Noro No-Drip Lip Keeps Sticky Spills Off the Table

Gooey substances such as syrup and olive oil spill all over the place with their containers' drippy lips, but not if they're dispensed from the no-drip two-lip pouring system from a Barcelona designer who calls himself Noro. It's about time somebody designed one of these drip-free decanters for viscous and edible liquids, because we've seen a similar technique in containers of liquid laundry detergent for years. Check out the gallery for the beautiful bottle designs associated with Noro's design concept. [Behance Network] More »

328-Foot RAM Wing 100 Yacht Zips Along at 100 Knots

Is this RAM Wing 100 yacht by Levi Designs a catamaran or a monohull? It's both, starting out in front is a catamaran and ending up as a monohull in the stern. The most remarkable aspect of this design concept is its tremendous speed, 100 knots with a range of 2000 nautical miles. That's not bad for a giant 328-foot boat that'll have a submarine, twin helipads, a motorcycle/car garage and swimming pool on board. It gets its speed from halfway flying, skimming the waves because of the lift from its catamaran bow. Gorgeous, but will it ever be built? [Luxury Catamaran, via Born Rich] More »

Kiss Phone Opens Up New Frontier of Teledildonic Possibilities

In the mad scramble to invent teledildonics devices, an inventor has created a forerunner of the category with the Kiss Phone. Although we're wondering who would want to be seen in public with this odd-looking phone with its downturned mouth that reminds us of all manner of masturbatory mechanisms, its inventor apparently has high hopes for the design concept. Let's let him explain it:

"This KissPhone detects percussion speed, pressure, temperature, and sucking force of the lips, when you kiss it. An artificial mouth on the phone can reproduces same parameters to the kissphone receptor."

So now you can send and receive kisses from a distance, and even record your favorites for repeated playback. Anything you can do with data, you can now do with a kiss. Imagine that. Wonder what else the Kiss Phone feels like kissing. [Pro Invention]

Bluetooth Lanyard Keeps Cables at Bay, Stores Earphones

Are your earphone cables always in auto-tangle mode? Here's a good idea from designer Jaehyung Hong: a Bluetooth lanyard with transport controls on board, letting you control your MP3 player while you're listening, and then store your earphones in its handy slot when you're not. Roll those messy cables up inside the device, keeping that spaghetti bowl of wires from tangling up so much. Neat. [Yanko Design]

Super Inline 720 Skates Let SK8Rz Go Sideways and Spin

Before hell freezes over, let's try a bit of in-line skating, but these skates offer more than that. Strap on a pair of Kian Khuan's 720 inline skates, and a whole new dimension is laid out before us, because these super inline skates not only go forward and backward like any others, but can also spin 360 degrees in place and even roll sideways. Try that with a pair of ice skates. Since these 720s aren't for sale yet, we may have to wait for the spring thaw before we bang up our knees and elbows with them. Forget kneepads, make that Master Chief's suit of armor. [Yanko Design] More »

Disappearing Wall Stairs Should Be In Every Millionaire's Home

Aaron Tang's wall stairs are meant for living areas that are short on space, but they're so awesome that I'd want them even if I had 1,000,000 sq. ft. house. They work by having the frame of the stairs slide out from the wall, powered by hydraulic pistons, and having the stair planks fold over the frame one at a time. When finished, the stair frame slides back in the wall and the planks stand straight up, flush against the wall. Imagine, next time you're at a mansion/estate/castle party, you walk into the foyer to find no stairs at all. Then the owner hits a button on a remote and stairs appear from the wall. I'm pretty sure your mind would be blown. [Aaron Tang via Architechnophilia via TreeHugger]

Multibook is a Lamp, Charger and Alarm Clock, Disguised As an Ordinary Book

The Multibook by Italianos Dante Donegani and Giovanni Lauda offers three conveniences in one handsome package that looks a whole lot like a book. From the angle of the Multibook's spine, it appears to be a conventional alarm clock, displaying the date and time. Behind a diffuser (situated where the book's pages would be) are 74 LEDs that emit soft light. Open the book and inside are three sockets into which you can plug your chargers and hide away cellphones or media players along with all their attendant wires. Find a way to hide the AC cable leading to it, and this could be a great way to remove clutter from your desk or bedside table. It's $217, but only available in Euro-style 220-volt configuration so far. [Rotaliana, via Technabob] More »

