DesignChill

I’ve been resisting myself not to write about launch of Sony Ericsson “Idou”. But the way people are going agog over this product, I thought of mentioning about this product. 12.1 MP camera (looks like first model to have double digit)/Xenon flash combo, with resistive touch screen, instead of capacitive touch screen.

“The handset will feature Sony Ericsson’s new Entertainment Unlimited media system, which aims to bring together multiple media and online networking content.  SE is describing this as “Uniting, Broadening and Fusing”, and it will incorporate not only PS3 and online video and audio content, but information from Facebook and other social networks.”

Surprised to know SE hasn’t kept a name yet for the product. ‘Idou’ is the name of the concept. They might be announcing the product before production to vie for Samsung memoir’s market. Good to see products, which strive to enhance user experience. Mobile world congress, would bring some more concepts in another two days. 

http://www.sonyericsson.com/idou/

Italian company ESTAR is expected to release the Dual Touch screen notebook, shortly. No, it’s not having screens back to back. Second screen can be activated at the place where keyboard is supposed to be. I’m not yet aware of the keyboard position. Being touch screen, keyboard functionalities won’t be an issue. We need to wait for the launch to grab the full details. But the form looks rugged, suitable for military applications.

Barbecue is still in its nascent stage in India. In metros of India, there are ‘n’ numbers of reasons, why this culture will take time to spread. But, I’m sure that this culture would catch up soon, since it provides an opportunity for socializing. Moreover, people who like grilled meat is on rise. People once they experience barbecue culture and taste, will keep creating future opportunities.

Hammacher Schlemmer  has launched an “Intelligent grill”.

“This programmable electric grill automatically cooks food to your preferred level of doneness. The keypad and LED screen allow you to input the type of food, cut, thickness, and your preferred internal temperature (rare, medium rare, etc.); the grill automatically chimes when it’s time to flip the food and adjusts the temperature to ensure perfectly cooked comestibles. Eliminating the hassle of lighting charcoal or refilling propane tanks, the grill’s stainless steel grates have integrated electric heating elements that produce powerful, direct heat up to 650° F–ideal for searing restaurant-worthy grill marks. Additional heat coils below the grates produce even, radiant heat to ensure thorough cooking. The 216″ sq. cooking surface accommodates up to 10 8-oz. filets and an upper rack allows you to gently warm rolls as burgers cook. The grill’s stainless steel double-walled construction retains optimal heat for efficient grilling, two stainless steel shelves provides ample room for marinades and plates, and the integrated storage cabinet keeps grill necessities close at hand. The grill can also be controlled manually.”

 Some of us would definitely prefer this product, but the concept of barbecue experience might be lost. Barbecue with all it’s challenges provide space for experimentation, healthy interaction, social gathering. Slow heating process provides ample time to interact, while preparing meat. If people have nothing to do, during preparation, they’ll get bored. Traditional BBQ techniques are successful, by engaging people in certain activities during cooking. Purists may not like this product, but people who like to be as lazy as possible, will surely prefer this. I’m sure that we’ll be soon taking another step backwards towards socializing. 

Hand powered portable washing machine

Is this a greener solution? Saving electricity and wasting other resources - is it a solution for greener environment? Does the product manufacturer browsed history of evolution of washing machines? The earlier models were of hand powered mechanical machines. Mechanical washing machines date back to at least the 19th century and their basic principles of operation have remained largely unchanged. Virtually all contemporary washing machines are powered by electricity, though hand-powered or even steam-powered machines were common in earlier times. Are we trying to reinvent the wheel?

At least if the same product is made better, it would prompt people, who are highly social conscious to buy. Maybe this product is meant for caravans - I don’t see that there has gone some thought, how to use it in caravan. If they plan to promote this product as caravan-centric, portable, probably they should have studied the situations in detail and modified the design to suit the same. I’m surprised to hear that this product is made of plastic, yet they haven’t utilized its capabilities. (Hope it is not made of FRP).

There are many simple configurations to cater to the requirements. I’m not sure why the manufacturer chose this configuration. Did they brainstorm for possible configurations? My advice would be - It you want to re-invent the wheel, at least go couple of steps further and make it much more user friendly, contemporary.

 Excerpts form the manufacturer

If you’re looking for a greener alternative to washing your clothes, it doesn’t get much greener than our hand powered laundry machine (well, laundry washer, it’s not really a machine if you crank it yourself!).

This portable washing machine requires no electricity, which saves money in energy bills. It is also portable, which enables you to use in places that don’t have electricity.

When you’re in a hurry to wash a few items, this washing machine easily solves the problem of having to wait around for your electric or gas washing machine to complete a full load of laundry or feel bad about only washing a few items at a time.

Made of plastic with no mechanical parts, the hand powered washing machine comes assembled. Just attach the handle and go! It can last a lifetime and requires no maintenance.

Because this washing machine is so small, it’s easy to store and move from one place to another. This is an ideal washing machine to have with you in an RV, on road trips, at weekend sports tournaments, in apartments, especially those with limited access to laundry areas, on camping trips and those who want to make their lifestyle more energy efficient.

