New Tech Reviews Just another NEW TECH NEWS

Fridge magnets is a design industry by itself. I have a cousin who has covered the entire door with cool collectables from around the world. Waterdrop Magnet is a surreal representation of water drops and most definitely belongs to the Wall of Fame! Prime for holding up Juniors school artwork and A-grade report card! Also an alternative for post-it notes!

Designer: Sangwoo Nam

Source:yankodesign.com

There used to be a time when a calculator was the only gadget at home, but now the scenario includes an entourage of multi-media products that we cant live without. Taking cue from the automotive industry where seamless gadget integration is an integral part of the interior design, Philippe Barsol gives us the @home Coffee Table, which reciprocates the function at home. Blending gadgets into the home decor, this table effortlessly integrates mobilephone, laptop, memory stick, external hard drive, remote controls, cameras etc. within its niche spaces.

The main use of the chest is to bear the weight of a laptop, but also to fit the largest number of peripherals into its lateral drawers. The staggered double hinges enable it to be self-supporting and to raise its position when in use. It then becomes extremely easy to get the computer out when needed, without ever cluttering the table top.

Amazing design that Im sure many of us would want in our homes!

Designer: Philippe Barsol

@home – coffee table from PHILIPPE BARSOL / DESIGNER on Vimeo.

Source:yankodesign.com

Le Parkour is an extreme sport where the participant keeps moving from point A to B in a rapid fluid motion, overcoming obstacles like concrete walls, stairways, rooftops etc. Since a limited people practice this urban sport (not all of us can move our tub of lard with such agility), finding appropriate footwear is always a problem. The 980 TATOU is a specialized shoe designed for this sport that offers better customization than normal running shoes. It’s not for your lemon-spoon race!

Here are the details:

• 980 TATOU consists of several parts, which can be easily changed and its several detachable parts allow for easy exchange, washing, and customization.
• Its structure responds to the unique movements performed in the sport.
• One part is the outer sole a combination of the sole with the upper parts of the shoe, which offers grip on the sides as well as the sole. This is needed for jumping onto or from walls.
• The parts of the shoe that suffer from the most impact and abrasion have been given a greater sole or wall thickness.
• The gaps in the outer sole preserve excellent flexibility.
• When the outer sole does wear out, it can be changed without the need to replace the whole shoe.
• Another important element of 980 TATOU is the separate inner shoe. It allows the user to practice with a barefoot feeling and a high sensitivity for what lies underfoot.
• It can also be removed and changed, so the wearer can have different inner shoes for different applications.
• It is washable, so smelly shoes can be avoided!
• Insoles are an optional extra for 980 TATOU, and they come with three different absorption levels. They can be used to customize the shoe for ones own personal preferences, depending on the application.
• Instead of shoelaces, 980 TATOU uses a new method of fastening which also enables the wearer to customize the shoe. Elastic bands in three different lengths are applied to the bottom and upper part of the shoe. Altogether, a maximum of seven bands in twenty different color choices can be attached to ten possible locations on the upper shoe. Thus, there are a multitude of possible lacing combinations.

The 980 TATOU won the Gold Prize at IDEA Design 2010.

Designer: Annika Lber

Source:yankodesign.com

The Braille system of raised-dots writing has always mystified me. It seems like so much magic that a person can read words and sentences by feeling bumps on a page. But it works. It exists and it is widespread. Braille dots can be found all around the world, in public and private places in every city. It COULD be more useful than it already is, but one of the largest problems in the way of this reality is the amount of people who haven’t learned to decipher the system. Danielle Pecora’s here to rectify that with a bit of fun.

Design group DESIGN 21 recently had a Game Changers Competition for global game design. You know who won this contest? Danielle Pecora. The project Pecora entered and won this contest with was the “be-B: Braille Education Ball,” a method for both blind and sighted users to learn the Braille system using a challenging and educational game.

The be-B consists of a ball and 26 magnetically attached pegs. One one side of each peg is a letter from the modern latin alphabet, on the other is the corresponding Braille character. Each of these pegs has a matching hole in the ball. The object of the game, as you may have guessed, is to match up each of the letters with its corresponding hole. Each time a peg is placed in a hole, and that hole is correct, a chime sounds and the name of the letter is “spoken.” Don’t get em mixed up!

