The laser projection headlights are something of amazement it seems, and thanks to some pretty nifty technology that’s built right into the headlights, drivers can project any image or video onto a screen. The images or video can come from a phone, tablet, flash drive, or even the internet using the GLA’s in-dash COMAND system.

However, Mercedes didn’t add projection to the GLA just for kicks and giggles — there is a logical purpose behind this, and the company says the projection system can be used as a real-time GPS navigation overlay.  It’s certainly something different then just looking at a small GPS screen during the whole trip.

The headlights feature a cooling system composed of a series of fans, so you won’t have to worry about the inevitable overheating of most projectors. Plus, there’s even a pair of HD video cameras mounted to the roof of the vehicle, and they’re detachable so you can take them with you when you’re not driving around. As for the engine specs, you’re looking at a turbocharged 2-liter four-cylinder motor pushing out 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, with a seven-speed dual clutch transmission and 4Matic all-wheel drive.

[via Engadget]

Subaru says that their focus for this WRX concept is based around “sharp handling, AWD grip, and turbo power.” Overall the new concept sits a lot lower and has a more streamlined design than the 2013 Impreza WRX, and it’s just a few inches wider at the wheel base. The car also has a larger grille and an impressive set of headlights.

The car also has a carbon fiber roof top to cut down on weight, which is certainly an interesting approach, given that most manufacturers go with a carbon fiber hood in order to cut down the weight of a car. However, the car comes with that iconic hood scoop that proves it’s a true WRX. The car keeps the 4-door style, but it looks a lot more like a coupe now.

Overall, it’s a completely new car, but you can tell that Subaru left some things alone so that it still has some classic WRX styling to it. Again, this is only a concept, so some of the features you see may not hit the actual production model, and it’s not said when this car will hit the assembly line, but hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.

Hyundai says that this design of the HND-9 is described as a “modern reinterpretation of the classic premium sports coupe,” and we’d have to agree with them. The concept has the classic Lambo-style doors, as well as the fastback-esque rear design, with the dual exhaust on the back, along with the mean-looking taillights.

The concept that will be making an appearance at the Seoul Motor Show will sport a 3.3-liter turbocharged V6 GDI engine that spits out 365 BHP, and it’ll be accompanied by an eight-speed automatic transmission. Of course, this may not be the exact setup that will come to production vehicles in the future, but it could be template.

We’ve already seen a couple of Hyundai’s concepts over the last few months. The company showed off their HCD-14 sedan concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit back in January, as well as their Veloster C3 hatchback concept back in November, both of which look really sleek.

[via Autocar]

While the resolution here isn’t as sharp as the iPhone 5 (or 4 or 4S), you’ll find that it’s quite a bit sharper than the iPad mini and the original iPad (and iPad 2). The original iPad worked with a 132 PPI resolution, the iPad mini has 163 PPI to its name, and the iPhone 5 (and 4/4S) work with 326 PPI. It would therefor make sense that the iPhone Math would represent the same seemingly odd move that the iPad mini made with its resolution less of that of the iPad 3 (and 4), the current iPad coming out to 264 PPI across its own highest-end display.

The image you see first in this post shows what Arment notes is the iPhone 5, iPhone Plus, iPad mini, and iPad 4. This device would, mind you, have a larger display than the Samsung Galaxy S III (taller, but thinner), and would still come in smaller than the current hero Galaxy Note (that being the Samsung Galaxy Note II). Another bit of logic Arment offered this week was the math that John Gruber inflicted on the public back before the iPad mini was released, essentially predicting that because displays are made on a large sheet and cut down to size.

Because of that fact, the iPad mini was predicted to use the same sheet the iPhone 3GS used, this allowing the same amount of pixels to fit on the display of a full-sized iPad display on a smaller sheet cut to size for the iPad mini. The iPhone 3GS was 3.5-inchs and 480 × 320 pixels, while the iPad mini did end up being 7.9-inches and 1024 × 768 pixels (a .05 difference in inches from what was predicted.) The math still works if you take the sheet of display used for the Retina iPad models (3 and 4) and kept the iPhone 5 display size ratio, sizing it up to 640 × 1136 pixel resolution, this across 4.94-inches of display.

With this device you’ll once again have a display size that allows developers to not have to re-size their apps as its the same aspect ratio as the iPhone 5, made with the same sheet of display technology the iPad uses now, this keeping costs down and production swift. Sound like a deal to you? Now we’ve just got to reconcile the fact that the original iPhone display which was “perfect” for the human hand and one-handed use will be dashed once more – the humanity of it all!

The 2015 NSX Concept maintains its low and wide stance that we saw last year, and the car is highlighted by clean, modern, smooth, and simple surfacing, with edgy details that communicate a supercar feel and attitude. The overall shape reminds us of Audi’s own R8 supercar, with the slanted rear that goes all the way back to the tail.

Acura NSX production ended in 2005, and it’s seen a long history that goes back to 1990, when the first-year NSX was released. The 2015 model will feature a mid-mounted V6 engine with a seven-speed manual transmission. The car will also feature three electric motors that will work together to help drive all four wheels, and to assist with acceleration and braking.

This “Sports Hybrid AWD system” is expected to deliver V8 performance with “better-than-four-cylinder” fuel economy. Indeed, a three-motor, mid-engine supercar sounds like the ideal machine for a brand attempting to distinguish itself as a luxury and performance company without waste or excess. As far as price goes, there’s no set cost yet, but Acura says it will cost more than the Nissan GT-R, which already starts shy of $100,000.

