Design firm Provoke certainly lives up to its name with a new bunch of Nokia concepts known as Express, Feel and Share. These designs will be showcased at this year’s New York Design Week, so it would be great to make your way down there if you’re interested to see the real thing in the flesh. The Express enables you to customize the user interface - hmm, nothing new here, but apparently the form factor is definitely dazzling (good or bad, I leave that to you as fashion taste is always subjective). As for the Feel, users will be able to send tactile simulated touch messages literally - I wonder just how that will work when it comes to sexual harassment suits? Last but not least, we have the Share concept that brings together Twitter as well as Myspace for “like minded” individuals.

Source: Yanko Design

Popularity: 2% [?]

I know that taking care of plants well is often classified as something you either have, or don’t. After all, it seems as though some people are blessed with green thumbs naturally, although that trait does not seem to be hereditary and appears to be completely random when assigned by the greater power out there. For those who have developed a reputation to be a “plant killer”, there is hope for you yet. Perhaps you have not been paying attention to your plant when it was parched, but with the Flower Nurse, you actually get visual cues to perform certain duties through the use of color changes. Each flower comes with an individual barometric reading, and should its leaves droop, it is high time you drop whatever you’re doing at the moment and do something to remedy the situation. If only real flowers were, you know, more interactive like this.

Source: Yanko Design

Popularity: 7% [?]

Designers Feijun Chen and Bin Zhao must have had enough of stubbing their toes against furniture during the night when making their way to the loo in order to take a leak, hence the Shoe Headlights concept that does not need any batteries to run. In fact, it draws power from kinetic energy converted into electrical energy, which is all good but how many people actually take the trouble to walk around the house over and over again in order to garner enough power in the first place? Apparently, the headlights will be able to keep on shining for 12 hours straight with a maximum dispersal range of 1.5 meters. Sounds super efficient, but hey - concepts are always there for you to go wild, right?

Popularity: 34% [?]

Ladies, ladies. How many times have you actually rushed out from your home only to realize that you have forgotten to bring your cell phone with you, much less your house keys? This interesting LadyBag ensures such a thing doesn’t happen ever again, featuring RFID tagging technology that ensures your keys, purse and cell phone are inside the back before the smiley face lights up. Should you fail to include any of these three essential items, the item’s corresponding logo will appear on the LED display as a reminder. I wonder whether this concept will see future iterations include voice reminders. It would be good if they included a traveling make-up kit indicator as well just in case you need to freshen up before that big date of yours at a posh downtown restaurant.

Source: Gearfuse

Popularity: 36% [?]

 What you see here is truly a one-of-a-kind backpack known as the Reppo II backpack. It was an idea envisioned by industrial design student Joonas Saaranen who brought it to life by throwing in a couple of full-range speakers and an amplifier, letting you share your favorite songs with everyone else on the bus or in the tube. It is pretty much a portable subwoofer, and this concept has gone so far as to be a fully functional prototype although Joonas has not mentioned whether he will have them sent to a factory for mass production. I’m sure these’ll fly off the shelves should they be made commercial.Source: Technabob

Popularity: 39% [?]

 >Asus takes the green route with its new concept computers that are made out of bamboo. According to Asus’ press release, “ASUS has created an image of the future for computing – showcasing environmentally friendly designs for notebooks, LCDs and Mini PCs with bamboo as an alternative material in the manufacturing process.” While the usage of bamboo isn’t exactly going to save our earth from eventual pollution, at the very least it will look good on just about any desktop. Hopefully insects won’t have a penchant for bamboo lest you find your entire notebook or PC eaten up after being left in the attic for a few months.

Source: PC Launches

Popularity: 52% [?]

Seriously, what’s up with zombie texters? I honestly can’t believe how bad the ‘texting and driving’ situation is,  and now ‘walking and texting’ is becoming a problem in London? An ITN reports says that after a recent study, one charity is launching a program to pad lampposts. Apparently, London’s Brick Lane is so full of walking texters that the street has the highest number of texting injuries, so they’re idiot-proofing the street’s lampposts. If the pilot program proves to be successful, the charity will pad other lampposts around Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool. Honestly, this is the most retarded thing I’ve ever heard of, so I hope the idea dies in Brick Lane.  I just don’t think this padding would help any beautification project the city has going on, and it’s a complete waste of good materials. People who text and walk should be allowed to run into lampposts if they want. No need for textersitting.  It would actually be a lot cooler if this charity  installed video cameras somewhere on the lamppost, and then set up a live feed so we can watch the lamppost offenders. Now that I want to see on YouTube.

Popularity: 30% [?]

Everyone knows that a laptop emits a whole lot of heat, and most of the time it is recommended to be used with a laptop cooler. The DORmino mouse takes a different approach and embraces heat instead, as it uses the wasted heat to power the wireless mouse thanks to silicon nanowires that have been embedded within the pad that sits right under your laptop. The thermoelectric converter, coupled with an induction coil located right inside the mouse is used to transfer power up from the pad. The mouse itself comes with a touchscreen scroller and Bluetooth connectivity, while the pad can be rolled up for easy portability.

Source: OhGizmo!

Popularity: 42% [?]

Nokia has teamed up with the University of Cambridge to parade their new stretchable and flexible device known as Morph. This futuristic concept handset comes in a lovely shade of green and is pretty flexible, being able to stretch and bend into all sorts of shapes, hence its name. Features of using nanotechnology in developing such a handset thanks to the use of flexible materials, transparent electronics and self-cleaning surfaces results in a whole new user experience - no longer do you have to worry about breaking your phone or having it getting nicked once it drops onto the floor. Word has it that Nokia hopes to bring some elements of the Morph into its high end devices within the next seven years. I would love to see a self-cleaning display - say goodbye to pesky fingerprints forever!

Source: Crave

Popularity: 39% [?]

Talk about a hilariously named product - the Air Poo. This wacky porcelain throne might be a concept or not, but it sure as heck takes the cake when it comes to functionality. The Air Poo comes with a MacBook Air dock, a heated seat for those cold winters, a multi-touch flusher, an iPod dock for you to rock on to your favorite tunes while trying to lay a few logs, and an integrated surround sound system so that folks won’t be able to listen to your diarrhea symphony after last night’s dinner at Aunt Ethel’s place. There is also an integrated 802.11n wireless router to help you check up on your email even during the most constipated of moments.

Source: Gearlog

Popularity: 42% [?]