Wireless chargers which were developed years ago have recently appeared in the market. And the one we show here weighs merely 300g but can charge up to 6 devices at one time. To wirelessly charge your phone you need a unique protective coat which is put onto the device to “receive” electricity energy. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Smaller in size, the new wind power generator however performs much better in producing electricity. And it comes with a nice name, the “Wind Cube”. Made up from blades, a generator, a telescopic shaft, an electric power plug and a switch, one single device can generate 21.6 kilowatt-hours per month and 15 such fans can support one family with four people for a month. [Read the rest of this entry...]
You must have been used to purchasing something in convenience stores with a credit card, but what about using a new device that is more convenient for using? It is the E-Money Band, a silicon wristband designed by a Japanese company that allows the users to purchase with electronic money so that you can stop anywhere to make a shopping though without enough cash in your pockets. [Read the rest of this entry...]
“Do not forget to turn off the light. Let “me” keep smile. Let the earth keep smile.”
The simple concept behind the Smiling Switches collaborated by Zhou Yide, Euphe Mo, Hang Zhou & Christine Liu has really impressed me a lot. For quite a long time, I’ve been wondering what I should or could do to make the earth a happy planet, and until these days I noticed that simply little tasks will result into great changes of the world we’re living in. So from now on, we’ll always see the earth smile whenever we turn off the lights. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Thanks to four Korea based designers and their Line Block Cable, you’d always feel happy to see cables of your TV, acoustics appliances and other electronics neatly housed together. Inspired by toy bricks, Line Block can individually lead a cable to the sockets while tagging two or more wires together to create your room a neat look. Sounds like a nice try. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Will you conserve more electricity if the light is as precious as time? Combining the hourglass concept with lights for public places like staircases, Jia Wen Chen and Wei-Ting Chen have collaborated with the Flat Light that will time your lights. Once the LED grains all reach the bottom, the lights will then go off and the time limit is merely about 30 seconds. So our conclusion is, cherish your time and treasure electricity resource. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The action of pushing in or pulling out a plug seems really simple but not that pleasant, coz times and times again there’re people getting shocked when plugging in and out. So to save your fingers from electrified discomfort, designer Luofang Jun has come up with an innovative and practical plug that has a collapsible coat at the end to keep your flesh away from the metal prongs, and still ensuring you to easily have the plug in or out. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Sculptures, advertisements, cars, here on INewIdea we’ve introduced you to many innovative collections on different issues, and today we’d like to show you nine cool refrigerators collected from the world. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Orbital Washing Machine, which takes the very name from the fact that it has a spherical drum spinning on two axes, is an eco-friendly home appliance that would save you great amounts of water and energy. When the machine works, its spherical drum will spin on the two axes to move the clothes in all directions so that they can get washed with little energy and water. Besides, the spherical drum can also be used as a laundry hamper for dirty clothes as it is removable. [Read the rest of this entry...]
If you’re using high temperature to dry clothes, you should realize that the heat may damage your delicate dress and shirts. But we can guarantee that problem wouldn’t arise again if you have the DryMate designed by Nico Kläber. It uses a new vacuum technology to dry clothes at much lower temperatures than 100°C, and the lower the air pressure the lower the temperature is needed to evaporate water. Therefore with DryMate, less energy will be consumed and less damage will be made to your clothes. Besides, the new clothes drier also features a rounded exterior and a wide mouth that is tilted up by 9 degree, making it a stylish device for convenient using. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Based on the same principles as a hydroelectric power station, Leicester De Montfort University industrial design’s graduate Tom Broadbent invented a creative device that harvests energy from waste water falling through the pipes of high-rise buildings. Though the “HighDro Power” is not that effective in producing large amount of energy, it does have provided us a possible solution to recycle the waste water. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Since we can produce some energy while riding a bike, why don’t we utilize that to do more things? An Instructables.com user asked that question before making the USB Bike Generator and now the designer wants to share the interesting experience with you guys. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Your check-in process at hospitals and clinics will be simplified, because Fujitsu has announced and would soon launch its electronic paper-based outpatient guidance solution. [Read the rest of this entry...]