Memo Pad Phone Incorporates Message-Taking Paper

About the only time we use pen and paper around here is to take phone messages, and this Memo Pad Phone accommodates that situation with aplomb. At first we thought this design concept involved some kind of fancy electronic paper, but no, it has a special memo pad that's cut out to fit around the telephone's keypad. More »

Strato Cruiser Airship, Floating Along Without Wings or Reality

The rich are different from you and me, so maybe they'll have time to ride in this Strato Cruiser Airship, sitting back and getting pedicures while this helium-lifted carbon fiber blimp lumbers along. The design concept calls for spectacular restaurants inside staffed by star chefs, a spa, private suites, office space, a swimming pool and even a resident DJ. If this all gets too boring for you, the designers also plan to install a bungee-jumping platform. Check out the magnificent set of renderings in the gallery below, but don't start thinking about booking tickets just yet—there's no indication of when or if this fantasy ship, created by art directors Tino Schaedler and Michael J Brown, will ever be built. [Born Rich] More »

Punch the !ighting Turns Frustration Into Illumination

Here's a design concept by Jin-Sook Kim lets you take out your frustrations while attempting to illuminate your environment. That's because this Punch the !ighting device makes you beat the shit out of it before it'll give up even the slightest bit of light. It must be a satisfying feeling, though, to see an actual positive result of violence, a rare occurrence. Take the jump for a close-up action shot. More »

Art.Lebedev Shows Pultius, the Crazy Zillion-Button Remote

At first we were wondering if the Art.Lebedev Studio was kidding with this design concept for a remote control. Named Pultius, this 20-inch-long clicker solves a problem of designing "a remote control with as many buttons as there are channels on TV." We weren't aware that was an actual problem, but if such a solution were actually needed, this is about the most beautiful way to accomplish that we can imagine. Whatever happened to "less is more?" Take a look at a couple of closeups of the remote, after the jump. More »

Capsuli Emergency Solar-Charged LED Lights in a Pass-Around Pack

Park these Capsuli rechargeable LED emergency lights on their miniature solar-powered charging station, and when havoc strikes and all the lights go out, you can pass these around to all the occupants of your darkened abode. A quick twist turns on the LED inside, giving you just enough light to keep from stumbling all over yourself. When you're not using them, they look kind of pretty in their little parking lot that might be a decorative addition to an empty windowsill. [Yanko Design]

Unique Cellphone Techno-Demoed at CEATEC 2007

At first glance, there's nothing special about this cellphone just demonstrated at CEATEC Japan 2007, but upon closer inspection you'll notice that the keyboard uses electronic ink (e-ink) SiPix electrophoretic technology, a type of e-paper that's capable of changing the display on each alphanumeric key whenever the spirit moves you. Just hit a Shift key and you can see an entirely different set of characters, similar to that possibly-forthcoming Optimus Maximus keyboard by Art.Lebedev. That concept will have major advantages for a cellphone. More »

Respect The Old School Cane, For Punk Kid Smackdowns

Some of us old cane-carrying codgers don't get no respect, we don't get no respect at all. That's why we need this cane with a RESPECT stamp on the business end, leaving a mark on those punk whippersnappers who want to disrespect us with their "rap music" and hepcat attitudes. Well sir, those days are gone, yessiree, because some enterprising young designer has created this Respect the Old School cane. As soon as its curmudgeonly carrier (who hasn't learned yet that respect can't be commanded, it must be earned) wants to stamp down those who don't bow at his feet, all he needs to do is take the self-inking cover off the bottom of this cane and get to stamping. Seems like an innovative design concept. [Glueglue Design, via Notcot] More »

Barricade Tape Design Reassures You: Everything Is OK, Really

Not that this is some kind of genius design or anything, but wouldn't it be nice to walk up to a horrific crime scene in see this "everything is ok" barricade tape strung all over the place? Wouldn't it make you feel much better about all the blood, guts and mayhem you just directly witnessed? Created by San Francisco design firm MINE, the tape's up for a People's Design Award, part of the California Design Biennial 2007, going now until September 30th in Pasadena. Vote for your favorite at the following website: [People's Design Awards]

