Switch Glasses

Prescription lenses are expensive so it’s not often we can afford more than a single pair. Unfortunately that means being tethered to one frame style. Switch Glasses gives you at least two options to fit your mood and lifestyle. The design adds pivots and hinges to the arms and lens of a pair of glasses. By flipping them around, you can take advantage of two different frame colors. Maybe one for work and a funkier one for a night out. (source : via mail)

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Mobile with Thumb Drives

Sony Ericsson Plays Nice With Thumb Drives -

(source : via mail)

You know, industrial designers seem to love conceptualizing what future Sony Ericsson mobiles will look like. Designer Vincent Palicki is just one of many but his design actually looks like it could be made today and fit right in with the SE family.

It’s a slim candy bar style phone complete with a big screen, standard SE key layout but touched up with stainless steel buttons. Yes it’ll do music, movies, text, email, blah blah and blah so where’s the innovation here? It would be the full size USB port, perfect for any thumb drive. Of course it’s not meant to have a “sore thumb” sticking out at all times, but it’s a way to transfer files like music, videos, and pictures to and from without the need of a computer.

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Stairs Stretcher

Caterpillar Stretcher Scoffs At Stairs
by: Morten Wagener

Caterpillar stretcher unit provides ergonomic and time saving transportation. 80% of patients being moved to the hospital by ambulance are not acute cases. They are conscious and aware of what is happening. However carrying a stretcher downstairs, with a 100-kilo person is not a pleasant experience for a patient or the paramedics. The patients feel insecure, and often in panic reacting by grabbing the stair railing which can result in a fall for all three involved, especially as they are often carried downstairs in a backwards position. Because it takes two paramedics to carry out this task, they must make extra trips up and down to fetch equipment and the patient’s belongings. With the Caterpillar Scoop it’s possible for one paramedic to move a patient downstairs, the second paramedic can carry the equipment.

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Ultra Eraser

Its Not Just An Eraser, It’s Ultraser -
By : Jaehyung Hong

Dry erase boards are fun and I’m not just talking about sniffing markers. I’m talking about writing anything you want without getting your hands all chalky and erasing it whenever you want. Problem is those rectangular dry erasers aren’t exactly ergonomic, especially when you have a huge board to clean. That’s where the Ultraser steps in.

Truth be told, it’s just a plastic disc with a nice big handle. You slip the dry eraser underneath and have at it. I’m not sure how this design makes an eraser “ultra” but hey, if it keeps my hands from getting hurt, I’ll try one.

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Laptop Into a Desktop

Making That Notebook Into A Desktop
By: Yong-Seong Kim

(Source : via mail)

The whole idea of notebook docks was interesting 10+ years ago when we had to be frugal with our I/O ports and live with subpar LCD screens. Now that notebooks have pretty much caught up with desktops, do we really need another docking solution? According to designer Yong-Seong Kim, we do.

His go-anywhere desktop docking solution calls for a large slot behind the LCD display. This is where you slide your notebook in, allowing you to access all its information from a desktop form factor. The notebook’s screen also becomes your second display, in portrait mode of course. It’s an interesting concept but somehow, this makes as much sense as the Palm Folio.

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Magnolia Stadium

Mitsuru’s Magnolia Stadium

For the Master Tennis Cup this year in Shanghai, the plan is to make it the most spectacular event ever in its history. Architect Mitsuru Senda vowed to work for three consecutive years on this marvelous construction for the 2007 Master Cup.

The awesome construction was designed with a moveable Magnolia top – known as the typical flower of Shanghai. The structure is 40 meters high, and with an area of 30.649m2. With the capacity to hold close to 15,000 people, it is sure to please the eyes of all the participants inside the stadium.

Although the stadium is quite massive in and of itself, the most impressive feature of the construction is the floral design that contains the 8 “petals” of the Magnolia top which open and close within an 8 minute time span.