A safe power strip should at least conform to the following two requirements: electric shock resistant and water resistant. Therefore the Wet Circuits Power Strip is just a safe power strip. It is designed to work under water, so you will neither get shocked when carelessly sticking your wet fingers into the holes nor cause burns if accidentally spilling water or coffee onto the strip. Moreover, the power strip will still be safe even if you stick a metal object into the outlet when the device is operating under running water! Come check out the product demonstration video here if you love the design. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Let’s start the article with a familiar situation: we go out to tour around, record the beautiful sceneries using a digital camera, click, click, click…then suddenly the camera runs out of power! That always makes us feel rather depressed. But fortunately that wouldn’t happen again, coz Weng Jie has come up with the Solar Camera Strap, a camera strap built with solar films on the surface to harvest the sunshine as energy for your device. The idea is really simple, but also practical. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The iPhone charger looks just like the battery icon on the iPhone, and that’s where its strange name “Icon Charger” comes from. It not only looks cool, but also shows the current battery level as the iPhone get charged, therefore ensuring you to charge the device in time. However at present, the “Icon Charger” is still a concept and we’re not sure when you can find a “Buy” link here. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Toshiba could hardly wait to show you what the LCD displays would be like in the future, and they exhibited a LCD panel that can zoom in and out of an aerial photograph of Google Earth at the SID 2010. The display, featuring a curvature radius of 50mm when bent, is made of a thin edge-lighting LED backlight unit and stuffed with software that can zoom in and out of images. So in the near future, you may change the size of a displayed image simply by bending the LCD. Or you can experience that in advance via the video below. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Do not think the item in the lady’s hand is an ordinary handbag. In fact, it’s a portable refrigerator. Dubbed ‘E-Bag’, the bag comes with a cooling system, which would get the refreshment cooler while you’re simply walking. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The changes that the science and technology bring to the world are, in a word, shocking. And recently, Sanyo has announced its new development in the lithium-ion battery tech: 8,320 cylindrical lithium-ion batteries have powered a Daihatsu Mira electric car 345 miles from Tokyo to Osaka on a single charge.
Another must-have for frequent travelers? The Swiss manufacturer Skross claims that they’ve developed the World Travel Adapter 3, which could empower more than 150 countries. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Aimed at offices and hotels where quite a lot of electrical appliances are needed, the Flexicords Cable could be easily bent into various shapes so as to solve the common problem of messy wires on tables and floors. The Flexicords set includes both short sizes and super long sizes. [Read the rest of this entry...]
I am the kind of person who seldom remembers to unplug the devices when they’re fully charged, so you can imagine how much I’ve paid to the electric power bureau. But the Wind Up Socket, featuring an integrated timer, may change that. All you have to do is to rotate the plug to set the duration. And the socket will then cut off the power automatically, as the time passes by. For forgetful guys like you and me, the socket is really the best choice. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Although named as the “Saving Energy Multitap”, the strip actually won’t directly reduce your electricity cost, but helps you to develop a good habit of unplugging the unused gadgets from the strip so as to save the energy. It sucks up the energy wasted by the unplugged devices and uses it in a rational way—to power the touch-sensitive ambient lights on the wall. The main task of the ambient lights is to remind you to switch off those unplugged gadgets if you no longer use them. As for the ambient lights, they could also be turned on or off via simple tapping. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The concept was designed for fast and simple paper dispensing to ensure you a more convenient using. It could be set to dispense 1, 2 or just a half of a sheet, according to your different needs. Once activated, the device will offer one piece of the paper towels whenever you wave your hands in front of the infrared sensor. As a result, you won’t mess up the entire roll next time you trying to grab merely one piece with your wet hands. Coming in red, silver and white colors, the device is available on Hammacher for $79.95. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The POSEIDON Patio Heater, a 6.5 feet tall device that is completely made from metal, is ideal for both domestic and commercial use. Its best part is the built-in media player that is intended for recreation. Apart from employing a latest carbon fiber heating technology to produce ‘far infrared heat’ for a pleasant using, the heater also allows the users to conveniently adjust its head from four different positions. Poseidon is eco-friendly, greatly reducing carbon dioxide emissions by at least 50% compared with gas patio heaters, as a result of the adoption of its patented carbon fiber heating tubes.
Though the company says it won’t hit the market until March, you can pre-order here. [Read the rest of this entry...]
You could always spare the time to unplug each gadget when you no longer use them? Or you just leave the plugs in and let the electricity leak? But you have another option now. Designed by Conor Klein, the Outlet Regulator could disconnect itself from the power source automatically (just like a real leech) when the device gets fully charged. And that’s why the plug is also named as “Leech Plug”. No idea on whether such a conceptual design will ever see the light of day in the real world, but I really love the idea a lot. [Read the rest of this entry...]
The multi-tab power strip was invented as a result of the idea to save you much trouble in finding out what plug goes to those various appliances. It features a LED-Lego, which would present a monitor-shaped label on the block when in use. And when you want to unplug it, you can simply press on the tab. Easy as that! [Read the rest of this entry...]
Flattery must have gotten you everywhere Mr. Lufdesign and I’d like to describe your concept as ‘a stylish cord that lets us see the electricity leaking’. The product is meant for warning the users to pull out the plugs so as to reduce the power waste, through a visible and direct way. Named as “ECord”, the design mainly attributes to the PVC covering that changes colors when a specific range of current (from 1 to 15W) is provided. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Do scanners merely turn printed text into digital format? Apparently the answer is no, as the ‘BookReader’ launched by Cerritos, CA-based manufacturer Plustek Technology Inc also reads the book for you. Mainly aiming at visually impaired users who still want to read books, the device not only uses the optical character recognition software to convert printed books or documents into digital formats, but adopts the text-to-speech recognition software to translate them into audio files. So simply put a book page on the scanner, press the button and then you can listen to the page. That’s cool!
