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.

According to sources, only a few people were able to obtain the white iPhone 3G models and they were only through exclusive Apple stores, however, other stores were just keeping us in the dark – until now that is! Suggestions had been made that the iPhone would be ready by Christmas but I guess we here are super lucky, and Christmas came early this year!

According to online resources who have gathered information from the relevant parties, Carphone Warehouse, Apple and O2 will be stocking the iPhones throughout the day today and it is advisable that you rush out and grab one before the limited stock has slipped through your fingers! Better yet, why not hit the online shop and pre-book it now … right now … HELLO!!! What are you still doing reading this? Open up that second tab and get ordering!

Ok, now that you have ordered your 16GB iPhone 3G model already, let’s get some other pertinent and interesting news your way. The PAYG iPhone 3Gs are apparently hot on the 16GB tail and they are presumably going to be launched way before Christmas too! Exciting news if you’re looking to buy one as a Christmas present!

Although we don’t know too much about the launch or how much the PAYG models will cost, we can only presume that they will be in the excess of £300 for both the 8GB and 16GB models set to hit the stores later this year.

Now go pick up that freshly ordered 16GB White 3G model … you’ve earned it!

[source]

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.

Finished with a high gloss black exterior embedded with ‘sapphire’ LEDs, Samsung’s ML-1630 monochromatic Energy Star compliant laser printer, which comes with touch sensitive controls, is not only sleek (4.78”(H) x 13.07”(W) x 14.76”(D)), its also exceptionally quiet with a maximum loudness of a mere 45 dB – though in offering up to sixteen A4 pages per minute output, at print resolutions of up to 1200 x 600 dpi, its certainly no slouch.

Capable of printing on a range of media (Plain, Thin, Recycled, OHP, Label, Card, Thick, Bond) and with a auto feed tray capacity of 100 sheets, the Samsung ML-1630 is Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista, Linux OS, Mac OS 10.3-10.4 compatible and yields 2000 pages per cartridge and, at a mere $199 we think it’s a positive steal.

Yes, it may ‘only’ be a monochromatic printer, but when a printer looks this good, frankly we really couldn’t care. And, incidentally, we should add that this would look great alongside LiCie’s Monolithic external HDD featured previously on TFTS – indeed the very thought of these two set side by side makes us go weak at the knees.

[Source | Digital Drops]

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.

The BlackBox, which, like the LaCie HDD, is finished in alluring gloss black, comes complete with a hidden LED display that springs to life with your music (we assume it’s some kind of spectrum analyser, though this is wholly unclear from the product description) as well as touch screen controls and offers a 2 way speaker set offering 24 watts combined output for streaming music directly via Bluetooth from a remote device such as a PC, bluetooth enabled MP3 player or, with the relevant firmware update for your particular model, even your cell phone.

The Gear4 BlackBox Bluetooth Speaker System retails for around $99 (approximately £48 / €67 at the time of writing) and we love it so much it hurts (to the point where we’re flexing our flexible friend as we write this).

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.

Abstract without being overdone and different without seeming trivial, the Oberon wrist watch, the latest in their S-Mode range of watches, comes with an IP finished stainless steel body and offers the time via a series of LEDs placed in rings with the outer ring indicating the hours, the second ring single minutes and the third inner ring indicating minutes in groups of ten (a secondary mode serving to display the date in a similar fashion).

Tokyo Flash’s Kyokusen Watch

(We weren’t impressed)

Agreed, like so many of Tokyo Flash’s offerings, it’ll take some practice before you can reel off the time quite as quickly as you could with a more conventionally designed watch but, unlike a number of their recent offerings, its not so overly abstracted as to prove insanely taxing to use in practice and, more importantly, due to its understated elegance it manages to be cool without looking like you have a tacky fairground strapped to your wrist. Bravo Tokyo Flash.

The Oberon is water resistant to 5 meters and retails for ¥14900 (which is approximately $137 / €92 / £67 at the time of writing).

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.

The iLuv i9200, apart from cutting a particularly fine figure, comes with two 2-way speakers rated at 10 watts, an integral AM/FM radio tuner with PLL digital tuning and 32 station programmability, a quad CD auto changer with 40 track programmable memory (which also boasts MP3 file compatibility), an on board backlit LCD display with alarm clock functionality (complete with snooze) and, of course, a top mounted iPod dock that will not only pipe your play list through the device but will also recharge your player’s battery.

The iLuv i9200 is available in either black or the somewhat obligatory white and retails for 335,000 South Korean Won, which equates to approximately $365 / £176 / €250 excluding shipping.

UPDATE: see iLuv i9500 iPod/iPhone Dock & 4x CD Player [iLuv i9500 Digital Audio Entertainment System].

