That’s time at your fingertips

I am one of those people who never wears a watch on my wrist. Among the lame reasons that I don't is that I find all watches cumbersome to fasten. Lazy me.

The runner-up at the global watch design competition “Timex2154: The future of time,” held by Timex and Core77, is a stunner that promises to fundamentally change the way watches are worn and used. TX54 is a concept for a translucent watch that can be worn on your . . . thumbnail. Add to that a lovely indiglo display with color options for the displayed text, and the translucent feature that allows the watch to blend completely into your nail unless it is “activated.” A deadly combination of fashion and functionality, if you please.

Well folks, since I am pretty sure that I will not last until 2154, I am just keeping my fingers crossed (and ready) in the hope of seeing this selling sooner.

Via Gearfuse.

Swim-Ring amphibious PC pool toy

Oh yeah, this is just what I need; a portable office disguised as a pool toy. Unveiled at the Next-gen PC Design Competition, the 'Swim-Ring" device, shaped like a big floatie, can check e-mail, surf the net, play movies, games, and music. It also features a GPRS receiver, Bluetooth wireless solutions, finger-touch input, solar power driven processor, water-cooling system, magnetic charging interface, and water-proof design. And just in case you get lost in your pool (in which case, I want whatever you're drinking), the GPRS helps show you the way. The concept-only amphibious PC includes a backlight keyboard design (in case you're skinny dipping at night), a 7-inch LCD display, and a stereo speaker set.

I'll stick with my inner tube, thanks.

Perfect skin analyser: potentially useful for the complexion-obsessed

The perfect skin analyser sounds like a potentially useful beauty gadget - for all of five seconds. After that, you think: what's the point? I mean, if this gadget tells you your skin is perfect, sure, you'll be happy, but if it isn't, what's this little gadget going to do about it? Surely there are enough reasons to be unhappy with the world without paying £17.95 ($35.25) to discover that the softness of my skin isn't up to scratch.

As I've always had a tendency to acne, I don't think I need a device to tell me my skin looks bad - I have a dermatologist for that. But if your skin blooms like a fresh pink rose I hate you perhaps you'd like to pick up one of these and get a daily ego boost - they're available from Alternative Gifts Ltd.

Via Shiny Shiny.

Bloomframe folding balcony

I'm not entirely sure how a folding balcony is superior to one that doesn't fold, considering you're not really saving interior space, and presumably there's sufficient space on the outside to expand out the balcony. Still, the award-winning Bloomframe by Hofman Dujardin Architects is rather cool. Bloomframe balconies can be added to existing buildings or made part of the design of new buildings, and are basically innovative window frames that can be pushed out to form an exterior balconies, expanding your interior space to the outdoors.

Your very own Milky Way

For the existentialist in your life who has everything, how about the Milky Way galaxy suspended in a glass cube? Supposedly, there are 80,000 stars inside the cube, rendered using three-dimensional data from Japan's National Astronomical Observatory. In the exact center of the cube is our solar system - a tiny speck, a reminder of how invisible we are in the cosmic scheme of things.

Because it's a cube, you can view the galaxy from different angles:

Hoverit's magnetic lounger lets you levitate

Ever wanted to feel like you were floating on air, in more than the metaphorical sense? Well, a revolutionary new lounger lets you get as close as science currently allows to doing just that - and it's all thanks to magnets (understandably, they are a little bit larger than these babies).

Made by British Company Hoverit, this lounger appears to be defying gravity thanks to the clever use of repelling magnetic forces. The makers say it feels like floating on a cloud - and who wouldn't like to try that?

The company's website points out that magnets have been found to help people with all kinds of health problems, so you could even justify the expense (each lounger is custom-made) by saying it will have therapeutic benefits.

But beware: electronics and magnets do not mix well. So you'll need to find some way to levitate your laptop in midair or perhaps only use the lounger when - gasp! - you're not surfing the net/using your iPod/texting your friends.

I've never owned a sun-lounger because I'm British and would never be able to justify the cost-per-use ratio. I think I could justify the Hoverit however, on a happiness-per-use ratio. And because it can be used inside or out.

Via The Gadget Show.

Bamboo Phone : A truly green cell phone

How unique an idea would it be if you could juice up your cell phone just by cranking it up manually? Sound too good to be true? Maybe not – if the concept for the Bamboo phone by Dutch designer Gert-Jan van Breugel makes it to production.

