Use Your Water Twice

It goes in the sink, then it goes in the toilet. What’s that? It’s your water bill! You’ve got to conserve in any way you can. Here’s a lovely simple system that makes use of the fact that toilet water never needs to be as clean as it usually is. The “Eco Bath” concept uses 50% reused water and 50% new water for a toilet system half-ways to nature friendly.

You simply must read this little poem written about this toilet system by it’s designer, Jang Woo-seok:

Express the flow of water.
General water, the blue pipes.
Green pipes, water reuse

Fresh, yes?

Jang gets the idea for the Eco Bath from the naturally flowing waterways all around us. Naturally moving, naturally cleaning. Tagged “Green”, naturally.

Verbatim Wireless Mouse Goes Nano

The only time I like wireless mice are when they are for notebooks. When it comes to my desktop computer for gaming, I want a wired mouse. Wireless mice need to be charged too frequently for my tastes when used with desktop computers.

One of the biggest things that bugs me about wireless notebook mice are the big USB adapters that you have to plug into the notebook for connectivity. Those long adapters stick out so far from the side of the machine that it can be easy to break them off when it comes time to pack up your notebook and go.

Verbatim has a new notebook mouse called the Nano Wireless Optical Mouse that is available in eight different colors. The big feature of the mouse isn’t the different color offerings, but a tiny USB dongle that hardly protrudes from the side of the notebook. In fact, the dongle is so small you really don’t even have to unplug it to put your notebook into a backpack. The mouse sells for $29.99 and uses 2.4GHz wireless technology. Source

Q-SOUND Solar Powered Headphones

Anything that can help you save energy or protect the environment is bound to do pretty well these days with so many people’s minds on being green. But the new Q-SOUND headphones are just plain practical in that they are solar-powered.

Though just a concept at the moment, the Q-SOUND headphones make use of a headband that’s filled with solar cells, so when you’re walking around the town, your head is the vessel through which the headphones are charged.

The solar cells are made from a flexible plastic, making them easy to bend around the head. It also uses Bluetooth, allowing you to take calls and listen to music with these headphones. Apparently, all you need is one hour of sun exposure to build up 2.67 hours worth of active use. We’ll be anxious to see if the Q-SOUND headphones make it into reality.

USB U-Shape i-Speaker

This funky looking speaker can pump out a massive 2W, it features two tiny speakers at each end, and a built in rechargeable battery.

Here are the specifications.

• Recharged by USB
• Built-in rechargeable Lithium Ion battery
• High quality sound with a 2W + 2W power output
• Dual 36mm stereo speaker with volume control
• On/Off switch
• Charging/Status LED indicator
• Apply to any audio devices with 3.5mm audio plug, e.g. PC, Mac, iPod/iPhone, PDA, MP3 player… etc.
• Dimension: 132 x 93 x 42mm (approx.)
• Weight: 105g

The USB U-Shape i-Speaker is comes in a choice of two colours, red and blue, and is available for $19 from USB Geek.

Automatic Toilet Seat Cover

The automatic toilet seat cover for gadget fans' home. The Pressalit AutoClose automatic toilet seat cover has a built-in sensor that keep the toilet cover open when a user is present, and will gently close once one's "business" is done and over with. It is hand-free and wih a soft close feature that lower the seats automatically as you wash your hands... A good idea!

Orange Power Pump

The Orange Power Pump is a compact mobile phone charger for outdoor using. It's a basically compact generator that features a turbine driven by a standard air bed foot pump. The turbine can generate enough power to make 5 minutes of call time in the time it takes to inflate a pillow.
"A compact camping accessory which fits all handsets, the Orange Power Pump measures 154mm by 129mm with a height of 47mm making it no bigger than a packet of Wet Wipes, is lightweight and easy to fit into your rucksack. Encased in sleek black housing, the turbine can generate enough energy to power 5 minutes of call time in the time it takes to inflate a pillow. "

Off the Course Umbrella

This quirky umbrella was inspired by designer Sebastian Errazuriz's rainy day golf outings. While living in Scotland, he and his friends often found themselves carrying golf clubs and umbrellas simultaneously, which struck inspiration in the young designer. Made of steel, fiberglass, polyester, and rubber. This product is an umbrella and should not be used as a golf club. Source

Panasonic HDC-SD10 and HDC-TM10 Full-HD camcorders

Panasonic have taken the wraps off of two Full-HD AVCHD camcorders, which it claims are the lightest of their kind. The Panasonic HDC-SD10 and HDC-TM10 each have 16x optical zooms, optical image stabilization (OIS) and touchscreen controls, and record to SD/SDHC memory cards. The Panasonic HDC-TM10 also has 8GB of its own internal storage.

