Tapas plates

There's nothing like cool dining ware to grab you by the scruff of the neck and demand your attention. Like these Tapas Plates, inspired by the Spanish tapas tradition. Not that you can't find similar ones at less pricey figures, if you shop really hard. However, these delectably dishy plates are just perfectly sized to sit atop wine glasses. Now you can have your own tapas shindig and play Il Divo out loud. Yum.

Click for a larger picture

Via Fosfor.se

Price: Set of 4 Acacia Wood at US$19.99, set of Set of 4 Multi-Border Glass at US$24.95
Availability: See Sur La Table
Device: Tapas plates
Basic specs: 4-inch diameter, fits any wine glass 2 to 3 inches in diameter

RIDC-01 floorcleaning robot

At US$85,000, Tmsuk's glorified vacuum cleaner is almost as pricey as a Lexus or Audi in some parts of Asia. Not to mention that there's probably no secondhand market for this if you're having second thoughts. Showcased at the recent international robot fair in Tokyo, the 1.3m-tall cat-like bot can chat in Japanese and double as an information guide, thanks to a projector on its head that can display DVD movies and other data. For those who don't need a chatty maid, the iRobot Roomba makes an equally clean sweep without giving you too much lip or breaking the bank.

View all three sides here

Price: 10 million yen (US$85,000)
Availability: Upcoming, Japan
Device: Robot cleaner
Basic specs: Power source 24-volt DC Lithium-ion battery (100V AC power charger), 120 minutes maximum continuous operation time, independent two-wheel drive, 3kmh, Wi-Fi and cellphone enabled, speech recognition and synthetic-speech enabled in conversational Japanese, robot arms with 10 degree of freedom in three-axis, emergency stop and obstacle sensors, 1,300 × 700 × 960mm, 100kg

Ice Shots

For those who don't fancy freezing their behinds off at sub-zero degree pubs like Eskibar but who would like to chill out, here's a swig of ingenuity that'll let you have a blast of a party on a hot, humid night. So maybe your guests won't be standing around looking cool in parkas like The Amazing Race participants at that Scandinavian ice bar, but it'll be one drinking session that's guaranteed to be an ice breaker!

Click for bigger image here | See also Edible Shot Glasses

Price: US$8 per mould
Availability: I Want One Of Those site
Device: Drinking glass
Basic specs: Rubber shot glass maker, makes 4 x ice, juice or jell-o shot glasses, one piece mould, ice shot glass size 5.5 x 5cm, mould size 23 x 6 x 5.5cm

Musical loo

Ready for a singing loo? We don’t know about you, but some of us just can't do it in a noisy setting, even if it's soothing music played to the sound of running water. This being notably from the land where most of its commodes are flushed with gadgetry worthy of Doraemon's pouch gizmos, one supposes the Japanese are simply plumping the depths of their fascination (read: obsession) with toilets by offering an MP3 throne. In pursuit of toilet nirvana, this latest innovation will sense when you enter the toilet zone, automatically lower the pre-warmed lid, and activate an accompanying MP3 player. And when you're done with business, it'll automatically flush and raise the lid. Of course, after it's washed, dried and patted your bum to your satisfaction. Bowled over yet?

See music player upclose

Via News.com

Price: Up to 172,000 yen (US$1,473.40)
Availability: Check out Toto's Web site
Device: Musical commode
Basic specs: MP3 player comes preloaded with 16 tunes and a media slot for SD cards so you can load in your own music library

Brother USB sewing machines

We don't mean it in a derogatory way when we say here's Brother with its Mickey Mouse USB sewing machine. This gizmo actually bundles 78 Disney prints in its internal memory. Other than the strange addition here, the other oddity is the fact that this sewing machine can be fully operated from a PC via USB, complete with touch-screen LCD panel. Because it's all done through the computer, new designs can be downloaded from the company's Web site which aims to update its offerings regularly with fresh designs. However, since Home Economics is a distant memory for most of us, this pricey USB accessory is likely to remain a good-to-know rather than a good-to-get.

Click to see M200 | N150

Price: M200: 262,500 yen (US$2,276), N150: 210,000 yen (US$1,821)
Availability: November 1, 2005, more info here
Device: USB accessory
Basic specs: 436 x 204 x 292mm, 11.7kg for Innovis M200, 10kg for Innovis N150

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