Are you reading?

Oh sure, the e-reader may be just fine for some, but for the traditionalists in attendance who just can’t enjoy a novel without turning those crisp, cool pages as you plow through yet another masterpiece, this invention is the one to care about — particularly when you’re fingers are frozen in place and you’re just too dilapidated to do anything but read and comprehend. The absolutely genius Book Time creation managed to nab a Robot of the Year award over in Japan, as it holds down books and periodicals and automatically flips pages and pins down edges to keep sheets from flapping about uncontrollably. We can’t quite tell if this thing’s voice activated or not (we’re hoping so), but either way, you can check out the hot paper turning action for yourself just past the break.

[Via NewLaunches]

Unlike Microsoft’s own Xbox 360, the Rubik’s 360 is actually round. Imagine that, right? Said device is about to be officially unveiled in Germany this week at a national toy show, and while many question its ability to recreate the wonder and amazement associated with the original Cube, puzzle aficionados the world over are still enthusiastic about giving it a go. The unit features six balls trapped inside of three transparent plastic spheres; in order to solve it, players must figure out how to get the internal balls “from an inner sphere into matching slots on the outer sphere by shaking them through a middle sphere that has only two holes.” Sadly, we’ll have to wait until August before being perpetually frustrated by yet another Rubik’s invention, but needless to say, we’re pretty stoked to get irate later this year.

[Thanks, Sam]
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It’s something that any hard-nosed entrepreneur likely deals with when their invention / startup is on the edge of fail: should they simply throw in the towel, or forge ahead like no one’s looking? The father of the Segway, Dean Kamen, is also wrestling with that question. In a recent interview, he stated: “You end up lying there saying, ‘I’m not stopping. It would be an act of shallow cowardice. Or you decide to quit and you say, ‘This is one of those ideas that just isn’t going to work.’ ” He also noted that “it’s not nearly as glamorous as people think to keep working on something and to keep hitting roadblocks and to keep going.” On one hand, we could definitely see the rug being pulled from the two-wheeled transporter that never revolutionized public movement, but considering all the days in which it has lifted our spirits, do we really want it to?

[Image courtesy of SimplyMoving]
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Flipping on a light switch usually doesn’t require much in the way of cranial fortitude, but mount three or four of the things in a row and it’s Concentration time whenever you try to flick the right one. Japanese graphic designer Mac Funamizu feels your shame, imagining a conceptual wall-mounted touchpad to end the confusion and inadvertent light shows. With his invention you’d simply drag your finger toward the light you want to turn on, do it again to turn it off, or make a circular sweep to illuminate the whole room. It certainly seems a bit more useful than other switches we’ve covered in the past, but until we see a version that will register our gestures from the couch we’ll stick with our Clappers, thank you very much.

Update: Taku commented to point out a strangely similar though seemingly completely unrelated prototype from London-based designer Edward Horsford. It offers the same functionality plus adds ridges.

[Via Engadget German]
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Now, we’re sure that everything’s on the up and up here, but the lack of information about the TouchDiva from any source other than the makers of the TouchDiva gives us pause, especially as the product’s apparently launching on December 1st. Regardless, here’s what we’ve gathered: the device is a 15.4-inch touchscreen unit you install in your home, and, via the magical wonders of the internet, you get all the music your heart could ever desire, free of charge — besides the $75 $13 monthly subscription fee, of course. The Danish manufacturers claim to have “agreements with the four major music companies in the world (Warner, EMI, Sony-BMG and Universal),” giving them access to over 2 million songs. Housed inside the unit are two 125W ICEpower (Bang & Olufsen-manufactured) amps, and the Diva itself has just two buttons — an on / off, and a reset, giving it a pretty stark exterior. As you can probably imagine, it’s um, not cheap — in fact, you’re going to have to cough up $6,000 $1,100 if you want one, and you’ll have to live in Europe, where the device is (supposedly) about to go on sale.

Update: As a few commenters have pointed out, the prices are in Danish Kroner, and we’ve updated to reflect that.

Read – Danish invention will change music sales
Read – TouchDiva

[Thanks, Soren]

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