Thursday, May 05, 2005
JVC’s new XA-A50 MP3 headphones >
We know JVC’s not really known for their digital
audio players (namely because, uh, they haven’t really made any), but they’re taking a dip in into the shallow end of
the pool with their new XA-A50, integrated
MP3 player headphones with 128MB
flash memory, MP3 and PlaysForSure WMA support, and 20-hour playback on a single AAA cell. At an estimated $160ish, it
might be a little rich for our blood, but if nothing else they’re some of the better looking MP3 headphones we’ve
seen.
[Via PocketLint]
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Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Nike and Bausch & Lomb’s MaxSight performance-enhancing lenses >
Ok, performance enhancing drugs, bad; but once we start getting into the realm of installable body mods things get a
little sticky. We’ve got a feeling the jury’s still out on MaxSight lenses though; codeveloped by Nike (who else?) and
Bausch & Lomb and just about ready to market, they’re designed to help players better track the objects and
movement, increase contrast, and reduce glare (we’re trying to avoid the obvious 28 Days Later/zombie jokes here). And
they’re apparently already making their way into MLB by way of the Orioles’ second baseman Brian Roberts. But you know,
it’s all fun and games until somebody’s down in the outfield on all fours screaming, “My contact, my contact!”
[Via Medgadget]
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Monday, May 02, 2005
O’Neill’s H2 solar backpack >
We’re not sure that it’s very fair of O’Neill to call their new H2 the first integrated solar backpack, but damned if it isn’t one of the nicer ones we’ve seen around these parts of late. Not only does it rock USB-based charging of devices, it’s also got extensive iPod integration (you know, we really should get one of those) not only via a control panel in the left shoulder strap, but also via its integrated Bluetooth module, which connects to a mic system in the straps—when you get a phone call, the H2 will automatically pause your iPod and put it through. Unfortunately, this is Europe only for right now, so keep your pants on while O’Neill sorts their stuff out in getting ‘em across the pond.
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Friday, April 29, 2005
iPod handbag with built-in speakers >
Dude, it’s a boombox with a shoulder strap. From BrightonNet, we witness two similar products, both bags with special pockets for iPods plus integrated sound system that we’re guessing are slightly updated versions of the Groove Bag that came out a couple of years ago. Both rock the faux leather and have an internal amplifier plus stereo speakers built-in. The outside of the iPod pocket is vinyl to leave the player’s controls available, but the audio connection is via a standard stereo mini plug so as long as your player fits in the pouch, you could use this thing with any DAP. Of course, you’ll have to get used to remembering that your handbag requires batteries. Ladies, we’re clearly the target market for this piece, but we bet there are a few metrosexuals who could pull this off. If you do pick one of these up (either goes for about $122 USD), we’d have to say spontaneous parties in the park are pretty much mandatory.
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Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Reware’s Juice Bag >
The Voltaic definitely ain’t the only game
around when it comes to solar backpacks anymore; we’ve seen a
lot of knockoffs of late, but Reware’s Juice Bag also
is the first we’ve seen that plays up the hybrid angle, its ability to jack into a car cigarette lighter for a little
extra oomph. It’ll set you back two hundies, though, so try not to leave it on the train or something.
[Via Treehugger]
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Monday, April 25, 2005
The hug shirt helps you feel distant loved ones >
These days you can send your hug lovin’ via pillow,
cellphone, or
furniture — hell, you can even
fondle your chicken remotely if that’s your thing. Here’s
a wearable way to spread the love: the F+R Hugs is a soft Lycra shirt with embedded sensors that allows you to feel the
hugging sensations of a loved one far away. The hug shirt works via mobile phone networks to transmit the heart beat,
touch and body temperature of a remote companion in realtime, generating the sensation of a real hug. Actuators in the
shirt are embedded at major body intensity points for the most strategically “real” sensation (just look at that guy
and tell us he’s not feelin’ it.). There — now who said technology is making us more
antisocial?
