Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

I never knew I needed or even wanted an RSS feed displaying shelf until I saw the WaSnake, but now I don’t know how I manage to live without one. The shelf features several segments made from wood and an elastomer material that allow it to be reconfigured to fit your wall space. The non-flexible segments also feature clusters of colored LEDs and optical fibers to form a screen that’s capable of displaying everything from RSS feed headlines like a stock ticker, to SMS messages sent to its ‘home’ address or even little animations using the widget based configuration software.

The WaSnake shelf was designed by Jean Louis Frechin and was recently shown at the International Milan Furniture Show which was probably the only chance any of us would have had of seeing it in person. In other words, if you haven’t already torn down the shelving in your living room like I did upon seeing this, I wouldn’t start making room for the WaSnake just yet.

[ Newlaunches.com - WaSnake a shelf that displays SMS and News ] VIA [ Digital Drops ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Javier Segovia is a graphic designer working in Spain who occasionally turns his attention to concept designs for actual products. The reNESED is his take on the NES gaming console from yesteryear, and is hands down a big improvement over Nintendo’s original design. Of course it’s a bit easier to design shiny, curvy hardware these days thanks to 3D software and advanced manufacturing techniques (see the PS3) but the reNESED is still a nice piece of eye candy. Of course if I was redesigning the NES console I would have to incorporate some kind of automatic blowing mechanism to minimize the risk of me getting light-headed while playing. That, or actually fix the problem that caused games not to load correctly.

[ reNESED ] VIA [ Kotaku ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It will be a long time before digital turntables completely overtake their analog predecessors, but you can’t argue that carrying a hard drive full of MP3s to a gig is a lot easier than hauling crates full of vinyl. And it’s that convenience aspect that the Design Continuum has taken one step further with their DJ GO concept. The system is composed of a set of MP3/CD turntables with a built-in mixer that can fold up into a convenient single package. I have my doubts that the DJ GO would be the lightest thing you’ve ever thrown over your shoulder, but it’s at least lighter than the cases needed to move a set of 1200s. But don’t go throwing away your old tables just yet since there doesn’t seem to be any plans to put the DJ GO into production

[ DJ GO ] VIA [ Gizmo Watch ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The Olinda digital radio was commissioned by BBC Audio & Music Interactive R&D as part of a study to see how physical products could benefit from features we’re accustomed to having while surfing the web. The radio uses a modular design that allows the listener to adapt the product over time to their own needs with hardware add-ons and upgrades. The first prototype pictured here has a social networking module that uses six lights to show when one of your friends is listening to the radio. Pushing their particular button will tune your radio to whatever they’re listening to, allowing you to discover new stations via your social network.

Another web surfing influence can be found on the Olinda’s tuner dials. While the outer dial scrolls the names of stations alphabetically, the inner dial only scrolls through your most listened. In the same way a web browser will auto-complete the URL for a website you’ve already visited, the Olinda radio will automatically compile and remember a list of your most frequented stations. No more having to manually program a list of presets.

[ Olinda Digital Radio ] VIA [ DVICE ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The Eclosion pump-up sofa is an interesting take on the whole futon/sofa-bed concept. One side features a hidden air bladder that can be pumped up, turning it from a relatively small bed, to a sofa that’s suitable for a couple of people. It was designed by Olivier Gregoire and while it may seem similar to the futon you slept on in college, I’m pretty sure the price (if it were available for sale) would ensure you’d never see it in a dorm room.

[ Eclosion ] VIA [ Design Milk ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Growing up I was fascinated with shuriken or ‘ninja stars’ as much as the next kid. I think it was partly because G.I. Joe made Snake Eyes out to be such a cool character, and partly because they were so hard to come by. I remember everyone having a friend of a friend who was rumored to sneak a couple into their suitcase during a trip, but I never actually saw one. As you grow up though, you realize how dangerous a sharpened metal star really is. I mean, just look what happened to Butters in the South Park episode ‘Good Times With Weapons’. But there’s still some small, irresponsible part of me that thinks these shuriken LED lamps are pretty cool looking. While I doubt the installation process would be as easy as just throwing them at the wall, the effect of these sticking out all the over place would be well worth the necessary drywall repairs when you redecorate someday.

Unfortunately the lamps, which were designed by Stanislav Katz, are only a design concept and aren’t actually available for sale. But I do like the title on his website, “In Soviet Latvia, Design Makes You!”

[ Stanislav Katz ]

By Luke Anderson

Have you ever dreamt of having some sort of superhuman power? Perhaps you’d like super strength, or even something as simple as super hearing. Well thanks to these strange Batphones you’ll not only have super hearing, but you’ll also have the beginnings of your super hero costume. Be warned though, someone’s already taken Batman, so you’ll have to think up a different name for yourself.

Essentially these are simply a passive amplification device which work much the same as cupping your hand to your ear. I don’t really see these being all that useful, as they would likely diminish your ability to hear sound coming from behind you. Oh, and you’ll look like a complete idiot when wearing them. They’re only a concept for now, and lets hope that they stay that way.

VIA [ Yanko Design ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The alarm clock seems to be quite a popular target for product designers, and I’m sure it must have something to do with mankind’s love/hate relationship with the device that wakes us from our blissful slumbers each morning. Melanie Graf, a Product Design student at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London has added yet another creative twist with her Pandora alarm clock.

Once you hit the snooze button, an animation will be laser projected onto the ceiling above your bed. After drifting off to sleep, you’ll be awakened once again with a bunch of different sounds. When you open your eyes and look up at the ceiling, you’ll see a series of animations which reflect what you should actually be doing as part of your morning routine, instead of sleeping in. And if you keep hitting the snooze button, the animations will eventually reflect the catastrophic consequences if you don’t get out of bed. While I understand the device is designed to ‘guilt’ you out of bed in the morning, it would take a lot more than an animated catastrophe to get me up.

[ Pandora ] VIA [ Cribcandy ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Any kind of recycling that involves toilets is kind of a hard sell, but who really cares where the water that’s used for flushing comes from? That’s why Sevin Coskun created the WashUP concept that stacks a washing machine on top of your toilet. After the washing cycle is over, the water that’s used to clean your clothes is stored in a reservoir where it can be used again later to flush the toilet.

As an added bonus the washing machine is situated higher off the ground, making it easier to load and unload clothing without having to crouch down. It also has the advantage of allowing people who live in smaller apartments to actually have room for a washing machine, since the space used by the toilet and washer overlap. And of course there’s all the hilarious ’soiled clothing’ jokes that I won’t even get into.

[ Core 77 - WashUP ] VIA [ Born Rich ]

By Evan Ackerman

The difference between these renderings and every other iPhone 2.0 photochop is that these are based on a patent filled by Apple for a “dual sided trackpad.” What is a “dual sided trackpad” and why do some people think it might be included in the next (or some future) incarnation of the iPhone? Well, take a look at the actual patent:

So, in addition to a touch sensitive surface on the phone, the transparent clamshell flip-out screen is also a touch sensitive surface, on both sides. That gives the user three touchpads to play around with, depending on what the phone is being used for. The clamshell design allows the entire phone to be shrunk without sacrificing any functionality, although you will loose some screen space. Perfect for an iPhone Nano, perhaps? Your guess is as good as mine, but whatever this technology ends up it, it’s probably going to be something cool, and we may see it fairly soon, as the patent was filed in September of 2006, while the patent for the original iPhone was filed only four months earlier. ‘Course, that may not mean anything, but feel free to get excited anyway.

VIA [ Unwired View ]