New Tech Reviews Just another NEW TECH NEWS

Clandestine meeting points are a thing of the past. As we get progressive our mindsets have changed and the secret romantic rendezvous points are being replaced with public installations like this Meeting Point! Quite a spectacular sight actually! You can arrange to meet your beloved on a particular hour of the dial and then maybe walk around to the 12 oclock spot where a solar powered touchscreen kiosk awaits you.

The system dispenses relevant city details like maps, addresses and other touristy stuff. Wanna catch a movie? No probs, pull the info straight from here.

The solar panel of the Meeting Point powers the central clock as well as the glorious night lights.
Extra juice is stashed in a power pack below the panel.

Mesmerizing!

Designer: Serdar Siman

Respiratory disorders are on a rise and air pollution just doesnt seem to be getting contained. Be it a metropolitan city or a comfy suburb, the quality of air is on the downslide. If youre a worried parent like me and cant seem to get over that persistent cough that is hounding your child, its best to be sure and eliminate poor air quality in the house from the list of allergens. Something like the Breathing Bud is a surefire way of analyzing how good the air quality at home is.

Designed like a pleasant bud, the device features vents at the base that take in the air for analyzing. A beaming blue bud indicates that the air in the room is of good quality, however a pink light indicates that some pronto action is required. Breathing Bud sources power from your comp via USB and transfers all data to it as well. You can utilize the relevant data to compare it with the standards that are easily available off the net.

Another use that I can think of for this device is a nightlight! Now that sounds pretty.

Designers: Xinxin Wang & Zhi Chai

Everyone who knows me knows that Im on the lookout for a new mobile phone. Now before you try convincing me about the Apple Pie, Ive decided to humor one of my designer pals (perks of being at YD) to come up with something special for me. Hes kitsch-ed up this awesome looking piece which he calls the MID. Its a mobile internet device specially designed for internet browsing from anywhere. Ah the blogger in me is impressed!

Besides this special quality, hes also thrown is a couple of cool features. For instance the 47 buttons QWERTY keyboard looks divine and its configuration is quite customizable. The compact size of 180×80x20mm is neat and allows it to host an ultra wide LCD touchscreen. The phone even boasts of OLED technology. The trackball makes navigation even simpler however the 7 completely configurable action buttons (accessible when phone is closed and opened) adds awesome goodness to the package. Two USB slots, microphone and audio input, SD card reader, stereo speakers, docking connector and sexy sliding good looks are the other proposed features.

I know some of you must be thinking its easy to conjure up specks on a concept design, but tell me honestly, if something like this were to come alive wouldnt you pick it up?
I know I would!

Designer: Jan Rytir

This is a stove and a seat. Sit on it, or flip it on its side and cook something nice. This “Relax” duo-purpose leisure machine is designed by a Youngsuk and a Yoonsang – Yoonsang Kim is the designer behind the extremely popular Holeder Earphones. J-shaped earbuds and stove-seats, both designed for tiny-stepping the human race further and further down the joy road.

Not much simpler than this: stove in the middle, folding chair around it. The stove doesn’t get hot enough to burn your bum, and the folding element allows for easy carrying. And isn’t it cute?

Designer: Youngsuk Kim and Yoonsang Kim

Wait a second… isn’t that already 3D? Behold the devastating addition of 4 legs to an already-4-legged-table. Brutality! Redundancy! So many extra legs! And what’s the deal with this red and blue here? It’s a “Stereovision Table,” and it’s made for those with a sense of irony in technology. But is it the same sort of deal as using a rotary phone? Or is it just silly?

My mother and father had a rotary phone my whole life. My mother got it for cheap through a deal with a person at her workplace (she worked at the telephone company, imagine that.) It was always a little bit of extra work waiting for the wheel to turn for each number, but there it was, an enjoyable trip back to a more vintage time.

Here we have some wild optics tricks that span back centuries. The red and blue is a reference to the 3D glasses technology that’s lasted for years and years. Now it’s done! (Did you go see the movie BOLT in 3D? They used some other crazy glasses for it.)

So where’s that leave us?

With this dastardly 3D table, just chortling at us.

Designer: John Nouanesing

Designer Tommaso Gecchelin isn’t oblivious to all the rumors surrounding a netbook or tablet-like PC made by our favorite fruit manufacturer. We try not to indulge in rumors here at YD but sometimes they do provide fuel for inspiration, such is the case with this MacBook Touch.

