August Beginnings

Of inventive thinking and imaginative products.

He led no armies into battle, he conquered no countries, and he enslaved no peoples... Yet, he altered the history and boundaries of mankind forever. Known as "The Wizard of Menlo Park", in his lifetime he patented 1,093 inventions. Among these, the more famous ones are the electric light bulb, the gramophone, the motion picture camera, and the carbon telephone transmitter. His name: Thomas Alva Edison, unarguably the greatest inventor ever born.

He once said, to invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. So since invention is the natural outcome of creative thinking, this week let me try to sniff out some recently launched creative inventions for you.


Nokia Digital Pen SU-1B
Parker, Cello and co., beware. Nokia has taken to manufacturing pens! Haan, but this is no aisa-waisa pen, ok. You use it like a regular ink pen, but this digital instrument records as it writes. Scribbles, sentences, slogans, sketches, or signatures—Nokia’s Digital Pen remembers everything you scrawl on digital paper. When you get back to your desk, stick the pen into its stand, and transfer your scribbles wirelessly to your PC via Bluetooth. You can change the colour and thickness of the pen’s nib output, write text, or doodle pictures, or mix ‘em up; no sweat. If you still can’t get over Nokia getting into pen making, mull this: Once upon a time Sony's used to make rice cookers…
Price: $232.77
www.nokia-asia.com/nokia/0,,48869,00.html


The Onyx Phone
Dreaming of owning a N73 or N93? Maybe you should check out Onyx, a next generation concept phone from Synaptics and Pilotfish that responds to the touch of your cheek. The phone uses an optically clear, capacitive touch screen technology to create a new user interface paradigm. Obviously the input system eliminates the use of mechanical keys. But apart from points and taps, it recognises shapes, complex gestures, and proximity to your finger or face. Thus two-finger taps, closing tasks by making an “X” over them, sending messages by swiping them off the screen, or answering a phone by merely holding it against your cheek add amazing functionalities. Total gadar eh? Except this cheeky business won’t work for me yaar; I have a bhaloo-style (unpruned Sunny Deol) beard…
www.synaptics.com/onyx


USB Air-Conditioned Shirt
The bijli has gone. So you’re sitting soaked in sweat, sweltering and simmering in the sizzling sticky heat, swearing away at the sad state of saadi Sarkar. Smile now Sambha, for some salvation maybe in sight. Slip into this Kouzi Ichigaya invented USB-powered air-conditioned shirt, plug it into your PC’s USB port and just cool off! The two 10cm fans sewn into both sides of the shirt suck fresh air in, vapourise the sweat and heat and bring down your body’s temperature. That’s not all. The fans come with switches and speed regulators. UPS and inverter has packed up? Never mind. Switch to the shirt’s four AA batteries, or your car's lighter socket for power. Kya cool hain hum…


Atech iCarta iPod Dock
This is one “cutting-edge” device from Atech Flash Technology lends a whole new dimension to the expression “rock ‘n roll”. iCarta actually merges an iPod docking station with—you ain’t going to believe this--a loo roll dispenser! So if you regularly spend extended hours in the throne room, you can comfortably listen to your portable music player --sans messy headphone wires--by sticking it into this integrated tissue holder cum stereo dock. The 8.25 x 3.68 x 7.12 inch device has four integrated “high performance” moisture-resistant speakers, requires AC power, and charges your iPod as it plays. How utterly loony!
www.atechflash.com/products-icarta.html