XO-3 concept tablet for 2012

Still have a bit of faith left for the OLPC project? Good, you're gonna need it: designer Yves Behar has unveiled his latest concept design for the now-aiming-for-$75 vision, and it's all screen. Keeping with the newfound trend toward tablets, the XO-3 is an 8.5 x 11 touchscreen, coupled with a little folding ring in the corner for grip and a camera in the back. To keep things minimal the plan is to use Palm Pre-style induction charging, and less than a watt of power to keep an "8 gigaherz [sic]" (800MHz?) processor and a Pixel Qi screen powered. At half the thickness of an iPhone, this vision is obviously banking heavily on presumed technology advances by 2012 (the projected release date), but it's not too hard to see somebody making this form factor happen by then-ish. Nick Neg isn't all hubris, however: "Sure, if I were a commercial entity coming to you for investment, and I'd made the projections I had in the past, you wouldn't invest again, but we're not a commercial operation. If we only achieve half of what we're setting out to do, it could have very big consequences."

Update: According to our man Nicholas Negroponte, who took time out of his busy schedule to email us with the info, there are two other variations of the XO headed our way before we see the XO-3. Nick says we'll see the XO-1.5 appear in January for around $200 -- an update to the current version. As we'd heard before, the 1.5 iteration will swap a VIA CPU for the current AMD one, and will double the speed as well as quadruple both the DRAM and Flash memory of the current version. Furthermore, he says that in early 2011 the XO-1.75 (replacing that psychotically awesome 2.0 dual screen model) will make its appearance, and will sport rubber bumpers on the outer casing, an 8.9-inch touchscreen display inside, and will run atop a Marvell ARM processor which will enable two times the speed at a quarter of the power usage. That version will sell for somewhere in the $175 range. Then, no 2.0... straight on to the XO-3.0!

Braille Polaroid Camera Concept

If you have ever lost use of a part of your body then you will be aware of the frustration it can cause. For some, this luxury of everything working never comes back. For the blind they do not have the ability to see which is another luxury. For this reason a cool Braille Polaroid Camera has been designed although unfortunately it seems like it’s still a concept at the moment.

This is simply an amazing idea where you can capture images with a camera and then have a printer instantly print out the image… but in Braille so that those who struggle to see can experience what you are seeing also.

The heightened sense of touch developed by blind people has been harnessed for the Braille Polaroid Camera. Although it has been designed to resemble most other cameras, the Braille Polaroid Camera contains a built-in Braille printer, which immediately prints the shot after the user presses the shot button.

The camera was designed by Son Seunghee, Lee Sukyung and Kim Hyunsoo and hopefully will be built in to a working product that can be sold.

Fingernail Display Watch

A number of fancy watches have been displayed on the pages of Gadget Guruz. Usually they are binary type watches from Tokyo Flash, or ultra expensive watches. This latest watch is a concept idea that embeds on your fingernail. The TX54 is translucent and sits on the surface of your fingernail and displays the time in a range of 3 or 4 colours. The time is only displayed when the device is active and at all other times the watch blends right in to your fingernail so it appears to not even be there. At the edge of the nail can be found a thumb control allowing you to switch between modes on the watch. Although the features of this watch are basic in that it does time and date only, I think it would be cool to have an actual OLED type display there so you can flick through thumbnail’s of images literally on your thumbnail.

The TX54 was designed for a competition which Timex and Core77 are running. The competition commemorates 150 years of timex watches.

Folding Back Pack Bike

A new concept idea has recently been unveiled which shows a folding bike that can double up as a back pack. The flimsy looking bike weighs just 5.5 KG and is 60cm in length.

Not only does this bike/bag act as a back pack and bike, the whole thing can be used as a handcart too for carting around. Features on the bike are to include a headlight, back light and turning signals. For me, it just looks a tad too flimsy and I’d be worried about being knocked off in the wind.

The bike is just concept at the moment, so the 60cm in length and 5.5 kilos are more likely to be estimates of what they want to achieve with this. Would you take it out for a spin?