Gecchelin reasons if Apple were to go small, flexibility may be more important than hard rigidness – a trend current Apple laptops buck because they’re in favor of unibody construction. Flexible OLED technology may be the key because it can provide the rich color and resolution density needed for a smaller screen without being a power hog and resists damage by its malleable nature. The thinnest screens now are barely 8mm thick and can fold like a piece of paper.

The core of this concept is a technology he calls iSpine. Like the spine of a book, the tech avoid excessive compression on the screen, yet allows the laptop to sit in multiple viewing positions. Go from a normal laptop with screen and touchscreen board – to a large widescreen canvas for drawing, presentation or movie watching. To keep everything minimal, ports like power, the mini display, and additional USB are externalized on a “Magic Dock” to keep most of the laptop slim and clean of an array of holes and plugs.

Designer: Tommaso Gecchelin

Years of writing and drawing have left a small hard callus right on the first knuckle joint of my middle finger. I can’t help it. I’m just heavy handed. It irks me enough that I partake in manicures and paraffin waxes just to soften it. Emma is a little accessory that protects your hand and secures the pencil into an ergonomic position. Wish I had this!

Emma is designed to make your fingers feel comfortable by improving blood circulation, preventing ulcers and reducing hand fatigue as much as possible during periods of consecutive writing. It also helps with new writers as it ergonomically instructs how to properly hold a writing tool. The elderly can also benefit, allowing them to write for longer periods more comfortably.

To ensure softness the product is made from high grade silicone and in a variety of colors, one for almost everyday of the week!

Sky blue: Monday
Start the week with clean and clear skies.

Yellow: Tuesday
Enjoy the view of yellow flowers on Tuesday.

Pink: Wednesday
Enjoy a pink love feeling on Wednesday.

Light Green: Thursday
Concern for the environment on Thursday.

Black: Friday
Watching the stars on a crisp Friday night.

Designer: Gyu-Ryung Park

Just the other day Takashi and I were talking about getting back into shape and it even inspired him to go out and get himself a bicycle. Like a kid with his new muse, these days Tak can often be seen riding downtown Tokyo, so if youre in the vicinity be sure to stop him and say hi! Anyways my point about his bike is that it lacks a qualified navigation system, so I asked a designer friend to help me out here. Ross came up with this VeloCity Cycle Route Guide, which I quite fancy.

The neat gadget clamps up to the handle bar and includes audio as well as visual guide. You simply need to hook up the device to your comp and download the desired route from an online map. Turn by turn, the VeloCity rattles of the directions and simultaneously displays the map on the screen. Of course GPS and Bluetooth come into play as well.

Just so you know how well you exercised, the device gives you a feedback on your performance as a power biker!

Way to go Tak! Keep biking and Im sure youll shed those extra inches soon!

Designer: Ross Kemp

The most certain thing in life is death; however we can never come to terms with this fact especially when lives are lost due to the forces of elements. Unpredictable yet certain, natural disasters like flood, hurricanes and tsunamis occur across the globe periodically and besides the loss due to destruction and devastation, the toll keeps rising due to non-availability of pure, clean drinking water. Rescue Bottle is the need of the hour as it is designed to be used under one such condition: Floods.

This emergency flood-rescue drinking water contraption relies on reverse osmosis for filtration. Essentially the bottle is made up of a reverse osmosis membrane, a concentrated solution refill, a 500 ml capacity empty liquid container and a mouthpiece.

This is how the system works:

“The reverse osmosis membrane filters brackish water into pure water using the driving force of highly concentrated dioralyte solution. The concentrated solution refill is filled in with a highly concentrated solution of dioralyte mixed with basic nutrients that is enough to get 15 times of 500ml of mixed drink. The empty container is filled in with the mixture of pure water and dioralyte and used with a mouthpiece that enables multi-user usage in relief camps and other community areas. Rescue bottles can be used in flood relief camps, or given away to communities with multiple mouthpieces with a cost of between $2050. They can also be stationed in the floodwater in areas where complete disaster management services cannot reach.”

To sum it up, the end-product water is basically a mixture of filtered pure water and dioralyte mixed with essential nutrients. This enriched solution is ideal for flood-hit citizens in order to recover their lost of body fluids and treat diarrhea.

Designer: Ceren Bagatar

Swineyou swine flu! Im not being abusive here, but trying to look at the lighter side of life. Like a Virus attack on my PC is not the best thing, but if I wanted to add a bit fun-element to the situation, I would go for the Dr Hard Drive Bag. Fashioned like a life-saving drip, the system comprises of a circuit board of hard drive with relevant software. This tangible virus vaccine plugs into the lappie and pre-loaded software helps recover precious files and data. Jazzing up the scene a bit are the Twinky lights that shimmer while the software does its job.

