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Solar chargers are a dime a dozen, but who honestly feels like carrying around rechargeable cells and a recharger? Guru Knut Karlsen has conjured up a far superior idea, and rather than just working up a few drawings and making us all feel dumb for not thinking of this first, he went out and proved that solar-charging batteries are definitely ready for production. In essence, he wrapped four C size NiMH rechargeable batteries with a few samples of flexible solar cells; by using a conductive silver pen and some flat wires from a broken Canon lens, he made a connection solid enough for trickle charging to occur. Moving forward, he’d like to install a capacity gauge as well as a method for faster charging, but we’d say this ain’t half bad for a first attempt.

[Via Inhabitat, thanks Sarvesh]
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By David Ponce

Something has got to be said about a useful product that’s able to convincingly double as a “fashion accessory” on the barely-there outfit of a booth babe. Questionable (but not entirely ineffective or unenjoyable) marketing tactics aside, FlatWire makes some amazing products that make me wish I’d have a few large to drop on a home entertainment system. Like the name sort of implies, these guys make flat wires. But I mean, really, really flat. They gave me a sample of 18 gauge electrical wire, and it’s paper thin.

So when you’re wiring pretty much anything in your home (audio equipment, home theater setup, etc.), instead of drilling holes in your walls, knocking down potentially load-bearing studs to get your cables out of view… use flat wires. Stick them on your wall, put a little plaster over them, and paint. No one will ever know they’re there.

You could argue that laying some plaster and painting is almost as labor intensive as drilling holes… but what happens when you’re faced with a brick wall? In any case, it’s nice to have options, and Flat Wire definitely impressed me with their product.

And no, not just because of the booth babe.

Prices vary depending of length and type of cable needed, but of course you’ll be paying a bit of a premium. Nothing outlandish though: 25ft of 18 gauge speaker wires will set you back $38 for instance. Not cheap, but this ain’t no Monster cables.

[ FlatWire ]

P.S. The booth babe didn’t hurt though.

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They’re far from common, but we’ve definitely seen modular GPS concepts before. If this leaked FCC documentation is any gauge of reality, however, TomTom will be making those wild, wild dreams into something entirely more tangible. The DUB1 is an up and coming navigator which is designed to operate in a snap-in portal located in your nearest dashboard or in the palm of your nearest hand. It’s likely that said portal will be a double-DIN aftermarket accessory, but we suppose TomTom could nail down contracts with automakers to provide it from the factory. There’s little left to do but wait and see, but given just how nuts Garmin went at CES 2008, don’t be shocked to see this as one of the many coming from its main rival in just under a month.

[Via NaviGadget]
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