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.

Coming with a rather prominent pair of lips, the Kiss Phone detects the pressure, temperature and, yes, even the ‘sucking force’ of any kisses delivered to the device which it will then relay to those on the receiving end of your affection – mimicking your kiss exactly (or, at least, as best it can within certain parameters).

Interestingly you can even receive any kisses you may have missed from the device’s ‘kiss bank’ memory and you can even upload your kisses to the internet to share with others.

The mind boggles.

[Source | Gizmodo]

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?

Designed by an unknown individual working for an undisclosed company, the cell phone pen comes complete with a dot matrix display unit (is the choice of dot matrix a stylistic element?) and inbuilt mini receiver and earpiece as well as Bluetooth connectivity. It also comes with a micro SD memory card slot – which would seem to indicate that the device may be either MP3 compatible or, at the very least, has the capacity for storage relating to other functions such as to-do lists, memos, etc (though this is pure speculation on our part).

It’s certainly an interesting concept but, as small as it is – it measures a mere 8.7” in length – we cannot help but wonder whether people would be willing to forgo all but the most basic of functions we’ve comes to expect from cell phones (texting being the most obvious example) simply to have a device that’s both as small as this and that one can write with.

We suspect not.

[Source | Gizmodo]

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.

Featuring a 7 inch, TFT LCD colour display with 128MB of internal memory and an SD/MMC card slot for additional capacity the digital photo frame comes will all the features you’d expect – such as slideshow, intelligent resizing of images, etc – as well as serving as a fully featured alarm clock and calendar (you can display the clock over imagery of your choice) and a fully fledged weather station offering temperature, barometric pressure and humidity reading from up to five wireless, remote receivers (though only one is supplied with the main unit itself).

Add to this that the Digital Photo Frame And Atomic Clock Weather Station also details sunrise and sunset times as well as moon phases and what you have is a device that is not only truly multifunctional but that has ‘geek’ written all over it.

The Digital Photo Frame And Atomic Clock Weather Station retails for $199 with additional indoor/outdoor wireless remote sensors costing $19 each.

Not quite what you’re looking for? You may be interested in this Oregon Scientific Weather in Motion Atomic Desktop Weather Station Clock.

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.

Offering 2.1 sound via two satellite speakers supplemented by a central subwoofer unit that serves as the system’s control unit, these are hardly going to immerse you in a sea of sound, but for people looking for a desktop speaker solution who don’t quite have the space for 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound setups 2.1 systems such as this are ideal – and the fact that they look as good as they do is a positive bonus.

These Hammet Saturn speakers come with line-in (ideal for hooking up your iPod) and mic sockets as well as separate volume and bass controls, with the satellite speakers rated at 3W and the subwoofer rated at 5W, delivering a combined output of 11W which, though hardly likely to blast you into next-door, is certainly sufficient for casual usage and for the market they are undoubtedly aimed at.

If you still have those terrible, box plastic affairs set each side of your TFT and are looking for something a little more pleasing to the eye, this Hammet Saturn 2.1 Desktop Speaker System, which is available in white or black, is well worth a look.

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.

Offering 2.1 sound via its sails (each sail serving as a left and right channels rated at 7.5 watts each) with a 15 watt woofer mounted in the boat’s base, the Nexspeaker FS-701SW comes with separate bass and treble controls and with a standard audio in jack with which you can hook up a wide variety of audio sources – from PCs to iPods and other MP3 devices.

The Nexspeaker FS-701SW sailing boat desktop 2.1 speaker system – which, incidentally, is not waterproof – retails for 56,000South Korean Won – which equates to approximately $60 / £29 / €42 at the time of writing.

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.

Acting to place you firmly in the driving seat as you surf the web or work on the computer, the Netsurfer features a reclining chair with integral keyboard table with arm rests though, whilst we are totally smitten with the overall design it would have been nice to see the monitor housed on a separate ledge rather than merely being placed on the computer base unit (thus allowing you to adjust the screens distance and tilt with ease).

Update: We’ve just been informed by a reader that the Netsurfer is nolonger in production (thanks Victor).

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.

Designed by A. Ebenbichler for the cult Italian design house, Parafernalia, the Falter 2D comes in the form of a beautifully presented snap apart template which includes a ruler and the instrument needed to implement the bending required – the final, assembled result being not only a distinctly modern pen that is quite unlike any other, but also a matching pen holder.

Putting aside the fact that this is a pen (albeit seemingly quite an uncomfortable one), just for a moment, as an object in its own right few would argue that it’s a piece of design brilliance that’s worthy of any desk top.

