Spring Design Alex eReader is a so cool device not only for reading e-books, but also for multimedia purpose. Two different displays with a 3.5 inch color touchscreen for navigation and a six-inch e-paper display for reading.

It is priced at $399.

Some information from Spring Design Alex:

See The Best Of Two Screens

The Alex full color 3.5” touchscreen LCD screen is ideal for web browsing, while the 6” EPD screen displays like a printed page and text is adjustable for easy extended reading. Or view content on two screens simultaneously with Alex’s dual screen “Touch and Extend.”

The Web at Your Fingertips

Browse the entire Web on the full color LCD screen to support what you’re reading on the paper-like EPD screen. Type your search on the virtual keyboard or tap to select and open a web site for more information, pictures, sound and video.

Build Your Own Library

Start building your library right away. Download from a wealth of online Adobe ePUB format digital books from Google Books and Alex partner bookstores and store them in the Alex Library on the removable SD card. Store your own images, videos, music and documents in many formats on the SD card for review at any time.

See-Hear-Read

Watch movies, news clips, or any MP4 or Flash videos on the 16-bit color screen. Listen to music, news broadcasts and lectures while you read using the built-in MP3 media player and speakers, or plug in earphones to listen in private.

Annotate

Highlight, record comments in your own voice, or add hyperlinks. A marker will remind you or tell any other reader that more information can be found relating to the text on the EPD screen.

Although ipad is a tablet PC with touchscreen display, acting as a mobile phone is so ugly and uncomfortable. But there  is a simple way to make ipad to be a likely iphone. It is iPad + Skype + Moshi Moshi 01H handset. Cool!

Connecting the the iPad to the Moshi Moshi 01H handset and using Skype software, turning your new iPad into a giant telephone.[via]

So we know the iSlate, if indeed Apple decides to call it that, is coming and hopefully, we should know all about it by the 27th of January. That leaves 16 days (or 16 lifetimes in geek terms) worth of speculation time.

In the spirit of hype building we thought it might be nice to put together a list of the finest Apple tablet mock ups we could find, before they are all proved wrong later this month when Apple releases a computer with a holographic display that you control with your mind (probably).

Remember folks, there was all sorts of speculation surrounding the iPhone before it came out, almost none of which turned out to be accurate. Don’t be surprised if the same turns out to be true for Apple’s new tablet device too. Still, it’s fun to let your imagination get carried away on a wave of hype from time to time, much like these talented photoshop experts have…

This first one seems a little unlikely, though it does address the concerns some Mac fans have about what the keyboard interface is going to be like. Still, it’s unlikely that Apple will ever want to release something that comes in bits like this does.

Here’s an early concept of what a mac tablet might look like. It certainly looks gorgeous with the MacBook white trim around the edge. With the screen of the new Apple device reported to be a mere ten inches however, it seems unlikely that the form factor will be quite this large.

This one truly is outlandish. We’re expecting some cool advances in touchscreen technology, but transparent glass screens are perhaps a bit too much to hope for. It’s also probably going to be at least another few years before a device as small as the iPhone is capable of running an OS as complex as OS X 10.5 Leopard.

This is more like it, a big iPhone just as predicted. It does seem likely that the new Apple device will have plenty in common with the iPhone, but will it go as far as to retain specific form factor details, such as the silver bezel and home button?

This could well be the closest of the lot to what Apple actually has in store for January the 27th. The very latest reports indicate that the tablet device will be wrapped in aluminum, much like the recently updated MacBook Pro line. This is certainly the most attractive mock up we’ve seen (in our humble view), so we’re hopeful the final product won’t deviate too drastically from this sleek design.

This may not be the most accomplished mock-up in the world, but the concept of having two adjacent touchscreens in a laptop style set-up is tantalizing to say the least. It seems to us however, that Apple will want to keep the costs relatively low, which makes the inclusion of two touchscreens seem a bit hopeful for the proposed $1000 price point.

Now this truly is gorgeous. With a screen that stretches right to the edges of the device’s front, this mock up truly gives Apple something to live up to. Again, this might be a bit beyond the scope of today’s affordable technology, but it’s nice to dream.

Building on the idea of a laptop form factor, this clever mock up makes use of a fully collapsible hinge and a bendable OLED touchscreen. Of all the concepts we’ve seen, this is the one we want most – maybe in ten years time, it will become a reality, don’t hold out your hopes for January however.

There’s a lot of buzz around augmented reality just now and it could well make up some of the new functionality that Apple has planned for it’s new device. It might seem like Star Trek but Google and Nokia are already well under way with their augmented reality services so Apple might choose to make this type of service a unique selling point for it’s slate PC.

Could Apple surprise everyone and release a touchscreen device with a handy slide out QWERTY? It’d certainly save some of that all important screen real estate when typing and it would bring the device directly into the netbook market, which Apple has purportedly been looking at with interest. Food for thought.