The man himself, Esslinger, worked with Sony in the mid 1970s with their trinitron and wega ranges, moving up to Apple in the early 1980s. If you’ll remember from earlier this year when many early Apple designs were revealed during their legendary court case with Samsung, the idea that they’d replicate Sony designs was spoken of more than once. As it appears here, Esslinger had a problem with these requests for a Sony look for desktop computers, too. Esslinger stayed with Apple until 1990, where soon after Steve Jobs was cut from Apple, he broke his own contract and followed Jobs to NeXT.

Above you’ll see an early “Apple Snow White 2 macbook” from 1982 – not that every single image in this post comes courtesy of Esslinger and is via Designboom. The first image in this post goes by the name “Apple Snow White 1 Lisa Workstation” and is from 1982 as well – not the converting angle of the display and the lovely integration of the Apple logo rainbow colors in the side of the machine. Below this paragraph you’ll see the Apple “Baby Mac” from 1985 – rather sleek, isn’t it?

Above you’ll see a rather drab (by today’s standards) looking machine tagged with the name “Apple Snow White 1 Sony Style” from 1982. Of this design Esslinger writes, “Concept 1 was defined by ‘what sony would do if it built computers’. I didn’t like this idea, as it could create conflicts with Sony, but Steve insisted. He felt that sony’s simple cool design language should be a good benchmark, and Sony was the current pacesetter in making high-tech consumer products smarter, smaller and more portable.”

Below you’ll find two early masterpieces – one of them a tablet, the other a phone. Imagine that, the earliest iPad and the earliest iPhone, together under one roof. The first goes by the name “Apple Snow White 1 Tablet Mac” and is from 1982, the second is the “Apple Snow White 3 Macphone” from 1984. This was the same year that Apple burst forth with Macintosh and changed their destiny forever – imagine if they’d simply released a phone with a massive display instead?

The book Design Forward is available for sale in physical form right this minute all the way over in certain parts of Europe right this minute for right around 30 Euros. We’re crossing our fingers for the digital edition to make its way to the USA sooner than later – can’t wait! Hit the gallery below to see the cover of the book as well as larger versions of the photos you’re seeing above – hot stuff!

GM

Of Detroit’s Big Three, only General Motors has a working driverless model that it’s ready to show off. They’ve modified a Chevy Tahoe with the help of a team from Carnegie Melon University’s DARPA challenge entrants. The SUV certainly works, but it’s a long way from production – as one CES Las Vegas test driver said, it looks more like the Ghostbusters hearse than a road-ready truck. GM estimates that it’s ten years away from production vehicles. They’re also working on semi-autonomous “supercruise” for Cadillac.

Mercedes

Mercedes is probably the farthest along of major auto manufacturers, with a small fleet of autonomous vehicles based on the E-class and C-class models. Their array of antennas and sensors look pretty similar to Google’s, though the German company is still testing driverless cars on closed tracks with no humans in sight. There’s currently no room in the driver’s seat, as the steering wheel and pedals are operated by robotics.

Volkswagen

Like GM, Volkswagon is employing former entrants in the DARPA Urban Challenge to help speed along their driverless efforts, this time from Stanford. Their Temporary Auto Pilot system is meant to assist human drivers rather than replace them, allowing for a safe transition to computer control if the driver falls asleep or becomes unconscious. Though the TAP system has gained millions of Euros in funding, there’s no concrete plans to put it into production vehicles at the moment.

Continental 

The leading independent entry in the driverless race is a German firm called Continental. They’ve outfitted a VW Passat with sensors and control systems similar to Google’s Prius models, with the added advantage of no external constructs. Continental has completed over 6,000 miles of testing on Nevada public roads, since the state’s legislature is friendly (if regulatory) towards autonomous vehicle testing.

Open Source Driverless Car Project

Free and Open Source Software proponents tend to be somewhat fanatical, but do they trust their model with their lives? A few do, and they’ve founded the Open Source Driverless Car Project. The aim is to create a Linux-based operating system that can control an automobile based on camera,s GPS and proximity sensors. But since the project hasn’t been updated in a year and a half, maybe they’d better leave it to those DARPA guys.

First off, this isn’t a design that’s going to include touchscreens, buttons, or any of that fancy kind of stuff. Right now it’s just something that can work as an oldschool telephone handset, but it’s in a piece of cardboard. All you have to do to turn this flat thing into an ergonomic handset is squeeze the sides together gently. The breaks in the cardboard will bend and it’ll transform.

This isn’t going to change your life or anything, but it does demonstrate how far we’ve really come in making the things we need smaller and more convenient. Cool.

[via Yanko Design]

The project is called Coffee Joulies and they are larger than life stainless steel coffee beans. Inside the polished, shiny shell is some sort of secret non-toxic material. That material inside is a solid at room temperature. Once you drop a few of the Coffee Joulies into you cup of Joe that material starts to melt.

As it melts, it soaks up some of the heat from your drink making it a comfortable temperature faster. The coolest part is that while the shiny beans cool your drink down to start, once the solidify on the inside the absorbed heat is released back into your drink keeping the coffee warmer for longer. The makers claim these things will cool your coffee three times faster than normal and keep it warm twice as long. Win!

[via Kickstarter]

Shown in the pictures, below, is the PC dock with HDMI, 4 USB ports, mini USB and an audio jack.

So what do you think? What would you add to (or take away from) this concept phone?

[via Concept Phones]

I must remind you here again that this is a conceptual design, and is thusly not entirely built with the current state of technology in mind. Take a peek at the video below “What is being creative?” Starring we believe Kristian Larsen herself, taking this phone PAST the production stage and releasing it as a real product via a lovely two minute ad.