The Parafernalia Falter 2D Snap Apart Pen retails for 32,000 South Korean Won – which equates to roughly $35 / £17 / €24 at the time of writing.

Looking for more snap apart designer gear? You may be interested in this Snap Apart Party Set and this cool Snap Apart Toolkit.

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.

Let’s be honest here. Any device that has the likes of Richie Hawtin (aka Plastikman) involved in beta testing is going to be held in great esteem by us and that’s not even taking into consideration the sheer marvel of this gorgeous device.

Tonium’s Pacemaker, in essence, is a portable media player that comes with a host of inbuilt audio manipulation features allowing for on the fly, professional track mixing between two separate audio channels via a device small enough to pocket.

Hardly sounds like rocket science, does it. But when you consider that this device comes with an integral 120GB hard disk, multiple file format support (MP2, AAC, WMA, WMA Lossless, WAV and even VBR – and the much under rated Ogg format), integral crossfader as well as pitch, bend, loop, split loop and EQ/Gain filters (to name but two) and that it fits all this into a unit measuring a mere 164 x 69 x 23 mm in size you start to realise that this is something very special.

Not enough to get your pulses racing (cheap pun avoided)? How about adding beat matching capabilities into the equation?

Presently available for pre-order for €520 excluding tax and shipping (approximately $742 / £362 at the time of writing), the Tonium Pacemaker is a device we would positively kill to get our hands on (ok, not kill, but definitely slap around a little).

Update: Tonium’s Pacemaker is now available for pre-order.

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.

Built around a 80GB hard disk, Sony’s HDMS-S1D Digital Photo Album can store up to an astounding 50,000 high resolution images which can be imported via and Ethernet connection, flash memory cards, USB memory sticks and CDs and DVDs into a single, manageable centralised collection – which can subsequently be organised by date or user definable occasion (which a possible 3000 separately ordered sub collections being definable).

Once stored, image collections can be selected with ease courtesy of a remote control unit with the resulting slideshows being output via HDTV or HDMI units to a suitably captive audience.

The Sony HDMS-S1D Digital Photo Album, which also comes with basic image manipulation tools as well as the ability to create slideshow transitional effects (complete with your choice of backing music, should you wish) as well as face detection technology enabling transitions around faces – though we’re not sure as to whether this would look particularly impressive in practice.

The device – which, if paired with Sony’s new Cybershot T2 digital camera would complete a killer setup – also comes with Sony’s x-Scrapbook application allowing for digital scrap-booking via templates and retails for around $400.

[Source | Ubergizmo]

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.

Due to begin shipping in Japan from November 20th, Panasonic’s RP-WF5500 wireless 5.1 surround sound headphones operate via a 2.4Ghz radio frequency offering room to room operation and will automatically determine and adapt to multi-channel digital, DTS and MPEG-2 ACC audio formats via a series of inputs (both analogue and optical/digital) and music/movie mode selections.

The headphones, which will be available in either black or white, come complete with their own base station serving as the central connection hub, wireless transmitter and recharging unit with a full three hour charge purportedly allowing up to six hours of continuous use.

At the time of writing pricing details are yet to be announced, however, with Sony’s 7.1 channel surround sound MDR-DS7000 wireless headphones being due for release from November 10th Panasonic will need to ensure that pricing is extremely competitive.

Update 23/06/08: Following a lengthy delay, Panasonic’s RP-WF5500 headphones look set to become available. See: Panasonic RP-WF5500 5.1Channel Wireless Surround Sound Headphones Poised For Release [Dolby Digital 5.1 Headphones].

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.

The brainchild of Pablo Jiang – a 22 year old designer from China – the Fight Revolution Concept Fight Robot uses music and light to offer a series of workout routines via a number of hot zones placed strategically across the robot’s body which light up as targets for your aggression in randomised sequences, with the robot timing your reactions and the power of your impacts accordingly.

According to the designer, the flight robot – which is a concept work at the time of writing – is even capable of a self-defence mode where the device will offer a series of moves designed to make targeted impacts harder to achieve, though its far from apparent quite how this will work in practice.

The device is inspired by the Mu Ren Zhuang, a device designed to assist with practising Chinese Kongfu (or ‘Wing Chun Kuen’) fused with the designer’s experience of the dancing based reaction game Konomi in a bid to not only engage the user but to offer a stricter regime of training with an element of interactivity.

As intriguing as this concept is, we are unable to ascertain at the point of writing what materials the designer envisages the robot to be manufactured from and quite how the device, in its present form (with such a notably small base), will remain upright when on the receiving end of particularly firm blows – the degree of weighting required with such a small base would have to be immense. As a concept, however, we are blown away by this device and we don’t doubt that it would prove to be extremely popular should it ever make the traumatic transition from the drawing board.