All of Apple’s other products have had their form factors borrowed for mock-ups, so it’s hardly surprising that some photoshop wizards are pondering something that slots into the iMac device line. This would of course hamper portability quite a bit, but it’d be a digital artist’s dream come true.

File this one under ’silly’. The last thing anyone needs is an oversized iPod touch with no new OS options. Still, this makes a pretty nice concept for a touchscreen keyboard for Apple’s desktop range one day.

Though still very much in the oversized iPod touch family of Mac tablet concepts, this sexy looking device does make iTunes artwork look positively gorgeous. Not sure about the need for two home buttons though.

This looks too much like a single purpose, animator’s workstation to be something that Apple will consider. Expect the Apple tablet computer to be much more multi-purpose. Nice stand though and the enormous screen is gorgeous.

Funny that the least likely concept is one that was actually designed and built by Apple itself in the 80s. It’ll never happen, but we still want one of these, just so we can tease people on Ebay.

And there you have it, the iSlate, iTablet or MacBook touch as imagined by the most talented photoshop demons in the land. If you know of any other astonishing Apple tablet concepts, please send them our way, we’d love to see them!

from:http://www.ismashphone.com/2010/01/15-apple-tablet-mock-ups-close-but-no-cigar.html

It is the Rationlizer developed by the Philips Design worked with the Dutch bank ABN AMRO.

It is an emotion sensing system for investment traders. the design is intended to give serious at home traders an emotional mirror which reflects their feelings. the concept is intended to combat research which shows home investors are influenced by emotions which can compromise their ability to trade objectively. the device uses an on-wrist monitor to track the user and a small display, which alerts the user when it may be time to take a break or re-consider their actions. the bracelet monitors the arousal level of the user and transforms the data into a pattern. the higher the arousal level goes, the more intense the pattern becomes. the design requires no technical knowledge and works as an ambient display, letting the user work unobstructed by technology.

Designer: design philips

from:[Designboom]

The E’llipse Traveler has a fancy processor and the latest algorithms in human-machine learning. Yes it learns you! It knows what you want and keeps you up to date. That’s not all. ZigBee and Bluetooth modules enable indoor localization, an impossible feat for GPS. The UI is based on widgets – one for every kind; time, weather, calendar and a custom API lets developers get creative.

Designers: Su Chew Lee & Paolo Di Prodi

from: Yankodesign

The Cuppa sports a very slim form that belies its dominant functions. It features a wireless keyboard and monitor and uses WiFi to create a remote access to a local Cuppa Server, which acts as a cache server for online data source, where all of Cuppa’s info is stored. It also sports a RFID reader whose range is both short and long. The ambient and detailed display allows interfacing with multiple monitors. The functions keys have been assigned names so that they are much more useful. Cuppa is touted as the bridge between desktop and mobile phone and is designed to be used in the home, but will fit perfectly in an office environment as well. The Cuppa Sensor is a sticker that could be hidden on any device. Some devices may require an extra connector to help stream that data from it.

The ambient display hosts an OLED screen that displays updates from friends and Instant Messages are flashed immediately. It constantly updates your Microsoft Live feeds.

With the Cuppa sensor you can convert your television screen into a Cuppa display. The lappie/controller device requires very little power to function and is energy efficient. It can be used as the alternate remote to control your entire devices at home or office.

from: designlaunches

See the notes written by these desinger on these images.

Designer: Je Sung Park

via: yankodesign

So be careful what you say even in your safe house, the walls have ears!

It uses an electronic internal sound amplifier to boost the noises coming through a wall, door, window and even stell plates. It also includes a set of  headphones, a USB built-in rechargeable battery charge, ON/OFF switch Button with volume Dial.

via: likecool

Portable MP3 players may let the users enjoy their favorite tracks on the go, but they often get entangled in the wires of the headset, turning the system into a messy web. Providing a solution, designer Devon Mingling Wang has come up with an innovative player dubbed “Loupio MP3” that keeps the chaotic wires in order and lets you enjoy clutter-free music. For the wire automatically enfolds in the main body with a simple push of a button. Plus, the earphones come with a changeable case. With the Loupio MP3, now you need not arrange the wires every time you turn on the player.

Designer:  Devon Mingling Wang

from thedesignblog

The Loupio MP3 is a concept MP3 player by designer Mingling Wang. Another futuristic concept, this player will surely appeal to music buffs. The blue ear plugs perfectly complement the black and grey color scheme of this MP3 player. Promising a clutter free musical experience, the wire automatically enfolds in the main body with a simple push of a button. Plus, the earphones come with a changeable case. You can forget about arranging the wires every time you turn on the Loupio MP3 player.