Circular Printer
Juniper Foo | Jul 20, 2004
Who says art and technology can't mix? The brainchild of both Samsung Electronics and Seoul National University, this highly provocative circular printer was picked as one of 130 winners from the 2004 Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA). Thinking out of the (square) box, the designers opted for a rotational rather than the traditional linear movement of printers. The result: A printing device that's both refreshing in form and imagination and as portable as it can get at one-third the usual size. Print speed and connectivity issues aside, we'd iterate what one jury member said: "Samsung… please build this!"
Price: N.A.
Availability: N.A.
Device: Concept printer
Basic specs: Rotational movement
Canon Flower Speaker
Juniper Foo | Jul 19, 2004
Flower power has been given a fresh arrangement with a new technology that allows natural blooms to vibrate and create musical sounds. This seed of an idea took root when telco equipment maker Let's Corp and satellite radio station Music Bird decided to cross-fertilize their efforts, germinating a series of vases and flower pots that use an amplifier and an acrylic resin tube to make flower petals and leaves vibrate and transmit sounds, just like the paper cones of stereo speakers. The only glitch here is the duo's choice of product name--Canon--which could have copyright complications. Whether the Flower Speaker will blossom or fade after the fad dies remains to be seen. Meantime, eager beavers can sniff out the technology if they happen to be in the vicinity when Japan hosts its Hamana Lake Flower Fair (April 8 - October 11) or Aichi World Fair (March 2005).
Price: From ¥5,000 to ¥50,000 (US$45 to US$450)
Availability: Limited sets sold in Japan
Device: Directionless speakers
Basic specs: Vase, oscillation section, acrylic cylinder, internal amplifier version, FM tuner, internal power source
MetroNap Pods
Juniper Foo | Jul 16, 2004
The idea of noon-time siesta in workaholic Asia is probably as alien as, well, our pungent century egg is to the Eskimos. So it's interesting to learn that on the other side of the globe, specifically New York, one company MetroNap has developed sleep facilities in Empire State Building. For US$14 a pop, stressed-out cubicle dwellers can walk into a quiet, darkened room filled with pod-like chairs for 20-minute power naps. White noise machines block out ambient noise, while sleepers lie cocooned within the reclining seats, blankets covering their legs and music piped into headphones. These plush spherical cradles gently wake up the sleeper with a combination of vibrations and light. If the idea of power naps sounds attractive, the company also sells and leases its Pods. That said, don't let your boss catch you snoozing at your desk.
Price: From US$7,950
Availability: New York City
Device: Sleep pods
Basic specs: Reclining function, timer activated light and vibration, optional ambient sound system and privacy visor
Oakley's "Thump" MP3 sunglasses
Juniper Foo | Jul 15, 2004
Millions of four-eyed Asians are gonna love Oakley's upcoming digital music player. Mounted onto the spectacle frame, it's a complete beatbox sitting on your face. According to Oakley's press announcement, the on-the-go music device, nicknamed Thump, is good for storing up to 35 songs. Miniature booms sit on enhanced pivots to allow you to tweak the balance between ambient noise, your digital music, and when someone talks to you. Brings new meaning to the term headbanging music!
This image of Tour-de-France's Lance Armstrong sporting the prototype Oakley is the only photo of the device floating around the WWW. So we don't know yet if this is the real McCoy.
Price: US$395 (128MB), US$495 (256MB)
Availability: December 2004; only Circuit City and Oakley stores in the US
Device: Integrated MP3 player
Basic specs: Polarized lenses, supports MP3, WMA and WAV, > 90dB signal-to-noise ratio, custom-engineered Mylar speakers, 5-button interface, anti-pop and short-circuit protection, internal Lithium-ion polymer good for 3 hours
Mindball
Juniper Foo | Jul 14, 2004
If the mind games being played out in the office aren't enough, here's quite literally a brainwave from Swedish company Interactive Productline. The company dabbles in products for the experience industry and has rolled out--using brain electrical activity--a game called Mindball. While the act of watching a metal ball rumble across the table top is hardly spectator sport, it's what's not visible that's intriguing. The two players apparently control the ball with their brain waves, detected via electrodes embedded in their headbands. These, in turn, are hooked to a biosensor system capable of registering the alpha and theta waves of the players. After all that zen-like focusing, we'd opt for an adrenalin-charged game of foozeball anytime.
Price: US$19,000
Availability: Sweden
Device: Mind strength game
Basic specs: Rubber-coated steel ball, 4ft-long table with magnetic sleigh, biosensor head straps
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