Designer: Hyuh Jin Lee

Or for… wherever else you’d like to put them! Presenting the Blofield collection of blow-ups. For when you’re in the woods and you really, really need to sit in a chesterfield. Or if you’re feeling like you need a blow-up sofa for your dog who will not sleep on anything but a sofa. Available in several colors! With nice power inflater and matching carrying case!

Not for those with sharp tailbones. Prickly Porcupines…beware!
I ‘m well behaved, so can I suggest a Footstool next, please.

Designer: Blofield Inflatable Chesterfields

Uh oh which one of my pill alarms is it? Oh it is the one that says take the Yanko Pill, because I’m about to get hit in the face with another industrial design concept. This is the “3Medis,” and quite simply: it is an alarm which tells the user to take a pill. It’s easily programmable, made for elderly users, and has a built-in calendar and kind-hearted voice.

The system displays a calendar and personal health information when needed, like insurance and doctors names, etc.. The pills you need to take are programed into the machine. When the machine recognizes that a pill must be taken, it shoots off the alarm.

When the alarm goes off, it vocalizes the medicine that must be taken, and displays an image of the corresponding bottle, along with the dosage (of liquid or pill(s.))

Sidenote: I like the wrench icon. I hope it means “hit pill with wrench before ingesting.”

Designer: Miguel Vaz

My family travels a lot by car and I think I have seen more than half of my country on my numerous road trips. Mostly all the journeys go on without any hitch, except when we have to stop and ask for directions. Look, Im willing to be reasonable about a man and his ego regards to asking for directions in your HOME CITY, but in a strange town! Come on man, pull over at the curb and ask someone for DIRECTIONS, youll get to the destination faster! Noooo? Then the GPS PathQuest it is!

A double-screen display unit with E-Ink for conserving battery power! Pocket-sized and discreet, the PathQuest relies on Google Maps for navigation.

Come on women on YD; tell me Im right about this male ego and directions thingie
Share your story with me!

Designer: Kyle Fleischhacker

If the Scorpion and Sting Ray team is not your style of rescue mission while drowning, then maybe youd like to look at a much hipper option: the Swim Guard Vest! Formfitting and held into place with a neoprene-belt with a compressed lifting body mechanism, the gear is a Hot looking jacket that you flaunt. When you think youre drowning and cant handle the choppy waters, simply trigger the inflatable mechanism fed via the enclosed gas cartridge.

A GPS signal is simultaneously beamed to the nearest rescue center, so that you can be rescued asap.

Jokes aside, first of all if the waters are choppy or look dangerous avoid getting into it. For a safety option using a minimalistic jacket like this could be good, coz it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Designer: Steffen Reiter

The future of farming is here! It’s scarecrows with ifrared ray sensor eye with a 16,529 square meter range for animal detection. Ultrasonic Wave Generating animal approach prevention. Solar panel wings for completely self-powered scarecrowery. Tripod legs for secure sentry standing. Bunnies beware of the shockwave! You gonna get jolted.

The wave causes no damage to the animal, just gives them a little incentive. The scarecrow itself does no damage to the environment, and powers itself. Only thing I see missing here is a deterrent to human thieves! Though too many ultrasonics to the head might be shock enough.

This is the “Digital Scarecrow.”

Designer: Kyungryul Lim and Miyeon Kim

For me the hair dryer has existed ever since the day I was born but research on the net tells me that it was the 19th century inventor Alexandre F. Godefoy whom I should be really thanking for the first salon model. However, the first handheld model came out only by the 1920s and we have seen it change its avatar ever so often. This time we showcase a spherical model that goes by the name of Comet. Oh…and Comet your dog, breathing down your hair does not count as a blow-dry.

Designer: Hoang M Nguyen

Projectors, projectors, here and there, projectors, projectors, projecting on everywhere. According to Gareth Marples, the first conceptual drawing of a projector was done in 1420 by Johannes de Fontana: a drawing of a monk with a lamp projecting a vision of a devil holding a lance. Truly a lovely first ideation it was. In this post we use two of the most modern projectors, top prize winners at a recent design competition for Philips, to open the door to Yanko’s full collection of projector concepts.

These first two concepts are called the “Sail” and the “Spy Box,” both by Marek Wenglorz. They are both very similar, one sitting on it’s side, the other sitting upright, both rather tame examples of projectors compared to the rest of Yanko’s wild-eyed designers design concepts. Collect them all!

