VAIO sings the blues

The latest addition to the Sony C series is a garish little blue number wrapped around a 13.3-inch form factor machine.

The choice of blue for the Sony VAIO VGN-C25 is such that you will either like it hate it. However, it does impart a sense of uniqueness to the portable and makes it easy to identify from afar.

Specifications-wise, the Sony VAIO is not expected to beat any track records. The 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of memory and 120GB of harddisk space put it squarely in the basic computing category. It comes complete with Windows Vista Home Premium and should be hitting our shores some time soon, though prices and launch date are still pending.

HP's iPaq 510 to debut in April

The company plans to bring its latest handheld running the new Windows Mobile 6 OS to Asia in April. Announced recently at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, the iPaq 510 Voice Messenger is one of the first smart phones to sport the updated Microsoft mobile operating system and possibly the first non-touchscreen handset we've seen from HP.

Price information was not available for the iPaq 510 at press time. However, based on the US retail given, it should cost around US$299. The iPaq will come equipped with a 2-inch display, quadband GSM support, 1.3-megapixel camera, microSD card slot, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Read our full review of the iPaq 510 Voice Messenger here.

Footloose

What a heel. And we don't mean cad. Here's an idea that can only be dreamed up by a woman who's suffered at the tyrannical heels of vanity. Take a pair of shoes and give them the versatility to transform into either low or high heels with an easy switch for the Cinderellas out there who have to vamp it up after hours. For her deliciously simple solution, Marte de Hollander scored a Best Graduate 2006 recognition at the Faculty of Industry Design for her aptly name project Footloose. The design secret, she says, lies in the heel shape which has separate tips for both positions. "While being used in one position, the other heel tip is kept out of sight in and opening in the sole. The shoe is being transformed with a simple and quick movement: One just pulls the heel downwards to release it, after which it can be folded in or out as preferred". What can we gals say? One heel of a job, Marte!

Get bigger image

Via Core 77 Design Blog

Price: N.A.
Availability: Patented, but not in commercial production yet
Device: High heel shoes
Specs: N.A.

Uber Shades

Great shades of Elvis! Not that the King was spotted sipping a Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel, but that somebody with a penchant for knives has gone Swiss Army on a pair of sunglasses. Artist-designer Rodd Miller's idea of eyewear could probably send Q into transports of delight, with ear stems that pack enough hardware licensed to kill. Of course, it's all in (or on) Miller's head. So unless someone has his sights set on producing these killer glasses, for now it's all just, erm, a shade.

See Miller's illustration close-up at americaninventorspot.com

Price: N.A.
Availability: N.A.
Device: Swiss Army shades
Specs: N.A.

Aroma USB

Either the world's gotten smellier. Or we've gotten less tolerant to the ripe aromas of our surroundings. Because, suddenly, there's been an onslaught of devices to lessen the bouquet, from DoCoMo/Sony Ericsson's "aroma" phone to a USB drive that dispenses calming scents. This dropped into our inbox from distributor Debreu. It's technically not a thumbdrive since there's no flash memory onboard. Instead, the device borrows from the form factor to make it easier for PC users to plug in the aroma dispenser. At the same time, it's probably tapping off the desktop power to heat the oils. Sweet scent of success? Who nose?

Click to see larger images:
Price: N.A., patent pending
Availability: N.A., more info at the Web site
Device: USB peripheral
Specs: N.A.

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