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Folding Bicycle

‘One’ - Folding Bicycle -

By: Thomas Owen

‘One’ provides a real solution to the problems involved with urban transport. With congestion rapidly clogging up the roads the need for products that can free individuals from their car are in real demand. When open, ‘One’ is a comfortable stylish bicycle that not only offers all the benefits of cycling (like cheap travel and exercise) but with its revolutionary power assist system the user can cruise around with ease. When folded, ‘One’ turns into a smooth, light and compact case free of all dirty and protruding parts. ‘One’ can be easily carried, stowed and stored. ‘One’ is truly a bike for eco and money minded individuals alike. Its stylish design strips it from the folding bike stigma and makes it a bike for the 21st century.

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Mp3 Pocket Player

Trouser Pocket Mp3 Player -

Pocket MP3 Player
by Matthias Lange

Matthias Lange created the Mp3 Pocket Player, designed to be comfortably used while worn in the trouser pocket. Due to the curved shape all relevant controls and the display are visible, no matter if the user is sitting or walking.

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True Mountain Bike

Transform Your Mountain Bike Into An All-Terrain Terror With Ktrak Kit -

True mountain bikers usually do not want to change their bikes for a more genteel attack on the slopes- enter a new rear-track system mod from Ktrak that might give them a rad new option.

Released about a month ago after being in the works for five years, and just in time for the 07/08 Winter Season, the Ktrak rear-track provides about 25 times the traction and flotation of the average mountain bike wheel. Ktrak also gives you the option to attach a ski to the front of a bike for last-minute cross-country trips through the snow.

According to Ktrak, it’s supposed to be super easy to add the kit to any bike if you have a quick release on the ankle. If you don’t, a simple wrench action will be enough, or you can take it to the nearest shop for the tire removal. The only other requirements: a rear wheel and a seat post in your bike (duh).

It comes with a six-bolt pattern that matches 6” or 8” disk brakes, and the current 26” version is now available for $419, with 20” and 24” models due in the next year. The 20” will be priced for the kid’s market. The separate front ski kit costs $119. Overall, the price is steep when you think about the fact that you're only paying for the kit (you provide the bike). The rig price should come down not long after its release; if not, it might risk staying as a plaything for rich dudes, and since there are plenty of those, it might not matter.

The kit is designed for use in soft terrain that will give way, including fresh/groomed/packed snow, sand, and even mud. Since it needs to skid the grid to turn, it could also run on other very flat, clean surfaces, like say, a basketball court, though it would likely cause damage to both the court and the kit. In addition, the weight change between an old wheel and the kit is only about 5 lbs., which isn’t substantial.

In order to buy the Ktrack kit, go their website and click on the Dealers’ section of the site. It’s currently available in Australia, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, the U.S., Canada, and Germany.

Ktrack’s kit was first introduced about a year ago, but was finally completed for the Eurobike show in Germany a couple of months ago – we’ll try to get one in to the Gadget Lab for some real world testing.

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Super Skates

Inline Super Skates -

Inline skating has its merits as a true competitive sport but what’s the next step? What’s the next level? Designer Tay Kian Khuan believes it’s his 720 Skates. Designed for pro competitions, they may look like any other inline skates but the wheels are set on independently rotating gears instead of an inline track. With this added feature, the skater gains the ability to spin 360º in place and skate sideways. Now you can imagine the kind of tricks one could pull off in these.

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Amazing Partition System

Eclipse Office Partition Stystem -

We all have it, what people call the “personal space” or “zone” - the area around us that if impeded on makes us uncomfortable. The Eclipse Office Partitioning System was developed to address the issue of privacy and lack there-of in open plan designs seen in workplaces today. Cubicles don’t exactly illicit hard work so Designer Marcus Curran wanted to create something for the not too distant future. A partitioning system that not only looks good but defines and protects our “personal space”.




The workspace includes integrated speakers, a wireless recharging mat for your electronics, and a wireless camera/projector built into the hood for teleconferencing. Another cool thing is that the hood can be lowered and optional contoured furniture can be arranged to fit against the Eclipse system. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go shave and prepare my resume in anticipation of these things.

Video Link

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