The screens are covered with Gorilla Glass, each of the screens is a flexible Super AMOLED (somehow both of these things are possible,) there’s steel mesh holding each screen to the next, LED colored lines run along several sides, and the rest is made of aluminum. Oh, and it’s an Android.

[Via Yanko Design]

A doctoral candidate student has written a dissertation over the effects that MMORPG games have on college students. The study found that some students lose sleep and don’t eat to play their games and a large portion admits that games interfere with studies and work. A really sweet electric racing motorcycle surfaced this week called the Mission R. The bike is capable of 160mph and has a 141hp electric motor.

We reviewed the Nokia X3-02 Touch and Type mobile phone this week. We figure the thing isn’t perfect but it will satisfy most mainstream users. We reviewed the Google Cr-48 Chrome OS notebook computer early in the week. This is a strange rig where the hardware will never be sold and the software is what the story is about and we figure there is a lot to do before the OS launches next year.

Pioneer unveiled a set of white DJ gear this week. The hardware is a pearl white version of the CDJ-350 and DJM-350 that debuted in black back early in 2010. They FCC voted to enact some net neutrality rules this week and the vote was commented on by Woz, Verizon, and others. Naturally, the carriers hated the rules and others loved the new regulations.

A pic of a dude holding what appears to be a mini iPad surfaced this week. The guy holding the supposed mini iPad is some sort of racecar driver. I call shenanigans. Elliptic Labs showed off a cool touchless iPad dock that uses gestures to control the dock. The gesture interface of the dock will be shown off at CES next month.

We were sent some pics of what is supposedly some shots of a new HTC smartphone. The pics are suspected to be the HTC Incredible HD and would be a 4G device. GM announced early in the week that it is recycling the oil booms used to clean up the oil spill in the gulf in the production of plastic parts for the Volt. The plastic is being used to make the radiator covers for the car.

Chinese researchers devised a way to store data inside bacteria this week. The catch was that the bacteria could mutate and lose data and getting the data out was expensive and tedious. A crazy app for the iPhone launched called NoseDial. The app lets you dial the smartphone using your nose for folks in areas where they have to wear gloves.

The Nokia N900 got its own port of Android 2.3 this week. The port came from a dude going by DrunkDebugger and isn’t quite 100% functional but offers core features like WiFi, Audio, and others. A great tragedy happened when the infamous and uber geeky Tron Guy was barred from watching Tron: Legacy in his Tron suit. Apparently, the theater thought it would be distracting.

Skype went down leaving hoards of users without the ability to make calls and video chat mid-week. The outage started at about 3:30 on Wednesday and affected users in the US, Asia, and Europe. Skype was still having issues on Thursday, but was back online with 30% of its normal user base having access to the service. The downtime was blamed on a supernode issue.

Logitech stopped the production of its Revue Google TV box this week. The device will apparently go back into production when a new version of Google TV software lands. The Nokia N900 got the ability to control the sweet Parrot AR.Drone flying machine that was an iPhone only controlled device until now. I still think the AR.Drone is the coolest accessory for a smartphone ever.

A patent app from Canon surfaced this week that shows a really cool way the company is looking to take advantage of NFC equipped smartphones. Canon wants to use the NFC device as a display screen for your DSLR when shooting pics. High-end and crazy expensive home theater and audio gear maker Bang & Olufsen unveiled a new home theater remote this week called the Beo6. Apparently, it adds some new controls along with WiFi.

I always thought those tubes that they use at banks for sending things through the drive through were cool. A concept tube travel system for people and equipment called ET3 has been unveiled that would allow you to travel from New York to Beijing in two hours at 4000mph and it reminds me a lot of those bank drive though systems. This sounds really out there to me. Thanks for reading this week’s edition!

Forever running out of power? Everyone is, even if you plug your phone in every chance you get. While this concept is based around the life of the battery, take a peek at the excellence in the aesthetics as well. Seems like it’d have more than a couple fingerprints on it on the daily, and maybe it’s breakable, but heck if it doesn’t look spectacular.

[Via Yanko Design]

Vuzix’s WRAP 920AR augmented reality glasses started shipping early in the week. The glasses are aimed at the pro market and have a giant price tag of almost $2000. Another of the Windows Phone 7 handsets came out this week with the Samsung Omnia 7 being unveiled. The handset has a 4-inch screen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 5MP camera, and 8GB of storage among other things.

HTC offered up details on what handsets running Windows Phone 7 would be landing on what carriers and the dates when they will be there. Among the handsets was the HTC 7 Surround that will hit AT&T in the US and TELUS in Canada on November 7. A lady offered up directions last week for making a very cool Storm Trooper helmet that is made from milk jugs. The helmet looks very much like the real thing and would be a great Halloween mask for a kid.

We spent some hands on time on video with the HTC 7 Mozart this week. The handset is a Windows Phone 7 offerings and looks very cool. We also went hands on with the Samsung Focus WinPo 7 handset. The thing has a 4-inch super AMOLED screen and a lot more.

A sweet steampunk Iron Man costume won a Marvel costume contest at Comic com in NYC. The thing was very cool and deservingly won the first place. We also spent hands on time with the Venue Pro WinPo 7 handset. This is a big phone with a QWERTY keyboard and a 4.1-inch screen.

A new app for Android smartphones turned up that is called Lego Mindroid. The app is designed to allow the user to control Lego Mindstorm NXT robots. Lexus unveiled the world’s most advanced driving simulator this week. The thing is on rails in a building the size of a football field and has a full-size car under the massive dome.