Games, games, everywhere, teaching people knowledge so they take more care.

That’s the rhyme I just made up for this lovely design.

Designer: Danielle Pecora

Source:yankodesign.com

The brilliance is the top priority here. That diamond’s got to shine, got to shine, got to shine. Sparkles will be had aplenty when you’ve got this momma on. This is the Solitaire Reflect Refraction Engagement Ring by Paul Cremoux W., and it’s just gorgeous. Not only is it fantastically rapid prototyped with 18K gold and a Rodio metal ultra reflective finish, it’s sculpted to the proportions of the gods. The gods of science!

The groove in which the diamond in each of these rings sits is defined by the size of the diamond. Likewise, the width of each of these rings depends on the size of the rock as well. The design here is based on a wavelength, one perfect mathematical curve here is kept precise no matter which size diamond you’ve got sitting in it.

Generally a ring will have a method of breaking and re-fitting on the “underside” of the ring so that if it’s passed down a generation or if your finger changes sizes drastically, you can have it re-fit, no bother. Here, with this ring we’re speaking about by Cremoux, the entire ring would have to be re-forged.

It must be perfect! That’s the idea.

Designer: Paul Cremoux W.

Source:yankodesign.com

Or better yet, let the spatula raise its own arm up in to the sky. Holla at the sun! Hooray for cleanliness! That’s what you’ll have when you’ve got this amazingly simply innovated-upon set of utensils has just one combo that noone else has got: a weight and a small pillar. With the weight and the stand, you’ll never have a mess in your kitchen again. …at least as a result of your spatula.

Really, truly, seriously, do you know how helpful I would have found these when I first started living on my own, first taking the time to cook extended meals for myself? Totally. If that’s your situation, get on top of these. All the functionality you need to stay fit in the kitchen without the mess, and an array of colors to spice up the atmosphere!

Bachelor with a degree in kitchen intelligence.

That’s you with these.

This set includes a solid spoon, slotted spoon, flexible turner, slotted turner, ladle and spaghetti server.

Designer: Gillian Westley [Buy them Here, Elevate Utensils are available for $40 @ YD Store]

Elevate Utensils are available for $40 @ YD Store

Source:yankodesign.com

Serendip is a portable device that helps you explore the world in a… for the lack of a better word, serendipitously. The design revolves around personalization and interaction. There’s a small screen, a wireless communication aspect and a camera. The user is to go around snapping, recording and cataloging everything. The skin even changes in pixel density to represent how much memory is left.

It’s a bit esoteric but I’d assume it could be used as a research tool – say if I knew I wanted to research everything there was to know about Sea World. Well now I have something that lets me conduct that research other than pen and paper.

Designer: Thomas Troch

Serendip Multimedia Research Device from Thomas Troch on Vimeo.

Source:yankodesign.com

Media centers are supposed to be the hubs of our living rooms – at least that’s what many tech companies are hoping for but the overly complicated GUIs and slap dashed boxed components of computer parts makes them less than user friendly for the average consumer. The Magic Orange concept aims to simplify and organize all in a sculptural package that looks lifted out of some alien world.

The system consists of 4 components. The SILVER is a pebble-shaped touchscreen to help you navigate content. The MAGIC is a wand of sorts using gyroscopes to elevate remote controls to dexterous gestures. The FLOWER is the multimedia box itself with a hidden camera underneath its transparent skin (for God only knows what). Lastly we have the CIRCLE which has three floating buttons on a round touch pad. It’s unclear how the four devices interact with each other but already, I’m a bit flustered at the complexity. What happened with just a box and a remote?

Designer: Jerome Olivet

Source:yankodesign.com

United Kingdom designer Chris Duff reminds us of our potential future, the one where the entire world is run by several parent corporations, most of them once small, direct idea-drivin groups, now just a name. Or is that the present? This project presents a future in which the sneaker brand Adidas will produce automotive vehicles. This project is called “Adidas Mobility” and gives us the first roller, a lightweight adaptable vehicle to epitomize the former shoe brand, current world brand.

It’s all about class. Adidas already has class. They also went to class, got so smart, then applied the intelligence to their shoes. They’ve developed many different sport-changing technologies for their footwear over the years, mixing and matching these technologies in their shoes for each different purpose they’re employed on. The same is true with this vehicle. Inspiration and education from each of Adidas’s future exploits all merge here inside this perfectly sporty auto.