The Bamboo cell phone, one of the finalists at the 2008 Greener Gadgets Design Competition, leaves no stone unturned in being eco-friendly. The most striking feature being: by keying it up for around 3 minutes, you can generate enough charge on your phone to take you through one call (call duration not specified). Which to me, is really exciting – apart from the fact that I do not have to carry my charger around at all times, it can also be a lovely power-saving mechanism.

The cell phone case itself is made up of 100% bio-degradable materials such as corn and bamboo, which means, if the phone is thrown into a compost (without the battery, antenna and printboard), it will decompose completely in a few weeks. With all this, the phone doesn’t compromise on looks either; if given a few options on the color, you'll love to show off its sleek design. A sure winner, this one.

Via Inhabitat.

Hour Glass goes digital with the Sand Time Watch

Designer Pavel Balykin has decided to revamp the retro sand-hour-glass by conceptualising a digital version with his Sand Time Watch. Well, sort of.

The Sand Time Watch, according to me, might be a misnomer because the watch uses a “digital hour glass” only as a screensaver. The actual time, however, is shown once you press a button – and the screensaver then disappears. Much to the disappointment of traditional folks (which includes me), there is no sand and the hour glass does not count time. Nevertheless, the concept is pretty cool and the watch itself looks trendy. Will the Sand Time Watch make it into production? Only the hour glass can tell.

Via Yanko Design.

Levi's limited edition Red Tab cell phone

How much would you pay for a phone with Bluetooth, integrated 2-megapixel camera with flash, and MP3 playback capabilities? I know such phones are standard fare these days and often offered as free upgrades when extending your cell phone contract, but let's say this new phone was given an "ultra limited edition" label and only 100 of them were being made.

If you guessed 550 euros (about $870), then you're obviously in cahoots with chic Parisian retailer Colette, who's got exclusive dibs on Levi's new Red Tab phone. Think $870 is too much to pay for mediocre features and winged skull etching? Then you must not know about the metal chain and carrying case packed into the "premium" presentation box along with the phone. Mm-hmm. That's where the extra $800 is.

Via Luxury Launches.

Mydeco: decorate your home without moving your butt

Most British readers will be familiar with entreprenuer Martha Lane Fox, or with her most famous invention at least: super successful holiday site LastMinute.com. Along with Lastminute business partner Brent Hoberman, Oxford-educated Lane Fox has launched a new interior design site called MyDeco (tagline: "Wipe your feet and come on in") -- and it looks like being just as big.

The site is beautifully designed (I literally said "Ohhh!" when I saw it) and like many homeware sites, showcases an exciting array of furniture from the unique to the practical. But the site offers something different, too: the chance to make changes to your home from the comfort of your chair.

Keep things cool: Attaché Laptop Stand

We don’t all have gignormous LCD screens at home, and many of us spend too many hours hunched over our tiny, tiny laptops. Newly added to LapWorks' already wonderful line of products is the Attaché Laptop Stand. It features four different height settings, making it the perfect companion for your family or for when you have a pain in your neck.

Additionally, Attaché has a heat-dissipating concave aluminum faceplate, and two virtually silent built-in cooling fans powered from your laptop’s USB port, four-port USB 2.0 hub, so you can run multiple devices connected to your laptop at once - printer, iPod, PDA, digital camera, etc.

Your chiropractor would be proud of this smart little laptop companion, and your laptop will likely love you more for keeping things cool.

Other-worldly Room Palette Skyrium

How do you get away from it all without 1) time or money to take you far, far away, 2) a Holodeck, or 3) psychadelic drugs? Maybe by surrounding yourself with mood lighting created with this Room Palette Skyrium from Banpresto RelaxStyle line of products. Nine different LED color lights move through a diffuser to project different lighting themes onto walls and ceilings - like "Aurora" and "Resort Ocean."

Scheduled for release in April - no information on pricing yet, but the original Room Palette sells for $69 at Japan Trend Shop.

Via Trends in Japan.

Livingstones rock cushions

Hmm. Unless you want Child Protective Services knocking on your door, don't hang a picture of your kids sleeping on these Livingstones floor cushions in your office. Few will believe that these realistic-looking stones are actually made of 100% virgin wool and are filled with hypoallergenic polysilicone fiber.

They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors and are available directly from smarindesign, where you can also obtain a price list. If you can keep CPS at bay until then, the Livingstones should be delivered within about four weeks of placing your order.

Via GEARFUSE.

Ballpoint pen utensil concepts

Has anyone else heard that the average office desk is actually dirtier and more bacteria-ridden than an average toilet? I can't remember where I read about this, but I swear the gist of the article was that germaphobes would be better off having a toilet-seat picnic than skipping the lunchroom and eating at their desk.