Some images of the Palm Pre 2 surfaced from France that shows a handset looking much like the older phone. Hopefully, this smartphone will be better than the original that didn’t fare too well in the market. We reviewed the Acer Aspire TimelineX 18030T this week. The GPU left us wanting more, but overall the notebook is very good.

Sony pulled the wraps off several of its TVs with Google TV service built in this week. The sets ranged from 26-inch to 46-inch offerings and included a cool Google TV remote with a keyboard built-in. The coolest Wii Remote ever was unveiled at Toys R Us from Lego called the Lego Play and Build remote. The thing comes with several blocks that can be connected to the front of the controller and will ship this month.

The iPhone 4 has a 82% higher rate of damage than the iPhone 3GS. That makes sense with twice as much glass to crack in a drop. TomTom unveiled a new custom printing option for some of its GPS devices. The GPS devices can be printed with images TomTom offers or the users own images that are uploaded.

Lensbaby unveiled a new optic called the Scout with Fisheye that will fit different DSLR cameras. The Scout optic is not movable like other offerings from the company. Apple is having an event on October 20 for media with a Lion behind the Apple. Presumably, the event is for a new OS version, I’m not lion.

T-Mobile has unveiled new prepaid mobile plans with voice, text and data at different price points. There are also some new plans strictly for mobile data as well. The MeeGo mobile operating system has finally come to the N900 for those that have been waiting. The N900 can be dual booted with MeeGo and the factory OS for those brave enough to try it out.

We went hands-on with the HP Envy 17 3D notebook late in the week. The notebook has a 17.3-inch screen and while too big for mobile use, the 3D effects were very nice. A man from the UK created a mobility scooter that is set to take on the world’s record for fastest scooter. The man is aiming at 70mph top speed and the scooter uses a 125cc engine from a motorcycle.

Former Apple CEO John Sculley has taken the blame for the near death of Apple on his shoulders. He gave an interesting interview about his time at Apple this week that is worth a read. A cool new projector concept for kids has turned up called KLEXL smart projector that lets kids draw on the wall without getting grounded. The projector is a concept, but I could see this selling well. Thanks for reading this week’s Week in Review!

The big difference is that rather than stuffing a dog for a kid, the Dream Machine stuffs fluffy pillows. The idea behind the machine is to let the user customize their own pillow. The system starts with the buyer telling the machine how they like to sleep.

The buyer then selects their firmness and a custom embroidery message. The machine then fills their pillow, sews it, and spits it out right there for the buyer to take home. A bag of smelly stuff can also be sewn inside. The pillows would reportedly sell for between $129 and $149.

The coolness starts when the phone is opened up in any of several ways. The phone can flips up or swivel out. It has dual screens inside that allow the user to watch video with both screens pushed together.

The concept can be taken apart for what appears to be an intercom function. That would be cool for keeping up with the wife when she goes shoe shopping at the mall while I am looking at stuff that doesn’t suck. This concept is one of those really cool designs that will probably never see the real world.

The kitchenette features a dishwasher, induction cooking hub, washing machine (yes, a washing machine), a sink, and refrigerator. All in one, compact unit. What makes it that much more futuristic, is the fact that you won’t be using those ancient knobs and dials anymore. No, no, you’ll be able to control all of these appliances with a fancy touchscreen. Obviously, this is just a concept, and there’s no way to tell if it will ever become something more, but maybe if we all start wishing hard enough, we can make something happen. Would anyone out there really want something like this?

[via Yanko Design]

A new concept called the Swan umbrella dryer is one of those things I wonder why we haven’t seen before. It has a tube that sort of looks like a urinal for the space station. You close your umbrella and then slip it into the Swan where it dries.

The device also stores all that water in a container below that you can empty when needed. This is an interesting concept and would be welcome in wet areas. Check out the vide below of the dryer in action.

Guru’board, the intelligent folks behind the customizable keyboard, have declared that they have essentially lost faith in the idea that they will be able to sell the initial production line. Because of that, they’ve decided to scrap the project altogether, thus putting an end to the Miniguru. The keyboard itself consisted of mechanical key switches so that it made that familiar typing sound that most touch-typists enjoy so much. The keyboard itself was completely customizable, built to keep your fingers on the home row at all times. We wish we would have been able to see this come to market, but everything happens for a reason. Right?

[via GuruBoard]

Basically, Fits.me is a robotic torso that features flexible panels that can shift into thousands of different variations of sizes and shapes. You’ll get the full effect, from small to extra large, just by changing the very shape of the mannequin’s torso. You’ll be at your favorite clothing store’s website, and you’ll enter in your exact measurements (no cheating, now; would defeat the purpose, after all), and the retailer on the other end of the transaction will be able to fit your new outfit to the mannequin, which is acting as you by proxy, and then you can see how it looks through pictures. No word on when this might actually start getting used, but we’ll go ahead and say that if this ever gains a head and starts thinking for itself, we’re in for a world of hurt.

[via BBC]

The designer, a man named Luke Jerram, worked with a jeweler Tamrakar to create the projector ring. It’s a wedding ring that features a built-in lens and a transparent slide that has an imago of himself and his bride. What makes it better, though, is when you shine a light through it. As you might imagine, that’s where the whole “projector” part comes into play.

And to make it better, the image can be replaced with another, so Jerram can keep his memories alive right there in his ring. Unfortunately, the projector ring is a one of a kind item, and the designers have no plans to create another one for anyone else. In fact, the designer goes as far as to say, “…I’m afraid you’ll have to make your own unique ring for your own unique partner!” If that’s not dedication, we don’t know what is. And at least Jerram has something that’s truly unique, almost as much as his wife.

