Camera Phones Plaza

As if the market wasn’t already saturated with watch gimmicks, here’s yet another model that is supposed to add up to your spy arsenal.

<-250x250 Square - left->These Walkie Talkie Watches are… well, watches and walkie talkies all-in-one. As you would expect, the watches have a full clock function, but they're also professional PMR (Private Mobile Radio-communicators) devices. Their high quality was acknowledged by the Norwegian Winter Olympic team during last year's Winter Olympics.

The walkies have a 3km range and VOX (Voice Activated Operation) system, making these devices ideal for active souls who enjoy hiking, skiing and staying in touch for free when on the move. They also have eight channels and 38 sub codes per channel giving you over 300 channel combinations for private conversation. So you can forget about your cellphone as communication over these watches is free and there is no license required.

Here are the other features:

• A headset with PTT button attached.
• Auto channel scan and squelch control.
• Five melody call tones.
• Compatible with all Walkie Talkies at 446 MHZ.
• A backlit LCD display.
• The digital watch has a stopwatch and alarm function.
• The watches are splash proof.
• A battery low indicator.
• No registration or fees required.
• After the initial 24 hour charge, a full 6 hour charge will provide 40 hours of standby power and 2 hours of continuous talk time.
• Suitable for ages 8 years+.
• Requires a rechargeable lithium battery (included) and a mains adaptor (UK adaptor included).

You can order these from the I Want One of Those website, but it looks like they are currently out of stock for now.

Following the idea of an ergonomic design to fit best any hand’s shape, BenQ made the MD300, a round and flat model equipped with few new technologies such as the interactive sensor which when activated by the user, responds instantly at any hand movement with a glow, vibration or sound.



It probably feels like keeping a live mouse in your hand that feels your shake, squeeze and tickle.
Besides this cool functionality BenQ added also instant notification capability to let the user know about latest appointments or when a new message has arrived, plus the dance mode.
In the dance mode the mouse actually moves rhythmically to the music played in Windows Media Player.
I am imagining you laughing while watching it dancing on your desk.



BenQ MD300 must be bringing a lot of fun in its user homes and the email notification sounds helpful. You can even select combinations of visual and sound effects plus vibration and glowing effect for incoming messages from Skype, Microsoft Office Outlook, as well as divide contacts into Good and Bad categories so when the mouse makes that sound you will know if you really have to reply.

It measures 95 x 64 x 27.8 mm and has 800 dpi tracking resolution, 3 buttons, USB connectivity, being compatible with all Windows operating systems.
BenQ offers it at EUR 24.90 but starting next month.

I’m sure most of you enjoyed Disney’s “Lilo and Stitch” animated series, or at least your kids found them amusing. There are many toys based on this title, but some Japanese guys thought that a CD player could sell well if turned into Stitch’s head.

<-234x60 Half Banner - left->Runat Japan is responsible for the design of the funny CD player and I must say that Stitch’s head never looked so functional. Stitch’s mouth opens wide to reveal the CD tray, the ears hide a par of stereo speakers and the lower teeth double as controls. When you turn the player on, the eyes light up in green.

The cute head also hides an AM/FM tuner and the onboard speakers deliver an output of 0.6W per channel. You can also power it with 3 D sized batteries for an hour. The player measures 330×220×225mm and weighs 1kg. It would have been cooler if the Japanese dudes had managed to include some signature sounds right from the animated series, so that when you’d turn on the player or open the mouth, Stitch could make some funny noises. Still, it looks pretty cool and functional.

Unfortunately, the special Stitch design is only available in Japan for about $92.

Have you seen Siafu before? If yes then you know it is not a very complex PC concept but it brings the basic functionalities required by people with vision impairment or vision loss, transforming a standard user interface into an intuitive one.


This is done via the digitally tactile interface from a flat surface encased in magneclay concept material, which can to morph upward into any shape, and you can translate this into the generating of infinitely refreshable Braille displayed in a book-like format.



People with this type of disability can access even 3D relief images and photo reliefs.
It measures 12 x 20 x ¾ inches and with this form factor it can replace the 5 devices existent on the market today, that are needed by visually impaired: monitor, keyboard, refreshable Braille output, microphone, and speakers.
The user can do everything that a person with no eye problems can, from browsing websites to navigation through menus, and this is done via the integrated keyboard and the full Braille page display.



Additional features improve the user experience making things easier and here we have voice commands, text reading software and the text-to-Braille convertor.
For its exterior the designer had the idea to add stained and polished teak wood because it gives a soft touch feeling and doesn’t get too cold, while the Siafu margins should be rounded so they can’t harm the user.



To sustain the idea of ergonomics the designer wants to use the magneclay material which would be a combination of oil-based synthetic agent with morphing capabilities, and with its loose molecular structure can rearrange when prompted by electrical and magnetic charges.
This conceptual material does not require maintenance and is also recyclable.



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I don’t know why the US army keeps sending troops to Iraq. C’mon, let the locals deal with the extremists and stop making people’s lives miserable! Sending poor kids to fight some wacky Arabs is not worth it. I mean, take a look at how many amputees return from Iraq. That makes me wonder… are they deliberately sending them so they can get slaughtered up and then drive advances in prosthetic technology? Grim perspective.

Speaking of which, the latest innovation in the prosthetic hand field comes from a company called Touch Bionics. This model not only has five independently movable fingers, but it also enables its wearers to precisely manipulate even a keyboard or pick up fragile things.

The prosthetic hand is “ingeniously” dubbed the i-LIMB and relies on muscle movements on the wearer's forearm to control the individual fingers. Touch Bionics claims that it also applies pressure back to the user's skin to let them know how much force is being applied to whatever object is being picked up.

The i-LIMB is not a prototype anymore and is available for purchase as we speak. The model is priced at $17,500 so if you somehow got an amputated arm, you know you got to find a generous sponsor for one of these.