Nokia is totally ready for the future. They’ve already debuted a totally insane flexible kinetic interface concept, and now they’ve even drawn up an implementation for it: HumanForm. No, the phone doesn’t look like a you-themed action figure, but rather has a tear drop shape (probably my biggest gripe about the concept).

I’m not going to go into too much detail about what’s included in the video, as you can easily see for yourself. I will, however, say that this takes the cake compared to Nokia’s earlier flexi-screen concept. One thing that really jumped out at me is the idea of electro-tactile feedback. Seems pretty out there, but it would be pretty freaking sweet to take a picture of velvet or wood and feel that texture.

I’m not so sure how I feel about the shape, though. In the hand, I’m sure this concept is actually much more comfortable than our usual candy-bar phones. But (and this is a big but), how do you account for corners of anything? At this point we’re watching video and viewing pictures on our phone pretty regularly. Web pages happen to be rectangular, as is just about anything you pull up on a mobile phone.

I’m sure there are ways to circumvent this issue, but it seems like too far of a leap to make from rectangle to teardrop. It reminds me of when Dwight wanted everyone in The Office to sell the Sabre Pyramid, a triangular tablet. It seemed crazy, but in the fictional version of Scranton, PA people still seemed to be interested in “unleashing the power of the pyramid.” Maybe the same will be true for Nokia.

Then again, if this concept even comes to fruition, it won’t be for quite a while. Enjoy the video while you wait.

[via Engadget]

Designer Wonchul Hwang has an idea: it’s a AA battery with a pop out USB connector that doubles as a flash drive and a rechargeable battery, thus allowing you to power your electronic devices and… ummm… store data on them? At the same time? At different times?

Unfortunately, once you start thinking about this device you kind of realize it’s dumb. What happens if you need the data off the drive? Or need to charge multiple batteries? What happens when you overheat the battery? Do you lose the data? So many questions!

This is basically a concept so let’s all stare at it and move on, shall we? And, to be fair, Wonchul’s Wrap Stove, a heater that wraps around a pot, is considerably cooler.

via YankoDesign via Dvice

British defense company BAE Systems recently unveiled a concept vehicle whose design it says was inspired by the Batmobile (The Tumbler) from “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”. The world’s second largest defense company is thinking about using the so-called “The Raider” design for “a small, highly agile autonomous reconnaissance and attack vehicle which can carry a variety of payloads.”

The photo above shows the The Raider (which was shown during a press conference in London a few days ago), while you can see the original Batmobile pictured below.

Asked by a journalist during the press conference if the British Army would really think about getting a combat vehicle inspired by Batman, design project leader leader Hisham Awad replied: “Well, why not? In all seriousness, we decided that we didn’t have a monopoly on inspiration, and if we saw something in a film that we thought might be a good idea, why not take a look at it and see if there’s something practical we can develop. You see, it turns like a motorbike and it has the same wheel configuration.”

Via The Engineer

One of the hit products at Fujitsu’s booth at this year’s CEATEC exhibition (that’s currently taking place near Tokyo) was the so-called “Dual-Touchscreen Mobile Phone”. As the name suggests, it has no physical keyboard but boasts two screens instead, and it’s designed like a typical Japanese clamshell cell phone.

Technically, we have a 3.4-inch capacitive touchscreen on top and a 3.5-inch version on the bottom, with both displays having 480 x 960 resolution. The prototype Fujitsu currently shows at CEATEC uses Symbian as the OS, but if the phone ever gets commercialized (like the company’s Separate Keitai actually did after it was showcased at CEATEC 2008), Android appears to be an option.

One screen can be rotated by 90 degrees, and both screens switch between landscape and portrait modes automatically. What’s cool is that you can actually separate contents on both screens, for example using Twitter on top and checking emails on the bottom.

Here’s a video I took at the Fujitsu booth with an employee explaining some key points in English:

Here’s another clip:

It’s been quite a while since I’ve written about a nifty concept doodad, so strap in! This is the Docking and Storage Base, and it’s designed to keep your desk area neat and tidy. Lord knows my desk (which is sorta visible in my Plex video) looks like a scene from Mad Max.

The base is basically a handy way to keep all your iStuff lined up in a row, rather than have them laying about all over the place.

Up to three devices can be plugged in, synced, and charged.

The front strip even has a couple of free USB ports for your convenience.

But of course, it’s merely a concept—perhaps you have some manufacturing contacts to make this a reality?

Microsoft, never afraid to innovate (well, sometimes), has come up with the RearType research project. What it is exactly is a rear keyboard that users will blindly strike to cross the T’s and dot the I’s. While Microsoft isn’t the first to place input behind the screen, it is first to have a keyboard. Microsoft’s researchers do recognize that the idea is a little nuts, but can show that the speed of typing is similar to that of a touch screen device like the iPad.

After extensive discussion and pilot explorations, we felt that the crucial question to ask at this stage is whether the basic idea of putting keys on the back of the device is even reasonable. After all, at first glance, this might well appear to be a crazy idea with little practical appeal. We therefore conducted a user study to determine if, upon initial exposure to the device, users find such a novel keyboard at all usable or simply frustrating. To obtain some comparative empirical data, we also contrasted the use of RearType with a touchscreen soft keyboard and a regular physical keyboard. Initial results are very promising; we show that after only an hour with the device, participants could type 15 WPM using RearType and that their performance was not statistically different to text entry using the touchscreen keyboard.

