Microsoft’s SideShow system – a secondary sub-display running off of a Windows Vista system – has never been as popular as the company might have hoped, but now they’re turning to gamers to rejuvenate the concept. The idea is a roughly 6.4-inch touchscreen, switchable between portrait and landscape orientation, which would present game-specific controls and free up the main display.
Kopin have come up with a head-mounted “virtual 15-inch display” to show off their new CyberDisplay micro-panel, a 0.6-inch screen capable of 800 x 600 resolution. The Kopin Golden-i concept – which they’ve given Motorola branding – integrates the CyberDisplay into a swing-down boom arm, linked to a hefty Bluetooth headset running Windows CE 6.0 R2 and supporting voice-recognition.
Video demo after the cut
I’m a sucker for a pretty MID concept, and this is one of the slickest I’ve seen in a long time. The handiwork of Jan Rytir, what’s particularly appealing – aside from the slick curved-slide QWERTY keyboard – are the seven colored shortcut tabs along the edge, which are pleasingly reminiscent of a Filofax.
Nothing like a new Apple device rumor to get the concept artists scurrying to their graphics tablets, and there’s something particularly alluring about the prospect of an Apple Media Pad. MacFormat’s illustrator Adam Benton came up with these concept shots, envisioning the Media Pad as an overgrown iPod touch.
Microsoft have released a few interesting concept videos over the past years, usually tipping their vision of multitouch, mobile handsets and the interaction between intelligent devices. Their two latest videos, “Home” and “Work“, take things more into the bizarre: created to demonstrate XUI (”experience-user-interface”), it’s what Microsoft sees as the step after natural user interfaces (NUI) such as their multitouch Surface table.
Both Microsoft videos after the cut
Philips are continuing their assault on traditional bulbs with the launch of two concept OLED lights, the first a compact table lamp and the second a more impressive chandelier. Both systems use the company’s Lumiblade OLED panels, which offer cool-to-the-touch, pure white illumination.
The Philips Luminaire Chandelier consists of five OLED ‘blades’ balanced out from a thin central pole. Light from the Lumiblades increases as movement around the chandelier is recognized.
Video demo of the OLED lighting after the cut
Rollable screens remain slightly out of our reach when it comes to commercial products, but that doesn’t stop concept artists from reaching for them for ultra-portable devices. The work of an unnamed Korean company, this MID concept uses an “Asian Scroll” theme with a pull-out “foldable glass monitor” touchscreen.
What the world needs are more concept devices, and thankfully here come Pilotfish with their Ondo to fill that gap. Best known for their work on the Synaptics Onyx interface, Pilotfish have now turned their attention to more media-centric mobile devices with the Ondo cellphone concept, a twistable, touch-sensitive and modular music experience.
Music workstations have been around for many years, but we’re yet to see something as slick as this Vivace concept. Designed by Young-Shin Lee and Hae-Jin Jung, the Vivace is a clamshell touchscreen instrument and computer, which offers multi-function playback, recording and editing all in one device.
Segway and GM have partnered to develop the P.U.M.A., a self-balancing individual vehicle in which the two riders have some degree of weather protection. The Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility (P.U.M.A.) Project can travel up to 35mph, run 35 miles from one charge, and uses vehicle-to-vehicle communications to avoid collisions.
JP
