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USB data transfer devices have caught on the fancy of designers and users alike as no other hardware
device has ever before. Some of the designs serve as an amazing testimony to the fact that even the most mundane things can be transformed into a work of art if only you give your imagination free run.
Some of the neat pieces that showcase this aesthetic triumph best include:
If the Prince and the Pauper and the Beauty and the Beast made winning combinations in fairy tales, then in real life the Geek and the Chic are making strides. For cutting-edge gadgetry is the order of the day or should I say era? And what’s more not only do they make optimum use of technology, they’re dashingly stylish to boot. You could even say that the 21st century so far could safely be called the Age of the Gadget.
There are, of course, the path-breakers like iPods, iPhones and super-savvy laptops that have been steadily making headlines over the past few years. But along with these, scores of smaller gadgets are being invented virtually daily. Their gadget USP is a showcasing of a perfect blend of design aesthetics, technology and breathtaking imagination. Arguably, they may fall a bit short on the utility count. But hey when it comes to design and creativity quotients, they rock. And don’t dismiss them as new-fangled rubbish. Some indeed are concept gadgets but others have been in the market for at least as long as it takes to carve out a fan following. So let’s take a look at some of the neatest and wackiest pieces which are scoring big with technophiles:
 If you’re in the habit of starting your morning with a perfect cup of coffee and a crisp toast or two, you might just want to check out the Charles and Marie hot-cold coffee mug. It won’t let your brew get too cold, at least not without warning. This one looks like a standard black mug with the word COLD on it, written in white. But once you pour the coffee in, the mug changes colour. It turns white and the word HOT appears on it, written in black. As the brew changes temperature, the colour keeps changing. Fair warning, eh?
Price: $25
http://charlesandmarie.com
/the-quintessential-lifestyle-navigator/?tstmp=1206429660
Do you like your bread toasted to a perfect golden brown? If so, the transparent toaster from Inventables Concept Studio, a Chicago-based product innovation and design company, may be just the machine for you. This toaster is going to be entirely transparent so that you can literally watch over your toast. Based on transparent heating glass technology, the product promises to be a popular pick. However, there’s a traditional timer dial too if you get busy doing other things. Thank God, we say!
Price: Unavailable
http://www.inventables.com/Product/ConceptStudio.asp?i=11&t=9
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If you want to kick off your nicotine habit, turn to e-Cigarettes. This little item promises to help you become an ex-smoker. It consists of a stainless steel shell, lithium ion battery, micro-electronic circuit, atomising chamber and indicator light at the head of the cigarette. It comes with nicotine cartridges that the smoker must fit in. (We know it sounds complicated, but just go with it). An atomising technology helps these electronic cigarettes produce vapourised nicotine, minus the toxins. So you get to puff away to glory, and what’s more you don’t even need to light up a match or a lighter in order to ignite it. And there are e-Cigars, e-Cigarillos and e-Pipes for you to pick from as well. The nicotine density of the different kinds of cartridges varies. You can gradually go from a higher density of nicotine to lower, until you can finally switch to non-nicotine cartridges and get to throw away cigarettes for good.
Price: $45.95
http://www.e-cig.org/
If music is your mantra, a Rubik’s cube MP3 player might just hold your attention. Created by New York-based designer Hee Yong Shin, the only way to activate this is to solve each layer, so that a particular function like play, pause or forward can be performed. The USB port is visible when the layers are twisted and then you get to listen to your music. And when you twist it back, it locks into place and forms the cube again.
Price: unavailable
http://www.yankodesign.com
/index.php/2007/01/17/rubik-cube-mp3-player-by-hee-yong/
There’s no reason to stop at music either. There’s a real possibility that watching a movie could just get as interesting, if not more. Mag-Ink in Israel is developing the Origami DVD Player a portable DVD player concept that could be manufactured with a new e-paper. E-paper or electric paper, for the uninitiated, is a colour flexible display technology that looks like paper. It can hold text and pictures without using electricity and the images can be changed later. The Origami DVD player is supposed to make use of this technology to provide portable movie-watching with a larger viewing angle.
Price: Unavailable
http://www.inventables.com/Product/ConceptStudio.asp?i=11&t=9
Shutter-bugs can take their love for photography to the next level with a SatuGO bouncing digital camera. Play ball and take 3 megapixel pictures it’s just that easy. See, aim, throw, capture and go as they advise. This is extremely useful when it comes to shooting objects not within a normal distance and height. It also provides with varied and unusual picture angles. The camera also acts as an outdoor video camera, a webcam and a data storage device.