Portable DVD Player with Sexy-Flexy Display Transforms Into Mini-Theater

Here's a wild-ass looking portable DVD player (PDP) that reminds us a lot of that player we showed you last month that looks like a butterfly knife. This concept takes that design a few years into the future, looking like it's about the size and unpocketable shape of that crazy iPhone clone Intel was flaunting the other day. Like a Transformer, it twists around and gives you a turntable on which to spin the DVD while you unravel its sexy flexible OLED screen to feast your eyes. More »

Home Theater Screen Disguised as a Bookshelf

Now, here's a great idea: Why not disguise a projection screen as a bookshelf, and then place a few other identical-looking shelves nearby as decoys? That's just what Italian designer Matteo Ragni has dreamed up here, trying to cross that bridge between a dedicated home theater room and a multi-use space that might double as a reading room, too. The only problem we see? If this is going to be a big enough screen, it's going to amount to one tremendously long shelf. This example is 170 centimeters, or 66.9 inches wide. That's not going to give you much of a big-screen experience. [Livit (Italian), via Red Ferret]

Memory Infinite, a Chain of Drives USB

Here's a design concept for a potentially infinite string of USB drives. The snake-like, flexible design is called Memory Infinite. As you daisy chain one to the next, their storage capacity increases; keep adding drives until you have neither more nor less than is required. String together enough of them and you have yourself a necklace made of multicolored bellows-like links. Plug it in, plug it in, and so on and so on. [Yanko Design]

Project E Takes Twitter-like Idea Into Meatspace

Who needs Twitter when you have E, this electronic device that senses how you feel at any given moment, and communicates that to other people who buy into this electronic nervous system? Simply pick up E, gesture how you feel, and it lets everyone else in on your secret. On the right in the pic above is Exo, and it knows when you've entered the room, and if you pick it up and pet it, it tells your friends you're happy, and if you shake it, it tells your friends you're mad. There's also a variety of status icons you can choose by tilting it forward or backward. That's just the beginning of the system, though. More »

Triops Camera Takes Panoramic Shots, Reacts to Sound and Motion

This Triops Camera may not be the best device ever invented for family portraits, but with its three lenses and sound-activated trigger, it might be able to snag some of the weirdest-looking photos you've ever seen. Made specifically for shooting panoramas and odd shot sequences, apparently you can slam the sucker into the wall and it will release its shutter. Plus, its three lenses are situated in such a way that one click immediately gets you enough shots to put together a 360° photo. More »

LEDs Hidden in Corks Light Up Booze Bottles to Eerie Effect

Lighting designers' minds must be turning toward boozing it up lately (joining those of your humble narrators), because this is the second time in as many days we've noticed special lighting devices that somehow illuminate containers full of alcoholic beverages. This clever idea involves a battery-operated LED, nestled within a cork that takes its place atop a bottle of the colorful beverage of your choice. Notice the whimsical effect when a group of those bottles are all lit up from above like that. Now, that's a design concept we like. [Yanko Design]

360-Degree Speakers Pump Out Sweet Sounds from Anywhere in the Room

Here's a wild idea for a design concept: put together a speaker with 12 sides, otherwise known as a dodecahedron, and you'll get a 360-degree blast of music. These spacey-looking Quasar speakers send their sound all over the place, so no matter where you are in the room, their sweet audio will be spilling out from within their crystalline confines, heading right for your ears. More »

Tilting Vase Lets You Know When It Needs Water

If you have trouble remembering when to water your plants, you might be interested in this self-tilting vase design concept that gets horizontal when its plant gets thirsty. Once it's properly hydrated, this pewter container stands up—albeit at a somewhat tilted angle—held up by the weight of the water within. Simple, yet elegant. [Yanko Design]

Link Mugs Let You Carry Six Cups at a Time

Now that hapless Gizmodo intern who spilled hot coffee all over Chen's famous pants can rest easy, because here's a set of coffee cups that link together, making it possible to carry a sextet of steaming beverages at the same time. So there you go, cherished intern—you can serve the entire Giz writing team in one trip without worrying about any of those nasty, potentially career-ending mishaps. More »

Hourglass Nightlight Keeps the Bogeyman Away

Most fraidy-cats still need a light on when they go to sleep—to keep that monster living under the bed at bay—and if you're one of those unfortunate souls you might like (nay, need) this Hourglass Nightlight by Sun Young Lee that saves energy by only staying lit as long as you need it. Turn it upside down and its sand functions as a switch, keeping it shining as long as the sand runs through. More »

Juicer Hugs Countertops, But Look Out!