Both can record Full-HD 1920 x 1080 footage with Panasonic’s iA (”Intelligent Auto”) function, which automatically selects between scene modes and OIS settings, exposure and face detection, and Intelligent Contrast Control to suit the shooting environment. There’s also AF/AE Tracking, which can ensure a moving subject is kept in focus.

Up to 32GB SDHC cards are supported, which in the case of the TM10 gives a total of 40GB capacity. Each camcorder supports pre-recording (where three seconds of footage are buffered before the record button is actually pressed) and one-connection burning with Panasonic’s USB DVD burner. The Panasonic HDC-SD10 and HDC-TM10 will be available in the UK in June, priced at £499.99 ($774) and £529.99 ($820) respectively.

Citizen AIBATO M Bluetooth Watch

The Citizen AIBATO M Bluetooth Watch will let you know who is calling you on your iPhone or mobile phone, it will even display emails and when there is an incoming call or email the watch face will light up and it will vibrate. The Citizen AIBATO M Bluetooth Watch will go on sale in Japan on the 1st of July, there is no word on pricing or details on when we will see it in the US and Europe. Source

The Clock Clock made of 24 Clocks

Clock Clock made of 24 individual clocks, features 48 electronically-controlled analog clock hands which automatically rotate into the proper positions to tell you times. By Humans Since 1982. This prototype will be on display at the Röhsska Design Museum in Göteborg from june till mid of august 2009.

Dell Latitude 2100 Notebook for Schools

Dell launch a new education notbook - the Latitude 2100 netbook($369+) for the education market. It was designed for students in the classroom, features a rubberized case for easier handling and increased durability, a clean vent-free bottom that helps avoid intrusion from spills, an optional carrying strap to make easier to carry around. And the notebook also has a network activity lights so that wireless connectivity can be monitored by educators and a webcam option.

Latitude 2100 utilizes Intel's 945GSE chipset. Here's other important specs and options:
- Intel Atom N270 processor
- Up to 1GB fixed RAM; Additional memory slot to accommodate up to 2GB RAM total
- Display: 1024x576 LED screen, optional touch screen
- Storage options: standard hard drive options up to 250GB; SSD drive up to 16GB
- Battery: 3 and 6-cell battery options
- Wired Connectivity: 10/100/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet
- Wireless Connectivity: 802.11g standard, option 802.11n
- Ports: 3 USB, VGA, headphone/speaker out, mic
- Expansion slot: SD/ MMC card reader
Available in several operating system options: Ubuntu 8.10, Windows XP Home or Vista Home Basic. The Latitude 2100 will be availble in 5 colors: Schoolhouse Red, School Bus Gold, Blue Ribbon, Ball Field Green and Chalkboard Black. Prices start at $369.

Tony Hawk Ride

Have you ever played Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 on the Dreamcast? The Tony Hawk Ride($TBA) is a skateboard like controller for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It features will use "a combination of accelerometers and motion sensors" and require no other controller. You will control the game by riding on the board. It will be available for the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3 for 2009 holiday season. More info, you can check out official game site on June 2 - the first day of the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo.

The USB Heart Clip Webcam

If you or someone you know is the Hello Kitty loving type, then they’ll likely enjoy this heart-shaped webcam. It would fit in nicely with bright pink accessories that for most would only render feelings of nausea. However, for the overly feminine types, it could be love at first sight. Which is fitting since this is very much a love themed webcam. It even has the word love written on the very base of it.

The web camera is somewhat of a 3-in-1 gadget. The left side of the cam rotates and reveals a set of LED lights. It also has a microphone built into it. The lights would make it great for college students when they can’t turn on the overhead light due to a dorm roommate. It can either sit alone on your desk, or attach to your monitor. Although, from the picture it appears as if the cam would end up obstructing your view if you put it on the monitor itself. You can purchase the 640 x 480 resolution cam for $22 from Brando. When you do, you can choose between either blue or pink. Source

Interactive Public Showers

Oh yes, showers indeed. Apparently when you’re at the public shower, you put your money in the slot, and you get a limited amount of water, just like air at the air pump. If you use the public shower a lot, no prob! But if you don’t, you don’t know how much water you’re gonna get. So check it out. The “Interactive Shower System” has a little pixel hourglass to tell you how much water you’ve got left to get clean. In the public shower.

It’s also got a temperature control lights, blue to red spectrum, cold to hot. Simple! In the public shower, you’ve got no problem now. None! No problem with the public shower.