[via TechFlash]

The real question is, will this be a completely new device, or is Apple going to create something that integrates with the iPhone or iPod Touch, that perhaps mounts into a cradle on the handlebars for example. The patent application discusses the possibility of adding sensors to the user’s bicycle in order to track altitude, incline, distance, and all those other little details that cyclists love to track. Of course, this is just a patent application so we don’t have any real details like availability or cost at this time.

[Patently Apple via Mac Rumors]

[Devin adds: What the hell, worst ambidextrous mouse ever. Get a Xai.]

I’m not sure that I’m 100% behind this design, but it’s certainly different from the traditional DSLR look. If anything, it’s closer to the large frame landscape cameras like the Mamiya. At any rate, the design comes from Marc Levinson, who has some other interesting ideas on his site.

[via Nikon Rumors]

Volkswagen just announced their latest gadget, the Bik.e – a folding electric bicycle designed to fit in the trunk of your car, in the space currently taken up by your spare tire. With a maximum range of 12.5 miles, I question whether it would be a good spare tire replacement, but I still like it. It is interesting to see a company like Volkswagen get into the electric bicycle concept though.

Of course, it’s not available yet, no one knows when it will be, or how much it will cost. We do know that the Bik.e will charge itself up from your car so you won’t have to worry about keeping it powered up. Regardless of how much it costs, it definitely looks cool. I’m not 100% behind the fact that you can’t pedal it though, that kind of limits the functionality.

[via Gizmodo]

Items are placed in boxes for a reason. The extra space can be filled with packing material to cushion your item from shock, and boxes are square and uniform in size so they are easy to load into a vehicle. Patrick designed a flat sheet packaging system that uses pre-perforated pattern to allow you to wrap the item like a blanket, and then take the sheet closed. I like the idea that the packaging is more recyclable then using standard foam packing peanuts, I just don’t think this is something that will really catch on as a packing method. Neat idea though.

[via Yanko Design]

There’s a video up on YouTube right now, and while it’s probably completely fake, it pretends to be a possible product coming from Microsoft. The concept is interesting, but not really feasible (or at least not affordable).

The video comes from a California based design company, 13 Tech Design. As far as I can tell, they really don’t have any actual products, just renderings of possible products. Whatever the posibilities are of this being a real product, it’s an interesting concept using Microsoft Surface.

The bad news is, as cool at it would be to have, the Reflectius (is that a spell in Harry Potter?) is just a concept. And I’m entirely sure that it will ever be made. Lasers are notoriously sensitive about heat, and having a laser on all the time just to be used a clock just isn’t practical. Of course, when was the last time you saw a product from Art Lebedev that was?

[via Endgadget]

The Yanko Zero camera looks like what happens when a Motorola Razr mates with a camera. Essentially the idea is that the LCD screen is hinged to fold over the lens, protecting both the camera lens and the LCD screen when the camera is put away. Interesting idea. It’ll be even more interesting if someone decides to actually build one, and put it into production. Until that day, check out Yanko’s site for even more wild ideas.

As time progresses, the entire clock spins, which causes the ball to move along the spiral. The numbers on the face of the clock is labeled with your standard numbers, and as the spiral turns, the ball moves and indicates the proper time. Interesting concept, no? Best part, these are actually available for sale online and in assorted colors. Now, they aren’t cheap – you’re looking at $526 (plus shipping) to get one of these from the UK.

[via Sweet Station]

It appears that Sony is taking menuing way beyond the basic face detection and background templates. Instead, how about being able to adjust the depth of field from the LCD? How about using a touch screen to adjust all this stuff, and using it to be able to make adjustments to the white balance, or color hues? Sound interesting? Of course, you’ll have the typical picture modes and such, but it’s looking like the menuing system will definitely be where it’s at. And keep in mind, this an EVIL class camera, so you can expect quite a bit more of it then you would from your basic point and shoot.

[via Geeky Gadgets]

This seems a bit odd, but here’s another take on alternative power; Dutch designer Joris Laarman came up with a concept for a desktop lamp that glows from bio-luminescent hamster ovaries. Seriously, I’m not making this stuff up.

Apparently, if you take the hamster cells and infuse them with an enzyme called luciferase, it will cause living organic cells to glow. Now, it’s not going to be enough to light your entire home, but that’s not the point. The lamp was created for an art show, but sadly, didn’t make it to the display. It seems that the cells weren’t able to survive the trip to the gallery and died during the flight over the Atlantic ocean.

[via MedGadget]

Who doesn’t love a good concept piece? Spaziocellulare forum user “Seraphan” just posted his render of what the iPhone 4G could look like, and his ideas aren’t too shabby. Of course, it’s one man’s idea of what the phone of the future should look like, including an expanded color pallet, built in microSD slot, and front and rear cameras complete with a built in flash on the back.

Obviously it’s not real, but it’s fun to look and dream eh?

Now, despite the obvious problems like power consumption and the fact that a laser that’s visible in daylight will probably burn a hole in you, there’s the subject of cost. I really doubt that anyone who has the money to buy something like this would choose it over a Omega or Rolex. It’s a geek watch, but very few geek types will ever be able to afford it. I guess we’ll just consign it to the concept file and call it a day. Or figure out how to mount this on a shark.

[via Geekologie]