The design features a handy pocket for your TV remote and a removable lap tablecloth that easily accommodates your average microwave cuisine. Unfortunately for the lazy, these pants are only concepts at the moment. [Mitemite via Likecool]

The iPod was turned off inside his pants when it popped, making him feel a "burning sensation." His pants were on fire, literally, the complaint says:

Plaintiff A.V. immediately ran to the bathroom and took off his burning pants with the assistance of a friend. On said date and at said time, the Apple iTouch had burned through Plaintiff A.V.'s pants pocket and melted through his nylon/spandex underwear, burning his leg.

Ars Technica thinks this may not be technically possible, since nylon melts at 374 degress Fahrenheit and there's no way the kid would have not noticed the increase on temperature. On the other side, they argue the explosion could have been violent enough to cause the fire without the kid noticing.

Fire, schmfire, whatever. What worries me here is a kid wearing nylon/spandex underwear. [Ars Technica. Image courtesy of Brad Gillette]

The pants are equipped with multiple e-TAGs—sensor packages that include accelerometers, gyroscopes, and a microcontroller to send their information to a PC via the Bluetooth module mounted on the waist. Piezoelectric pads also monitor weight distribution at the heel, and the whole thing runs on a single 9-volt battery. The data is then analyzed to spot potential problems early and treat them. The VT researchers hope to bring the tech to a commercial product in a few years. But until then, I'm seeing this as a pretty good guideline for DIY mo-cap loungewear. [Physorg]

Thanks Weston!

A week on, we have our answer. Swedish Airforce investigators have concluded that the incident was all down to a problem with the pilot's hi-tech pants. Find out what led to the pilot saying "Sayonara cockpit" and "Hello parachute canopy" after the jump.

The pilot was wearing a standard air-force-issue G-suit, also known as Speed Jeans, inflatable pants which blow up as the G-Forces increase during high-energy movements. These blow-up trousers squeeze the pilot's legs, thus preventing blackouts, tunnel vision and, I suppose, impure thoughts about that hot chick with the ear protectors and neon lollipops who's been waving him into the hanger this past month.

What the investigators think happened is that the pants, in their aerated state, nudged against the ejector button and caused the pilot to whoosh-boom outtathere before he could even say, "Mälmø, we have a problem." It seems that fingers are being pointed at the trousers. "When subjected to large forces the suit fills with air," said Mats Helgesson of Central Command. "This is thought to have affected the ejector switch."

Now, Justin Timberlake's people might have called Janet Jackson's nipple-slippage during that Super Bowl performance a "wardrobe malfunction." If that was a wardrobe malfunction, then exploding strides leading to a high-speed fighter jet having carnal relations with the ground are verily (I say unto thee) a wardrobe atrocity. For the moment, the Swedish air force has restricted the newest-gen Gripens, whose pilots wear the wrong pants, to a paltry maximum 3g. Older models (and pants) are, apparently, not affected. – Ad Dugdale

Defective automatic trousers hurl pilot from plane [The Register]

Just place your pants in the press holder, select the temperature, and hit the button. In just half of five minutes, your pants come out as neat as the day your wife bought them. The $599 you spend on this will be paid for in a couple months with the time you save—provided you're that corporate exec and not just some dude with wrinkled pants. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Tpress via Luxist via Born Rich via uber review]

The pants are controlled by a wired remote which goes into a pocket, and they're powered by a rechargeable li-on battery. The phrase "honey, did you recharge my pants?" will probably less awkward after you pick up a pair. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Brookstone via Red Ferret via Sci Fi Tech]

Some people bug out hardcore over privacy concerns. I can see how it's justified in certain situations, but I really doubt RFID is the next hidden tracking device for consumers...as of right now. Anyways, if you're really paranoid, you could make like Mike Sklar and built a faraday cage around the pocket. What the hell is a faraday cage you ask? That's what wikipedia is for. Anyways, it's simple to make one by ripping out a pocket in your jeans or khakis and replacing it with a soft material with a conductive metal inside it. This will keep those nasty RFID tags from being read and your privacy intact.

RFID Pocket Replacement [WMMNA]

Warning—Fashion Week this ain't.

I don't wear sweats, and when I saw the SeV Lounge Pants I was a little put off. They look like martial arts pants, straight legged and dark with an amazing 11 hidden pockets. ScotteVest makes clothing that can hold all sorts of things, from MP3 players to laser pointers, and these slacks are no exception. There's a unique magnetic closure on the pocket, a zippered change pocket, and deep pockets for your cellie and iPod. The exterior draw cord ensures you won't have to take off your belt going through the line at the airport and the heavy gauge cotton material ensures you'll stay cosy on the flight.

It's about 89 degrees here in New York right now, so putting these on in the summer isn't recommended. However, they were very light and comfortable, feeling like a cross between a well-worn pair of pajama bottoms and comfy work-out pants. As you see from this photo, they lie quite nicely on the frame and are quite soft.

Now, for the main event. The SeV Sport Tec 4.0 is a silver nylon jacket with enough hidey holes to smuggle a case of 40s into a church picnic. As we see above, you cannot hide small dogs in this jacket.

The first and most interesting pocket is the "laptop hidey hole." While my old Compaq didn't quite fit in there, a 12-inch Powerbook would definitely settle itself quite nicely provided you took the jacket off before sitting down. There is also a "pocket-in-pocket" beverage holder as well as a key chain and storm flap for the front zipper.

In terms of comfort, the jacket was warm and well made. I had a slight issue with the rear zipper sticking but that cleared up after a few inches of zipper travel. There is an easy to use system for squirrling your earbuds through the jacket and into the MP3 player pocket. This system, called the SeV Personal Area Network (PAN), isn't quite as high-tech as it sounds but it is easy to slide through a few cables through the intelligently designed conduits for easy access to cell and audio ear buds.

There is a nice, easy-to-fold hood and both of the arms can be removed, which made the jacket much cooler. The back of the jacket, near the neck, is very soft and comfortable, which was an exquisite touch.

Overall, these two SeV offerings are quite comfortable. Both have so many pockets that they require a few hours of careful study to discover them all, which is always a good way to spend a layover ("Excuse me, sir, but we'll have to call security if you don't stop digging into your pants.","But I'm looking for POCKETS!") While the Lounge Pants weren't quite my style, they were very soft and cosy and the jacket has a great set of high-tech features that make it completely wearable.

Note—No dogs were harmed in the making of this review.

Lounge Pants [SeV]
Sport Tec 4.0 [SeV]