A fabulous example of this technological magic is the wheel. Look at that thing down there in the gallery. It looks like a soccer (football) ball! I bet it rolls so hard and fast and fabulous that it takes the entire world by storm when they first deploy it.

This is my favorite kind of conceptual work. THe kind that, in what I’d call a sort of pop-art fashion, takes what’s already sort of there, then takes it to an entirely different place.

Same ingredients, different mix.

Excellence.

Designer: Chris Duff

Source:yankodesign.com

Cute as a button, the DIY Doggy Lamp for your desk is super convenient and awesome! Besides being a lamp, the doggy also is a holder for all your desk-stuff like pens, pencils, stapler, ruler etc. The basics include stamped wooden sheet for the dog-design, screws, washers, bulb-socket and wire. However, you will need to buy your own bulb. My only concern will be wiring the socket, coz an untidy job done there can be dangerous.

Good news is that you can actually buy this pooch!

Designer: David Zhang

Source:yankodesign.com

Why would you want a digital camera that doubles up as a rubber stamp? Why? The answer is simple.just for fun! As of now digicams offer a variety of options and modes (sepia, landscape etc.) to take pictures and edit them. Stampy Digital Camera gives you the option of creating a rubber-stamp version of your photograph, so that you stamp it onto any sheet of paper or surface. If you ask me, the best way to tweak this concept will be to have it stamp out pictures in multi colors instead of the single red. What do you think?

Designer: Jinhee Kim

Source:yankodesign.com

Call it the aging process or lack of dexterity, but there will come a time when threading the needle will become a difficult task! Thats the time Little Helper will be the real help in getting the job done. No automatics or robotics here, but simply a magnifying glass that fits neatly into the center of the thread spool so that you can magnify the eye of the needle and thread it conveniently.

Visualizer: Roslov Anton

Designers: Chugunnikov Alexey and Alexander Trofimenko

Source:yankodesign.com

When the Gorillaz put out their newest album, “Plastic Beach,” did you know what they were talking about with the title? Do you know what the plastic beach is? It’s an occurrence in the sea where garbage from every direction comes together to form an island of trash. The largest of these islands sit in the Pacific Ocean, the same location where this project by Electrolux, “Vac from the Sea,” aims to turn that garbage back upon itself. Yes, they’ll be transforming these floating conglomerates of plastic back into something useful – vacuum cleaners!

The folks at Electrolux aim to collect masses of plastic from these floats and turn them into recycled floor cleaners. They’ll be doing everything from diving after it to scooping it up with nets. Presently they say they’ve got their green-range vacuum cleaners up to 70 percent recycled plastic, but are aiming for the perfect 100.

The most interesting part of this project, I find, is the mindset involved in it. These Electrolux people are bypassing government cleanup efforts, doing it themselves, all the while collecting material to make a profit on later by selling vacuums. It’s brilliant capitalism.

There are plastic islands, some several times the size of the state of Texas, floating in our oceans. Yet on land, we struggle to get hold of enough recycled plastics to meet the demand for sustainable vacuum cleaners. What the world needs now is a better plastic karma, says Cecilia Nord, Vice President, Floor Care Environmental and Sustainability Affairs, Electrolux.

You can take a look at this campaign from many angles. There’s the blog, the twitter, the facebook, and the email: vacfromthesea@electrolux.com if you’d like to contact them directly.

Designer: Electrolux

Source:yankodesign.com

Not a cake! It might look like a cake a little bit when there’s plants growing out of this project, but it’s not a cake! This project, “Urban Seed,” comes from an overarching concept made by designer Ruedee Sarawutpaiboon. This overarching concept is futuristic public play. In the future, we’re gonna have some fun. This Urban Seed project is inspired by public secret storytelling and apology traditions. Urban Seed works with citizens, citizen to citizen, person to person, seed to blossom.

Now you can do this fabulous trade of ideas in two ways: analog or digital. The digital one works through some basically “traditional” means, odd as that sounds. It’s on telephones, smart phones if you call them that, and what it is is a system where you write your story, whatever you conceive that to be, and share that story anonymously.