[via Boomaloom]

First and foremost? How many loads of laundry could something like this actually hold? While saving space may be great, if you’re not saving any time or water by washing, you know, more than one item at a time, we can’t really see a point to its existence. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t look awesome. And, we’ve got admit that the designer’s heart and mind are definitely in the right spot. You also have to wonder how this would work in a “normal” abode, considering you’ve got those plug-ins, like water and electricity, to worry about. But, we imagine that if you’re getting something like a wall-mounted washing machine, you can probably afford to build your own house around it. Right? We will say this, though: Electrolux’s washing machines of the future are awesome.

[via Yanko Design]

Designed by students at the Zurich University of the Art’s Interaction Design lab in Switzerland, the robotic agent was specifically designed to help the elderly (or anyone for that matter, especially those who may have weakening senses necessary to work some of today’s gadgets correctly), keep in touch with their loved ones with a simple touchscreen interface. As you can see from the image, that display is actually the head, or face, of the little robot. The machine will be able to receive emails and videos, plus almost everything in between, and be able to showcase them right there in the display. Users navigate by touching either the left or right side of Kompott’s face, and then accessing content by touching the middle of the face.

Other features a speech synthesis so you can figure out what the little robot is holding without ever having to poke his face. Another great feature would be the speech-to-text, so that you can simply speak out loud your response to your family member, and Kompott will take care of the rest for you. And there’s a button at the center of the robot’s chest, which if pressed will bring up the full list of all your contacts stored within. Unfortunately, there’s no plans to bring Kompott to the mass market quite yet, but what it will do without a doubt is work as a great jumping-off-point for more robots like it, with even better features to make getting in touch the easiest it has ever been.

[via Plastic Pals]

As you can see from the image, the body of the Halo Bike Lock is flexible enough to warrant the similarity between a heavenly item and itself. Hunt designed it so that the connector cable is housed within the frame of the lock itself, which should cut down on the thieves cutting your cable and having their way with your bike. But, that’s not the great feature. Hunt wants to have an integrated wireless card inserted into the lock itself, so that when (if) your bike gets stolen, the lock itself will notify you. So, if you’re close enough, you might be able to stop the thief before he makes off with your goods.

The text message would be sent out the moment the lock is tampered with. So, if the thief tries to break the lock off, or cut the cable with as little as would be exposed, you’d be notified that moment. It’s a great idea, and right now we wish it were more than just a concept drawn up, but we can hope that some deep-pocketed investor out there likes it just as much as we do. Now, just put the Halo Bike Lock on your Foldable Bike, and you’d pretty much have a bike that’s thief-proof.

[via Gear Log]

Not only is the Renshui Faucet one of the more interesting looking bathroom-centric devices we’ve seen in a long time (it definitely doesn’t look like a faucet, that’s for sure), it’s got enough technology crammed inside to warrant its purchase by any tech obsessed individual out there. First and foremost, there’s an integrated chipset inside the faucet to regulate the temperature of the water. With that chipset in place, the faucet takes advantage of a touch-based control scheme, so you’ll be able to regulate the temperature of your water with just the touch of your finger.

The faucet will also always show you the temperature of the water, right there on the faucet itself, and will have a warning indicator light if the water is getting too hot for your sensitive skin. It looks like an open book to us, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But there’s a question that looks like it’s going unanswered for the time being: if your power goes out, will the Renshui Faucet still be able to control the water temperature?

[via Slippery Brick]

Speculation is pretty much running rampant right now, as you might expect from something like this showing up online. And the translation from Tw.Apple.pro isn’t helping things at all. According to them, while the device clearly states that Apple’s got their firm grasp on whatever it is, the images don’t tell us what exactly it’s meant for. The initial report suggests that it could be a new iPod Touch Nano, or even a revolutionized iPod Shuffle. But we got really interested when the translation mentioned a touchscreen watch.

Because that’s what the iWatch is, and we’re not changing our story: we like the concept. The trouble is, the images don’t tell us nearly enough, and while the initial report is great to breed speculation, in prime Apple fashion we just don’t have any idea what this could actually be. In fact, there’s no confirmation from anyone that it’s even a touchscreen — it just looks like one, especially with that bezel. So, until more images of this leak, and the “people close to the subject” start seeping out of the woodwork, just keep staring at this and try and guess what it is. Of course, we expect everyone to tell us what you think it is in the comments.

[via MacRumors]

The Best of R3 Media

Samsung Vibrant Releasing July 15th: We can chalk this one up to pretty strange. After officially announcing the Samsung Vibrant, T-Mobile confirmed that the device would be hitting physical and digital store shelves beginning July 21st. But, thanks to some leaked T-Mobile documents, it’s now been more or less confirmed that it’s actually releasing on July 15th. A full week early, and on the same day as the Droid X by Motorola for Verizon. Interesting choice, especially considering they are still cutting it dangerously close to that date, and still haven’t told anyone. Tricky, tricky, T-Mobile. [via Android Community]

Apple Activates Their Kill Switch: The application in question is called NDrive, and it’s a GPS app created from a small group of folks. Basically, it’s an indie app, lost amidst the other high profile GPS applications out there in Apple’s App Store. At least, that was the case until today, when the application suddenly disappeared from the App Store, and people’s computers as well. Oh, and from iPhone owner’s handsets, too. That’s right — the app just disappeared. The company doesn’t seem to know what’s going on, either, but everyone’s trying to figure it out. What it looks like at the moment, is that Apple pulled their kill switch, and this is the result: utter confusion. [via SlashGear]