Concept: Gesture-Based Remote Looks Cool

Jason Kline's gesture-based remote looks cool, but might not be practical for everyday usage. You adjust the volume with the left knob and the channel with the right, but there's no place to enter in buttons. It does allow you to keep going with the knob turning concept of old time TVs while still allowing you to be lazy on the couch. Not that we'd ever use it, but it might be a decent concept for octogenarians who still miss the old days.

Yamaha Deus Ex Machina concept motorcycle

Art Center Pasadena student Jake Loniak has taken everything that is cool about exoskeletons and motorcycles and crammed it into this Yamaha-branded Deus Ex Machina concept motorcycle. The vehicle is powered by ultra-capacitors and doped nano-phoshpate batteries (similar to the ones currently used in hybrid cars) and it is controlled using 36 pneumatic muscles with two linear actuators set along a spine consisting of seven artificial vertebrae. Even the helmet is pneumatically attached.If constructed, the designer believes that it could achieve a top speed of 75mph (0-60mph in 3 seconds) with a recharge time of 15 minutes and cycle time of one hour. We may never know if that is true, but I say throw some sort of storage compartment on this thing and let's find out.

Action Fresh Blue Technology For Killing Bacteria From Fruits

This design concept from Ahmet Bektes, Koray Gelmez & Eda Kose uses "Action Fresh Blue" technology—apparently used in "many new refrigerators"— to keep your fruit fresh. It seems that this tech is essentially a blue light, which shines down from the bowl's handle, killing bacteria. Hmmm: I'm skeptical. But at least it's rechargeable, and has a nifty blue halo all around when it's in action so your kitchen looks all 21st Century. If it really works, it might be useful if you're like me: buying a lot a fruit when on a health-kick, and then just leaving it in the bowl to go moldy

DVice - Universal Remote

Universal remote controls are not a new invention as they have been around before. Even the iPhone can be configured to control everything in your home. This one is still worthy of a mention though as it uses a large touch screen on the front of the device which is used to control most aspects of your home. It is designed by David Chacon and is described by DVice as a “Nerve Centre right in your pocket”.

The Universal Remote control if made, would be able to control your lights, curtains, oven, TV, music etc… all from it’s graphical interface. If you do not like the design of the interface then the option is there to design your own front end.

Of course, if you want to switch on and control your oven, you will need a compatible oven… but if you want that lazy boy type life then no doubt you have remote controls for everything already and now you just need a Universal Remote to mix them all in to 1 device. It looks great though and something I could see my self using

10 Futuristic Concept Phones Designs

1 . Nokia 888 Communicator

Nokia definitely has the most interesting concept phones. Nokia 888 Communicator is a striking futuristic concept phone. The phone, which uses liquid batteries, speech recognition, flexible touchscreen and touch-sensitive body cover,is designed by Tamer Nakisci and won the Nokia Design Award

2 . Nokia Aeon

Nokia Aeon was presented by Nokia on their website in the Research & Development section. What is so great about this phone is that it looks like it will actually go into production next February. Of course, its just a rumor, but still, makes us hope to actually see it someday in the GSM shop. All we know about it for now is that its a touchscreen phone and it looks fantastic.

3 . Sky "Sleak n Slim"

"Sleek & Slim" from SKY is another concept based on touchscreen technology. The phone has a discretely glowing touchpad, hideaway keys and generally utterly-fashionable minimalist design.

4 . Benq-Siemes "Snaked"

Benq designers thought of women too and presented Snaked. This is a "reptile" looking phone, creepy somehow, but still is very cool. The Snaked is a fashion phone for sport loving women, because it also has body monitoring sensors to help the ladies keep those fine shapes.

5 . What You See is What You Get Concept
One thing is for sure about this concept phone…they could've named it shorter. Designed by Pei-Hua Hang, the phone's name comes from the fact that this concept no longer uses an LCD as viewfinder for the digital camera, instead it uses a transparent frame. And of course, interaction is made through a touchscreen

6 . Retroxis By Dark Label

If most phones presented here will never be sold in store for sure, the Retroxis concept phone from Dark Label looks kinda human, and makes us hope we'll be able to get one of these one day. Designed by Lim Sze Tat the phone is encased in high polished polycarbonate renowned for its lightweight and toughness and has an invisible OLED display that silently hides away when inactive.

