• more about #prototype more comments →
    nneonneo: For the purposes of constructing a 16:9 screen, we'll turn the devices landscape and ignore the area surrounding the screen. Then, we want a perfect 1... more »
    lukeadams: if you stack the iphones in portrait like they have there, a 16:9 screen of 50 million iPhones would be a 3490 ft screen measured diagonally allowing ... more »
    thatsmrpotatohead2U: This reminds me of an installation I saw in London a couple of years ago - big glass box, lots of mobile phones hanging inside it (they were still exc... more »
    Odin: MS know how to make Computing students love them. A really nice tight IDE (that they give to students for free as well) and an excellent development e... more »
    Digo: I think you Giz'd their site. The link doesn't seem to work for me. #microsofttouchlessuserinterface... more »
    Plamen Nicolov: Hey, this is nice, but it's nothing new. These transparent rear projection displays have been around for a long time now and widely available too. The... more »
    I Party With Smoot: It's a clear glass display which accepts input through voice-control, touch-less gestures, and eye-tracking. Where I'm from, that costs $2/minute and... more »
    sneakypoo: Apple already did this 15 years ago but decided it was not what people wanted. There, I've fed my inner troll for today. On a more serious note. I've... more »
    Soldier_CLE says DON'T STOP AT THE STAR! REVOKE THE WHOLE DAMN THING, OWEN!!!: The progression of several prototypes are really looking nice, with Surface, this prototype, and other interactive displays from a couple other compan... more »
    WolfPackWB: One step closer on the quest to become Tony Stark #microsofttouchlessuserinterface... more »
  • #displays

    20 iPods Cluster Into One, Big, Interactive Display

    The neatest thing about this demo isn't that 20 iPod touches have combined to make a giant touch display; the neatest thing is that the technology can scale: More »
  • #prototype

    Microsoft Research Demos Magically Touch-Less, Transparent Glass Display

    Microsoft's research division is doing tours across college campuses and rather than turning them into snoozefests they're showing off a prototype straight outta Iron Man fantasies. It's a clear glass display which accepts input through voice-control, touch-less gestures, and eye-tracking. More »
  • #sound

    An Acoustic Hyperlens

    This is the acoustic hyperlens developed by the Xiang Zhang research group. Think of it as a radar dish for sound waves. Put into practice, it can increase performance of ultrasound baby spotting and sonar submarine sighting by 8x. [EurekAlert]
  • #design

    Automatic Aluminum Can Crusher Is Eco- And Battery-Friendly

    It looks like a modded Roomba, but this prototype Automatic Aluminum Can Crusher will save you many forehead aches. It's BYOC (bring your own cans) with a long-lasting rechargeable battery and lotsa crunching sounds included every time you recycle. More »
  • #transportation

    Self-Balancing eniCycle is Like a Segway for the Circus

    Finally, a unicycle that even I could ride! Designer, Aleksander Polutnik, says it takes only minutes to learn how to ride the eniCycle, because it uses mini-gyroscopes and an embedded processor to keep you balanced. Watch it in action: More »
  • #nokia

    Fresh Shots of the Nokia RX-5 Tablet Prototype

    From the wilds of the Indonesian jungle message boards come these new shots of a mysterious Nokia tablet (or MID, or large phone) with a sliding QWERTY, labeled RX-5. More »
  • #diy

    Recycling Meets DIY With iPhone 3GS "Water Resistant Prototype"

    After you drain that cool, refreshing soda and prepare to go out on that 50-mile bike ride you had planned today, don't forget to retain the bottle and protect that iPhone. [Flickr - Thanks, Chris]
  • #cellphones

    Sony Ericsson Kiki Concept

    Mobil delivered this rendering of Kiki, a Sony Ericsson phone with a projected display and um, presumably, somewhere, a keypad. I like green. People need to make more green handsets. [Mobil via Engadget]
  • #crunchpad

    CrunchPad Prototype Caught Taking Off Box And Baring All

    This is a rumored "extremely recent" look at a CrunchPad prototype. What do we learn? First, the demo man says the tablet will be out by this year, "for sure." The other is that the video guy is a klepto. More »
  • #cds

    CD Turntables Are Possibly the Product of the (Last) Century

    Pete Verrando has himself some CD turntables and, as you can see in the images, these beauties are patent pending. More »
  • #gaming