Opera Mini Updated to 5.1: Updates are bound to happen to anything out there that can be updated, and it’s never a bad thing when they make things better. The update to 5.1 for Opera Mini brings the removal of some icons, as well as the visual speed dial tool for the User Interface, but the changes are said ot make the browser faster, and more stable for devices with less memory. So, if this fits your device’s description, it looks like your browser choice just got a little better. [via PhoneMag]

The Dredge ‘Net

Solar Impulse Flies Overnight on Just Solar Power: There’s skeptics for everything out there, and solar power (and especially any kind of adoption of the alternate power source) has its fair share. One of the reasons for that skepticism is its fundamental behavior at night. Or, if it can work. Well, thanks to the Solar Impulse and the power of the sun, those skeptics can start to quiet down. The solar powered plane completed a 26-hour, straight, flight through the day and night. It was able to recharge its batteries throughout the night thanks to its 12,000 solar panels, which gathered more than enough energy through its flight during the day. [via Physorg]

AQUA2 is Fast and Amphibious: The AQUA2 was created at McGill University in Montreal, and sure enough, it’s the first of its kind. Specifically designed to be able to move around on land, but be just as free-roaming in the water, the AQUA2 can indeed traverse the landscape, as well as dive and swim under water. It can dive down to 120 feet, and it’s capable of being controlled by a remote control tethered via ethernet or fiber optics. And thanks to those flippers, the swimming thing it’s definitely got down. [via Engadget]

This Bike Can Fold Around a Lamp Post: Keeping your bike safe is a pretty high priority for anyone that owns a bike. After all, it may be your best (or only) means of transportation. But, just using a chain to lock your bike to something may not be enough in today’s day-and-age, so that’s why we can thankfully welcome this new foldable bike design from a 21-year old by the name of Kevin Scott. He’s created the world’s first bike that can literally fold at the center, and be wrapped around a post, or whatever else you want, without the need of an extra chain. The lock is actually built into the bike itself, right under the seat, so you just wrap the bike around the post, so that the handlebars reach the lock, and there you go — safe and secure. We want this bad boy right now, and Scott is trying hard to get it picked up by a bike lover with money. So, keep your fingers crossed. [via Daily Mail UK]

It’s simple: you connect Kokonatchi to a USB port, and the RGB LEDs inside of it will take care of the rest. Depending on the style of the tweet, Kokonatchi will change colors. Oh, and did we mention that it will vibrate as well? And, apparently because it does look like a stress reliever, you’ll actually be able to massage the little robot, too, which will allow you to directly reply to the original sender. And if you want to record some words for the little guy to say, you can do that too. It will hold 20 words at the start, like “hello,” but you can put a microSD card somewhere in there and expand that up to 1,000 words.

According to the Project Manager at Osaka University, Hiroshi Ishiguro, the Kokonatchi is designed to be like the Tamagotchi of yester-year. Cute enough for anyone to have on their desk, and perfectly capable of distracting you from your actual work, all day long. Right now, the designers intend to start selling the little ‘bots some time this Fall, and will cost about 4,000 yen, or $45 for those of us local purchasers. What do you think? Want a Kokonatchi on your desk?

[via Plastic Pals]

The point of the Folding Shower, according to the designers, is for folks who find themselves living in a small apartment and are in need of a shower that doesn’t take up too much room. Now, we could be wrong here, but we would normally be under the impression that even the smallest apartment has a shower — mostly because they’re small, and therefore can’t fit a traditional bathtub. Plus, there’s always the point that if you can’t afford an apartment that has a shower, maybe buying a Folding Shower isn’t in your budget, either.

And we can immediately tell that it’s not as portable as we would like, either. But then again, not many plumbing-oriented gadgets can be, right? You need all those pipes and drainage taken care of, so moving your bathroom appliances around probably isn’t as viable as we might imagine. Nevertheless, we love the idea, but all we can do at this point is hope that something like this takes off, and the prices aren’t astronomical to start (but we’re sure they will be).

[via Oh Gizmo!]

The Best of R3 Media

Android 2.2 Expected for Most HTC Sense-based Devices by Christmas: When it comes to getting updates ready and released for devices, HTC and Motorola are in a pretty high-stakes tie for frustrating their customers the most. But, at least if you take the word of one HTC exec, then it looks like HTC’s got a clamp on Android 2.2 hitting their devices in the future. They actually expect to have all of their devices upgraded and ready to go by Christmas — so that’s not that bad at all. Then again, if you think about the rumors that Google’s all set to announced Android 3.0 around the same time . . . well, then we guess it’s a whole other story. [via Android Community]

Ribbon Ceiling Fans Should Win All of the Awards: We’re not sure how many aesthetic awards are out there, let alone awards for designs or anything else remotely connected to a ceiling fan, but the Ribbon Fan should win them all. It’s not only the coolest looking fan in the history of fans, but apparently the designers expect this bad boy to actually come out in the market some day. We can just hope for soon. And by soon, we mean sooner than that. Like, tomorrow. The helical blades work to push the air throughout the room and not just straight down, and it actually uses less energy, too. So, a win-win for everyone. [via SlashGear]

HTC Droid Incredible Pushed Back into August: If you were someone who pre-ordered the Droid Incredible, then you’ve got this whole “sit and wait” thing down by now. But, if you were thinking that maybe the whole situation had been figured out by now, and you were planning on heading into your local Verizon store and getting your pre-order on, you might want to take a moment and think about it. According to Verizon’s site, the Incredible’s been pushed back to the first week of August, and if we’re going off the past at all, that’s probably a trend that’s not going to stop any time soon. Even if we are hoping. [via PhoneMag]