You can catch up with the discussion concerning this fascinating concept via the Product Design Forums.

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.

Designed by Daniel Will-Harris – to whom MOMA referred as being ‘a computer graphics pioneer’, and with good reason as he acted to define computer typography as we know it – the Project Reveal Black Wrist Watch is of all stainless steel construction finished in matt black, lending it somewhat menacing overtones.

Project Reveal Watch and F117A

(F117A Photo Credit: Yours Truly)

We especially like how only relevant information pertaining to the moment is revealed thanks to the mesh/gauze which serves to obscure the remaining numbers and, in so doing, how the watch wholly dispenses with the use of hands. What you see is all you need – nothing more, nothing less.

Modern, minimal (though not quite as minimal as this) and positively oozing understated elegance the Project Reveal Black Wrist Watch, which retails for around $85 – is a fitting accessory for those of us with hidden depths who do not rely on bling or brash extravagance to make their presence felt.

Not quite what you’re looking for? Why not browse our previously featured wrist watches for further gems?

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.

Attached to your cell phone via a strap, this cell phone call and message alerter takes the form of a mini light bulb that, thanks to being tuned into the same frequency as your cell phone, will light up in the event of an incoming call being received.

Admittedly, this device, from a functional perspective, is hardly a lifesaver, and it’s certainly something you’ll get by without – after all, your cell phone is quite capable of notifying you of missed calls – but as a gadget in its own right we love it if only it ultimately serves as little more than a somewhat geeky form of cell phone jewelery.

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.

Rest assured, the moment we have further information concerning Loit Eagle Neo-Retro CD Player we’ll be offering an update in this post, however, in the meantime if this neo-retro style rocks your boat and you happen to be in the market for an iPod amplifier then then we recommend you take a look at the uber cool Shanling MC-30 Tube Amplifier iPod Music Center (which would compliment this device beautifully).

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.

“Capable of controlling both your audio/visual equipment as well as delivering further extendibility in the way of home automation via Bang & Olufsen’s Link System, the Beo 5 consists of a hardened glass touch screen enhanced with ‘soft touch’ technology which will display station logos to assist with channel hopping whilst ensuring that the menu remains uncluttered by intelligently adapting to show information pertinent only to the devices you own that it can control.”

Ease of use is further enhanced via the use of zones allowing the device to adapt to the equipment in each room automatically. And, if you’re concerned about setting up the Beo 5 to handle future Bang & Olufsen products this quote from the website should put you at ease.

To service the individual needs of each customer, we draw on our unique dealer network to customise each Beo 5 in a way that no central manufacturer could. And when you expand your Bang & Olufsen collection, your dealer will come to your home not only to install the devices physically, but also to upgrade your Beo 5 to handle the newcomers. Even products that have not been invented yet will be possible to control with your Beo 5.

The Beo 5 can also be programmed with macros so, for instance, you can have the Beo 5 automatically dim the lights when playing a CD or, somewhat more impressively, when switching on your DVD you could have the Beo 5 automatically dim the lights, draw the curtains (the Bio 5 is geared towards home automation), switch on your surround sound unit and so on with the mere touch of the screen.

No details have been release at the time of writing with respect to pricing but it’s safe to assume that, being a Bang & Olufsen product, the Beo 5 will prove to be reassuringly expensive and completely out of reach for the majority of us.

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.

Designed from the outset to mimic the uniforms of Darth Vader and your regular Storm Trooper these Boblbe-E Megalopolis Star Wars hard shell backpacks not only look the business but the are completely weatherproof and, being manufactured from hard wearing ABS resin they offer extreme protection for your gadgets from knocks and scrapes.

Each of these Star Wars themed bags are strictly limited to 4000 units in each style, with each bag up to the 2000th unit being serial marked by laser (in homage to the Lightsaber). Each bag, which measures in at 56cm x 30cm x 15cm, also displays the stamp of the Beida as well as an embedded aluminum, laser etched Star Wars 30th Anniversary plaque.

Surely a must for every discerning Star Wars fan, these undeniably cool Boblbe Megalopolis Star Wars themed hard shell backpacks come in their own rather fetching presentation boxes and retail for ¥35,000 each (approximately $302 / £150 / €221 exclusive of shipping).

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.

What also makes this particular PMP more appealing than most is that it’s not especially ungainly in either design or proportions with the watches size being defined more by the size of the inbuilt 1.8 inch LCD TFT screen rather than by the circuitry contained within – and it also looks great, with clear, vibrant menu systems on top of the sleek design. That said, whilst it’s nice to have E-Book compatibility included in this watches plethora of functions we cannot imagine reading E-Books on a 1.8 TFT screen to prove to be an especially practical affair.

