September 9, 2006

Literally Smells Like Teen Spirit

Although most people enjoy listening to music, Japanese communications giant NTT Communications has a hunch that some people want to smell music. Yup, that’s right…NTT has developed something called the “Aroma Geur,” a USB-connected sphere that pumps out whiffs of six oil-based perfume compounds depending on the music playing on the radio. The $430 device, which also displays random lighted colors, pumps out smells based on PC-delivered instructions spurred by Internet radio stations. Let’s hope they don’t develop a smell blast for “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road.”

(Hat tip to Engadget.)

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 7:32 PM | Comments (0)

July 21, 2006

As Long as the Urinal Doesn't Start Arguing

We fail to understand the popularity of electronic gizmos in urinals, but have come to accept that these porcelain necessities are prime marketing locations. The latest candidate for distracting (if not freaking out) men at urinals: the talking urinal. Specifically, the Wizmark Urinal Communicator, a waterproof drain cover embedded with electronics, including a proximity sensor that triggers audio announcements when the man is within 30 to 60 centimeters of the urinal. Even more chilling, the device has an image and text display for, well, commercials. Dr. Richard Deutsch, the inventor, says the Wizmark can be used for anything from beer commercial to PSAs. (Hat tip to Wired Blog.)

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 10:06 AM | Comments (0)

June 18, 2006

Charge Your iPod While Doing Your Business

There are so many weird iPod accessories that mocking any of them seems like shooting fish in a barrel. But, hey, here’s the latest: an iPod dock and toilet paper holder all-in-one. It’s called the iCarta. Not only can you charge your iPod with this device, but it also comes equipped with 4 integrated high performance moisture-free speakers. No word on whether an iPod left next to the toilet for an extended period of time becomes a bio-hazard, but that’s what they make sanitizing wipes for. (Courtesy of OhGizmo.)

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 3:47 PM | Comments (0)

May 27, 2006

New Meaning for the Word Joystick

Courtesy of the TechEBlog, a video game and urinal, all-in-one. It’s called OnTarget and it’s really real. Here’s the product description:

Recessed into a urinal is a pressure-sensitive display screen. When the guest uses it, he triggers an interactive game, producing images and sound. The reduced size of the “target” improves restroom hygiene and saves on cleanings costs (like the “fly in the urinal” at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport). It also makes a trip to the urinal “fun and games” – more than just a necessary nuisance. By projecting the game experience into the public space, viewers are treated to a new way of visualizing the abstract, and the entertainment value is boosted. The projection of the project into a museum space was conceived of as a critical-ironic measure, questioning the concept of art, but extending it at the same time. “On target” is an interactive installation with the functional purpose of improving hygiene.

Is there anything more to say? Fun and games at the urinal that improve hygiene? Impossible to top that.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2006

Some Telephony Ideas Never Die

Courtesy of IP Funny, the following patent application was submitted to the USPTO:

A device for communicating in which a hollow frustum extending outwardly from a flat base has tabs at the ends thereof for holding a relatively rigid diaphragm having spaced apart apertures therein. A pair of these devices are interconnected by a cord or string, whereby conversation or sound projected into one of the devices is reproduced at the other device. Two devices are molded as a single integral unit and merchandised as an in-pack item with children’s breakfast cereals.

Check on the thumbnail image above to see a graphic depiction of this invention.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

April 9, 2006

Ah...the Old Oven-Door-As-Flat-Screen-TV Scam

Courtesy of BCBeat, this item about a new scam no one could have dreamed up, except someone apparently did. It seems that there has been a rash of oven door thefts, yes oven door thefts, in South Bend, Indiana and now the police know why. A 43 year-old man approached at least one person with an offer to sell a flat-screen TV cheap ($500). The unsuspecting victim saw the package, complete with Wal-Mart labelling and remote control, and plunked down cash for the too-good-to-be-true bargain. When she got home, she discovered that wrapped inside the plastic was an oven door. That’s not the best part…while police arrested one scam artist, two other grifters selling flat-screen-TV-cum-oven-doors are on the loose.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 1:01 PM | Comments (0)

March 23, 2006

Electromagnitized Next-Generation...Crucifix

Courtesy of Oh Gizmo, this wall-mounted, next-generation…um, crucifix, which is called The Crucifix NG. The manufacturer’s description: “This handheld, wall-mountable device houses a battery-operated transmitter that broadcasts an ASCII, non-denominational version of the Lord’s Prayer at 916 megahertz.”

