TFTS - Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities » TFTS Hot Picks

BREAKING NEWS – 16 GB White iPhone 3G Goes On Sale TODAY (22nd August) In Britain

Bo — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:45:10 +0000

Thanks to our online whizz’s, we have been able to source information that the 16GB white iPhone 3G is to be available in the UK today! As you all know, we have been waiting for this momentous occasion as we have been stuck with the boring old black one for over a month now.

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Samsung ML-1630 Minimalist Monochromatic Laser Printer Proves Printers Can Be Sexy

Andrew Tingle — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:13:21 +0000

Admittedly there are no doubt a few of you would will take issue with us making such a bold claim, no doubt on the premise that no printer can ever be truly desirable to be point of being described as ‘sexy’ but, certainly when it comes to Samsung’s new ML-1630 we would beg to differ – this is one seriously beautiful printer boasting a design that undoubtedly, in our opinion at least, proves that, with a little thought, imagination and design flair you can produce a printer that positively oozes sex appeal.

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Gear4 BlackBox Bluetooth Speaker System Takes Our Breath Away

Andrew Tingle — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:56:00 +0000

Having just posted about the LaCie External Hard Disck Drive that we described as being positively monolithic we felt compelled to follow up with this equally minimalist Gear4 BlackBox Bluetooth stereo system on account of the fact that each would undoubtedly compliment the other beautifully – let it not be said that there isn’t at least some semblance of cohesiveness on TFTS.

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Tokyo Flash Oberon LED Wrist Watch Marks a Return to Form for the Masters of Time Telling Abstraction

Andrew Tingle — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 20:59:06 +0000

Whilst we’ve always had a soft spot for Tokyo Flash’s decidedly geeky range of wrist watches, we have noted that they had started to become rather too over-bearing for our liking – and hence, somewhat less cool than we had otherwise come to expect – but there’s no doubt that, as far as we are concerned at least, their new Oberon wrist watch marks a triumphant return to form.

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iLuv i9200 Mini Audio System with Integral iPod Dock & Quad MP3 CD Auto Changer

Andrew Tingle — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:12:35 +0000

If you are looking for an iPod docking station that, apart from recharging your iPod also offers direct iPod connectivity and that also happens to serve as a fully featured home audio system, complete with quad MP3 CD auto changer, then this sleek iLuv i9200 Mini Audio System just about has all the bases covered in a device that’s compact enough to be wall mounted as well as free standing.

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Send Instant Remote Kisses with the Curious Kiss Cell Phone

Andrew Tingle — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:44:19 +0000

Looking like an uneasy and rather disturbing fusion of some kind of Fisher Price toy and a curious sexual aid, the Kiss Cell Phone concept from Pro Invention certainly has the distinction of being one of the most bizarre cell phones we’ve ever featured here on TFTS and we can only hazard a guess as to who in their right mind would even vaguely consider pulling one of these out of their pocket during their daily commute.

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Cell Phone in a Pen Concept – The Cell Phone that Writes But Cannot Text

Andrew Tingle — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:46:08 +0000

As far as cell phone concepts go this cell phone pen, known merely at this juncture as ‘Design A’, is one of the most impressive we’ve come across in quite a while but who could possibly overlook the irony of having a cell phone that serves as a standard pen but is, due to the lack of any semblance of a keyboard, wholly unable to compose and send texts?

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Digital Photo Frame And Atomic Clock Weather Station Combo

Andrew Tingle — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:15:07 +0000

Not only will this gadget allow you to view digital images via a fully featured TFT digital photo frame it will also report on the prevailing weather conditions and tempreatures in up to five seperate locations courtesy of remote wireless sensors as well as serving as an atomic clock.

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Cool Hammet Saturn Desktop Speakers are Real Lookers

Andrew Tingle — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:09:21 +0000

The sheer range of desktop speaker solutions available means that we have to be particularly enamoured with a product in order to feature it here on TFTS and, whilst these Hammet Saturn 2.1 desktop speakers are by no means quite as eye-catching as the Nexspeaker Sailing Boat Speakers we featured previously (our thanks to the few sites that correctly credited TFTS as the originating source) they are certainly far removed from the non-descript box-like affairs offered by so many manufactures.

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Nexspeaker Sailing Boat FS-701SW Desktop Speaker Delivers Sound by Sail

Andrew Tingle — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 10:53:56 +0000

Whilst, as far as desktop speaker units are concerned, there are a great many novel designs out there this Nexspeaker FS-701SW sailing boat desktop 2.1 speaker system is certainly rather more eye catching than most and, thanks to delivering sound from its, thin film type speaker sails, it’s sure to serve as a great conversation piece – even for those without a particular nautical bent.

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Netsurfer Designer Computer Workstation Divan

Andrew Tingle — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 08:44:48 +0000

Let’s be honest here, computer desks and workstations are, on the whole, hardly the most inspiring of items and even though many computer manufactures have long since moved away from the insipid beige boxes of old, computer desks seem to have progressed little in the design stakes – but that’s not something that can be said of this cool Netsurfer Computer Divan from Valvomo.