Alpha 680 Android Netbook

Many PC designs have been created, entertaining the idea of being backed by the Google Android Operating System but to date, nothing official has been announced, with manufacturers staying with the tried and tested Windows XP or a Linux distribution.

All this has changed with the announcement of the Alpha 680, an Android netbook designed by Skytone, a Chinese manufacturer.

The new netbook comes standard with an ARM11 533MHz processor, a 7-inch screen that supports a screen resolution of 800×480 pixels, 128MB of DDR2 memory (upgradeable to 256MB), 1GB SSD (upgradeable to 4GB SSD), Wi-Fi wireless network connectivity and keyboard with touchpad.

The Alpha 680 will retail for $250 in the third quarter of 2009.

Source1, Source2, Source3

Digital Mini Microscope

Extech has unveiled a Digital Mini Microscope($300), this mini Microscope weighs only 2.5oz (70g) and more compact than a typical wireless phone, which packed a 1.8" TFT Color LCD Screen and offers a 7x to 27x optical zoom lens with a 4x digital zoom for a total of 108x magnification. It also integrated four LEDs to light objects, and with 2MB Memory to save 60 320 x 240 pixel images.
- 1.8 TFT Color LCD Screen with 2MB Memory
- 7x to 108x magnification range:
Optical zoom: 7x to 27x
Digital zoom: 4x
- Three white LEDs with adjustable brightness for object illumination
- 5 Image Effect modes: Normal, Gray, Inverse, Emboss, and Dual Window View
- Dual Window View simultaneously displays the magnified image next to the original image - Real-time imaging on your PC screen via USB interface and included software
- Includes microscope stand for hands-free viewing
- Comes with Windows-compatible software and mini USB cable

Body Check Ball

A weight scale can only tell you so much when it comes to your general level of well-being, but the Body Check Ball can fill in the rest of the details. You just hold the ball in your hands, and a pair of electrodes will read your body fat, bone density and muscle ratio, displaying the good or bad news on a backlit LCD screen. The ball supports up to 10 different user profiles, and I assume it will keep track of past measurements for comparison. It also doubles as an alarm clock, and you can pick one up from the Japan Trend Shop for $39.

Tool Logic

The Tool Logic SL Pro 2($39) has a razor sharp 3" 50/50 serrated Blade, plus a frame lock for easy one-hand operation and also contains a waterproof LED flashlight, a emergency whistle and a magnesium alloy fire starter. Perfect for outdoor using!

Fluid Faucet

The Fluid Faucet by Köhler Design, doubles as a drinking fountain, let you drink water more easily.

"Push the nose of FLUID down to wash your hands. Push it up to rinse your mouth or simply to drink some fresh water. The more you push up or down, the more water will flow out. In the level position the water will stop.
With the turning knob at the side, the temperature can be adjusted to ones preference. "
Source

Samsung Omnia HD i8910

The Samsung Omnia HD is a touch phone and from the looks of it, it is being positioned to compete with the Apple iPhone (the looks and functions are a dead giveaway). The Omnia HD has a touch sensitive screen that measures 3.7in, the resolution is 360 x 640 (at 720p). The phone is equipped with an 8 megapixel camera that possesses both face detection and smile detection. There’s even an anti blink mode, which basically prevents taking photos of people when their eyes are closed.

The Samsung Omnia HD is HSDPA compliant and can run up to 7.2 MB/s. It also has HSUPa and that reach up to 5.6 MB/s. The Omnia HD will be made available in both 8 GB and 16 GB internal capacities, but expansion won’t be a problem because it also has a Micro SD memory card slot, which means users can upgrade the memory up to 32 GBs. It will also have both Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity as well as USB port.

There are still no price points given for the phone but expect to see it in the market this year.

USB Retro Webcam

The USB Retro Webcam measure 65 x 65 x 80mm and weighs in at 69g, it connects to your PC via USB, and is bound to look great on your desk.

Here are the specifications.

• Retro camera style design
• Lens rotation for adjusting clear image
• Video Conferencing
• Workable on Skype, AIM, MSN, iChat, etc
• Plug and play
• Power by USB with 4 feet of cable
• Driver free for Windows XP, Vista, Mac OS X 10.5
• Dimension: 65 x 65 x 80mm (approx.)
• Weight: 69g

The USB Retro Webcam is available for $29 from Brando.

Cute Puppy Shaped USB Powered Speakers

No dog training classes or expensive vet bills to be had with these cute puppy shaped USB speakers.
These unique speakers will flank both sides of your laptop or workstation and sit adorably on your desk. The unmatched pair consist of two dog breeds, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy (left) and a Dalmatian puppy (right). According to the speaker designer, Japan Trust Technology, the speakers are known as “Wonderful speakers”.