7 . Benq-Siemens "The Blackbox"

lack Box designed by Benq-Siemens uses a touch screen as its keypad and, depending on the functions you are using, the touch screen changes the control layout immediately.

































8 . NEC Tag

Somehow similar to the Snaked concept, the NEC Tag is a flexible phone concept that can be , for example, hung from a belt or wrapped around the user's arm. Interesting is that the phone has shape-memorizing material and sensors that allows the phone to change its shape according to the mode.

9 . TripleWatch

Though the idea of a cellphone watch is not so new, the TripleWatch designed by Manon Maneenawa has an interesting triple flip technique that allows the user to transform the watch into a normal cellphone. When used as a wrist watch, the phone has a speaker button that allows the user to answer the phone and hang up while driving.

10 . Asus Aura

Mototrola Concept Phone With 2 Cameras

What better thing to bring you on a Sunday afternoon than a concept cellphone that looks like it was dreamed-up on a lazy Sunday afternoon: a cellphone with two cameras. No, not your usual one on the front/one on the back. Looking like Wall-e has crashed through your phone, this one has two on the back, with two flashes. The design page has the word "STEREO" writ in letters large under the image, so we're going to guess the twin cams are for making stereo images. You know, that faux-3D effect that is surprisingly cool. Shame the rest of Lysandre Follet's phone design is so meh.

Whirlpool Concept: "Green Kitchen" Turning Waste In To Fuel

This whole "turning waste into fuel" idea has certainly gained a lot of traction lately, and it seems that Whirlpool is next in line to show off a concept that could purportedly hack down your energy bill (and give Mother Earth some love, too). Simply hailed as the green kitchen, this futuristic area would reportedly enable "60-percent of the water and heat generated from [kitchen gizmos to be] diverted to fuel other appliances." For instance, the heat created from the refrigerator compressor could be used to heat water for the dishwasher, and while it's hard to say how accurate it is, word on the street pegs energy savings from using said concept at around 24-percent. The real question, however, is will it come equipped with an integrated LCD TV?

world's 1st positive energy Structure: Masdar HQ in Abu Dhabi

The Masdar HQ in Abu Dhabi has big ambitions; the site is planned to be the world's first positive energy building, meaning it will create more energy than it consumes.

The project is expected to cost $300 million, and it will form an impressive center piece to Masdar City, which will be a $22 billion development stretching out beyond Abu Dhabi. The Masdar HQ is the very vision of a greener future. In fact, a roof pier will be the first part of the building to be hoisted into place, which will be covered in solar panels that will generate energy for its own construction. The complete structure will encompass some 1.3 million square feet, and we think the term "intelligent design" should now be redefined to accommodate the Masdar HQ's structural plans.

Protective Car Capsule Bubble for your Car

The CarCapsule is a clear vinyl bubble that seals your car or motorcycle away from the elements and keeps it looking fresh and new. Dust, dirt, moisture and insects are locked out, but a built-in fan circulates filtered air within the bubble to eliminate that musty, damp smell that can ruin your stored car. Available in seven sizes.

Concept Phone: Nokia Reseach Center & Cambridge Univ. Develops "Morph"

Nokia Research Center (NRC) and the University of Cambridge (UK) has announced the development of Morph, a concept mobile phone. What is innovative about the phone is that it is flexible and bendable.

Nokia says that the new phone is an example of how future mobile devices might be stretchable and flexible, allowing the user to transform their mobile device into radically different shapes. Further, Morph features flexible materials, transparent electronics and self-cleaning surfaces.

Dr. Bob Iannucci, Chief Technology Officer, Nokia, stated, “Nokia Research Center is looking at ways to reinvent the form and function of mobile devices; the Morph concept shows what might be possible”.

“We hope that this combination of art and science will showcase the potential of nanoscience to a wider audience. The research we are carrying out is fundamental to this as we seek a safe and controlled way to develop and use new materials,”commented Dr. Tapani Ryhanen, Head of the NRC Cambridge UK laboratory, Nokia

Morph is a good example of usage of nanotechnology which might lead to offer high-end mobile phones integrate few elements of the concept phone. Also Nokia hopes that the development of Morph will lead to low-cost devices with more functionality and smaller sizes.