    Pandora Handheld Gaming Computer Prototype Revealed

    I'm sure Pandora, the DS and netbook frankenstein, will eventually reach the market. Seriously, it will. One day. At least here's a real-world prototype. Turned off. Like everyone who has been following it. [DCEMU]
  • #fantasygadget

    Conductive Plates Could Make the Microwave Obsolete

    You know what I hate about waffles? They get cold too quickly. This plate concept would keep my Eggos toasty without having to hit it with the microwave—because the heating element is built-in. More »
  • #hdtvs

    JVC 32-inch LCD Prototype's 11-pound Weight and 7mm Thickness To Be Ogled At CES

    The CES countdown is nearing its end, and JVC has let loose details on its Japanese site of a prototype LCD TV that will be more waifish than even the most figure-conscious booth babe. More »
  • #apple

    The Dream iPhone Pro

    Here's the new iPhone Pro, something that we don't expect at MacWorld 2009 at all. However, we do expect something like this to come at a later date. Why? Because it just makes sense. More »
  • #macbookair

    Macbook Air Prototype Escapes Cupertino, Gets Sold on Ebay

    A Macforums member who bought an "as-is" Macbook Air from Ebay has ended up with some pretty strange fruit: It's actually an early Air prototype, bearing marks indicating it was built in May 2007, six months before the Air was introduced. It's got a few giveaways: the microphone positioning near the webcam is off, there's no keyboard lighting, no "MacBook Air" legend, it runs an interim build of OS X 10.5 and the bottom is black-colored aluminum, versus the usual shiny silver. Lord knows how this baby escaped Cupertino's clutches, but escape it did. Does this make it valuable like a prototype stamp to a philatelist? Only another Ebay sale will tell. [Macrumors]
  • #gizmodogallery

    At Gizmodo Gallery: Ancient Apple Phone Prototypes

    More »
  • #concept

    LED Bath Temperature Floaty 10x More Useful and Beautiful Than Rubber Ducky

    This watertight, multicolor LED housing sits in a bath and changes hues according to water temperature. Simple and a lot more effective than a simple faucet mounted sensor that will not compensate for cooling off periods. But not as simple as dipping your toe into the water. If this were it, I'd probably recommend that this concept never see the light of day, but it also can be switched into a candle mode. [Yanko] More »
  • #multitouch

    Stantum "True Multitouch" Lets You Use ALL Your Fingers

    In case the two-finger multitouch seen on the new Macbook Pro and Fujitsu's upcoming notebook wasn't enough for you, French tech company Stantum recently showed off a ten-finger technology that it's calling “true multitouch.” On Stantum's 15.4-inch screen, you can use as many points as you want to control the screen. Judging by the smears in the picture, a lot of people found that appealing and took advantage of their chance to feel the new technology up. [Electric Pig]
  • #peoplesuck

    Electronic Sleep Mask Relies on the Kindness of Others (Result: Fail)

    Here is the main reason why inventor and manga artist Pyocotan's “Noriko-san” sleep mask will never become a successful real-world product: It relies on human kindness to function. The prototype mask features a scrolling display that notifies fellow passengers which stop you would like to get off on. The idea is that one of these passengers will wake you up at the appropriate time. Not surprisingly, testing is not working out so well. When Pyocotan's stop arrives, no one comes to his aid. [Internews via Pink Tentacle]
  • #robots

    Robot Prototype Finds, Attacks and Kills Breast Cancer Cells

    Here's one in the plus column for the looming robot uprising: a prototype developed by University of Maryland professor Jaydev Desai could one day diagnose, hunt, and destroy breast cancer cells all in one sitting, and in a much more efficient manner than we ham-handed human beings. More »
  • #cellphones

    Yamaha Trumpet...Cellphone?

    More »
  • #philips8mmultrathintv

    Philips 8mm-Thin 32-inch TV Is Nice But Still a Prototype

    Philips is working on their own ultra-thin backlighting technology. But compared to the absolutely stunning Sony ZX1 9.9mm-thin TV, the Philips 8mm 32-inch model is a) just too small and b) just a prototype. However, it looks like it uses a similar LED-in-the-corner backlighting technology. [More IFA 2008 Coverage]
  • #voip

    Tatung Prototype the Nicest VOIP Phone I've Seen Yet

    The difference between what I would like to look at and what I would like to use makes for a a gap wider than the Grand Canyon, in this case. One button, no tactile feedback and no screen make this VOIP phone prototype little more than an electronic lollipop. But my desire to lick one increases with every glance. [e-Nova via Yanko and BBG]
  • #kineticenergy

