iriver's newest dedicated PMP is something to behold. A shiny black (with gold accents!) version of its no doubt beloved Hello Kitty player, this newest addition is all about its looks. The little player comes in 2GB and 4GB storage varieties, comes with a USB cable, ear buds, and a cute little lanyard for attaching it to things like your beltloop. The cases they make for the Hello Kitty PMP -- such as the red devil horns -- essentially sell themselves. They're going on sale just in time for the holidays and the new year -- but this one's a Japan-only release for the time being.

If you're the type of guy that needs more speakers in his headphones than most people have in their home theater setups, Ultimate Ears 18 Pro Custom Monitors ($1,350) are for you. These custom-made earphones sport an absurd six individually tuned drivers in each ear, providing the most life-like sound possible, as well as four-way crossovers, triple-sound channels, a newly-developed low-distortion cable, -26 dB of noise isolation, a fancy, customized aluminum carrying case, and more.

Tokyo-based Flower Robotics teamed up with mobile phone magnate KDDI to produce the Polaris, an automated mobile phone/robot system designed to learn a user’s behavior and communicate relevant information via television. The Polaris uses a KDDI handset and acts as a rolling docking station that charges the phone. When a user approaches the Polaris, it opens to accept the handset, then rolls toward a contactless charger connected to the television. The device records and analyzes trends in a user’s behavior including daily travel, calls and emails sent and received, and online transactions. After collecting sufficient data, the Polaris predicts a user’s behavior and offers relevant advice and information.

The Polaris is one of several products in KDDI’s “iida” line, and is being further developed to gain autonomy. A commercial version is expected next year.

With E-Readers gaining in popularity every year, it was only a matter of time before magazines got their digital treatment. Swedish technology company Bonnier has unveiled it’s prototype e-mag reader dubbed the Mag+. The Bonnier philosophy focuses on creating an authentic magazine experience. Aiming to make the digital experience as close to the real thing as possible.

The Mag+ functions mostly as you would expect, but adds some new bells and whistles. A minimalist heads up display monitors the readers progress in percent. Page changes can be achieved with a horizontal swipe while a vertical swipe will allow you to follow text down the page. Focus switches between images and words with hand gestures. Tap a photograph and the text will dissolve away allowing you unrestricted access to the image. Tap a region of text and the image will lose focus allowing the reader to concentrate on the article.

The most interesting feature to make it into the Mag+ is the context menu. Rub your finger back and forth anyplace on the screen surface and every page element will become selectable. Tap any region of text or image to reveal a radial context menu. The context menu allows for upload to the web, email, and various other internet destinations.

 

  

When it comes to decorating for the holidays, you are a fa-la-la fanatic. Your halls are decked and your lights are so bright that even the Griswolds would be jealous. Now you can make your office feel even more like home during the holidays with our USB LED Lights! And pssst, if you're like us, leave them up year round and make everyday feel like the holiday season.

Just plug your USB LED Light string into an available USB port and watch them glow. Send them to your kids so they can spruce up their dorm room or set the mood around your home computer… and with a USB hub there are endless colorful light possibilities!

Each string includes 18 super bright LED lights over 6.5 feet of string with 3.5 additional feet of leed.

Choose your favorite string: Red, Blue, Green, White, or Red & Green Combo

Rewind your dangling cords, cables, and wires! Old school meets new school with REW! It's a cool homage to the old Walkman era, when it was all about the cassette. These days things are better, except for those dangling earphone wires.

Colors vary. Measures approx. 2 inches wide x 1.5 inches tall.

The Pentax K-x was announced last month, and it seems to be a very decent entry-level camera. We already reported the device will be available in a few different colors in Japan, while the US only gets black, white, and red models. And today Pentax said in Tokyo [JP], they are ready to roll out a very special version of the K-x, which is a particularly colorful model inspired by the so-called Kore Ja Nai robo toy [JP].

The robot was introduced in Japan in 2001 and is available in different variations (the one you see in the pic above is a cell phone strap). Spec-wise, the K-x isn’t any different from the conventional models so the design is the main selling point

This watch concept by Designby8 may be a bit too complex to ever see production, but we’d be thrilled to see one of these in real life. The Artime Watch features a grid-style display with small metal tiles that pop with each second and move to expose a central digital readout. The video above shows the watch in action, and while the concept is promising you can see the mechanical difficulties of creating such a system.

Some may perceive this clock as a dart board design, others as the symbol against breast cancer, either way Target Clock by British designer Simon Lumb definitely drew our attention! Lumb who is a British designer based near Munich in Germany has been working on this project for the past two years. The project is basically a development that started out as a graphical reduction of the traditional clock hand motif. Throughout his creative graphical reduction procedure Lumb was later led to the idea of two interlocking color discs. The boundaries of the colors indicate the hand positions, therefore making it easy to read the time while viewing the target. This extremely minimalist design uses the outlines of an ever changing bar of light to represent the minute and hour hands. This wall clock has an innovative and clever design that goes well in every contemporary house or office!