This small washing machine uses less water and powder detergent per load of laundry. The washing cycle is also extremely fast (from 10 seconds to 2 minutes)saving you an extraordinary amount of time.

If you work in the yard or outside frequently and don’t like to put your really dirty clothes in the wash with your other clothes, this washing machine allows you to easily separate them and get them thoroughly clean without staining other clothes.

How it works:

  Insert your dirty laundry along with a measured amount of water and soap (instructions are included that list the appropriate amounts and temperatures)

  Secure the lid, but do not overtighten

  Turn the handle approximately one turn per second

  Once the washing is done, release the pressure of the lid by slowly turning the knob

  Rinse your laundry either in the portable washing machine after draining the dirty water or in the sink

  Then hang the clothes to dry!

How much it holds:

Five pounds of clothes is equal to approximately 10 shirts or 2 pairs of jeans.Avoid overloading the washing chamber and only tighten the screws a moderate amount. The washing machine is durable and sturdy, and it will last for a long time if you exercise common sense while using it.

I love this product and can’t wait to have a try. Have a look at the image below - Mouse. Designed to make users more lazy. Any product which targets the laziness, would definitely shine. I loved those pan, move motions of the mouse. So easy! No need to apply stress over right or left button. Scrolling?? Can’t explain the fun! Have a look at their site and their promotional video.

   check http://www.orbitamouse.com.

Purity and simplicity has become the design language trend among high end consumer electronic gadgets. (Following foot step of Apple products). Recently, to join this category - Kindle 2. 

Amazon today introduced Kindle 2, the new e-book device, ultra thin product with thickness being 0.36 thickness and having 6 inch electronic paper display.

Slim, Longer battery life, crisper text, sharper images, faster page turns,  more storage space, no backlight, page turning buttons moving inward are the new features on Kindle 2.Another surprise feature - Kindle 2 can read the text. Weights 285 grams. Pretty cool!!

Kindle 2 comes with the New Oxford American Dictionary and its 250,000 word definitions built-in, and with Kindle 2 definitions appear instantly at the bottom of the page.

Kindle 2 uses the same wireless delivery system as the original Kindle — Amazon Whispernet. Customers can wirelessly shop the Kindle Store, download or receive new content in less than 60 seconds, and read from their library — all without a PC, Wi-Fi hot spot, or syncing.

Price is USA -359$

Digital camera with a touch screen mobile phone?

Have a look at this product, which looks like a digital camera(8MP) from front side and a mobile phone from the rear.

The Samsung Memoir (aka the SGH-T929) will work on T-Mobile’s 3G network and will also feature a full HTML browser, a virtual QWERTY keyboard, and a whole lot of other multimedia features. Tentative launching date -25 Feb. (Yet to be confirmed from reliable sources).

Here’s the Samsung Memoir’s unconfirmed specifications… from samsungmemoir.net

Advanced Responsive Touch Screen

Quick Access Customizable Widgets

Web Browsing (web2goSM) Supports POP3 Emails

Full QWERTY Touchpad

8.0 Megapixel Digital Camera

Multiple Messaging Options (Text Messaging, Picture  Messaging, Video Messaging, Email, IM)

Bluetooth® Wireless Technology Organizer

Alarm, Calculator, Calendar, Converter, Memo, Task List, Timer, Stop Watch, RSS Reader Advanced Speech Recognition Voice Memo 72-Note Polyphonic Ringtones Volume Up/Down Keys Vibrate Mode Phonebook

From PC world –

The Memoir’s feature set is focused on multimedia, with sharing in mind. Photos can be uploaded directly to online services such as Flickr, Photobucket, Snapfish or Kodak gallery. The 8 megapixel camera, which includes a 16x (digital) zoom, will also shoot video. On the downside, the Samsung Memoir lacks Wi-Fi (like the BlackBerry Storm), something that might disappoint many, especially considering T-Mobile’s 3G patchy network coverage.

You should also keep in mind that the Memoir is not an iPhone replacement. Its multimedia features make it highly desirable for photography fans, but the phone’s TouchWiz user interface–though appealing–doesn’t come close to the functionality of the iPhone. Oh, and did I mention there’s no App store? You’ll be better off if you consider the Memoir more of an 8-megapixel camera that also makes calls.

Here are Samsung Memoir’s key features at a glance:

- 8 Megapixel Camera with Xenon flash and 16X digital zoom

- microSD slot for storage capacity expansion

- A-GPS for navigation and location based services

- 240 x 400 pixels touchscreen display (262k TFT)

- Full HTML browser and POP3 e-mail support

- TouchWiz interface with customizable widgets

- 3G/EDGE/GPRS data access speeds compatible

- Wireless Bluetooth 2.0 technology 

There are people who would like to just buy and try the product, then add it to their collectors list. I too belong to this category. This USB drive comes with a remote control. The remote control also acts as a docking station, allowing you to charge the insect. A 30 minute charge yields five minutes of flying.

Specifications: 5.7×3.4×3.5 inches (145 x 87 x 90mm), requires 6 AA batteries. 

Fine details, good finish are strong points.