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September 23, 2008 4:58 AM PDT

Origami stroller uses wheel power

by Candace Lombardi

I don't have kids, and I don't plan to anytime soon, but if I did, this would be the stroller I'd want to flash around among the desperate housewives and househusbands in my neighborhood.

The Origami Power Folding Stroller from 4Moms folds and unfolds itself at the push of a button. It has reflective fabric and a tiny trim of lights in key areas for when it's dark.

As you push the stroller, the wheel power regenerates the battery that powers the gadgets, making the stroller environmentally friendly. It also has two cup holders by the handle for the parents, a storage bag at the back, and two more cup holders down by the kid for his bottles or "sippy cups" or what have you.

4Moms posted this silent demo video on YouTube.

4Moms--you guessed it--is a company that includes four women as part of its creative team, who also happen to have kids. But they are the face of the company, not its actual founders.

4Moms is actually owned by Thorley Industries, a Pittsburgh-based company started by two men, a venture capitalist and an engineer, who just recently won a $215 million contract to develop products for Hasbro.

So, what about kid products for dads out there, Thorley? Did some fancy market researchers tell you that dads don't like buying cool gadget strollers? What? They just like to drag their kids with a leash?

4Moms debuted the stroller at the ABC Kid's Expo in Las Vegas in September.

In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. E-mail her at candacelombardi@gmail.com. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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