Designer: Various

The following is the rest of the Yanko collection of projector or projector related concepts. This is not the full collection, it is but a simple sampling. For the entire projector-related collection of Yanko design concepts, simple search projector in the search box. Light on!

Mac Funamizu’s iAcqua iPhone Dock brings the spill of photos on full tap.

SnowCorn by Mac Funamizu has an extremely strange name, but allows you to turn your entire world into one big… well… screen.

Mobile Projector Phone by Eun-Young Kim takes the idea of a cellphone projector and keeps it cool.

E-Pod by Eun Seok Huh basically makes your iPhone, iPod, iWhatever into a giant.

iShow by Moti Barzilay takes the iWhatever and matches it with projection, creating the simplest projector to have an Apple stamp.

De-Light Mini LED Projector by David Koo makes projection blue, cool, and LED too!

B-membrane Laptop/Desktop Hybrid by Won-Seok Lee is the largest concept, memory-wise, as it’s not just a middle-man between your mobile and a big image, it’s everything at once.

Notice any themes? Project your mind into comments.

This isn’t the first time the whole world moved towards “greener” design but hopefully this time it’ll stick. Plastic spoons that come with takeout foods are inefficient and “ungreen” so the challenge was to find the most cost effective remedy while giving Earth one less thing to worry about. Ideally you should carry your own flatware but if you don’t mind a little kitsch, check out the Spoon and Box.

The handle is a perfect spot to hide a precut spoon. Just turn it inside out (the clean side) and you’re ready to eat. It can even turn into a spork for those sporky occasions. Works fine for dry foods but I wouldn’t go dipping into some greasy chili fries or Chinese food with it. So did we really solve any problems here?

Designers: Won-Jae Lee, Jun-Yong Lee, Sang-Jun Hahn, Sun-Kyu Kim & Yeo-Wool Kang

UPDATE: 7 Weeks Left!

Self-help is the best help, the sooner you imbibe this rule in your life, the faster you will find success. Im not trying to be preachy here, but this is a fact that most biggies in the industry live by.

If you want to own the best possible mobile phone in this world, my dear friend youre gonna have to design it yourself, because you know whats best for you. We live for the future and this is the theme for LGs Design the Future Competition as well. Partnering with crowdSPRING and Autodesk, LG is accepting applications from eligible candidates who have the power of transforming their creative thoughts and imaginations effectively to design. Its a chance to do something for yourself that others can benefit from as well.

To help in this adventure, participating designers will get a free 15-day trial pack of the Autodesk SketchBook Pro software to showcase their talent. Of course, the rewards are plenty! The First Place takes home $20,000 Cash Award; the Second Place: $10,000 Cash Award; Third Place: $5,000 Cash Award; 40 Honorable Mentions: $1,000 Cash Award + 1 LG U.S. Phone (A.R.V. of $300).

Regulations require participants to be a U.S. resident, 18-years and above, and the entries need to be submitted before June 7, 2009 @ 11:59 p.m. (midnight) PST. Owning an LG phone or purchasing a new one wont win you any favors, so designers dont bother, just let your creative juices flow.

Official rules can be found at www.crowdspring.com/LG.
Winners will be announced on July 7, 2009 at www.crowdspring.com/LG/winners.

Imagine using the three in context of cupboard, seating and lighting.
Crazy? Crazed? Wonky?
No!
Simply imaginative and creative!

Black Flower

This is a lamp whose flexible construction lets you place it on the floor or hang it from the ceiling. The leaves are made from polyester felt and copper thread and the Lampshade is plastic.

RE:cover Chair

Frock Coats, Dinner Jackets, Victorian Era?
Nothing is as dramatic as the fact that these chairs are recycled flea-market stuff; with 100% recyclable polyester felt furnishing. Prim and Proper!

Modus:cover Cupboard

Immortalizing the fashion glossy the day you build this cupboard. Fred, hats off to you for this idea, and Im sure Tyra will love you for this and maybe place an order for Americas Next Top Model House as well. Basic premise is this: take the covers of the fashion magazines and paste it on the doors of the cupboard, which is then stained in black and varnished. A secret shelf inside the cupboard hides the original magazine. This particular piece features a PLAZA magazine on an Oak cupboard. The innards are left in a natural finish.

Those going to the Milan Fair, be sure to check all of these out. And report straight back to Me!