That’s not the best part - because “the human body itself is an effective antenna,”

all people within range of the signal receive the Lord’s Prayer, their bodies imbued with an anointed electromagnetism, and it is beyond their ability to accept or reject this transmission. It simply happens to them.

Maybe The Crucifix NG’s makers can put this technology to better use, like imbuing high school students with critical calculus solutions or, for the rest of us, our own cell phone numbers, which we tend to forget.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 3:03 PM | Comments (0)

February 11, 2006

Why, Of Course! A Surgical Solution to iPod Headphone Hassles

There are times when we get a little tired of hearing about the amazing iPod and after reading this item about implantable chips that enable you to listen to your iPod via skin transmission, our enthusiasm for the nifty little devices has been revived. Not sure we exactly understand the principles involved, but researchers at Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have developed some sort of computer chip that is inserted underneath the skin of the forearm “and uses the body’s own propensity to create electricity to power the transmission sequences from the portable music player.” In other words, this chip enables you to listen to an iPod without corded ear phones. Why hassle with messy cords when you can, with only a minimal risk of infection, have this chip surgically implanted? (Hat tip to Engadget.)

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 6:29 PM | Comments (0)

January 10, 2006

At Last, Communications Converges on Roaches

We really hope that our readers aren’t bug-phobic, but this item was too good to pass up. It seems that researchers at Tokyo University have developed a way for roaches to conduct dangerous missions by…lopping off their antennae and replacing them with pulse-emitting electrodes. Then, using a remote control to communicate to the electronic receptors via a backpack device placed on the roach, researchers can direct the bug to go left, or right or wherever. The research into these “bug-bots” was so impressive that the Japanese government awarded $5 million to the research team and biologists at Tsukuba University, a leading science center in central Japan. (Thanks to Engadget.)

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 8:06 PM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2005

Do You Smell That? I Think I Have a Call.

Courtesty of RedFerret via Engadget, our second favorite mobile phone attachment next to the Marimo. The Keitai Kunkun apparently notifies the mobile phone owner of incoming calls or mail with…smells.

Is the first among the world! It is news universal design in “odor” at arrival of the mail of a cellular phone! It is epoch-making mobile accessories to inform of arrival of the mail of a cellular phone in “odor”. Hangs it on a strap of a cellular phone, and faint odor opens at every telephone and arrival of the mail of an email for five seconds.

But these are no ordinary odors. They have names like “Hello Kitty” and “NIOUNDESU, It Really Smells.”

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 4:51 PM | Comments (0)

November 8, 2005

Santa, All I Want for Christmas is This Phone

We like mobile phones and we like precious gems so we really like this new phone. A European outfit headed by Austrian marketing manager-turned master craftsman, Peter Aloisson, has jumped into the blinged-out cell phone business. Aloisson is creating a $1 million-dollar, diamond encrusted phone for a German manufacturer, featuring solid gold parts with an exterior covered by 2,590 natural blue diamonds. But look at the photo (click on thumbnail) — with this kind of ice, why does the phone feature smack in the middle the relatively cheesy, laminate Motorola name plate? (Thanks to OhGizmo.)