Now the analog version is the real hot one. In this one, people are able to write their story on cards of bio-degradable cards filled with seeds. One person leaves a story, another person reads it, and like the seed that has been planted in their brain, another seed is planted via the card, which they can simply lie on the ground, allowing the rain to do its deed.

Grow on up!

Designer: Ruedee Sarawutpaiboon

Source:yankodesign.com

Modular kitchens of the future seem to have the basics in place but little can be said about the supporting technology. For example the Elements Modular Kitchen has wall mounted appliances that range from fridge, air-conditioner, lighting and cooking modules. You can add or choose the modules that are best suited for your home. Each unit works independently but can be seamlessly work together via wireless smart networking. They draw power (wirelessly) thru powermat technology applied to the wall, and this is supplemented with solar energy when required.

Like I said, the basic intention is quite in the correct place, but I dunno if I can say the same for supporting tech.

The Electrolux Elements is a part of the shortlisted entries for the Electrolux Design Lab 2010.

Designer: Mathew Gilbride

Source:yankodesign.com

The way we Indians do it is we hang our towel out in the sun, every day, right after our bath. Thats the routine mom taught us when we were young, but the nextgen is too lazy to follow that. The laundry cycles is usually set for a weekly change in towels at most homes, so a system like the Towel Hanger suits the situation. It dries, deodorizes and sanitizes the towel, when you hang it on the rail. As an added attraction, ambient lights switch on, creating a sweet environment when indulging in an aroma therapy soak!

As good as a solution for any part of the world, so lets keep the towels indoors!

Designer: Kim Jin Yeong

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Source:yankodesign.com

Do you recollect the two umbrella posts I did a while back? One had a calligraphy tip and the other a wheel so that you could drag the thing around. The Wheel Umbrella seen here is a mix of these two, but the only difference is that the target audience for this is children. A delightful play element has been included to the design, where you can drag the umbrella trough puddles and leave behind smiles! When opened up, the umbrella doesnt look bad, and the kid in the picture looks like he can handle the added weight. The reason why I find this design super cool is that if marketed well, it can go on to become a rage amongst the youngsters.

Catering to a childs need to lug around an umbrella because he may find it heavy or just fun, in such an appealing way, is really neat. Children have a herd mentality and generally what appeals to one, will definitely appeal to his peers.

Designers: Lin Cheng-Han, Chung Yu-Hsun, Cheng Yu-Ting & Chen Shaw-Chen

Source:yankodesign.com

You wouldn’t think much more could be done for an ice cube tray but when one wins a Good Design Award, we have to investigate. The Buzbox by Raaya Design takes a very simple idea and improves it just enough to make life even simpler and it’s priced just right at $15. Hit the jump for my review.

In a nutshell, the Buzbox is an ice cube tray with a grid lid. Most ice cube trays are designed around the idea of compartmentalized sections to freeze water. Traditional trays require twisting both ends to release the cubes. There are also trays that employ switches to flip the cubes out. What Raaya Design did was turn the anatomy of an ice cube tray upside down. The tray holds water and the grid lid seals odors out while creating perfectly shaped cubes that release with ease simply by peeling it off. It’s BPA free and dish washer safe too.

In practice it works quite well with one minor fluke; you have to set the tray out at room temp or run tap water on the lid. This process helps release the cubes. It’s a minor annoyance but the end result is quite nice. My only other issue is how to store unused cubes. It’s not exactly easy lining up the grid with the left overs. The tray isn’t very large to begin with so you’ll probably never need to store a batch of cubes anyway.

I would recommend it based on the odor shielding qualities alone. I froze cubes next to an open bag of shrimp and there wasn’t a trace of our odorous seafood friends. For a control, I also made cubes using a traditional tray and sure enough, they smelled like an oceanic surprise.

What we liked:

• Nice stackable design
• Odor barrier
• Easy to clean
• Priced at $15

What could be improved:

• Better way to release the cubes
• Better way to store unused cubes

Designer: Raaya Design for Buzbox (Buy it here $15)

Source:yankodesign.com

This doesn’t happen every day. A Tbilisi based aircraft manufacturing company contacts you and asks for a proposal on a bike that utilizes aluminum square tubes. It has to look modern, out of the ordinary, aerodynamic and turn heads. The result is the Spider. The main frame is made by welding aluminum tubes and the chain stays are cold stamped together. The spokes are purposely kinked to look like our arachnid friends. Hmm…

Designer: Zviad Tsikolia for Tsikolia Design R&D Ltd.

