E-Ink gives phone its own version of tats

With the impossible competition in the mobile phone business, it's not surprising that some manufacturers would try something a little crazy to distance themselves from pack. But we didn't think they'd be this crazy.

First we saw a weird design from NEC for a "Flask" handset that's apparently powered by some kind of liquid fuel. Now, just a day later, we find that Hitachi is introducing a phone that sports a 2.7-inch E-Ink display on the back that's destined for the Japanese market. Gizmodo says the Silhouette Screen, which comes with 95 graphics, appears only ornamental because it doesn't display any handset data. It does, however, have a regular 2.8-inch display on the front, a 2-megapixel camera, and 2GB of built-in memory. All of which makes us wonder why no one has stepped up to market a shoe phone to mark the release of the upcoming Get Smart.

Via Crave CNET

P-Per concept phone trounces iPhone

If the pictures of the P-Per don't move you into owning one, we seriously don't know what else would. Yeah, we know P-Per looks weird, but if you say it aloud, it's actually a very personable name. Like people? This concept phone consists of just four layers of material: A printed circuit board, extruded polycarbonate, recycled titanium and a flexible haptic LED touchscreen that wraps around the 7mm-thin handset. Who cares if it takes just 2 minutes to recharge and the 3-megapixel camera that's supposed to come with it. We want one already.

Via Yanko Design

Toyota develops eyelid-monitoring system

If BMW's rumbling steering wheel, Infiniti's Lane Departure Prevention system, and Volvo's coffee-break alert are not enough to keep you awake at the wheel, then Toyota may have developed just the thing for you.

According to a recent announcement, Toyota has developed an enhancement to its Pre-Crash safety system that can determine whether or not a driver's eyes are open.

The system relies on a driver-monitoring camera and image-processing computer, which determine the position of the driver's upper and lower eyelids. The development follows Toyota's existing face-monitoring technology--available on the Lexus LS600h--which tracks the orientation of the driver's face and sounds a warning if it detects a sustained period of inattention.

The eye-monitoring system is scheduled for launch in Japan "in the near future", according to Toyota.

Via Crave CNET (Source: Just Auto)

Plants that fall over when thirsty

Here's a nifty idea. Since plants can't talk, designer Samgmin Bae has come up with the Roly-Poly Pot which allows the flora to articulate their thirst... By falling over. Of course, if you do nothing about it, this could get to be a sadly permanent state of affair. Bae has employed the simple idea of using water as a counterweight. As water levels dip, the pot slowly tips. Although if you're planning to head off for a long vacation, do leave the poor plants with a neighbor for some TLC. Else these'll roll over and play dead for good. A concept for now, though one we'd love to see happen.

Via Yanko Design

Follow the virtual line

A company with the unwieldy name of Making Virtual Solid has developed a new way for drivers to follow GPS directions, a virtual line projected onto a car's windshield. The technology, called Virtual Cable, uses existing heads-up-display components and standard GPS navigation systems, but would have to be factory-installed.

From videos on the company's site, the system looks very usable, and a big improvement over current route guidance systems. The beauty of Virtual Cable is that it shows route guidance over real streets, as opposed to navigation screens, which show arrows on a map that the driver then has to mentally translate to the view out the windshield.

Making Virtual Solid hasn't announced any deals with automakers or OEMs at this date, so it will be at least a few years before we see Virtual Cable projected onto the screen of any production cars.

Via Crave CNET

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