The actual speaker is placed on the belly of the puppy with sound escaping from the base of the unit. With the way the speakers are standing, there should be sufficient space for decent audio quality but for someone buying a speaker set such as this, is sound quality the number one concern?

The speakers also come with a remote control, which in keeping with the puppy theme, you would think would be bone shaped, but rather it is guitar shaped.

Source1, Source2

Garmin Oregon 550 Touchscreen Handheld Navigator

The Garmin's new Oregon 550($500) rugged outdoor touchscreen Navigator. It features include a 3.2 megapixel camera(autofocus, 4x digital zoom), barometric altimeter, 3-axis compass, 850 MB of internal memory. The waterproof Oregon 550 with a tough, 3-inch diagonal, sunlight-readable, color touchscreen display and its high-sensitivity GPS and HotFix prediction, Oregon 550 locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. It also comes with a preloaded with a worldwide built-in basemap.

PermaFLOW Self Cleaning Drain System

It might not have wifi, Bluetooth or even a built-in camera, but as someone who recently spent a most unpleasant afternoon trying to remove a bowl of chili that was dumped down the drain in my kitchen, the PermaFLOW is easily the coolest gadget I’ve seen all week. It’s a replacement sink trap that improves the standard design in almost every way. First, it’s see-through, which means if the sink isn’t draining like it should, you’ll be able to see why. Secondly, its unique design and shape increases the turbulence of the water while it’s draining, which minimizes buildup. And thirdly, it’s got an easy to use knob which turns an internal wiping mechanism that should easily clear up any clog. Brilliant.
The PermaFLOW is available from PF WaterWorks in different configurations for kitchen or bathroom sinks, and ranges in price from about $40 to $50.

Snowboard Simulator

While Wii Fit is probably a more affordable way to simulate some skiing or snowboarding action in the off-season, I’m pretty sure it’s not the most effective way to train for a real competition. But the Olymp most definitely is. You’re not going to be squeezing one of these in your living room, since the platform is almost 23 feet wide, but it’s capable of simulating different slope characteristics and really gives you the feeling of carving your way down a mountain, whether on skis or a snowboard. In fact the pictures don’t really do the Olymp justice, so you’ll want to check out the video included below to see this thing in action. It definitely looks like a real workout. Source

Dareway - Segway Scooter For Kids

Put away the go kart plans you’re looking at and pass on the kid’s bike, if you want the title of world’s greatest dad, you’re going to have to fork over some cash and purchase a Dareway.

What is this kid’s vehicle you might ask?

The Dareway is a knockoff Segway transporter but designed specifically for kids. From the look of the child’s face, it looks like he’s having a blast, but as a parent, would you buy something for your child that has the word “dare” in it? Isn’t that just tempting faith?

The Dareway is motor operated and comes with a 12v rechargeable battery. A foot accelerator controls forward and backward motion while thumb controls help with steering. Source

USB Voip Handset - Star Trek Communicator

The cult classic Star Trek is known for many antiquated gadgets, one of them being the Star Trek communicator. I can’t remember how many times you’d see Captain Kirk down on an alien planet using the communicator to ask Scotty in the transporter room to “beam me up”. Star Trek fans can now pick up their own personal communicators to chat with other trekkies on the net. The retro handsets are USB Voip enabled and replicate the communicator from the Sci-Fi series right down to the flip lid and the original sound effects. Unfortunately, this isn’t a wireless handset, so you will be tethered to your PC by means of an extra long USB cable (6 feet in length). These communication devices ship in sets of 4 with each one retailing for $75.

Podio Mp3 Player

Here is a cool accessory if you like cycling and want to play some of your favourite tunes whilst you are out on your bike, the Podio MP3 Player. The Podio MP3 Player can be clipped directly onto your bikes handlebars, and it has a built in speaker and 2GB of storage, plus a built in rechargeable battery that will give you up to 9 hours of music playback, though the speaker.

HydroGlass

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, you have the HydroGlass. This is one showering system anyone would love to have in his or her spa room. The HydroGlass by HydroCo is a truly innovative way to engage the senses during wet room treatments. The glass tank beneath can be used as an aquarium or simply as a standard glass tank to house sand and rocks. It can be used to create an array of environs –a desert, a deep ocean, a green tropical rainforest or anything. All you need to do is imagine. The swing-away Vichy shower rainbar is fixed to the foot end of the table. Individual showerhead flow control enables a reduction in water consumption by as much as 80% compared with a traditional Vichy shower treatment. The organic design accommodates tile, wood or metallic trim. Built with a polished stainless steel under-support frame, the table features a white-frosted toughened glass top with a fabricated gray slate, decorated with black ceramic tile inlay on the top and side surfaces.

