The Voltron Of Mobile Phones

WillCOM (a Japanese Mobile manufacturer) believes the future of mobile phones will be in hardware customization. In their WP004 concept, each mobile component - camera, keypad, GPS, fingerprint sensor, extended batteries, etc. can modularly connect to each other and form VOLTRON! I'm kidding. The WP004 phone only comes with a SIM module. Then it's like Build-A-Bear. Choose from over a dozen components and make your dream phone. How cool is that? God it seems like we'll never catch up to them. Even so, it would have been cooler still if it really could form VOLTRON! hahaz

Building Material Of The Future

ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene) is the building material of the future. This wonder polymer, a transparent plastic related to Teflon is replacing glass and plastic in some of the most innovative buildings being designed and constructed today. Its selling points? Compared to glass, it's 1% the weight, transmit more light, is a better insulator and costs 24 - 70% less to install. It's also resilient able to bear 400x its own weight, self cleaning because of its non-stick surface and 100% recyclable. The current largest ETFE construction projects are the Beijing National Stadium and Aquatics Center for the 2008 Olympics. They will be the strongest and most energy efficient buildings in the world.

WYSIWYG Concept

Designer Pei-Hua Huang's latest concept explores the possibility of transparent screens that not only bring up your basic phone apps but also as a true "what you see is what you get" viewfinder for mobile picture taking. The transparent viewfinder is more intuitive to use since whatever is within its frame is what you snap as a picture. The phone itself is super thin, comes in an array of colors and patterns, meant for picture hounds on the go.

I Want A Submarine

Since I can't really have a submarine I'll set for the next best thing, a tub-toy. I know, I'm a grown man now which is why some plastic floating thing won't cut it. That's why this tub-toy comes equipped with a built-in radio. And don't make fun of me for taking baths and/or playing with tub-toys. The toy makers themselves say it's okay. "The Submarine Radio would be a great toy for children and adults alike." So which one of you readers will buy me one hmm? Only $30.

Sony Says Yay To Virtual Reality 3D

It seems Sony is not content with losing the "we are the innovators" tag line so in an effort to do something that can truly revolutionize gaming, they've been working on a new type of VR 3D controller. As illustrated in this patent, it's a handheld computer interactive device that incorporates motion sensors (hello Wii), multi-touch dexterity (hello Apple) and tactile feedback. The device allows the user to grab and manipulate on screen objects in 3D space, assigning different functions to each finger. They make no mention of when such a device will see the light of day but I am sooooo ready for it. Just look at the hands! Don't they look like they're having fun? Image the kind of gameplay possible with this controller. It's like Minority Report sooner than later.

Wafer Thin Sony OLED TV

Is your TV only 3mm thick? No? Mine either. One of OLED's main technical advantages is it's slim profile. The display doesn't require a backlight and so it can stay wafer thin. Until now we haven't really seen any OLED screens bigger than those for cell phone applications. Sony just announced their upcoming 27" OLED TV and yes it's coming to a store near you later this year. The screen has unmatched color reproduction and contrast - 1,000,000:1. Did you count all the zeros? Most high end plasmas and LCDs top out at 10,000:1. With those specs, image clarity can even be seen at extreme angles as demonstrated in the picture above. The OLED TV will come with all the necessary modern inputs like component and HDMI. Sony hasn't announced pricing but you can be sure one of these beauties will set you back a house, car and probably wife and kids.

Precursor To Tron's Light Cycle

What initially started at the Carver concept aptly named for it's ability to tilt almost 45º in turns, has just received to green light for mass production as the VentureOne. Designed by BWM Design, the VentureOne looks to be the first of the trike onslaught ready to pepper roads across America and perhaps the world. The vehicle seats two and is capable of 100 miles per hour while maintaining its 100 miles per gallon fuel efficiency going from 0 - 60 in a respectable 6 seconds. How is that possible? Well the VentureOne is an electric hybrid with an all electric version optional. Total range is between 300 - 350 miles which is equivalent to most compact cars like the Civic and Corolla. Venture seems to be pushing the tagline "Fly the Road" and it makes perfect sense. If you watch the Carver concept videos, you can see how the driver centric cockpit coupled with the vehicle's manuervability makes for an almost jet fighter-like experience. The VentureOne goes on sale this year at a base price of $18k. 20K gets you the top of the line model and all versions come with GPS navigation, HIVAC, airbags, cruise control and iPod integration as standard features. So are you getting one?

Goodbye Sidekick, Hello Helio Ocean

Helio sorta surprised everyone by Helio Ocean. Although many people are calling it an iPod competitor, I think it's more of a Sidekick killer. First the specs. The most unique aspect of the Ocean is its dual sliding keypad revealing a QWERTY keyboard in one direction and full numeric keypad in the other. The phone is equipped with a 2 megapixel camera with flash, a full HTML browser, 2.4" QVGA screen, stereo speakers, 200MB of internal memory with a microSD slot, bluetooth 2.0 and GPS all running on Helio's fast 3G network. Design-wise the Ocean looks sorta like the Sony Mylo, but the comparisons end there. It has more in common with the Sidekick - currently champion of teenagers all across America. The Ocean is slimmer than the Sidekick, has a better camera and a screen with almost twice the resolution. Software integration is where the Ocean really beats out the Sidekick. You've got AIM and Yahoo chat, Windows Live, SMS, MMS, music, video, POP and IMAP email and surprise! It supports push-email. With Helio's tight MySpace integration and bargain price plans for 3G service, I can't imagine why teenagers wouldn't want to drop T-Mobile and finally jump on the Helio bandwagon. For just $65 a month, you get 500 anytime minutes plus;

Free nights and weekends

Unlimited text messaging

Unlimited picture messaging

Unlimited video messaging

Unlimited mobile MySpace

Unlimited web browsing

Unlimited file transfer

High-speed 3G Buddy Beacon

GPS enabled Google Maps

iPhone killer it ain't but jaded Sidekick users who want a messaging phone device with better tech, more features and 3G need to give the Helio Ocean a look. You'll be able to pick one up for $295 this Spring.

Smokey But Artistic

Check out these AMAZING smoke sculptures by photographer Mehmet Ozgur. Every image is a composite of hundreds of smoke images shot with a high speed Canon digital SLR camera. I want large prints of these for my apartment.

Check them out HERE.

Mechanical Sculptures By Christopher Conte

Something about them makes me smile. Perhaps it's the technical wizardry involved in making ordinary objects come alive or it could be his life story and how he got into art. Christopher actually studied human anatomy and went on to design and build prosthetic limbs for amputees. He always had a love for science and art and one day his work and hobby collided. Good thing it did too, otherwise we wouldn't have some of the most amazing micro sculptures I've ever seen. My favorite is the Singer insect, made from old Singer sewing machine bits.