MCube: Your mobile phone companion

It looks like the MCube concept by the team at VINYL Studio won't be entering production anytime soon.

Apparently, this uber plain-looking cube is able to recharge the phone's battery using short-range induction technology when a handset is within a certain range. That's not all. The built-in display on the MCube displays information such as date, time, messages, call alerts, and there are touch controls so we can pump music wirelessly via the onboard speakers.

We can't figure how picking up the handset can be so difficult. But if the MCube can also read our text messages aloud and allows us to talk to the calling party without ever lifting a finger or moving a single muscle (some voice recognition software perhaps), we might just want one.

Via Yanko Design

Vibrating bracelet won't miss a call

After dismissing the concept behind the "BlueQ" wristband alert last year, we were immediately lambasted by readers. (Something that's become all too familiar for some of us.) So we proceed with due caution in passing along this similar product.

The "BluAlert Vibrating Bluetooth Wristband" works on the same principle as the BlueQ: Both are wearable devices that discreetly and wirelessly alert you when you get a call while the phone is in your bag or purse with the ringer turned off, according to 7Gadgets. We do appreciate that this new version at least attempts to look like something other than a sweat band.

At the same time, you may not want to wear one during a job interview. Your prospective employer might think you were on a break from house arrest.

Via Crave CNET

An AAA battery for your Philips Xenium

Three hours--that's the amount of extra talktime you're getting with an AAA-sized battery on the Xenium 9@9j phone. The keyword is extra, as the upcoming handset that was showcased earlier this month at the Mobile World Congress will still come with the standard Lithium-ion battery. It's kind of like old school meets new school. The difference is the AAA backup power juices up the rechargeable cell once it knocks out, without the need to plug in any external peripherals. As far as I can remember, this implementation could be the first of its kind and should be useful for people who are away from A/C power outlets for extended periods of time. We'll post the availability details once we get them.

Update: The Xenium 9@9j is expected to be available from April 14 in China and Hong Kong and from May 12 in Southeast Asia.

Via Tech Digest

Atlas Kinetic phone forces you to move in order to work

Remember the Bang & Olufsen Serene which looks like a modern art showpiece that deserves a place in the museum more than in our pockets? Well, designer Ricardo Baiao's Atlas Kinetic concept cell phone takes that bizarre design to a whole new level, while at the same time increases your affinity with the device. It's like one of those Seiko Kinetic watches that make use of oscillating weight to power a mainspring, except that this one provides basic phone features and allows you to make calls and send text messages. There's no danger of self-destructing Lithium cells, so perhaps Nokia may want to snap up one of these as part of its Eco Sensor concept. It just needs to do something to that wacky keypad layout.



Via Yanko Design

It's the hydrogen-powered phone

Oh, the humanity!

Fuel cell maker Angstrom Power and cell phone maker Motorola have teamed up to create a prototype mobile phone that runs on a hydrogen fuel cell. Hydrogen is produced--by cracking water molecules--with a desktop fueling station and then inserted into a metal hydride storage container on the phone, says Aron Levitz, manager of business development for Angstrom. When the hydrogen molecules pass through a membrane in the fuel cell, electrons are stripped away and get diverted to run the phone.

The two companies are trotting the phone to various tradeshows. Startup Angstrom has received investments from of Chrysalix Ventures.

A number of companies have been working on miniature fuel cells for portable electronics for a while, but nearly all of them run on methanol. Toshiba, for instance, last year at the Ceatec electronics show in Japan showed off a methanol fuel-cell powered portable TV. Using hydrogen has its advantages and disadvantages. For one thing, you have to harvest the hydrogen yourself. With methanol fuel cells, you just pour in the methanol.


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