[Via Near Near Future]
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Yolk, the high-impact flexible helmet >
Dude, it doesn’t take a post-extreme sports spinal injury victim to tell you that while eminently uncool, helmets are very necessary. Guess that’s why we wish we’d thought up the Yolk, a rather decent looking and very protective cranium case that’s actually flexible; made with a fluid impregnated Kevlar shell and a semi-rigid liner, it can apparently absorb large amounts of impact energy. And bonus for you the fashion conscious who agree that head injuries are so gauche; the helmets can be skinned with pull-over designs, and even feature integrated headphones which can plug straight into your MP3 player. Go forth and sport extremely, yo.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Footprint: how the footwear industry uses RFID >
We’re having a bit of a time correlating the two over here, but apparently a group of key
RFID players have rallied around the, uh, footwear
sector. Their brainchild? It’s called Footprint, the RFID-centric footwear industry action group bent on making sure no
footware industry player is without the ability to leverage RFID to their heart’s content. Money quote: ”[Regarding
RFID,] Footwear industry leaders assure me that the need is real and that the time is now.” And no, it’s totally not a
slow news day.
[Via picturephoning]
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Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Bracelet flashes when your cellphone rings >
Ladies, don’t leave it up to Michael Knight’s geeky wristwatch — when KITT calls, only the finest in designer jewelry will do. The cellular bracelet’s beads flash to alert you of an incoming call in those “sensitive” areas where your ringer must be silenced. Works with most major carriers and doubles as a bona-fide fashion accessory… for that next 80’s party, anyway. The two 3v batteries required are included for only $19.98. This item’s a no brainer, gals — your only conundrum to resolve is whether you’ll take pink or blue.
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Sunday, April 17, 2005
Evergreen’s EG-MPW256CII MP3 wristwatch >
So wristwatches that double as MP3
players are no great shakes these days (there are a ton of them on the streets these days) but if you really don’t
mind a headphone cord running up your arm Evergreen has a new line of inexpensive MP3 wristwatches that cost under a
hundred bucks (they go for ¥9,505 in Japan) and come with 256MB of memory.
[Via Akihabara News]
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Friday, April 15, 2005
Raytheon’s knockoff of the Minority Report UI >
We aren’t normally too fond of drawing comparisons between sci-fi flicks and tomorrow-tech, but we can’t really
avoid defense contractor Raytheon’s gloved user-interface inspiration, which was admittedly pulled from the Philip K.
Dick film-adaptation of Minority Report. Apparently the Air Force and feds are interested in the system for its ability
to enable commanding officers command of a quicker interface for navigating the huge amount of logistics data during a
battle. As always, we know it’s also got a lot to do with certain high-ranking military officers wanting to be a little
more like Tom, and perhaps a mite bit of a crush on Sam Morton.
[Via Defense Tech]
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WEALTHY Wearable Health Care System >
European researchers have recently completed the Wearable Health Care System project, otherwise known as WEALTHY. In addition to being fashionable and slimming (Engadget office dress code requires us to wear something similar), the body suit will measure all manner of bodily processes, including respiration, core and surface skin temperature, position and movement. What’s more, it will also trasmit that data over the mobile phone network thanks to a miniaturized GPRS transmitter hidden in the suit. That same trasmitter can even alert emergency services if the wearer stops responding or shows alarming vital signs.
[Via Near Near Future]
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Thursday, April 14, 2005
The Samsung SX-X105L MP4 MiniKet Sport >
You remember Samsung’s cute MiniKet camcorder,
don’t you? Well, they stepped it up to cater to extreme sports nuts, pseudo-cyborgs, and narcissists alike with their
new SX-X105L MP4 Sports version, which actually includes an externally mountable, rubberized, waterproofed camera
module for the ever-important archival of everything from getting weird looks on the street to totally wiping out on
your bike. Dude, you’re going to be so glad you got a shot of that compound fracture, you don’t even know.
[Via Akihabara News]
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GPS-ified school blazers let parents track kids >
Schools in Japan have been using RFID to keep tabs on
students for a while now, but parents over there will soon be able to keep take kid-tracking to the next level
thanks to GPS tags built right into their school blazers. The GPS-enabled blazers are made by school uniform
maker Ogo-Sangyo Co with GPS technology provided by Secom Co. In addition to letting parents track their kids,
the terminals also have a panic button that children can push in an emergency, immediately summoning a security agent
to their exact location.
[Via Near Near Future]
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Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Active Reactor Radio Active wristwatch >
Coming at us from Japan, where it’s understandable to be a bit worried about those radiation levels, is this funky watch that displays time in a radiation warning sign. In order to tell the time, you have to add up the lights in the display and factor in the “Red Warning” versus “Danger” gauge to get the correct hour. Sounds needlessly complex, you say? Sure, but it’s a guaranteed conversation piece. It’s also got blinking LEDs and it’s shiny, all for $110. What more do you want?
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