Source:yankodesign.com

Check out this novel yet totally functional salt, pepper, oil and vinegar set called Earl. Inspired by the iconic Erlenmeyer chemistry flask, Earl brings a scientific element to sophisticated dining. I had a chem teacher in high school that would have flipped over this.

Designers: Kevin Champion & Duncan Taylor for Mode Product Design

Source:yankodesign.com

One panel, all personalities. That’s sort of the idea with this particular line of furniture that focuses on the panel. It’s called “Muu” and it’s got a “MuuPanel” system working for it. Imagine the luck, them having the same name like that! We’ve got a tiny bit of info on their Sam Collection – premium, colorful, and fresh. It’s all right inside this modern hipster style furnishings age we’re in. Right in there. I expect some amazing rock and roll screenprint posters on the wall and all natural food in the fridge for sure.

Each panel location in a piece of Muu furniture gives you the option of choosing a pre-fabricated design or allows you to create your own. If you choose to have them made, each panel’s custom-printed order has the choice of 10 characters in your choice of font. Once you’ve got the panel you want, they’re held in place by high-strength magnets, allowing them to be changed whimsically.

Below you’ll see the Crib, Toddler Conversion Kit, Dresser, Storage Unit, Nightstand, and Twin Bed. All of these are from the Sam Collection of Muu. They’ve also got a set called Ray that’s a bit more understated, working instead with simplicity and grace as opposed to fantastically loud expression of your undeniable child.

Designer: Muu

Source:yankodesign.com

It’s the pistol grip mug on my desk at all times. Filled with coffee and sitting there at all times. Trigger happy designer with a cup full of caffeine ammo, that’s what you’re gonna be with this sassy momma. It’s the “Kill Time Gun Mug” by ChilliChilly. It’s 7.6 oz or 225 ml of fire hot fury. Don’t let the trigger fool you though, this cuppa’s made of porcelain and paint only. The only bullets you’ll be firing is the ones out of your eyeballs when you’ve swallowed your 15th glass of joe from this cannon.

You can have it in white or black! Just like a real gun? If you’re rich you can have a gun in whatever color metal you want I suppose. These porcelain cups are just white or black though, with a platinum colored trigger for the black and a gold colored trigger for the white.

White hot heat! And if you’re not into coffee, I’m sure you could fill the Kill Time with cold-as-ice soda pop too! Still hot!

Designer: ChilliChilly [Buy It Here, Kill Time Gun Mug is available for $17.00 @ YD Store]

Kill Time Gun Mug is available for $17 @ YD Store

Source:yankodesign.com

Solar panels have been around for quite a few years now, but like any great technology, it takes hundreds of iterations before it catches on as a perfectly suitable solution to masses of everyday problems. Here’s another piece in that great puzzle. Nectar Design’s made a fabulously pretty set of plant-esque solar panels by the name of Solarflora. This project’s already been adopted by a charter school in Southern California. Plant em everywhere! Cute!

The first location for these planted panels is an urban garden operated by the publicly funded charter New City Schools in SoCal. Each Solarflora is a flower-like sculpture designed with three solar panels, each one representing a “leaf.” Each leaf provides 90 watts of poster and maximum amperage for the fully functional on-site offices at these NCS schools.

Yay please send me a million. Super day!

Designer: Nectar Design

Source:yankodesign.com

Most photographers use a sturdy camera strap while clicking pictures and heres an idea that wants to capitalize on it. This is done by making the strap solar-savvy! Meaning, adding thin solar films across the width of the strap, so as to harness solar energy when out on the field. Aptly christened the Solar Camera Strap, its a neat idea; when we can have solar panels on backpacks and what not, then why not on a camera strap!

Designer: Weng Jie

Source:yankodesign.com

The Mechanized Digital Watch features a digital font but manipulates it to function as a “mechanized” number because the elements of each digit physically move to create numbers. Every digit is composed of 7 panels and to create a number, panels on the watch face recess revealing contrasting sidewalls. Thus creating the outline of a digit and a whole lot of fun!

Designer: Carl Allen

Source:yankodesign.com