    M2E Developing Kinetic Cellphone Charger That is Up to 700 Percent More Effective

    This isn't the first time we have seen a cellphone charger that is powered by kinetic energy, but the difference is that M2E is working on a charger that can produce 300 to 700% more juice than current technologies. They hope this will translate into a full-on replacement for cellphone batteries somewhere down the line. According to earth2tech, M2E's short term goal is to develop a charger that will produce an hour of talk time for around six hours of normal movement. Currently, M2E is in talks with major accessories manufacturers about bringing a device to market as early as 2009. [earth2tech via Inhabitat]
  • #hotstuff

    MIT Thermoelectric Device Could Revolutionize Home Heating

    With gas prices approaching "damn, I'm going to have to start walking more" levels here in the States, everyone's doing their part to increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption, and that includes the genius farm MIT. The institute already produces 80% of its own energy, courtesy of its on campus "cogeneration plant," but a few students have found a way to make the system even more self-sufficient using a new thermoelectric prototype. The great thing is the device has the potential for applications beyond the walls of MIT, and already the students are examining ways to apply it to the home heating industry in general. More »
  • #deathtrap

    Topia One-Seat Electric HUVO Prototype Might As Well Be Shaped Like a Coffin

    With the arrival of Topia's one-seater prototype, I think it's finally safe to say the SMART car has something it can take in a fight. Called the HUVO, this diminutive electric car forgoes features like "well-being" and "sanity" for "lightweight" (330 lbs.) and "Jesus Christ watch out for that MINI Cooper!" To save weight and development costs, the HUVO is made out of materials that would make any contemporary golf cart proud; mainly plastic, ceramic, more plastic, and a bit of high-tensile steel plate. Although, as the headline implies, if HUVO goes into production Topia should probably just make the thing out of a nice, sturdy wood, and save your immediate family a step at the funeral parlor. More »
  • #ebooks

    Dual-Screen Ebook Developed, Navigates in Real Page-Turn Style

    Sure the Kindle is fab, and printed media may soon be "dead"... but ebooks really don't feel quite as good the real thing do they? A science team from Maryland and Berkeley Universities noted that we do much more sophisticated navigation when we read a real book than is offered by current ebooks, so they've designed an advanced prototype with two pages. It works like a normal book, with page turning maneuvers to get to the new page, and you can even fold it back into a single-page version, or separate the pages to share info with someone else, as the video shows. More »
  • #3ddisplaygcubik

    gCubik is Palm-Sized 3D Display Everyone Can See at Once

    Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology has created this prototype physical 3D display that works a little differently than the other 3D tech out there. Those bright spots aren't LEDs, but a complex array of lenses arranged on top of LCDs, forming the sides of a cube. By a kind of optical parallax trick, and something called "integral photography," it makes it look like there's an object in the box. Best of all, gCubik is a naked-eye tech and can be viewed simultaneously by a group of people. The team's working on making it wireless and higher-res, and even hopes to commercialize it within three years for use in design, education or games devices. You can see it in person at the SIGGRAPH show in August. [Fareastgizmos]
  • #radio

    Olinda Radio Lets You Hear What Your Friends Are Listening to

    Ever wondered what stations your friends are listening to just at the same moment as you spin the dial on your own radio? Well, that's where Olinda comes in: a working prototype commissioned by the BBC, it's got a plug-in module that lights up when your friends are online. A simple push of the corresponding button, and via Wi-Fi and the BBC's "playing now" service you get to listen along with your pal. There're other innovations too, including a double-tuning dial that lets you switch to stations alphabetically or just choose among your favorites. And because the design is modular it allows for expansion with other widget-like plug-in units. More »
  • #blockbusterstores

    Blockbuster's Prototype Stores Look Like Best Buy

    If you ever drunkenly stumble into one of these prototype Blockbuster stores in Dallas, you'll wonder why Best Buy has stocked up on so many movies and ditched the inkjet printers. These proto stores, or storetotypes, lay out little kiosks in the middle and test interesting concepts that have a tenuous relationship to renting movies such as: More »
  • #concept

    Umbrella Stand Uses Runoff to Water Plants

    Here's a simple concept: An umbrella stand that directs wet umbrella run off to a plant-filled tray. I one day hope to live in a modern house with modern furniture surrounded by geometrically symmetric patches of indoor lawn, so I enjoy the idea of this immensely. [what else via bigchief.it]
  • #airplanes