Price: $69
http://www.satugo.com
And talking of data storage devices, the Victorinox Swissbit Swiss Army USB Flash Drive simply re-defines cutting edge excuse the dreadful pun. But think of it, you’ve got your Swiss Army knife with all the works knife, scissors, nail file, corkscrew, can opener, a 6 mm screwdriver and then you get up to 2GB of data storage space. It has transmission rates of up to 8MB per second. There’s an integrated ball point, red or white LED’s to provide illumination and by the way, it is also the smallest laser pointer in the world. And the best part is that the device is available in India.
Price: Rs 7750/-
http://www.victorinoxindia.com/index.htm
If relaxation spells a long, cool drink for you, the Robo Bartender could be your kind of guy or machine. This is a computerised beverage dispenser that can pour you out liquor, mixed drinks, soft drinks, beer and wine all at the press of a virtual button on the LCD touch screen display. It holds up to thirty two different ingredients including mixers, liquors, concentrates. It even sanitises the line with hot water after a serving and what’s more, it can be password-protected too.
Price: Upwards of $2500 USD estimated.
http://digitalbeverages.com/
Stay tuned
Anyone remember the MPMan F10 world’s first commercially sold mp3 player? Quietly but not entirely unsung about, the humble MP3 player celebrated its 10th birthday this March. Though the entry of the iPod eclipsed the MP3 player almost completely, designers certainly didn’t give up on this device. Take a look:
Lovers MP3 player
This one appeals straight to heart! This red heart-shaped 1GB MP3 player can actually be pulled apart to form a set of two interconnecting players with two sets of earphones. Each can be played separately when the lovers are apart. If music be the food for love, play on!
JooZoo MP3 player
This is another heart-shaped pendant and necklace MP3 player with 18-carat gold and diamond frills only it’s meant for your dog! It has a remote control and apart from the regular music, it can also enhance physical movement of the pets through its sound wave simulation to increase blood flow. Wonder if there’s going to a canine Hard Rock Cafι any time soon.
X2gen X-EGG MP3 player
As the name suggests, this MP3 player looks like a shiny metal egg. It comes with built-in speakers for those who’ve tired of earphones. The speakers are detachable too and can be used as standalone speakers. It doesn’t have an internal hard drive, but comes with its own SD card and connected USB drive.
Homade (Lego) MP3 player
Revisit childhood with a brightly coloured Lego brick only it is an MP3 player too. One that weighs a mere 26 grams and supports up to 2GB miocroSD card. Each raised disc on the brick is actually a control button. These are available in five colours blue, yellow, red, white and green.
The Sushi Disk
“Quit playing with your food!” “But look, I am working with it Ma.” You can quite imagine the dialogue. These are neat USB storage devices with space ranging from 128MB to 4GB that have a soft plastic body and look exactly like sushi rolls. Store, share and swap data for all you’re worth, this one’s on a roll.
Oooms wooden USB memory sticks
Data transfer got just a little bit more surreal with these handmade wooden USB memory sticks from the Netherlands. These are sticks handpicked from forests and manually selected for crafting. The data storage capacity of these devices ranges from 512MB to 2GB.
Flashbag USB drives
There has been some talk of the Flashbag, or USB sticks designed to look like bags, thanks to the Russian designer Dima Komissarov. The concept of interaction figures in a big way in these devices. The idea is that the bags inflate as you add files to the drive. So you have a general notion of the available storage space on your device. Some are rather plain though others look like regular women’s handbags. So far there’s no word on the capacity.
The Louis Vuitton flash drive
Well, some like it haute. Even techies. And apparently a 40 gig flash drive is in the offing from Louis Vuitton. This one comes with gold trimmings (white or yellow gold) and is wrapped in alligator leather. And in true blue LV style, this one comes studded with yellow diamonds, blue sapphires and pink sapphires! It also has a little analog or digital clock beneath the miniature security key.
Adamant flash drive
Adding some more sparkle is the limited edition Adamant 16GB flash drive. Set with three diamonds and a yellow gold body, this one made its debut only a few weeks back. But unfortunately only 50 pieces were made for sale and that too at an eye-popping $5,650 a piece. Well they did say information is valuable to some. |
