Gizmodo: umbrella

Samurai Sword Umbrella: Fight the Rain With Honor

Sean Fallon — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:20:00 EST

Whip out your samurai sword umbrella and do battle with Mother Nature. Should you be defeated, the only honorable way out is seppuku—although that would be especially nasty with an umbrella. [ThinkGeek via Uberreview]

The Umbrella Corporation Umbrella

Mark Wilson — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:40:00 EST

With your run-of-the-mill umbrella, you're ready for a rainy day. With the $15 official Umbrella Corporation umbrella, you're ready for, well, sleet at minimum. [ThinkGeek via Kotaku]

Umbuster Brass Knuckle Umbrella Now For Sale

Sean Fallon — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:45:00 EST

The internet design concept phenomenon known as the Umbuster has finally jumped out of that nightmare you have about an old man beating you to a pulp in the street into cold, hard reality. That's right—you can start using this knuckle-dusting umbrella to bust up rainclouds and jawbones right now for the equivalent of $287 (assuming that it is legal to own in your area that is). [Srulirecht]

Japanese Umbrella Is One Huge Speaker

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST

Japanese researchers in Japan have developed a clever way to turn an entire umbrella into one giant speaker. Made of bamboo and paper, the Oto-Shigure uses a built-in amplifier connected to four tiny vibrating motors located on the tips of the umbrella. And before you imagine the streets of Tokyo turned into one giant cacophony of sounds, the cool thing about this invention is that the music can't be heard by anyone except the person under the umbrella:

As you can see in the graphic, its design produces a three-dimensional sound bubble in the area right in the center of the Oto-Shigure. The inventors, Yusuke Kamiyama and Mai Tanaka, are now showing the prototype and, if there's enough interest, they plan to sell it for just $100. [Pink Tentacle]

Rain Wipe is Slick Solution For Wet Umbrellas

Elaine Chow — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 23:00:00 EDT

Leave it to the Japanese to come up with an environmentally friendly solution to drying wet umbrellas. The new “Rain Wipe” from Annon removes rainwater using a squeegee-like device to pull water from the umbrella into a collecting tray. The tray would only need replacement after about 3000 umbrellas have been squeezed through. It generates less trash than using those plastic umbrella baggies and uses less energy than umbrella blow dryers. Ingenious! [Dvice]

Umbrella Gives the Finger to Google's Satellites, Rain

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:50:00 EDT

Designer guru Art Lebedev—creator of cool keyboards, clocks and fridge magnets—says that this umbrella is saying "Fuck the Rain", but we know that his message is addressed to the New Evil Galactic Empire. [Art Lebedev]

Filterbrella: A Water-Filtering Umbrella For Freebie Drinks

Sean Fallon — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:20:00 EDT

If you have purchased a bottle of purified water recently, you know that it can be crazy expensive to get a drink that doesn't taste like it was filtered through a bucket of pennies. Still, if you live in a rainy climate and you can't bear to drink out of the tap, this Filterbrella concept could be your ticket to clean, pure, freebie water one day. Using a canopy made out of compostable polylactic acid plastic blends, Filterbrella channels rainwater through activated carbon filter in the rod, straight to a bottle that can be removed and fitted with a cap. Sounds like a great idea, but I still prefer to waste my umbrella water in a juvenile manner. [Coroflot via The Design Blog]

Umbrella Stand Uses Runoff to Water Plants

Brian Lam — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:42:03 EDT

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]

UFO Cap Makes You Look Like Spin Top, Repels Rain and Women

matt buchanan — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:30:21 EDT

Sure, you could wear a raincoat if you don't feel like carrying an umbrella, but does it really keep you dry? I didn't think so. And are raincoats "the wings for your arms"? No. UFO Cap does all of that and more, like keep away pesky girls asking you out for drinks. Sadly, it's Korea-only for now, but I'm pretty sure they'll be glad to ship one to you. [UFO Cap via io9]

Tandem Umbrella For Clingy Couples

Sean Fallon — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:00:06 EDT

Much like a tandem bike, this concept tandem umbrella by designer Jasmine Rasnahan has a romantic vibe to it. However, it also has some of the same flaws. For example, I am 6'3" and my girlfriend is 5'3"—therefore it would be next to impossible for couples of vastly different heights to walk around comfortably under this thing. Second, it makes everyone around you want to puke. Personally, I say bring two umbrellas—or better yet, one gigantic umbrella. It is even more romantic that way and not nearly as lame. [Jasmine Rasnahan via Productdose]

iPod Enabled Umbrella on eBay: Hmm..I Wonder Where the Seller is From?