    Fantasy Open-Air Seats Airplane Will Never Fly, Unfortunately

    For some reason, Spanish designer Jaime Hayon decided to put the weirdest elements he could find in this airplane concept, made of white gold and fiberglass tiles for a ceramics company called Bisazza: the nose looks like a F-18 Hornet, then it has an Y-Wing cockpit, wings with propeller wings and love missiles, a B-52ish tail, and—the best part—open-air seats. More »
  • #prototype

    Postmachina's Project E Trades Business Cards, Personal Info Wirelessly

    This wireless data exchange concept is very similar to a few designs we've seen already, but Postmachina is going to be manufacturing a wireless device called Project E that holds your personal information and swaps it when it comes into contact with another, similar device. In essence, it can hold all the info on your business card, plus other data (maybe even social networking information) and transfer it to other people you meet at trade shows or other events. More »
  • #peripherals

    ASUS EAH3850 Trinity Prototype Video Card Goes Triple Penetration With Three Cores

    What the crap? As if shoving two GPUs onto a single card wasn't enough to play contemporary games at a decent frame rate, Asus has just made an EAH3850 Trinity, a tri-core card with its own connected water-based cooling system. When you break it down, it's three RV670 cores in one card, generating output for four DVI ports allowing you to power four monitors (or one gigantic one at insane-o resolution). More »
  • #concepts

    Armari eXtreme Concept Prototype is Liquid Nitrogen Cooled PC Beast

    Armari's eXtreme Concept Prototype (XCP) super computer is made of some 100 uniquely designed parts, is either cooled by liquid nitrogen, liquid flurocarbon immersion or thermoelectric cooling and phase change, depending on the model's configuration and has the ability to run 24/7 without needing to shutdown. The XCP will happily function through a temperature range of -110°C to 90°C and being built on Intel's Skulltrail platform, the XCP happily packs quite some power under its Lost in Space-esque hood. More »
  • #android

    Google Phone Prototype to be Shown Next Week at Mobile World Congress

    ARM, the chip manufacturer that makes many of the processors in many of the phones you're currently using, says they're going to show a prototype Google Android phone at Mobile World Congress next week. That's pretty much all we know so far. Chances are the prototype will have the same SDK that's available for emulation on your PC right now, and will mostly be used to show phone manufacturers (HTC & friends) that the ARM processors will handle an Android phone just fine; a.k.a. "please use our processors in your phones!" [Reuters]
  • #cellphones

    Coco Chanel Fashion Phone is Powered by Dreams, Wishes

    This Coco Chanel phone has a leg up on other fashion phones by being an actually unique and new design, but takes a blow by being a mere concept based around technology that may or may not have been made up for the purpose of justifying a neat-looking Photoshop. Let's see if any of you can tell me how much sense the explanation of the technology makes: More »
  • #gadgets

    Turbo Toaster Prototype Jet Engines Make Your Toast

    Want to make bread into toast in under a minute? This Turbo Toaster prototype by Oliver Newberry of London can do just that, provided you're okay with the noise that two huge jet engine-like fans blowing hot air onto the toast will make. The inspiration for this invention? The fact that his beans became cold before the toast was done heating up. To this, we have two things to say. One, who eats beans on toast? And two, why not just wait until your toast is done to make your beans? [Daily Mail]
  • #androidhardwareinthewild

    Google Android Prototype In the Wild

    Here's the first gorgeous shot of an Google Android prototype in the wild. It looks HTC-ish in build, similar to the grainy versions we've seen in the official videos and the renderings in the SDK emulator. Our source, a Giz reader, had some feedback to add to the prototype, which he used for a day: Even in early form, it's light and fast, much faster than the desktop emulator at times. And as a longtime programmer, he thinks it's a lot more put together than Window Mobile 5 on the back side of things. It's a prototype, so things will obviously change, but these are all great signs. I just pray that hardware by other makers is a lot more adventurous. In my mind, those HTC designs remind me a little too much of WM and will for a long time. [Thanks Tipster X]
  • #multipurposeprototype

    Bar Of Soap Is Multi-Talented Gadget That Susses Out What It Is Just By the Way You Hold It

    Researchers at MIT's Media Lab have come up with the Bar of Soap, a gadget that works out exactly what it is depending on how it is held. So, hold it like a camera, and you can take pics, hold it like a cellphone, and it makes calls. Basically developed as a prototype to test the grasp classification concept, the technology behind the Bar of Soap is expected to trickle down into future gizmos. More »