The device could scan in three different modes: plain text, a grayscale PDF scan and a color scan.
These electrical outlets integrated with three types of antlers on top would be your best choices if you need to charge your cellphones, digital cameras, PSP and other items from time to time. Made from tough urethane rubber, the antlers are also solid enough to hold things.
Coming from the Greener Gadgets Design Competition, InCharge Battery Station is an all-in-one recharging device designed by Pensa. More than that, the device could automatically sort and juice all kinds of rechargeable batteries at one time. Due to the dedicated charging slots design, the station will still keep all other batteries in charging status, when a particular battery pops out of its slot. After all the batteries are fully charged, the station will then be cut off from power automatically. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Either carrying water from distant areas back to their home or taking heavy laundry to the rivers, housewives in developing countries really need to spend too much time washing the clothes. But that situation may be changed if they are to use the ‘Swirl’. It is a ball-shaped washing device, with a swirled sphere basket and lid inside it. As a result, the users could roll the ball from home to the source of water to get the dirty clothes washed. And when they arrive at the river, they could simply change the water and roll the washing ball back home to have the process of laundry completely done. Oh, and the handle screw-locked with the ball also allows you to easily pull or push the functional washing ball. [Read the rest of this entry...]
So you’re dissatisfied with the bath bombs available on the market and you’d like something distinctive? Well, maybe it’s time to DIY a bath bomb with the Bath Bomb Maker. It is easy to use: simply combine some baking soda, citric acid, water, essential oils and other needed aromatics altogether, put them into the device, push down the lever for about ten seconds and then a customized bath bomb is done. Enjoy the bath time! [Read the rest of this entry...]
Who says printers only use paper to print documents? Surprise them with the PrePeat Printer then. Different from conventional printers, PrePeat adopts a thermal head to print on specially-made plastic sheets. These plastic sheets are not merely water-proof, but could be easily erased when you no longer need the temporary documents. Also claimed by the manufacturer, such one sheet could be used up to 1,000 times so that you’ll no doubt reduce your expenses on paper.
The printer measures 37cm ×23cm ×30cm (W× D× H) and weighs about 40 kg. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Designed by Elium Studio for Lexon, these innovative gadgets are all made from sustainable materials like the corn bio-plastic and bamboo trim. The new range includes a crank-up radio, a calculator, a pocket flashlight, and several clocks. These gadgets are all powered by renewable solar energy. [Read the rest of this entry...]
If you love cooking then I’m sure you have a great collection of cookers: frying pan, stock pot, sorts of tablewares, as well as an electromagnetic oven. Or two, or even more. But you also need a spacious kitchen, so I bet you’ll need the Electrolux Double-O by Victor Ong. Targeting at small house users, the device not only integrates a compact cooking system for single appliances, but creates an extra base for another pot when you slide it.
Dimension: 34cm ×34cm ×8cm (W× D× H) [Read the rest of this entry...]
Designed by Yuan-Hao Hsu and Lin Tzu Hsuan, the portable ‘MU SPACE’ not only allows you to enjoy music everywhere, but also functions as a mat and a pillow for you to take a nap during the break. In combination of a built-in speaker and an MP3 player, the music pillow is also compatible with USB and Memory Card. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Weighing 1.5 pounds and measuring 2.5cm x 5cm x 28cm, PlanOn’s Printstik PS905ME boasts the smallest and lightest printer on the market. Powered by Lithium-ion polymer rechargeable batteries, the mobile printer could be used anywhere, without needing an outlet. But the most exciting point about the device is that, it doesn’t use ink but utilizes thermal technology to print your documents. You could connect the printer to your PC or cellphones via USB wires or Bluetooth. [Read the rest of this entry...]
At TOY Forum 2010, Sony’s bio-battery has drawn many people’s attention. It shows how batteries generate electricity from carbohydrates. Experiments indicate that grape juice is the most efficient drink for the bio-battery to run on and 3ml of Coke could have an electrical propeller keep working for about 1 hour. Named as ‘ENE’ (Entertainment New Energy), the technology will firstly be adopted to power electronic toys. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Creative Factor: Cool machine converts office paper into toilet paper.
The Japanese company Oriental has come up with a machine by the name of ‘White Goat’ recently. It is an innovative machine that converts your wasted office paper into toilet paper in about 30minutes. After you put about 40sheeets of paper into the machine, ‘White Goat’ will then shredder the paper, dissolve it in the water, thin the paper out, and then dry it into toilet sheets. Merely costing $0.11 to churn out one toilet roll, claimed by the company, the machine will save up to 60 cedar trees every year. The cool machine is expected to hit the market in Japan this summer, at a price of $100,000. [Read the rest of this entry...]
