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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.

Can the water tower be used for any other purpose? Just come in and check it out… [Read the rest of this entry...]

Claiming to produce an illuminating sound-space, ‘Spica’ is a new gadget shown during the Tokyo Design Week 09. And when the music goes on, a beautiful and shocking scene will then appear. That’s really beyond my words, so let’s keep on to enjoy more pictures below. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Wow, if not knowing clearly that Crayon Shin Chan is merely a cartoon character, I’ll surely treat the Asspeaker as his masterpiece. It is the only thing, in my opinion, that could compete with the ass dance by him! The strangest audio device is connected to the controller via Bluetooth, and it works in an interesting way. Once tapped on the right half, the unit is activated. And if you want to turn the sound up or down, just tap the left half.

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What a cute radio! With the horn shaped speakers as its two eyes, the Mint radio seems just like an owl. It is endowed with pendulums to help control the channels and the volume. The left two pendulums are for channel changes and the right ones are used to control the volume. Aside from this, you will also find the radio conditions displayed on the base.

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Okay, here’s another cool product coming with a neat idea. Named as Quackie, the CD player is constructed of a round body and a black speaker. Basic functions of play/stop/next/back and volume up/down are all included, which could be changed by either rolling the body or clicking the black speaker. Wow, really cute!

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In Kawasaki, a city of Japan, an important event is held every year to exhibit assorted wind-bells. Exciting, huh? But how do you like a radio based on the wind? I’ve recently in love with the “Breeze Radio” by Chiu Chi Hung. It features a “sound-only era” concept, aiming to bring us back to a simple time before MP3 players that are designed with complicated features and functions. Whenever the radio is activated by air flow like wind, it then starts to play. But if the wind direction and intensity is changed, the program is accordingly altered. Amusing!

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Have you been fed up with traditional square radios and looking for a personalized one? Then you will fall in love with the Nifty Radio. Seemingly a sculptural decorative piece, the radio is constructed of two round speakers on each side of its X-shaped frame. The cute radio amuses you with its special usage. You can tune into different channels when moving the right speaker up and down while the left speaker is intended for volume control.

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Stereo systems like speakers have certainly brought us with much amusement and convenience, but they do have some defects, for most of them couldn’t work when not connected to the energy source with a power line, let alone they’re usually not green. That’s why Tryi Yeh has come with the “Sunny Song”. Base on the NXT panel technology, the smart flower speaker is eco-friendly enough as it is powered by solar energy. Still, the green speaker can be connected to players with a Bluetooth technology.

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The music cage, a new product from Japan, is a wireless speaker system that simulates the shape of a delicate cage. No matter you hang it on a shelf or put it on a table, the music cage is always an excellent speaker that streams music through a Wi-Fi network or a Bluetooth system.

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Wanna mix your own music just like a DJ? Let the iPhone DJ mixer assist you. Built with a speaker connection and microphone jack, as well as a turntable, the mixer can combine music from two iPhone, iPods or mp3 players to create perfect sound effects including reverb, flange and filter, cross-fade slider, etc. Also, your iPhone, iPod will get charged when the mixer works.

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What types of speakers can perfectly embody the core personality of your computers? If you’ve got no idea, I’d like to recommend some cute speakers.
The ceramic pig speakers, available in black, white and shiny gold, are unique for a full-range speaker in their bellies, and the toilet speaker from China looks as vivid as those real ones.

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In the action movie “Kung Fu”, the classical scene in which the female charterer bellow and shout with a trumpet to defeat the adversary has impressed most people, even till today. Similarly, the so-called “Mint Horn”, created by Jongchul Kim, can also amplify sound from your players without any power source. Whenever you attach your earphone holder to it, the Mint Horn will always bring you a wonderful music time.

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Obviously the wall-mounted speakers are striking for their magniloquent and eccentric design. When hung on the wall, it looks just like an outstanding logo that is appeal to most people. Available in red and white colors, the speaker system is made up of six smaller speakers and two touch screens. Both MP3 and CDs are compatible with it.

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Speakers tend to stick out in any room, no matter in which ways they are fixed. Thank God, the speaker modules from Italia come to match your room perfectly. Made of various colors and materials, they can be used as shelves to become a natural part of your room.

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