WiFi Detector Baseball Cap

Just like the t-shirt the WiFi Detector Baseball Cap lights up when it detects a WiFi signal, and the bars shows the strength of the signal. If you want one of these fun WiFi Detector Baseball Cap’s they will be available shortly for £12.99

Sony OLED Walkman

Considering that we're holding a Japanese unit in our hands, our impressions of Sony's OLED Walkman will be somewhat limited. That said, we figured it prudent to pass along our initial judgments until the US model shows up sometime between tomorrow and next century. After giving the flashy PMP a photo shoot yesterday, we spent the rest of the day (and night, we won't even front) toying with Sony's most hyped Walkman in quite some time. Eager to hear just how fantastic / horrible this critter is? Follow us past the break for our two pennies. Source

Parking Guider

Finding last available spaces in car park is a tough work and so you need a guider. This parking guider is an electrical device which can display the parking information and guide the driver to an available space with a virtual arrow. This guider can offer such information as parking space number, car park entry time and parking fee as well. Source

Shadow Caddy

Having watched Caddy Shack countless times, I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to hire one of the caddies at their local golf course, what with all their hilarious misadventures. But if you’re the type who takes their game seriously while not carrying your own clubs, you’ll be happy to know you can finally hire a wisecrack-free robot to do it. The Shadow Caddy can carry your clubs, balls and even beverages and automatically follows you around the course thanks to a wireless transmitter you wear clipped to your belt. And in order to avoid obstacles like other golfers, sand traps or water hazards, it uses a sophisticated object detection system. Apparently the Shadow Caddy will only be sold to golf courses instead of individuals, but they should start appearing on links around the world sometime this year.

Side Note: I love how that product shot makes it look like the Shadow Caddy is hiding in the tall grasses, waiting for the perfect opportunity to take down a golfer that’s been singled out from the herd.

Tonium Pacemaker V2 Portable DJ System

The portable DJ system from Sweden is a popular device, so popular Tonium is coming out with a new version every year. The Pacemaker V2 is reasonably priced at $500. Measuring 164 × 69.6 × 22.8mm, it weighs a pocketable 200 grams with a built-in 60GB of memory (the old 120GB also available). It supports MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, FLAC, WAV, SND. It boasts a new UI that is supposed to make amateur DJs happy. Seriously, tech blogs who have managed to get a hands-on are going about the new firmware, which simplifies the DJ work so much more than earlier first version. For example, DJs can easily more blend tracks on the new UI and there’s a helpful display that specifically tells you when you are put of pace with the beat.

Acer Aspire One 11.6 İnch Netbook

It has been a while since we last reported about the 11.6-inch Acer Aspire One netbook, but now, we’ve got the lowdown on some of its further specs. This new Acer Aspire One netbook comes with an 11.6-inch 1366×768 resolution display, Bluetooth, up to 2G RAM, optional 3G, Win XP or Vista as its OS, and a new Intel Atom Z520 processor. We’re still not sure what its processor speed is, but it’ll most likely be in the 1.6GHz region. Its exact release is still yet to be known, but from what we hear, it might be released in certain parts of Europe later this month for a little over $500. With a relatively steep price, we can’t help but wonder; with a bigger display and near regular-laptop price, are you still be enticed to get the Acer Aspire One netbook or will settle for an entry-level laptop instead?

Laser Clock

This is a real simple and cool clock. It uses a microcontroller to move to move a servo with a line laser connect to it. The result is a single line that can simply represent the time on the wall. Source

PARROT SK4000

The Parrot SK4000 is a Bluetooth hands-free kit designed for bike helmets that and receive calls on your scooter or motorbike. Make call? You can also browse through your phonebook thanks to the speech-synthesised names (Text to Speech).

Once the contact is found in the phonebook, confirm to make the call. It features 10 hours' battery life in use and can be recharged via its mini USB port. It also includes a wireless remote control can be positioned on the handlebars that you can easily access answer, hang up, choose the source, and so on. Other features include an FM RDS tuner, a line-in socket and Bluetooth stereo connectivity. To listen to the FM radio, scan the frequencies using the remote control and the kit says the names of the radio stations.Connect your MP3 players via the jack cable and listen to your favourite playlists. The Parrot SK4000 is Bluetooth stereo compatible: your mobile phone can be turned into a wireless music player. Two Parrot-designed sound effects will leave you stunned: Virtual SuperBass and Stereo Widening. Cool!