Sean Fallon — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:40:54 EST

If you take the time to develop an umbrella with an iPod and speakers embedded in the handle, chances are you live in an area that sees more than its fair share of rain. In this case, the seller comes from Seattle WA. In addition to the iPod, "Rain Pod" creator Tom Dukich adds an extra musically themed touch to the canopy of the umbrella in the form of drawings made with permanent marker. The item is currently available on eBay with a starting bid of $50. All proceeds will go to 826 Seattle, a group dedicated to developing children's writing skills. [eBay via Neatorama and 826 Seattle]

Glowing Umbrella Keeps You Infinitesimally Safer at Night

Jason Chen — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:35:43 EST

Glowing umbrellas usually light up their shafts rather than their mushroom-like tips, but this concept "Glowing Umbrella" has a glowing parasol to illuminate your way at night. It's lovely in the way that a black, non-light up umbrella isn't, but is only a concept for now. If science and technology could manage to make one of these that doesn't require swapping out batteries every other day (and make it under $50), we'd be in for four. [Tisch5 via Random Good Stuff via SciFi]

Water Pistol Umbrella Makes the Rain a Hell of a Lot More Fun

Adam Frucci — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:40:04 EST

Holy crap, this is the coolest umbrella I've ever seen. It's got a little funnel at the top that sends rain water down the handle into the water pistol grip at the bottom. It'll keep you dry and give you the opportunity to get others wet at the same time. It appears to be just a concept at the moment, but someone needs to make some phone calls and get it into production right now. I'm not kidding, go. Now. Check a picture of it in action after the jump.

[Product Page via NotCot.org]

ThinkGeek Umbrella Shows You the Weather

Jason Chen — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:40:56 EDT

It's not quite the forecast predicting umbrella design from a year ago, but this ThinkGeek model beats it in the "it actually exists" category. The Ambient Forecasting Umbrella hits up Accuweather.com to fetch the day's forecast, which then gets converted into a small light show on the handle. Flashing blue lights mean it's going to rain or snow, with the speed of the flashing showing how likely it is. It's no Blade Runner umbrella, but it'll keep you dry. [ThinkGeek via Coolest Gadgets]

The Stand Umbrella, Umbrella with Stand

msparkes — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:42:10 EDT

The Stand Umbrella is a simple idea—an umbrella that stands up by itself. Come in from the rain, and you can stand it up in the corner, where it will dry off and be out of the way. Its three small feet don't affect how you use it, but really come in handy when you're not.

Melt Umbrella For Hippies Who Want to Get Wet

Jason Chen — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:55:28 EDT

If you're the environmentally concerned type, you'll get an eco-boner over this Melt sustainable umbrella design. The umbrella is made out of biodegradable agricultural film that will, "under the correct conditions, melt into the soil." We hope the correct conditions isn't getting wet.

The canopy is made out of waterproof garden film and the frame is made out of waxed cardboard or bamboo. All of this will probably come together to make the whole umbrella cost a pretty penny. If you're that worried about the environment, why not go Gilligan's Island and use a gigantic leaf as an umbrella? – Jason Chen

"Melt", Sustainable Umbrella [Yanko Design via Crunchgear]

Sprout Umbrella Design

Jason Chen — Tue, 01 May 2007 17:00:05 EDT

Even though it doesn't rain all that much here, we're suckers for an awesome umbrella design. Whether it's the lightsaber-grip umbrella,the lightsaber-shaft umbrella, or this Sprout umbrella, we're all for umbrellas.

What's special about this umbrella is the way it unlocks. You turn the knob to unlock the canopy, which then forces the knob down the umbrella and the canopy up through the shaft. You get the idea, so we'll quit all this knob and shaft talk now before someone gets hurt. – Jason Chen

Matt Swinton's Design Site [Coroflot]

Sprout Umbrella [Yanko Design]

10-Umbrella Salute to That Dastardly Nor'easter

www.gizmodo.com — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:15:00 EDT

For all of you stuck in the middle of this crappy April showerama, wondering, like Creedence before you, "Who'll stop the rain?" here's a partial answer. That is, here are 10 umbrellas we have covered over the past year or so. Surprisingly, not all of them are lightsaber-themed.

1. A projector in an umbrella, so you can collide with even more people than usual

2. This one glows different colors to tell if it's raining or not, in case you couldn't already tell

3. Is there an umbrella with a built-in MP3 player? Why, of course there is!

After the jump, you get seven more.

4. Another inevitability, an umbrella that's Made for iPod ^TM

5. Aerodynamic umbrella makes you the Lance Armstrong of walking in rain

6. Nanotech means one shake and it's dry

7. Umbrella for uncomfortable-looking couple

8. Umbrella for uncomfortable-looking dog

SW freaks, you've been very patient. So here you go:

9. Lightsaber Umbrella Number One

10. And finally Lightsaber Umbrella Number Two

There you go. Happy puddle jumping! –Wilson Rothman

Umbrellas [Gizmodo]

Lightsaber Umbrella Uses the Force to Stop the Rain

Travis Hudson — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:40:24 EDT

Now available for your handy dandy arsenal of lightsaber gear is this umbrella. No longer will your lightsaber MP3 player, Skype phone, universal remote or MacBook be lonely. I feel like such a nerd describing this, but the umbrella's handle is a black lightsaber and no part of the umbrella lights up, which is very unfortunate for the diehard fans out there. It is available for $100 and would be perfect to shield yourself and your imaginary date on a rainy evening. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via uber-review]

Concept Umbrella Plays Music for Some Reason

Adam Frucci — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 10:12:50 EST

In theory having an umbrella that can play music would be nice, especially with clever touches like fast forwarding and rewinding by twisting the handle. But think about it… how long do you ever hold an umbrella open at any given time? Enough to listen to one song? Maybe two or three?

Furthermore, I might just not know how to use umbrellas or just have a habit of buying the cheapest and crappiest umbrellas available, but I go through the damned things like you wouldn't believe. It doesn't seem like the most reliable place to stick fancy electronics. I'll just keep my iPod, thanks very much. –Adam Frucci

Product Page [via MocoLoco]