This design concept for a juicer by Gibli Ortal is quite beautiful, but perhaps its creator didn't realize that it might end up in a rather precarious location. It certainly seems like a great place for a juicer, hugging the countertop right there within easy reach. But, uh, it could end up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. More »

Nutcracker's Minimalist Design Gets The Job Done

Leave it to the commenters to make the nutcracking jokes, but this design concept could be a serious ball-buster. Consisting of two aluminum tubes, it's sized to fit a walnut inside, and all you need to do is twist, and the nut is cracked right in two by the nutcracker's ridged edges. Seems pretty simple. More »

Meeraboo Table Apparently Punishes All Those Who Gaze Upon It

This Meeraboo-2007 ST-1 side table is a design concept by Victor Vetterlein, and we must admit we were more drawn to the scantily clad model with her strange-looking restraints than the table itself. Take the jump for an enlargement of this pic, and a possible explanation of her predicament. (Warning, somehow, it strikes us as strangely NSFW.) More »

Multimedia Player-Projector Built Like a Flashlight

Designer Can-Hong Huang takes a page out of Sony's dildo-shaped music player playbook, coming up with this multimedia player that also takes on a phallic shape. This design concept is not only a cylindrical MP3 player with rotating control knobs on its barrel, but instead of a screen it has a flashlightesque projector on the end that can turn any white wall into a mini movie theater. More »

Capsule USB Fan Puts Coolness in Your Pocket

We've seen quite a few USB fans in these parts, but this design concept seems to have a new angle on an old idea: encapsulate the fan blades, the USB plug and its cable inside this pocketable package, and take your coolness with you wherever you go. Looks like a nice self-contained heat relief package. There's little other information available about this design, but its portability and streamlined form factor could be a winning combination. More pictures, after the jump. More »

Ring, The Vibrating Alarm

Here's a design concept that's long overdue: It's a vibrating alarm that you wear on your finger, bypassing all that morning racket for a gentle jostling. Each of the two rings can have its own separate wake-up time, designed for comfort with an elastic band so you'll hardly know you're wearing it. More »

Duofone Cellphones Show Two Heads Are Better Than One

Here's a design concept by Daewoo Kim for a cellphone that might actually be practical in desperate situations, because when one phoneruns out of power, the other one can charge it up. And look at them, aren't they cute, spooning on that charger together? Cellphone purveyors will probably like this design, because it may entice people to buy two products instead of one. There's another unique idea built into this cellphone, too. More »

Minimalist Cellphone, Where Less is Less

This cellphone design by Jacob Palmborg is for all those who loathe the iPhone and are sick and tired of hearing about it. This one's just a cellphone that plays a bit of music and stores a list of your contacts, nothing more. What a concept! It has an attractive OLED touchscreen interface that appears underneath its spooky-looking black façade, and on the back there's a fingerprint ID screen so the phone will know that you are actually you. More »

Riding Vacuum Lets Kids Help Out With the Housework

Here's a great lesson to teach your kids: Why walk when you can ride? But Kristina Andersson's design concept for a riding vacuum cleaner encourages the young 'uns to help out with the housework, even if it's at a snail's pace. Jump for one more pic. More »

Lazy Teapot is an Accomplice for Your Slothful Ways

We've seen a lot of lazy gadgets, but this has to be the grand prize winner: the Lazy Teapot, relieving you of that cumbersome and backbreaking chore of actually picking up a teapot and pouring its hot water into a cup. Designer Lotte Alpert created a design concept for this teapot and its holding device, whose saving grace is its temperature scale on the back that lets you first boil liquid and then dial up a specific temperature to keep that liquid warm. More »

Liika Ironing Board Could Trigger Ironing-For-Sex Revolution

Behold Liika, the redesigned ironing board that brings clothes-pressing technology forward to the current century after at least a hundred years lying dormant. Its boomerang-shaped design has suction cups on the ends of articulating legs that let you attach it to a table or even a wall or window. Let's just hope those suction cups don't let loose at the most inopportune time. More »

Music Vortex Mixes Music with Water, Sends Ripples Through Your Soul

The Music Vortex's mission is to visualize music using the natural movement of water as it's influenced by sound waves. Its bottom section function like a normal speaker, but check out that little bowl of water on top that vibrates and ripples with the music, all lit up with a spacey blue glow. You adjust the volume on the speaker with a little knob in the middle. What, no remote? More »