The Dredge ‘Net

Scientists Create Super Battery: Ever heard of Xenon Difluoride? It’s okay if you haven’t. Basically, on a normal day, it’s just a normal chemical that’s not known for doing much outside of looking good. However, if you were to, say, crush it with the pressure of 1 million times our atmosphere, apparently it does something super. That’s right, it actually becomes a super compound, and thanks to some crazy science, that energy that was used to actually crush the chemical gets stored in its chemical bonds. That results in a ridiculously powerful storage device. Or, if you’re creative enough, a battery. It’s not all that easy to recreate all the time, but right now, the little metal-looking cube is the most powerful non-nuclear storage device ever created. And that’s some pretty unreal, yet fabulous news if you ask us. We can thank the scientists at Washington State’s chemistry lab for this great find, by the way. So, if you’re in the area, might want to buy them a round or two. [via DVICE]

Amazon’s Kindle Patent Finally Accepted: It’s actually been awhile since Amazon put their patent for the design of the Kindle. Actually, it dates back all the way to 2006. And it’s actually general enough that competitors like the nook and Alex could very well be in some for troubled water in the future. You see, Amazon’s patent definitely makes mention of a dual-screen piece of hardware, and if you’ll recall, the nook and Alex flaunt those dual-screens like there’s no tomorrow. Of course, there’s all sorts of reasons that Amazon remained silent when those devices hit store shelves, or were even announced, and we can’t presume to know what they are thinking. What the patents tell us, though, is that Amazon was clearly just looking into the future of eReaders, and they wanted to make sure that they covered their bases for all of the hardware they planned, or ever thought they’d plan on releasing. We’ll see if this gets interesting soon enough. [via CrunchGear]

Some Droid X Pre-Orders Landing in Customer’s Hands: Well, shucks. Good news for those who pulled the trigger on the latest juggernaut Android-based device from Motorola, though. Apparently, some of these 4.3-inch bad boys are actually showing up on people’s doorsteps. And, what’s more interesting about the whole thing, is the fact that the official Droid X Twitter account (@DroidLanding) might actually be telling all those who follow it where, exactly, those are landing. We originally thought it was a scavenger hunt, but considering the similarities of the posts, and where the devices are showing up, it’s a bit too much of a coincidence to overlook. In any event, it looks like Motorola might have a super-sneaky plan up their sleeve, and if that’s the case, then those lucky folks should start thinking the company at large. [via Droid-Landing]

And, as you might imagine, they’re going to use some real Mazda vehicles to really sell the experience. It’s going to be an automated, full-sized Scalextric track. There’s no details about how it’s all going to work, and all we can say is that we’re hoping that there won’t be any horrendous accidents with cars flying haphazardly off the track, but considering how often it happens on the miniature version, we’d be shocked if it didn’t happen once.

Of course they’ll have some kind of safety features, especially when you look at the cars being included in this. A 1990 Miate, and a Mazda 2000 10th Anniversary Edition is just two of the many that Mazda is going to include in the 20-year MX-5 celebration. We’re looking forward to seeing how this goes — we’re eagerly anticipating the awesome videos.

[via CrunchGear]

The Best of R3 Media

HTC Sabor Features 2GHz Processor: When it comes to cell phones, smartphones, or superphones, there’s no getting around the fact that they’re getting powerful. Ridiculously powerful, if you ask us. And we already know that Motorola’s Sanjay Jha wants a 2GHz Android-based device of his own by the end of 2010, so this rumor doesn’t seem to be too far off. But, according to a “person in the know,” it looks like HTC’s all set to launch the Sabor, which is a 2GHz Android-based device. Also noteworthy, is the idea that HTC is going to make their own display to combat Samsung’s AMOLED variations. So, start your rumor mill, folks. [via Android Community]

iPhone 4 Class-Action Lawsuit is a Go: General negligence, breach of express warranty, an defect in design. Those are all named in a new class-action lawsuit, amongst a lot more. And, truth be told, no one should have been surprised that this was coming. People do this kind of thing for all sorts of crazy reasons, and if you buy a new phone and it doesn’t actually work as a phone for design reasons (and not the network), then people probably have a place to to complain. We’ll have to see where this one goes, because it’s definitely getting interesting. [via SlashGear]

Motorola Charm and Samsung Supersonic Prices Leak: Oddly enough, we look forward to seeing leaked images of a price sheet. We really do. (We don’t have much to look forward to, okay?) As far as this sheet goes, it’s nothing all that groundbreaking. The Motorola Charm is a MOTOBLUR device featuring Android 2.1, and it’s all set to get launched for $74.99 on a new, two-year contract. And the Samsung Supersonic? Well, we think that’s the Samsung Vibrant, just with a different moniker for this particular sheet. Price wise, you’re looking at the standard $199.99 on a new, two-year contract. So, start saving up for that 4-inch AMOLED displaying, TouchWiz 3.0 on Android 2.1-goodness. [via PhoneMag]

The Dredge ‘Net

Le-Samourai Eyewear Has a Built-in USB Stick: We honestly have no idea why anyone would want this, but here it is. They are a concept of eyewear that has a built-in USB stick, just in case you ever really need one right there and now. They don’t look half bad, and the designer is aiming to get sunglasses and prescription-versions available some time in the future as well. We can see this actually being interesting if they were integrated with some kind of 3D technology, so we could watch a movie right on our glasses, but just to have a USB stick on-hand seems kind of ridiculous. [via Ubergizmo]