Pentax has announced an entry-level digital SLR, the K-x which will be available in a few dazzling colors. The camera will feature HD video, a 12.4 megapixel CMOS sensor and a “Live View” function. The K-x will be able to capture widescreen HD 720p video and 24fps and 2.7 inch LCD with autofocus. Due out in October in black, white, red and navy blue.

Running off of 4 AAA batteries, the Animated LED Emoticon T-Shirt lets everyone know how you’re feeling today.

Mix and scratch your computer music library with DISCOVER DJ. Load the included MixVibes software, plug in DISCOVER DJ, and you're ready to be a star DJ. DISCOVER DJ works with all of your MP3s and other music on your computer. Mix tracks with the DJ crossfader, scratch, EQ, and even do more advanced DJ effects like pitching up and down! DISCOVER DJ is easy to use and is the perfect way to learn how to DJ even if you've never done it before.

Design firm AWARE built this neat clock concept that plots your energy usage over the course of the day. The qualitative radial display allows one to quickly see what times you use the most energy. They don't appear to have released a product.

Central to some techophile’s belief that technology will be the great equalizer, level the playing field in areas that were once reserved to a privileged few. This is true in the case of FingerBeat, a new Apple iPhone App (and iPod Touch App) from The Elionze Group. More than just an “expensive toy”, FingerBeat is essentially a portable sound studio, with Sequencer, drum machine, keyboard, sampler and mixer all roll into one. It is ideal for those who wants jut down a brief inspiration or test out combination of rhythm and lyrics. It may not have all the functions as in a recording studio. However, FingerBeat does provide enough for any inspiring artists to crank out their demo CDs for just $3.99.

If Apple happened to design musical instruments along with their gadgets, their piano creation might look something like this. The completely fictional iPiano features built-in musical score reading software which allows you to read compositions right from a built-in touch screen. Slide your finger to move on to the next page of music.

Exclusive pictures of the new SUPERDEUX project called AUTO, to be released later this year thru ARTOYZ ORIGINALS. There is a USB Key inside the GhettoBlaster, but it’s not AUTO itself. Be patient and you will know soon enough what we are working on.

The venerable Italian brand Brionvega thinks the 60s and 70s are worth bringing back, or that at least some of the design sensibilities of the era warrant new life. The classic, groundbreaking Radiofonografio, divined in 1965 by two of the three Castiglioni brothers, Pier Giacomo and Achille, is making a new entrance as RR226. In 1965, the “musical component robot” was a home electronic marvel that in one sleekly designed device included a radio, amplifiers and a record player (for both 45s and 33s). The modernized model has also a CD and DVD players but otherwise it is as close as possible to the original. The amplifiers are moveable which makes it possible to create different configurations both for visual and listening pleasure. Showcased at the Salone del Mobile in Milan in April, RR226 may be a while coming to a store near you. But like so many of the Castiglioni brothers’ objects, still produced and/or displayed by Zanotta, Flos, Artemide and MoMA, the Radiofonografio is most likely going to stay with us for yet another long period.

Although the blind will not be able to appreciate the simplistic style of Feel the Time, the practical approach of the design will be well received. The watch face features rotating discs with a tangible nub on each. Feeling the nub helps the blind read the time. Three-dimensional rings distinguish the discs from each other and a flexible membrane protects the face of the watch. A break at the 12’O Clock position acts as the guide for feeling the time accurately. Sight or no sight, the watch will look neat on any wrist.

Designer: Anna Bieniek

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I found these pics of a helicopter online, I'm not sure if will actually be built or just an idea. Whatever it is, it's super crazy!

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LaCie's USB Keys are what every thumbdrive should be, a convenient and sturdy metal USB drive that is built just like a conventional key and can be hooked onto your key ring. The keys are available in sizes ranging from 4 to 8GBs or use any microSD card of any size with the PassKey and its integrated microSD reader. They also feature Gold SIP technology which protects the connectors from water and scratches. Link: $10-$28

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Our friend Mr. Blurrycam was right on the money: OpenPeak's OpenFrame 7-inch MID touchscreen is on its way to the UK care of O2, albeit with a rather odd name change. The Joggler, as it's now called, connects via WiFi or Ethernet and has no SIM card for mobile use. In addition to the standard lot of apps -- news, weather, sports, media player, etc. -- its calendar can send out SMS reminders to other phones. Interestingly, though not apparently available at launch, it'll be able to send up to 50 free text messages to any UK-based phone, as well as receive an undisclosed number of messages. It's on track for an April release for £149.99 ($220), or free if you decide to pick this up instead of a handset when upgrading your plan.