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Falter 2D Snap Apart Kit – Quite Possibly the Worlds Geekiest Pen

Andrew Tingle — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 20:29:09 +0000

We’ve featured several particularly geeky pens here on TFTS – the Fishing Rod Pen, Rocket Pen and the quite wonderful Shock Absorber Pen being the most notable – but this Falter 2D designer, self assembly ball point pen set is, without doubt, in a league all of its own in terms of desktop gadgetry – and its not a distinction we bestow lightly.

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Tonium Pacemaker – The PSP Sized DJ Mixing Gadget

Andrew Tingle — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 15:02:47 +0000

Like many, we have dabbled with DJing with (we’ll be brutally honest here) truly horrendous results but, in fairness to us, we never had a device such as the staggeringly brilliant Tonium Pacemaker handheld DJ gadget to hand and, besides, there’s a limit as to what can be achieved in attempting to mix Nick Drake’s Northern Skies with the likes of LCD Soundsystem – the results of which still haunt us in a cacophony of mismatched beats.

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Sony HDMS-S1D Digital Photo Album Serves as High Def Image Storage Solution

Andrew Tingle — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:31:25 +0000

If you’re anything like us then, try as you might, the sheer number of digital photographs you own result in numerous folders scattered across your PCs hard disk – but help is at hand in the form of Sony’s new HDMS-S1D Digital Photo Album which offers a single, versatile high definition storage solution which ought to not only bring order to the chaos but which should allow easier access to your ever growing image collection without having to fire up your PC or burn imagery to CDs and DVDs for viewing via TV sets.

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Panasonic Announces Worlds Most Compact Wireless 5.1 Surround Sound Headphones

Andrew Tingle — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:04:05 +0000

If you’re in the market for a new pair of decent headphones you may be interested in the new RP-WF5500 wireless headphones just announced by Panasonic which not only promise to deliver 5.1 channel, high resolution 20 – 22000 Hz surround sound at ranges of up to 30 meters but also weigh in at a mere 250 grams.

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Fight Revolution – The Interactive Robot Asking for Punishment

Andrew Tingle — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 14:11:34 +0000

If you’re into impact sports as a means of getting fit and you’re still using a traditional punch bag for training then this interactive Fight Revolution Robot is sure to get your pulses racing as, unlike punch bags, this decidedly masochistic robot will offer you a series of routines in its bid to receive the maximum in punishment all in the name of exercise.

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Project Reveal Black Stealth Wrist Watch

Andrew Tingle — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:31:16 +0000

For some strange reason the moment we set our eyes on this Project Reveal Black Wrist Watch we found ourselves thinking about the F117A and B2 Spirit stealth aircraft as the watch seems to convey a somewhat secretive ambiance – perhaps simply for rather base reasons such as it being almost totally black or because the numbers remain hidden behind a mesh when not applicable to the current time, though there’s something more to it than that.

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Cell Phone Call & Message Alerter Mini Bulb Strap

Andrew Tingle — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:46:42 +0000

Sometimes the last thing you want is for your cell phone to either ring or, if set to silent, start vibrating, especially if you’re in the middle of a board meeting or an interview. However, if you’re expecting an important call sometimes the last thing you want to do is switch your phone off, and this is where this particular gadget excels.

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Loit Eagle Neo-Retro CD Player Oozes Style

Andrew Tingle — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 13:22:28 +0000

Frankly we were in two minds as to whether to post about this particular gadget as, apart from imagery, we can deliver little in the way of either technical specifications or pricing on account of the fact that Art Lebedev have given us nothing to run with apart from imagery. But when a gadget looks as breathtakingly gorgeous as this Loit Eagle Neo-Retro CD Player how could we not offer a heads up here on TFTS?

Accordingly, we have little choice but to let the imagery speak for itself.

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Bang & Olufsen Beo5 Remote Controls Products Yet Invented

Andrew Tingle — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 22:27:48 +0000

Looking like some curious control panel retrieved from a crashed alien spaceship the Beo 5 is certainly one of the most distinctive remote controllers we’ve ever come across and it unequivocally oozes Bang & Olufsen’s daring, inspiring and frankly jaw dropping design style from top to bottom.

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Boblbe Megalopolis Star Wars Themed Hard Shell Backpacks

Andrew Tingle — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 13:32:32 +0000

Are these the coolest backpacks ever? We think so. It was barely a week ago we featured another of Boblbe’s products, namely the Weatherproof iPod Solar Docking Case, and now, new from Boblbe we have these rather cool, officially licensed strictly limited edition Star Wars themed hard shell backpacks which are available in with Darth Vader or Storm Trooper variants.

