Laser-Cut, RFID-Equipped Paper Radios Tell Your Speakers What to Play [Papercraft]
Designer Matt Brown created these sweet-looking laser-cut paper radios with a twist: They’re equipped with RFID chips that can interact with a speaker to broadcast messages or change the radio to a pre-decided station.
Basically, you can program certain controls or sounds into the paper radio. Say you’re an artist who wants to bring attention to a local college radio station—you program that into the RFID chip, and then when the paper radio is draped on any speaker equipped with an RFID reader, it’ll change the station to the one you picked. Or you can have it broadcast short messages; Matt suggests a particular environmentalist star of 30 Rock might program in warnings to turn off your lights when not in use. It’s a very particular usage, but the radios themselves look so cool that we don’t really care if they’re 100% practical. [MocoLoco]
Posted: October 14th, 2009
at 1:40am by Dan Nosowitz
Topics: Laser-Cut, Paper, Paper radio, Papercraft, RFID, Rfid paper radio, radio
iPhone and iPod touch radio app with iTunes store integration on the horizon?
We know what you’re thinking, how dare that new iPod nano have features your premium iPhone and iPod touch handhelds don’t? Well, if this 9 to 5 Mac rumor has any merit, Apple is right there with you and has a solution in the works. According to said whispers, a Radio app is in the works to capitalize on the recent models’ latent FM tuner. It’ll either be standalone or integrated into the iPod app, and either way it’ll be able to work in the background while you browse other, not so fortunate apps. The apparent cause for delay is work on a feature that’ll identify the songs and link you to the appropriate iTunes page for purchase. As always, this is just a rumor, so do yourself a favor and try not to dwell on it too much, k?
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio
iPhone and iPod touch radio app with iTunes store integration on the horizon? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Rumor: Apple Unlocking iPhone and iPod Touch’s Latent FM Powers With Radio App [Rumor]
9to5Mac hears that the iPhone and iPod touch are getting a radio app like the nano’s that’ll be able play FM radio in the background. It’ll be integrated with the iTunes store, supposedly, so you can buy songs you like.
The hardware capability for FM radio does exists in some models—the current iPod touch and iPhone 3GS have FM transmitters, and the 2nd-gen iPod touch also has a chip that’s capable of receiving FM signals, though it uses it for Nike+ stuff (so if there is a radio app, maybe it’ll just be for current-gen models).
It’d make sense to add more software parity across the line, but who knows—no date given for when we might actually see this FM radio app. [9to5Mac}
Posted: October 13th, 2009
at 3:25pm by matt buchanan
Topics: Apple, FM radio, Fm, iPhone, iPod Nano, iphone 3gs, ipod touch, radio, rumor
Many Hues Of Songs
What is life without color and what is design without innovation? Addressing the two is the Hélio DAB Radio. The design uses colorful solar Grätzel panels that are transparent and add a bit of psychedelic creativity to the room. The Grätzel solar panels get their color from vegetal ink, upping the green quotient. The LED panel and Speakers compliment the radio and are in sync with the form. It’s the sort of thing we would love to bring home!
A short text about The Grätzel technology:
“A new generation of solar cells has been born: thin, colored, translucent and even flexible. The source of this revolution is EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), where Professor Michael Graetzel, inspired by plant photosynthesis, began to use molecules from colorants to transform the sun’s light into electricity. His work drew heavy praise from the scientific community, resulting in a World Technology Award. While many other technological developments have followed, designers need to take advantage of the extraordinary potential of these “dye-sensitized” solar cells.”
Designer: Léa Longis
Photographic Credits: Véronique Hughe.
Posted: October 9th, 2009
at 7:11am by Radhika Seth
Topics: DAB, Hélio, Léa Longis, Panels, Product Design, Solar, Technology, color, radio
Yamaha kicks out TSX-W80, TSX-70 iPod docks / clock radios
It may not go to eleven, but Yamaha’s new TSX-W80 iPod dock at least pack some knobs that you’ll no doubt be tempted to turn all the way up, and just the right blend of retro good looks and newfangled technology to stand out in a crowded field. That includes a so-called AirWired cradle that’ll let you use your iPod or iPhone as a remote, a dock on the main unit itself to charge your iPod, and a choice of three different colors (with matching LED displays) to suit your style. Those looking for something a bit more simple and less eye-catching can also opt for Yamaha’s new TSX-70 model (pictured after the break), which drops the AirWired controller but hangs onto the standard iPod dock and all the basic clock radio functionality you’d expect. No word on a release over here just yet, but it looks like both should be available in Japan shortly.
[Via Akihabara News]
Continue reading Yamaha kicks out TSX-W80, TSX-70 iPod docks / clock radios
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Yamaha kicks out TSX-W80, TSX-70 iPod docks / clock radios originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted: October 8th, 2009
at 1:39pm by Donald Melanson
Topics: ClockRadio, IpodDock, YamahaTsx-70, YamahaTsx-w80, airwired, clock radio, ipod dock, radio, tsx-70, tsx-w80, yamaha, yamaha tsx-70, yamaha tsx-w80