Fujitsu PH520 Netbook Ships for $599: Netbooks usually hit the mid-range or expensive marker, and in this case, one might consider it a bit expensive, but at least the specifications aren’t terrible. This Fujitsu model features an 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 pixel display, 1.7GHz AMD Athlon II Neo K125 processor, and an option for a 320GB hard drive. You also get Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, and 2GB of RAM. Yes, it could be better, but at least it won’t break the bank, either. Plus, it comes in a nice red color. And that’s always nice for your tech gadgets. [via Liliputing]

The Pivot Power is your general power strip, but it has one main difference: it’s flexible. Basically, the designers made it so that each individual outlet could be rotated, and therefore repositioned to fit your needs, based on your requirements. As you watch the video, you can see how it would certainly help, but we’ll be the first to admit that there’s definitely some positions you could put the Pivot Power in that wouldn’t actually save space at all. But, you’d obviously have to adjust to what suits you best.

The company doesn’t have any Pivot Powers up for sale right now, but they are taking pre-orders. But, unless they reach their 960 order goal, they won’t be manufacturing any for retail release. So, if you’ve got $23 to drop on something you may or not need, then we can think of worse things. But, if you need more convincing, go ahead and check out the video below.

[via Technabob]

The designer’s name is Jinhee Kim, and he’s created a digital camera that will allow you to actually stamp out the image, and then share it that way. And yes, like a traditional stamp that you put into an ink pad. The lens sits at the top of the handle, and the shutter button is housed in the body of the stamp kit. You simply snap the photo, remove the back, and then put the required amount of ink onto the stamp. You’ll then be able to stamp it wherever a stamp can be applied.

It may not get picked up for mainstream photographers, but there’s definitely markets out there for something like this. Especially if the design elements can be applied to the camera/ink pad itself, then we can definitely see customers picking up a few of them for their collection. Besides, taking photos with a digital camera and then actually stamping them onto something would be pretty interesting.

[via Yanko Design]

That’s where the IC Social Communication Tool comes in. Yeah, it has a long name, but that doesn’t mean it’s a complicated tool. It’s just a concept right now, based on a project by a guy named Mikael. It’s designed to be “dummy proof,” and specifically meant to make electronic communication easier. Basically, you put in a contact, put all the relevant information you have about that contact (like phone number, email address, and social networking details), and then the device itself will just make it a one-click process to get to your favorite communication means.

Connectivity wise, the IC Social Communication Tool is going to have built-in 4G, which means that if you get this bad boy as a permanent placement in your house, you won’t need any further installation. As you can clearly see in the image, it’s meant to have a touchscreen display, which should make navigation super easy. And if that conceptualized graphic is any indicator, then it probably doesn’t get any simpler than that. No word on when Mikael wants this to go public, but obviously 4G needs to be a bit more widespread, before it can really make a different.

[via Ubergizmo]

As the title suggests, this concept vehicle, from Malaysian designer Priyanka Martin, the Eos Triton uses the same technology that you may have heard talked about recently. The same gyroscope technology that you’ll find right now in the iPhone 4. But, sure, it would have to be on a much bigger scale, and probably a bit more advanced to make sure that you don’t go rolling over onto your side.

Other features of this future-car include the fact that it’s self-driving, and therefore it doesn’t have any headlights. (We’re not sure why that goes hand-in-hand, but hey, we won’t ask questions). As for the aesthetics of the Triton, that’s done on purpose. The distinct lighting, as well as markings, make it perfectly capable of being seen from great distances, even if you’re looking straight down at it from the air. While we can’t see the inside of the design, all we can hope is that it’s at least somewhat comfortable in there — A/C, CD player, and bucket seats, please.

[via The Design Blog]

The weird part is that it’s designed for the rich, with small space. Those two things just don’t go together. I guess it would be great for the mountain cabin or something. At any rate, the device has whirlpool jets and a built in sink and the lid folds down when not in use to hide the tub.

The OLED screen strangely has no TV tuner it seems, you can upload pictures to view if you want. I’d rather have the ability to view movies or other video. The whole thing is cool, even if it looks a bit short and shallow for tall folks to stretch out.

If you like to pretend you are a doctor, or if you are a nurse that wants to look like you are working while you are actually listening to music, the I’m Not a Doctor headphones might be perfect. They look like a stethoscope with a cable end that plugs into your average headphone jack on an iPod or other device.

The thing I’m not sure about is comfort. Anyone who has used a stethoscope for a long time will tell you the design is not comfortable in the ears. The headphones have a mic for making and receiving calls and three ear tip sizes.

This sweet concept diving helmet is certainly futuristic enough and is made from glass and LEDs. The device has a HUD that shows important things like GPS maps and how much air you have left in your tanks.

The really far out aspect of the concept is the electrolysis unit that extracts oxygen from the seawater around the diver. The helmet uses silicone to form a seal between the divers head and the helmet. I’m not sure how workable this design really is, but it is very cool. Is it just me or do those orange curls on teh sid emake you think of Princess Leia?

A concept designed by Cheng Peng is one green gadget that should really be made into a real product. The collapsed the device looks like a small stick and you can plug it into the AC outlet to power GPS devices and other gadgets when power is available.

When you are out in the wilds, the sides of the tube open up in four petals that turn into a windmill for harvesting wind energy. Those same wind petals are covered in solar panels to grab energy from the sun. It would be very cool and more efficient if you could generate power from wind and sunlight at the same time with one device.