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Multi Media PMP Wrist Watch & Digital Photo Album

Andrew Tingle — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 15:13:35 +0000

We’ve featured multi Media watches here on TFTS before now but none have offered quite the level of cross functionality boasted by this PMP Multi Media Wrist Watch which will not only play MP4 video files, but also serves as an MP3 player, a digital photo album, a voice recorder, an E-Book reader and, of course, it also tells the time.

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Boblbee Weatherproof iPod Solar Docking Case

Andrew Tingle — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 12:14:03 +0000

If you are one of those people who is never happy unless you’re clinging to the side of a rock face, hiking through a swamp or camping out in the middle of nowhere and you cannot live without your trusty iPod MP3 player then this Boblbee weatherproof iPod solar charging case could serve to ensure that, whilst you may run out of food and water, you’ll never run out of juice to power your iPod.

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Minox DCC Leica M3 – The Mini Leica Styled Digital Camera

Andrew Tingle — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 00:16:40 +0000

The German company Leica is a name steeped in tradition – the first ever practical 35mm was a Leica after all.

The original Leica M3 model was unveiled in 1954 (29 years after the first Leica camera) and was considered, at the time, wholly revolutionary and it would not be an exaggeration to credit this particular model as being the forerunner of SLRs as we know them today.

Now, thanks to Minox, you can own a beautifully crafted mini reproduction of the Leica M8 which fuses unmistakable Leica styling with up to the minute digital technology. (True Leica aficionados may well be scowling at the very thought of it, but its difficult not to see this as being a fitting tribute to the M3).

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Announce Yourself with Style – Scrolling LED Name Badge

Andrew Tingle — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 04:07:13 +0000

Announce yourself in a decidedly geeky style with this LED Name badge which will allow you to display up to eight custom messages with a total of 314 characters that scroll across its screen.

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The Balance Luxury Shell Slide Smart Cell Phone

Andrew Tingle — Tue, 22 May 2007 09:00:13 +0000

The brainchild of designer Bence Bogar, the Balance Smartphone not only boasts a distinctively modern shell-slide design but also manages to pack in a host of features such as integral GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well 512MB of onboard memory – expandable via a MicroSD slot – whilst also functioning as a desktop clock and digital photo frame when placed in desk stand mode.

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Folding Flexi PDA Concept

Andrew Tingle — Mon, 14 May 2007 01:14:28 +0000

It has been a while since we featured a concept piece on TFTS, primarily because little of what we have come across of late has particularly inspired us – but that’s certainly not the case when it comes to this concept PDA unit which, from an aesthetic standpoint alone, certainly hits the mark.

The work of Daniel Alexander, a 26 year old designer from the UK, little by the way of information concerning this PDA concept work is available except to say that it has been designed to fold, using flexible screen technology, into a more robust and portable unit that can also be used as a cell phone. Exactly what material the flexible screen would be fabricated from remains a mystery at the time of writing but, that issue aside, this is one PDA unit that we’d more than happily be seen with.

Further imagery concerning the Flexi PDA concept can be seen via IdeaWicket.

Ultimate Geeks Multi Tool Hammer

Andrew Tingle — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 16:06:45 +0000

As every self respecting geek knows, you can ever have enough tools and this is especially true of multi tools – and, as far as multi tools go, this clever multi tool hammer positively oozes style.

Featuring a total of fourteen different tools, this Swiss Army Knife of the hammer world includes mini saws, screw drivers, a knife and pliers – no name but a few – all contained within a central hammer unit.

A great example of clever, multi functional design, this Multi Tool Hammer, apart from being a great addition to any tool box, almost cries out to be framed and displayed as an item of beauty (just like the previously featured Snap Apart Toolkit) and is obtainable for Yen 3980 – roughly $33 / €24 / £16 from this Japanese outlet.

Industrialisation vs Nature – Geek Insect Ornaments

Andrew Tingle — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 11:57:35 +0000

Firstly let me state quite unequivocally that I think the beauty of a living insect (or a living anything for that matter) can never be replicated or ever truly captured by displaying the corpse of what once was. That said, the sheer uniqueness of Insect Labs’ work unquestionably merits a mention here on TFTS (oh, I’ve woken up on that side of the bed have I?).

In short, Insect Labs, aka Mike Libby, takes insects and customise them with antique watch parts and electronic components to create curious, hand assembled ornaments (or, rather, mini sculptures) that fuse nature with man-made technology and the results are bizarrely fascinating.

From butterflies to spiders, beetles to wasps each insect is intricately customised to become a unique and decidedly geeky item for display purposes in either presentation shadow boxes or bell jars. The result is that the completed items have an apocalyptic beauty, the fusion of industrialisation and nature serving to define the distinctly differing delicacies and beauties of each through their uneasy and somewhat haunting amalgamation. (Incidentally, this is me without a beer – now you can see why the wife ensures that the fridge is always well stocked, and it’s not for my benefit).

Further details concerning these works can be obtained via Insect Labs.