Morph will be exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City from February 24 to May 12, as part of the “Design and the Elastic Mind” exhibition.

Zeki Cellphone for Kids Having Walkie-Talkie, SMS, MP3

A company called YoungToys is bringing out a cellphone aimed at kids and toddlers in Korea. The Zeki is a digital walkie-talkie, enabling conversations and short messages exchange between two handsets up to 260 feet apart, as well as MP3 playback and audio/video recording (presumably useful if you're the snooping parent type).

For older kids, probably the Zeki's real targets, there's also alarm clocks and downloadable games. Supposedly the phones use "near-field communication technology" to connect to each other, but since this is usually applied to RFID devices like proximity swipe-cards, we're a little skeptical.

The devices also incorporate an anti-electromagnetic device of some kind, to allay fears of cooking kids' brains, and are made of materials harmless to the human body. Thank goodness for that, we were worried about them being made of cyanide-coated lead.

Actually the most worrying thing about these phones is that clearly kids will be carrying communications devices from a very young age, and that just creeps us out a little. Zekis will be available for around $105 in Korea.

Images From [Aving]

Bedu Emergency Rapid Response Drum

ucked inside these 50-gallon drums is a life-saving package of stuff to help people in crisis zones. Designed by Toby McInnes, the container has a tent, storage annex, photovoltaic strip tarpaulin/blanket, multifuel stove, lighting rig, tool kid, medical kit, water filtration system, generator and battery pack and emergency radio inside to sustain people in an emergency. See just what it looks like unpacked after the jump.




















The Bedu is still, as yet, merely a concept.

Quadband GSM Wristphone with Kinetic energy charge

The EGP-WP88 from Epoq is the first GSM wristphone that actually looks like a watch. Waterproof to 50 meters, the WP88 has a kinetic recharge system, meaning you can charge it just by walking around, and boasts a 1.3-megapixel camera, OLED display, plays MP3 and MP4 files and can transfer data via either USB or Bluetooth. You get between two and two-and-a-half-hours' talk time, and 70 to 100 hours' standby. Costing $530, the Epoq WP88 goes on sale on March 1.

Samsung New M310 Ultra Mobile Pocket Imager projector

Samsung's M310 isn't nearly as diminutive as its MBP-100, but it's still quite the cutie. Hailed as an Ultra Mobile Pocket Imager, this DLP device features a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 150 ANSI lumens, VGA input, SVGA native resolution and a pleasantly small footprint. Mum's the word on an official price / release date, but we've all ideas this is one case where more won't cost less.

Turn Your T-shirt In to Nano Power Station With The Help Of Nanowires

A nanotech invention by a US research team offers an intriguing glimpse of the future: slip on some nanowire-embedded clothes, plug your MP3 player or cellphone into them, and as you dance or walk around, your outfit generates enough power to run the gadget. More details on how the fabric works, and some nano-imagery after the jump.












Professor Zhong Lin Wang and team of the Georgia Institute of Technology coated kevlar strands with zinc oxide nanowires, protecting the bushy wires with a polymer and adding gold to other fibers to act as a conductor. The piezoelectric power-generating action comes when the nanowires bend as two fibers rub together, translating bending of the material into electricity which flows along the gold fibers.

Professor Wang says that across several square feet of fabric the nanowire fibers can generate power adding up to tens of milliwatts, which is not a huge amount, but is certainly enough for a dribble top-up charge for your portable devices.

With a little more power, the idea could be great in smart fabrics for consumers, or even for medical or military use, but it's clearly an invention in its infancy—as Wang notes, "What we've done is demonstrate the principle and the fundamental mechanism." For the time being it also has a fundamental flaw: it's not waterproof, and putting your smart clothes in the wash would dissolve the nanowires.

Solar Charging Strap For Your Mobile Phone

Strap-Ya has accomplished what we thought was impossible; they've created a useful cellphone charm: a small solar cell that retains energy for when your handset is out of juice. Simply clip it in, and it will give you the vital power boost in your second of need. If the sun is playing away from home, the solar charger even comes with an AC adapter that allows it to be charged up and used as a spare battery. Alas, it is merely a concept for us. The charger works with just a handful of Japanese handsets.