True or not, the Italian designers behind this set of "din-ink" concept pens obviously didn't hear about it. Otherwise they would never have thought to encourage eating while signing those contracts or putting last-minute touches on that report at work.

They also seem to have forgotten about all those people who chew on their pen caps. How'd you like to get jabbed in the lip with a fork tine or sliced by the jagged blade of a knife while taking a thoughtful pause in the middle of penning the Great American Novel?

Via GEARFUSE.

Motorcycle-inspired pizza cutters

If innovation in pizza cutter creation ever hits the mainstream, artist Frankie Flood will be the first to know. His exhibition at the Museum of Wisconsin Art, which includes five pizza cutters resembling motorcycles and bearing funky names like Psycho Pizza Cadillac, has garnered well deserved attention for their ability to show that "even the most utilitarian object has strong artistic value."

I wonder if those wheels could manage the deep and gooey terrain of a Chicago deep dish?

Via OhGizmo!

Play the data storage game with Domino flash drives

Looking at all the (sometimes frightful) innovation that is happening in the world of flash drives, I am reminded of the period when I bought my first pen drive - a 256MB, bulky-by-today's-standards USB stick for which I had to part with a princely sum of $100. The intense joy that I experienced for being the only one at my workplace to have a pen drive is indescribable. That was simply ages ago. Look around now and there are numerous drives available, and at dirt cheap prices too. And the focus is not only on how big your capacity is, but also on how unique your drive design is. Fortune cookies, Star Wars Mimobots, Frosted Donuts, they are all there for you to pick and choose from.

Add to that this latest design concept from Marcos Breder - a 2-part USB drive that looks like a domino. You open up the two halves of the domino piece and you get 2 separate USB drives. The best part of this rather clever design is that the dots on the domino visually indicate how much of the drive is still available for storage - when all the dots are white, the drive is full, when the all dots are black, the drive is empty. Pretty impressive, and looks like child's play.

Via OhGizmo.

CityCar paves the way for smart parking

Trust a group of engineers at MIT to come up with a one-of-a-kind solution to the ubiquitous problem of parking congestion in urban areas – the smart CityCar. No, it's not just another "smart" car - the two-passenger CityCar is foldable, stackable and 360-degrees rotatable! And if that weren’t enough, being an electric car, it's non-polluting as well.

The idea behind the CityCar is to create a network of stackable cars at key points (such as near subway stations and buslines) within a city so that one can just rent out a car from the stacked pool for immediate use. In other words, the cars would be stacked one after the other, much like the shopping carts at a grocery store. All you would have to do is rent out a car (presumably the first one) from the stack, and once you're done with it, stack it again at the nearest available point. Cool, huh?

I think the CityCar would be an ingenious way to encourage people to use public transportation. Not to mention, the extra thrust this will give to the electric vehicle revolution if it ever becomes reality.

Via TechEBlog. Image courtesy CNET News.

Floppy disks for your CD drive

Here's something to momentarily baffle and then probably enrage Nick Burns (your company's computer guy).

They're 200MB mini CD-Rs disguised as standard 3.5-inch floppy disks, and they're sure to cause an entertaining freakout and/or meltdown when the Nick Burns at your workplace jumps across your desk to stop the tray from going into the computer. Ah, good times.

Available from designboom for $10 plus $4 shipping each. Hmm. I guess Nick gets the last laugh after all.

Via iliketotallyloveit.

belOga sewing machine

Unfortunately, the belOga Sewing Machine is another great product designed by a student (Kristine Brückner), which is not available . . . yet. Too bad because looking at this sewing machine makes me want to go all Project Runway and start producing a clothing line of my own.

This very modern looking sewing machine is designed to make sewing fun and easy. All the controls can be accessed through the big circular touch-screen at the top and you can preview what the stitch is going to look like on the centre display before starting to sew. belOga has been designed to conduct the thread of any laid in spool automatically through the machine, leaving you with just the task of inserting the thread through the needle. Two little lenses at the side of the body allow you to peak into the insides of belOga and satisfy your curiosity.

Kristine Brückner graduated in industrial design from the University of Applied Sciences in Munich.

Via Core77.

ZO Design

The top of this table can be flipped to reveal a new surface with incorporated candleholders; once you don’t need the candlelight any longer, you can just flip it back to its smooth surface. The project caught my attention since I recently became candle-obsessed again. I always liked how the wax finds its way out of the candleholder and gives character to the plain surface of a wooden table, but was always held back for fear of ruining it. The 180 table is perfect if you like to roughen up your table a little bit without feeling guilty about it.

Available for € 1095,- directly on ZO’s site.