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

November 1, 2005

Finally, An MP3 Player for the Long-Overlooked Metrosexual Market

Courtesy of Engagdet, the long-standing neglect of the metrosexual market by consumer electronics makers is over. The MPIO HD400 is here and it’s…metrosexual. In fact, it’s called the “Metro Sexual Style MP3 Player” by its Korean manufacturer. The device seems like a regular MP3 player to us, but we’re admittedly not a member of the metrosexual minority so of course we wouldn’t pick up on the metrosexual shout-outs.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 1:16 PM | Comments (0)

October 6, 2005

Pimp My iPod

For those of us who need something more than a ratty old iPod Nano, given that it’s made of commonly available materials, the Douglas J. Music Group has a new and better toy. It’s a diamond-encrusted MP3 player priced at £25,000 ($50,000). Aside from the jewels, it’s just the same as any other MP3 player made by the company — did we just say aside from the jewels? In any event, this item came to us from Engadget, whose parent company Weblogs, Inc. is being purchased by AOL for a rumored $25 million. Weblogs Inc. founder Jason Calacanis founded the company two short years ago, not that he wasn’t already rich, but well, now he really can afford one of these tricked-up MP3 players, maybe a whole slew of them. We’re very happy for him…really.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 2:53 PM | Comments (0)

September 29, 2005

Yeah, But Can Your Fillings Pick Up Radio Stations with This Baby?

Courtesy of Slashdot, a new way to look crazy while walking down the street talking on your mobile communications device. New Scientist reports that four inventors have come up with microphone that clamps on to back teeth. The device uses bone conduction technology to transmit audible voice communications to the listener, and the primary goal of the unit is for military purposes. A microphone embedded in the mouth is not subject to random noise disturbances such as you might hear in the battlefield. Although the patent application describes this tooth microphone as durable, it’s probably wise to not talk and chew gum at the same time.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2005

Replace Your PC's Mouse with a... Teddy Bear

Courtesy of Engadget, Japanese researchers have pinpointed an unfulfilled market need, and none too soon. Inami Laboratory has developed a robotic user interface that works like a mouse but is, in fact, a teddy bear. Manipulating various “body parts” of the teddy bear translates into similar movements (huh?) on the screen. Our favorite part: to prove the technology, researchers created a demo of a air hockey video game, with digital bears battling for the title of “World’s Best Teddy Bear Air Hockey Player.”

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 9:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 20, 2005

There are Some Things We Don't Want to Smell

Japan apparently has a broad national policy to make 3-D, smellable and touchable HDTV a reality by 2020. This virtual reality television project aims to allow viewers to look at images in 3-D from any angle and allow them to touch and smell the objects being displayed. One problem: the only examples offered in portraying the benefits of this touchy-smelly technology are sports-related.

“Can you imagine hovering over your TV to watch Japan versus Brazil in the finals of the World Cup as if you are really there?” asked Yoshiaki Takeuchi, director of research and development at Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Watch the World Cup in 3-D? Yes. Touch the players in 3-D? Most definitely. But no one, we believe, wants to smell them. (Courtesy of Slashdot.)

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 3:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 15, 2005

It's Ugly! It's Inconvenient! It Will Probably Fly Off the Shelves.

Courtesy of Oh Gizmo!, Japan’s Maywadenki has developed a new retro watch for people who have been pining away for the old days of rotary dial phones. Here’s how it works: if you want to know what time it is, you dial 117 on your watch and a female voice will announced the time (in Japanese, but jewelry this clever will no spread around the globe). Here’s a video of how the watch works. Judging by the heft of this baby, it will also do a good job in building up biceps - at least on one side of your body.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 3:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 13, 2005

Help Has Arrived for the Socially Tone-Deaf Dweebs of the World

For those of us who need electronic assistance in determining whether someone is behaving like a dipwad, researchers at MIT’s Media Lab have developed a solution to our problems. It’s called the Jerk-o-Meter and it’s a real-time application that runs on a VoIP or cell phone. The Jerk-o-Meter uses speech analysis to determine if the speaker is paying attention or is being stressful. (It will soon be able to measure the level of the speaker’s empathy.) The technology currently runs in Linux on the Zaurus VOIP phone and so far is limited to detecting jerk-like behavior on the user’s end of the conversation; namely, you can only use it determine if you yourself are being a jerk. (Thanks Ron Gruia).

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 11:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 29, 2005

Why, I'd Like to Attach Horse Dung to My Phone!

Courtesy of Oh Gizmo’s Andrew Sineni, a substance called Marimo is sold “all over Asia.”

What is Marimo? It’s a breed of fresh water algae. And it’s perfect for attaching to your…mobile phone. That’s right, a company called Compact Impact is selling a bottle of algae with a cord that attaches to your cell phone.

