The Book Radio

We don't see a lot of innovations these days for the old FM dial, but The Book Radio by Vinay Venkatraman and Pei Yu is taking stereo entertainment old school. All the controls for the radio are based on basic book reading motions, so turning the page changes the frequency, and you can change the volume by sliding the bookmark in or out. You can of course annotate different stations by merely writing on that frequency's page, since it's just a book after all. The Book Radio wirelessly controls a base station with speakers, or you can kick it with headphones if that's how you'd prefer. Us? We're going to stick with The Book TV, which involves us placing a book on our lap in good faith and then vegging out to May sweeps.

[Thanks, Priya]

[LeDoubleD @ May 20th 2006 12:25PM]

It's not a book to read and it's not a radio you would listen to while doing other work. Soooo, that makes it how useful? Could I be wrong?

[Saffy @ May 20th 2006 2:11PM]

Innovative and interesting? Yes.

Practical or at all useful? Hell no.

[Steph @ May 20th 2006 2:32PM]

Do you have to be a fat bald guy with a stupid smile to use it ?

[Marc Mayor @ May 20th 2006 2:54PM]

What a joke...

[Pete @ May 20th 2006 2:55PM]

lol

[Jeff @ May 20th 2006 3:23PM]

What, no jokes about this being a "novel" approach?

[Vicky @ May 20th 2006 4:35PM]

I'm not trying to be rude, but this is one of the most stupid things I've ever seen. Buy a radio, and YOU DON'T HAVE TO CARRY A BOOK WITH HEADPHONES STICKING OUT OF IT AROUND!!!
anyone else agree with me?

[it's research @ May 20th 2006 6:26PM]

this looks like a fantastic research project that they tried to make into a product. it's a great way for us to reflect on the current digital interface paradigms but doesn't work as a product.

as research? fascinating, fantastic.

as a product? not realistic. wasted on the mindless consumer.

come on guys, stick to teaching academics and not trying to convince these morons why they should buy a book to listen to the radio. the average consumer simply won't understand the implications of this device.

[Tull @ May 20th 2006 6:32PM]

Well think about it for a second, without all our fat bald guys working on "creative" projects such as this they would all be forced to become engineers and such, and then America would become a productive society once again. And who wants that?

[Mischa Lockton @ May 20th 2006 7:42PM]

ok, I had to double check it wasnt Apr. 1st again when I saw this joke.

I can turn a bass drum into a DAP, unique, funny, and ultimately stupid as hell.

[lilchippy @ May 20th 2006 10:17PM]

radios then portable radios then radio pens then radio ipods and then radio mp3s and now radio books? what a supprise...

[Wry Cooter @ May 20th 2006 10:52PM]

The concept is just like channel surfing the TV with your remote, except with radio, and less attention being paid to the audio.

Lets say you just want some background music as you are reading, but don't know what you want. Every couple of minutes as you turn a page, you get a new station, without having to shift focus to a radio.

Okay, enough apologizing. Its useless.

[Amy Hikari @ May 21st 2006 3:31AM]

There's some pun here about being on the same page and the same wavelength; I just can't think of it right now.

[wxrman @ May 21st 2006 6:41AM]

Is that the guy from the Gorillaz video?

Glad he's finding new work.

[fun clone @ May 21st 2006 7:49AM]

ok guys , it think most of you are being mindlessly harsh. I agree that the product is not all that practical but its amazing as a concept and innovation. I am glad its a product without the same old buttons and dials everywhere (is that what geeks like?) i could see such applications being used for children's books or audio books for the blind with braille.
Would you buy it if were promoted with a skimpily clad woman ?..its time for companies to wake up.

[strider_mt2k @ May 21st 2006 12:27PM]

This would be an interesting setup for a ham or shortwave listening radio, as one can fine tune and make notes on the pages.

While not a product the luddite public would be into, I admire and applaud the whimsical approach to combining two dissimilar activities.

As a compromise for the plodding masses, how about an FM radio bookmark/book light or something?
That's something that'll sell.

[Angeline Dickson @ Dec 13th 2006 6:08PM]

I can I submit my first new book called "HearingfromGod" can be found on amazon.com
I am tring to get the media to give me reviews on my Christian book.
Can you help or do you know how I can get tv,radio,newspaper,and magazines contacts.
Please let me know,
Thanks,
Angeline