Here’s a run down of the device’s many features and specifications.

PMP Watch II Features:

• 2GB or 4GB flash memory
• MP4 Player + Music Player + FM Radio + Digital Watch + Voice Recorder + Photo Album + E-book reader, all in one featured product
• MP4 watch, support MP4(AVI) video
• High in focus 1.8″ TFT screen, 160*128 pixel image
• Shows time and date and watch design is outstanding
• Supports MP3, WMA and MP4(AVI) format, up to 8 hours of music playback
• Supports JPEG format, also displays lyrics and picture
• High-quality digital record, song circulation function and support several languages
• 5-equalizer modes, super bass 3-D sound effect playback modes
• E-book browse function
• Supports FM radio
• Build in speaker
• USB 2.0 High Speed transfer

Specifications:

• Screen: 1.8 inches 65K Colour, High resolution 160*128 pixel
• USB plunger: USB 2.0 High Speed
• Capacity: 2GB / 4GB
• Sound recorder : (- Record rate: 8KHz-128KH / format: MP3 (32/64/128kbps) Record time: 8hours)
• Radio: FM88MHz – 108MHz
• Radio time: 6hours
• - Earphone output: 40mw*2/16R/-75db
• MP3, WMA: (MP3: 32k~320k / WMA: 32kbps-380kbps @ Audio frequency: 20Hz~20KHz (SNR: 88db))
• Music format: MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, WAV
• Time showing: picture + number
• Language selection: English, Korean, Tranditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, etc.
• Support Windows 98/98SE/ME/XP, Mac OS9.x, Mac OS X, Linux 2.4 upwards
• Weight: 57g

The PMP Watch II, to refer to it by its correct (if rather uninspiring) name, is available in black, black or black and comes complete with a USB cable, a half decent set of earphones and an A/C adapter and retails for either $92 (2GB version) or $118 (4GB version).

[Source | Prylfeber]

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.

The Boblbee is a hard wearing case into which you slide your iPod which, apart from offering serious protecting of your device from knocks, shocks and abrasions, will work to charge your unit thanks to the solar panels on the Boblbee’s casing (the degree of charge being conveyed via an LCD display).

Not only that, but, as the Boblbee also comes complete with two audio out jacks, it’s nice to know that whilst both you and a friend are clinging perilously from a cliff face waiting to be rescued you can both at least while away the hours tapping your feet in mid air to a your favorite playlist.

Designed by Jonas Blanking from Sweden, the Boblbee Weatherproof iPod Solar Docking Case is available from Dododi though we are, unfortunately, unable to ascertain either availability or pricing at the time of writing.

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).

The , which measures in at a mere 7.4cm x4.7cm x 4.4cm, boasts a 3.2MP pixel sensor (5MP effective with interpolation), 4x digital zoom, 32MB of built in memory (expandable via an integral SD memory card slot), as well as USB connectivity and a 1.5 inch TFT display.

Admittedly, as far as specifications are concerned, it’s hardly jaw dropping, but it’s hardly been designed to serve as your primary camera. This is a fun, compact camera that, due to its diminutive proportions, is easy to carry and use for those every day captures of friends and family – a role in which we don’t doubt it would excel.

The Minox DCC Leica M3 Mini Digital Camera retails for ¥39,800, which is approximately $322 / £160 / €237 at the time of writing.

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.

The device is programmed via a computer courtesy of a USB connection allowing for the easy inputting of messages and comes complete with multi-language support and we cannot help but think that this is an ideal clubbing accessory, though our clubbing days have, regrettably, long since passed.

The Scrolling LED Name Badge retails for 44,000 Korean Won, excluding shipping – which is approximately $47 / €35 / £23 at the time of writing.

By way of a footnote, if you’re looking for something a little bolder, perhaps this DIY Neon Sign Kit may be of interest.

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.

Constructed from titanium and stainless steel, the GSM/3G/HSDPA compatible Balance Smartphone measures in at 45×73.5×10.25mm and cleverly works both as a shell and slide cell phone ensuring that, whilst not in use, the 2.8 inch 400×200 pixel 256K TFT touch screen is protected from scratching. The phone also features an inbuilt 5.1 megapixel camera complete with auto focus and 2x zoom.

No word yet as to whether the Balance Smartphone has MP3 functionality, though the inclusion of a 3.5mm jack socket would seem to indicate that digital media capabilities have not been overlooked.

Further imagery concerning the Balance Smartphone concept can be seen via the concept’s website.

[Source | Yanko Design]

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.

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.

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.