Anyway, I’d like to see more living organisms that can be attached to my mobile devices. Next on my wish list would be a miniscule genetically engineered child whose sole purpose in life is to keep my Ipod clean. This thing is filthy!

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 12:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 24, 2005

Talk Faster! My Legs Are Getting Tired

(For the record, we fully support policies that ensure developing nations have access to the latest communications infrastructure, but come on. We couldn’t pass this up.) Courtesy of Asterisk VoIP News, this Infoworld article on the latest development to deliver VoIP to deprived areas.

It’s VoIP on a bike! Yes, for villages that lack electricity, the bike generates one hour of talk time for every fifteen minutes pedaled.

The mission of Inveneo, a nonprofit group of inveterate high-tech adventurers, is to bring developing communities that never reached a 20th century level of infrastructure into the 21st century. Its bicycle-powered system brings not just VoIP but also e-mail and Web browsing to remote areas, using a combination of Linux and the Asterisk open source PBX.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 4:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 20, 2005

[Ring, ring..] This is Your Urinal Speaking. You Have a Nasty Disease.

Courtesy of Gizmodo, an item for our “Why Would Anybody Ever Want to Do This?” files. It seems that a UK designer named Malcolm Kimberley has developed something called the Pistake Urinal.

His Pistake Urinal takes samples of your urine, analyses them for sexually transmitted diseases, and sends the results to your cell phone via Bluetooth.

That’s one phone call you are going to want take in private.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 9:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 18, 2005

We Just Need More Information About This...Rabbit?

Courtesy of SmartMobs, the International Herald Tribune has a piece on a device called Nabaztag (Armenian for rabbit) which seems to be a breakthrough of some kind, but why exactly it’s special is unclear. The rabbit is a plastic box shaped like, well, a bunny and it has a Hello Kitty-esque face. It seems to offer Wi-Fi connectivity, but beyond that we’re not sure why it has caught so much attention.

”This rabbit is not beautiful, it is not smart, and it is not that useful, but this first generation has already sold out,” said Haladjian [Rafi Haladjian, the inventor], an Armenian who has long lived in France. ”Wireless-linked devices will soon be everywhere, and we are now taking the first steps using Wi-Fi.”

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 9:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 2, 2005

Yeah, But We Bet Car Owners With Low Self-Esteem Will Snap These Babies Up

Courtesy of Gizmodo, we learn that Mercedes is selling a watch with MP3 capability at a rumored price of $350, according to OhGizmo.

Just to show how declassé we are, we thought this was a pretty cool idea. But Gizmodo’s Joel Johnson shamed us into no longer wanting this (literal) Mercedes of MP3 players. His take on the supposedly high-class watch:

Dear BMW and Mercedes- Please fire the 12-year-olds in your cross-marketing team. They may think MP3 watches are very cool and, like, really retro, but in fact they are quite silly and frustrating and no self-respecting car owner would be caught dead wearing one.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 7:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thanks But No Thanks. Americans Would Rather Appear to Be Crazy.

Courtesy of Jim Downing at SmartMobs we find another ingenious use for the human finger. Japanese telecom giant NTTDoCoMo is developing something it calls the “Finger Whisper.” In essence, it’s a device worn on the wrist that allows cell phone users to listen to calls by…sticking their fingers in their ears. “Worn on the wrist, this watch-like terminal converts voice to vibration through an actuator and channels this vibration through the bones to the tip of the index finger. By inserting this finger into the ear canal, the vibration can be heard as voice.”

But that’s not our favorite part. NTTDoCoMo says the Finger Whisper actually relieves the discomfort of talking on cell phones.

Earphone-microphones may be popular in the United States, but they never caught on in Japan. This is probably because people are reluctant to be seen as talking to themselves. Although no terminal is held, FingerWhisper usage conveys the impression of talking on a mobile phone, and alleviates any sense of discomfort. FingerWhisper’s watch-like shape makes it easy-to-wear and the mobile phone-like hand posture enables natural operation.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 7:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack