(Credit:
Entertainment Earth)
This replica of the Star Trek "Medical Tricorder" makes it clear why they rarely showed a close-up of Bones' device on the original series: It looks like something cobbled together in the garage of that neighbor who's still trying to get his old CB radio to work.
It's interesting to note how a supposed 23rd century device created in 1966 could look like something made in 1967. (Is that foresight-hindsight?) Anyway, if you want one of these collectable novelties, GeekAlerts says it can be had for just $40 in October, complete with removable scanner. That's a bargain because, with inflation, it'll probably cost over $1 million in 200 years.
(Credit:
OhGizmo)
When we first saw a photo of someone wearing these "Vibe Body Sound" earphones by Outi, we thought they'd been put on backward. So we didn't stare or say anything for fear of humiliating the poor sap, just as mom always taught us.
Then it turns out that it was the right way to wear them after all, because they use that body-conduction technology we keep hearing about. This pair clips to the skin and cartilage of the outer ear just above the lobe and sends the sound vibrating through the skull, according to Coolest-Gadgets.
We've seen other headgear based on the same principle, but usually the in-ear variety is reserved for underwater use. Either way, it's enough to give us a massive headache just thinking about it.
(Credit:
Broadband Media)
From the Department of Bad Ideas: While we totally understand (and encourage) good old-fashioned price wars, they shouldn't come at the expense of basic functions. Take, for example, the "KanaSD" MP3 player from Greenhouse Japan.
The good news is that it costs about $18. The bad news is that it doesn't have any built-in memory--we're talking none. Instead, you need to get your own SD storage card, which will probably be more expensive than the player itself. Nor can we expect find video playback or a color screen at all on this low-budget device, as an exasperated Mobile Magazine notes.
Even with all the obvious omissions, however, it still features the ubiquitous iPod-style navigation wheel. Which just goes to show that, even at the bottom of the market, Apple designs still rule.
Alienware's bare-bones P2 case, also available in black.
(Credit: Alienware)Alienware made an interesting announcement today with the news that, "for a limited time," you can order a bare-bones Alienware case directly from the Dell-owned boutique. Just $400 will get you the classic P2 Alienware chassis in either silver or black, complete with an electric-blue lighting kit. It does not come with the custom lighting software that lets you tie the light behavior to various applications, as found on its full-fledged systems. At $400, Alienware's case becomes one of, if not the single most expensive bare-bones kits on the market. Of course, few others look like an alien head.
(Credit:
Teac)
We're so over the whole wireless audio thing. Even though we were frothing at the mouth over the issue only a few months ago, it seems like ancient history now. The hot new audio technology? The human body, of course.
Teac is the latest to prove that point with a new pair of headphones that uses "BCT," or "Bone-Conduction Technology," according to Akihabara News. Like other products of its kind, the Filtun/HP-F100 relies on the skull as its major conduit for soundwaves.
We have no idea how well the Teac headset works, but does this mean that we have only ourselves to blame for poor transmission? If so, that wouldn't bode well for our plans to become a human router.
(Credit:
Akihabara News)
Are we the only ones who get freaked out by the idea of having soundwaves shooting through our bones? Apparently so, judging by the number of products on the market that do just that.
The latest skeleton-rattling device comes from China, where a company called Temco just released a "bone conduction" Bluetooth headset that forgoes the usual earpieces and sends your tunes via vibrations directly through your skull, Akihabara News reports. But it looks kind of clunky, especially considering that it apparently doesn't have a built-in MP3 player as similar products do. And what good are these things if you can't take them under water?
(Credit:
Gearfuse)
It's behavior like this that gave rise to the phrase, "Everything in moderation." This "over-pimped" BenQ-Siemens phone, according to Gearfuse, will be auctioned at the IT Month conference in Taiwan. Those aren't real diamonds, so don't expect it to fetch million-dollar phone prices, but it does apparently bear the signature of a Taiwanese singer. Who would buy such a mini-monstrosity? Why, the owner of this beautiful Mercedes, of course.
This whole wireless thing has had a good run, but it's getting old. The really hot networking trend of the future is the human body.
(Credit:
New Scientist)
We've already seen how Korean researchers are turning flesh and bones into a "body area network." Now, New Scientist reports that Sony researchers can send audio signals from headphones or media players directly through the body of the listener, essentially using it as a living capacitator.
"A music or video player sends a fluctuating signal to a conductive cloth pad--such as a wrist band--and this slightly charges the wearer's body. A pair of conductive ear pads in the headphones pick up the signal and rapidly convert it back into sound," the article explains. "Just a few millionths of an amp flow through the wearer's body, so there should be no nasty tingling effect."
Upon further reflection, we think our Bluetooth works just fine.
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