Designer: Fredrik Frg

2020 is really not that far away, but are we prepared to experiment with what Philips has conjured up for our housing options of the future? They are proposing that we harness the energies of the elements to sustain our living quarters by entrapping the renewable resources on-site, using some membrane-type of contraption! Shifting the focus from eco-friendly building materials, Off the Grid Sustainable Habitat 2020 will do-away with inert outer surfaces that merely protect out exteriors by making them intelligent.

Apparently the exteriors will feature functional and responsive ’skins’ that react to the ever changing environment. The exteriors are thus built that they can capture the rainwater (recycled for domestic use and filtered for drinking), trap the sunlight (for electricity and solar power), harness the winds (for air cooling) and channelize daylight (for illumination).

The proposal sounds interesting, but the only area its gets too far fetched, is when Philips suggests, that the ‘intelligent membrane’ of the exterior could mean that the building would no longer need to be connected to traditional energy and water supply systems.

I dont see this happening anytime soon, at least not in 2020.

Sustainable Air

Sustainable Water

Sustainable Light

Sustainable Waste

Designer: Philips Design

So you geared to up to host the best party ever; finger-foods doing the rounds, buffet table is spilling overlaughter in the air; drinks stocked up in the bar. Clinking glasses to merry toasts.but what the heck; Scotch is on PLAIN ICE! No Bloody Mary ways! Swanky parties call for the Polar Ice Tray rescue mission. Pebble-shaped exteriors with molds that let you craft the perfect crystal clear Inukshuk Ice and cracked ice if you so desire.

Pour the water into the mold and set it in the freezer; pretty soon the Scotch will look sexy on the crystal cool bubbles-free ice!

Inukshuk is the official emblem of the 2010 Winter Olympics to be held in Vancouver, and is the inspiration behind the mold.

Designer: Jacky Wu

Quick Question: If you want to redesign an electric socket, what will you do? If youre gonna suggest demure LED lights on the rim, a base socket in a funky shape, a hip extension hub with retractable wire that allows you to hook up 3 more portals to it; then Dont, Serdar Siman has perfected this plot already! Basically hes suggesting a main socket to plug into, which in turn hooks up this neat wired extension hub, which in turn hooks up 3 more sockets. Cool!

BTW the lights on the rim act as a reminder to switch-off the mains when not in use.

Designer: Serdar Siman

Before the mid-1950s, vacuum cleaners weren’t in many Japanese homes because dusters, brooms, and floor cloths were considered adequate for cleaning traditional Japanese homes. But through extensive marketing efforts by manufacturers, Japanese-made vacuum cleaners gradually became household necessities by the 1960s – with the MC-1000 top of the list.

Using the material of the moment – plastic – the MC-1000 was a world away from the typical, functional-looking cylindrical vacuum cleaners made from metal sheeting. Making the most of plastic’s versatile shaping potential, its elegantly flowing, curved surfaces define the aesthetics of plastic. Plastic was responsible for more than just its good looks, though – unlike vacuum cleaners constructed of sheetmetal, whose machine parts had to be inserted in predetermined order, the MC-1000’s body was made of left and right pieces that simply screwed into place. Productivity was greatly increased as a result of this method, made possible by its pioneering use of plastic.

This elegant, streamlined vacuum cleaner won awards, made vacuuming easier than ever before, and ushered in the new plastic era. The first plastic-bodied vacuum cleaner, its unique front wheel gave it effortless manoeuvrability, making vacuuming less stressful than ever before. This bold, modern product heralded the era of plastic and set a record for vacuum cleaner production, with an astonishing 630,000 units manufactured.

Designer: Panasonic circa 1965

Do these look familiar to you? These goggles? These… 3D goggles? To my, they look like the “Awesome” 3D Environment games they used to have at the state fair. It was sooo 3D! Almost like real life! These are not a game. They are heavy, so do not touch them. This is REAL real life. These are a medical instrument for elderly people. The “ForeSeeHome” by designer Eitan Shariff of I2D: not to be having fun with.

Believe what you see. This instrument is for older folks who want to home- and self-monitor their Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) condition. According to Eitan, “The fundamental challenge was to design an intuitive plug and use experience for a sophisticated medical device.”

Here it is: I gotta come clean.

It’s not a 3D gaming device.

I’m sorry I tricked you!

The ForeSeeHome is made for scanning your eyes. It’s just like those machines you might have seen in the eye doctor office. The machine “runs a visual field test where visual stimuli are presented to the user and based on his or her responses the system analyzes the results and diagnoses the clinical condition.”

Complicated stuff!

But eyes are very important – keep a nose on them!

Designer: Eitan Shariff of I2D