamond is put to good use and not decked out on something as trivial as a mouse. This optical mouse certainly doesn’t come with an elegant beauty that complements the $25,000 worth of diamonds embedded across its surface, featuring an awful looking scroll ball right smack in the middle. The shape also does not set the pulse racing, with the only consolation being a body made from white gold that is studded by 59 brilliant cut diamonds which come up to a grand total of two carats. The diamonds have been arranged to look like that of a flower, although you do have a choice of getting a custom made design. That’s the least to be expected anyway, considering the amount of money you drop on a single mouse.
Too bad you can’t wear this mouse around your neck, and woe to you should it ever get stolen from your laptop bag.
Source: Luxury Launches
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Wobble LCD Clock adds life to room
We have seen our fair share of alarm clocks in the past, and while some of them aren’t really special in any way, there are others that boasted some interesting design concepts. The Wobble LCD Clock certainly isn’t ordinary as it comes with a weighted bottom, making it sway in all directions without toppling over - pretty much the same manner as how a child’s inflatable punching bag works. Other than the fresh direction in design, the Wobble LCD Clock comes with the usual bells and whistles, ranging from month and date functions to a stylish, transparent LCD display that appeals more to the younger generation.
The Wobble LCD Clock measures 2.75" x 2" x 1.75" and ships in gray, red, and white colors for $5.95 each. Of course, you won’t need to go all the way to punch it since it is already so small – all you need to do is give the Wobble LCD Clock a nice flick with your fingers and watch it go.
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CD Phonograph merges old and new
Now this design by Yong Jieyu certainly takes the cake when it comes to merging both the old and the new into one seamless device. Dubbed the CD Phonograph, just by looking at it will evoke fond memories of the a vinyl record player that my grandparents used to listen to as dusk falls. With time, vinyl records have become all but extinct, with cassettes and CDs taking over the responsibility of being the music format of choice. Fast forward a few decades forward, and we are presented with a generation that grew up on MP3s and various other digital formats. The CD Phonograph puts a halt to the speeding train of technology, using a disassembled CD player along with rearranged components to suit the layout of a phonograph.
Speakers are located just below the trumpet loudspeaker for amplification purposes. The wooden box is made more spacious than the electrical PCB board in order to obtain a reasonable level of bass resonance for your listening pleasure. The laser pointer is shifted to the top, letting all and sundry view the spinning CD.
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Hybrid Alarm Clock concept
Designer Francesco Costacurta has proposed the idea of the Hybrid Alarm Clock, featuring an amalgamation between a minute counter which is used as a guide in the kitchen and a normal alarm. Since the Hybrid Alarm Clock comes from two different ‘parents’, it naturally features the characteristics of both. You can use it like a normal alarm by simply selecting the hour that you want to arouse yourself from a peaceful slumber or selecting a pre-determined number of sleeping hours which consist of three, five, and eight hours. Stopping the alarm is a no-brainer - all you need to do is give the large red button on top a hit and you will be able to resume your slumber undisturbed, er, I mean wake up and get going.
A pulsing light can also be used to substitute the alarm sound in order not to disturb the rest of your roommates. I don’t know about you, but you’d better have a backup plan if you insist on using just a flashing light to get you out of bed since you might actually sleep through the entire ‘alarm’ in reality.
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Nokia 3109 Classic unleashed
May 28, 2007 by girlrobot
Filed under Cell Phones
Nokia tends to release cellphones that are extremely different in design whenever a new model is launched, breaking the monotony which can be refreshing yet disconcerting. The 3109 Classic is the latest handset from the Finnish cellphone manufacturer, aiming to bring a strict balance between entry level features and some higher end functions. What you get with the 3109 include Bluetooth connectivity, a microSD memory card slot to enhance your portable MP3 player experience, an e-mail client, and a speakerphone. What you won’t get is a digital camera - a strange decision in this day and age, relegating this to a cellphone for companies who are afraid of their employees stealing data visually using the integrated camera.
Battery life for the Nokia 3109 Classic stands at 4 hours of talk time and a whopping 16 days on standby, although expect real time usage to be far lower than the quoted figures. Chances are this handset will remain an Europe-only cellphone, retailing for approximately $189 before taxes when launched.
Source: Electronista
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miniTV BTV-400 does just one thing surprisingly
While convergence devices are all the rage these days, the adage "Jack of all trades, master of none" still rings true as you won’t be able to pick up the perfect gizmo even with giant leaps made by technology to date. Take the Nokia N95 for example - the GPS functionality clearly isn’t up to par with other dedicated personal GPS navigation systems, while the 5 megapixel camera might be impressive in theory, it still can’t hold a candle to the real deal. Hence, the miniTV BTV-400 from BlueDot of Japan is a refreshing change from the bunch of multi-functional gadgets these days as it features only one function - to bring you crystal clear reception of your favorite TV show wherever there is a signal.
The miniTV BTV-400 measures less than 5" in length, slimmer than 0.5" thick, and boasts a 4" display. While that isn’t small enough to make your eyes squint and water after five minutes of viewing, it certainly isn’t large enough to give you jaw dropping visuals on-the-go. The BTV-400 weighs slightly more than 4 ounces and retails for $247. Too bad everything is in Japanese at the moment. Would you get a localized version if you had the dough to spare?
Source: Crave
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