Category: Gadgetry

While we’re on the subject of cable management, let’s look at some “green hair concepts” (as I once heard a suit call “out there” ideas). Gernot Kunzel, an industrial design student from Stuttgard National School of Fine Arts, created the Wired Connection project. He studied how he and his fellow students used power cables in their lives and then designed a number of solutions that address common problems. I like the cable bucket and the power bar/grappling hook thingy. [Via The Cool Hunter]

Josh Rubin of Cool Hunting gets all handsy with his new Nokia E70. He wasn’t so enamored with the Nokia S60 software (“…out of the box, the new software felt as convoluted as Windows”), but after some menu tweaking, the downloading of several third-party apps (such as the Nova Media iSync plugin and Google Local Mobile), and finally getting the E70 to sync with his MacBook Pro, Josh is pretty pleased. He does report a few nagging problems, he… well, here, I’ll let him tell you all about it…

BTW: The E70 is not available here in the US yet, but like Josh, you can get them directly from Hong Kong via eBay.

We’re always on the lookout for unique solutions to cable management, be it power or data cables. This Rota-Rota USB Hub offers four female USB2.0 connectors stacked on top of each other and on a swiveling axis, so they can point in any direction (in a 180-degree arc). Not having tried it out, we don’t know how much of an improvement this is over the typical horizontally-oriented, fixed hubs, but it seems like something of a design improvement. And, they only cost US$16 a pop.

[Via Ubergizmo]

Sega Toys was showing off another one of those weirdo robot toy music companions, this one called the Mu-Bot, at last week’s Tokyo Toy Show. Not sure what else it does, except stand there and look a lot like Marvin from Hitchhiker’s Guide, and its arms reel out and you stuff his little hands into your ears (they’re headphone earbuds). Gee, that’s not in any way strange.

[Via New Launches]

Think Secret has some dish on both the MS Zune media player and Apple’s near-future iPods. Skimming off the heavy stuff, we get:

* We’re not likely to see a full-screen video iPod until January’s MacWorld.
* 5GB iPods may show up before then.
* The iPhone project is on hold for the forseeable future.
* When the 6GB iPod comes around, it will not likely have WiFi and the “talking iPod” features that have been rumored.
* The Zune player may have WiFi and sport a 400Mhz processor, enough power for gaming.
* The Zune may also have a satellite radio tuner in it.
* As Engadget opines, IF the Zune has wireless, free “transfer” of your iTunes music purchases, sat radio, and gaming, it might have a chance against the iPod.

Core77 has an interesting few bits on their design blog about SEED 2006, a Design and Development Project of the Portuguese Cooperation, created to connect developing world craftspeople with the high tech marketplace. In one West African country, Sao Tome e Principe, woodworkers developed hand carved USB flash drives — okay, not the electronics, just the drive casings. They’d never seen such crazy machinery before, but they sure could see the economic benefits of attaching their artisanship to this “foreign” technology. They’re currrently seeking large orders so they can move into large scale production. Unfortunately, the piece doesn’t have any contact information and I couldn’t find any other info online.

Wow, I might actually buy one of these. It’s a Linux desktop with Intel Celeron 500Mhz processor, 128MB memory (ugh), 4GB HD, Ethernet, 6 USB ports. There are no PCI or ISA slots and no CD drive, so this is a network drive only. Thanks to being Dugg, they’re already sold out and say they MAY have more in by the end of the month. And these are “fell off the back of the truck”/”got dinged on the shelf” specials, so buyer take heed. But again, for US$75, it may be worth the risk. You know a PC is cheap when the ad says “Limit 3 per order.”

We’re all for wearable computing, but there’s something a little too lo-tek about just bolting an existing piece o’ gear onto your regular wearables, don’t ya think? The nano doesn’t look half bad as a belt buckle, but we have trouble not yanking the buds out of our ears when it’s stashed in a shirt pocket. Give us a Bluetooth connection between our buds and our duds and *maybe* they’d be singin’ our song.

The TuneBelts come in three versions, one that shows off the entire face of the nano, one that leaves the click-wheel exposed (shown) and one that covers the entire player. They run from US$60 to $80 and include the belt.

Thanks, Jay!

Akihabara News has an item about a USB TV tuner that allows you to watch TV over the Net from any computer through your Skype account. Apparently you install the USB TV tuner on your home PC along with special software. Then, you use your Skype account to remotely access your TV tuner and stream its content through Skype, making it a kind of low rent Slingbox. The device goes on sale in Japan this month and will retail for US$86.

Now this is a cool bit o’ kit: it’s a universal external hard drive adapter for connecting IDE and SATA HDs to your system via USB2.0, without the need for an enclosure. I have a bunch of old drives from spent PCs that I would love to have periodic access to their content. Works with 2.5, 3.5, 5.25 IDE and SATA drives. And at US$30 retail, the price is right.

[Via OhGizmo!]