solar mobile

sharp has created the first mobile phone with a built-in solar panel. the device is a clam-shell style phone
that yields one minute of talk time or two hours of standby with 10 minutes under the sun. if left outside
long enough, the battery can be fully replenished. a small animation on the phone’s screen tells users how
full the battery is. users also don’t have to worry about leaving their phone outside in the rain, since the
design of the case makes it waterproof. by having the built-in solar panels, the phone allows users to
charge up on the go and is also a greener option since the energy isn’t coming from an outlet.the phone
was only released in japan this year, but the built-in solar panel design may be coming to a device near you.

http://www.sharpusa.com

aissa logerot: chopsticks plus one and two

chopsticks plus one

french designer aissa logerot has sent in images of his project 'chopsticks plus one and two'.
the first in the series consists of a spoon combined with chopsticks and the second
combines chopsticks and toothpicks all in one.


chopsticks plus one


chopsticks plus one


chopsticks plus one



chopsticks plus one


chopsticks plus one


chopsticks plus one


chopsticks plus two



chopsticks plus two

Let’s Tape Our Time

Ora is a handsome watch that takes a break from the digital and analog era. It comes with an in-your-face style and colors that are energetic. Vibrant as its looks is the system to tell time; three interwoven tapes, yes the measuring kind, move across the face to indicate the hour, minute and day. Fashionable or not, it certainly scores well in the product-design segment.

Designer: Alexandros Stasinopoulos

via yankodesign

Design Academy Eindhoven and Leolux

Not much information to be found online about this project but the students at Design Academy Eindhoven

have come up with some gorgeous pieces of furniture for Leolux

. The projects are on exhibition from September 26 - October 4 at Woonbeurs

in Amsterdam.

Via designboom

.

Let’s Play The Guessing Game

Just by looking at this Pre-Picture can you guess what the item is?
The explanation is in the Permalink, but be honest with yourself and tell me what exactly did you think this was?

Those who got it RIGHT! Pat yourself on your back!

This is the R-1, a simple analog radio. No fuss device! Roll it back and forth to control the volume or to turn it off; roll it side to side to change the channels.

Designer: Ilgu Cha

Battle of the little green electric urban go-carts

Nissan's Leaf is out next year; a year after that comes the Reva NXG, recently shown off at the Frankfurt motor show.

It's a similarly equipped little plug-in, with the emissions of a butterfly and the driving range of a bee: it lasts 125 miles and can go 80 MPH. Perfect for Pittsburgh, but not so much for anything that involves tasks other than shopping and commuting. Unless it is making technologically suspect "MPG" claims, of course! But still, I want one: in pastel lime green, naturally. And with a free tankful of electrons. [Jalopnik]

Natural Gas street-rod blasts out of gangster age

AVF Tech's 1933 Ford Street-Rod contains a 7-liter engine, drive-by-wire and a six speed automatic gearbox. When completed, it'll push out 600 hp and blow away just about everything else manufactured in the last 75 years.

Oh, yes, and it runs on natural gas. [AVF Tech via TA]

Honda U3-X

Honda unveiled the U3-X, a Segway-like amusement vehicle that moves to one direction or another based on a lean. This one, though, has you in a seated position and is more like a unicycle.

You'll get a better idea by watching the video below of how it works.

As you can see, its a bit like a Segway but unlike a Segway, the U3-X can move in all directions just by leaning ones body weight.

The U3-X weighs under 10kg and dimensions are 315×160×650mm. Battery lasts for about an hour before you need to carry it ^^; Speed goes up to 6km/hour.

Details at Honda HP show how thw U3-X uses balancing technology used in ASIMO.
ASIMO balancing technology in action below.

Photos from Livedoor.

via DannyChoo.com

Bell by Industrial Facility for IDEA International

London Design Festival 09: at The Dock in London this week British design office Industrial Facility are showing an alarm clock where the back casing is formed by one large, loud bell.

Industrial Facility say that this improves the efficiency of the clock, using fewer components and creating a louder ring.

Called Bell, the alarm clock was designed for Japanese design brand IDEA.

The product is available in three colours, each inspired by a loud object: a fire bell (red), bicycle bell (chrome) and door bell (black).

‘Bell’ re-examines the world of the analogue alarm clock; by moving the bell component to form part of the clock’s body, it saves components, simplifies the appearance, and creates a much louder ring.

Bell is louder than a mobile phone, a desk clock or a watch.

This loudness is reflected in the choice of colours: Fire bell Red, Bicycle bell Chrome, and Door bell Black.

It features a no-nonsense interface with snooze control, moulded numeral display and LED illumination.

–

Geniously Bottled // Paul Smith for Evian

photo © Evian

Geniously Bottled // Paul Smith for Evian

You surely know his colorful stripes. They are everywhere, overwhelming –not only, but mainly- the British capitol: on Mini Coopers, shirts, pants, vases, bags, sheets, towels, porcelain objects, or just socks. And throughout the years, they have come to be just as famous as John Lennon, or Sir Alex Isigonis.

Today, there are countless shops and showrooms in Dubai, Bangalore, Leeds, Antwerp, Los Angeles, Paris, Rome, everywhere you can think of. And he is still the one not only responsible for the actual designing of the lines, but also from the search of the right fabrics, to approving all new locations or overseeing every development within the company.

This year, he was asked to dress the Manchester United Team, so he provided all players and team members with his -one of a kind- suits.

Yet that is not all we are about to see in the months remaining before 2009 closes:
He has also designed the new Evian bottles, of course with a nod to his famous stripes, which elegantly underlines (not the hidden existence of a genie but) the purity of the famous natural mineral water from the Alps. With five different caps to collect and actually for Christmas, but still so many miles away from the traditional Christmas themes that we are used to…

photo © Evian

Here is what Paul Smith told, when asked to say something about this brand new project….Enjoy!

"...This is the bottle that I designed for Evian and it’s full of all the colors that I use every day and they’re very full of energy and fun. Life is about living young, being youthful, and enjoying yourself every day because every day is important”. - Paul Smith

f,l,o,w,e,r,s flower ruler

Sorry about the confusing title. I really have no excuse.
So, perhaps the single most beautiful piece of stationery I have ever come across is finally available for purchase. f,l,o,w,e,r,s (16,800 yen) by Norihiko Terayama of Studio Note is an acrylic ruler with embedded real flowers that are “blossoming” at exactly 1cm intervals. Each flower was hand-picked and dried by the designer, therefore making each ruler unique. Absolutely stunning. You can purchase it in Japan or abroad.

Kotori Mobile by passkey design

Here’s another great find from kami no kousakujo, and a fun little project for you and your toddler. The Kotori Mobile (1,260 yen) is a paper mobile (even the string is made from paper) that you assemble yourself and is a great way to learn about the concept of balance. Your order will come with 2 sets but the mobile is infinitely customizable. You can add as many sets as you like and because it’s made from paper you can even draw pictures on it, like a forest for your kotori (baby birds) to live in.

It was designed by passkey design, who you may be familiar with via their animal rubber bands.

address tray by andesign

The address tray is a super-stylish address book that doubles as a pen tray for your desk. And it’s really making me want to sit down and copy all my contacts from my computer onto paper. In fact, the design team, andesign (and + design, because “the word ‘and’ connects everything”) talks about their objective as wanting to reignite interest in the romantic qualities of handwriting. Each address sheet can be pulled out and then reinserted. The tray comes in 2 sizes, short (1,470 yen) and long (1,890 yen).

They are sold at Kami no kousakujo (paper factory), a great store I frequent for their craft objects made out of only paper.