Sony shows off range of enviro-friendly "odo" gear
By Donald Melanson 
posted June 5th 2007 3:40PM
posted June 5th 2007 3:40PM
Sony's showing off a whole range of new environmentally-friendly gear in Japan at the moment, all of which can be used without ever having to be plugged in for a recharge. One of the more interesting devices of the lot is the Spin N' Snap digital camera (pictured above), which you charge up simply by placing your fingers in the two holes (which also double as a viewfinder) and spinning it around a few times. Taking a slightly different but equally non-power-hungry route is the Crank N' Capture camera, which can also apparently capture video of some sort. Rounding out the line up are the Pull N' Play stereo headphones, the Push POWER Play device (apparently a viewer of some sort), which you charge by rolling it back and forth on a table, and the "Juice Box," which packs a fold out solar panel that can be used to charge your other devices. What's more, if we're reading the machine translation correctly, it appears that all the devices are made of re-used or recycled plastic. Unfortunately, there's no word on when or if any of them will actually be available, although you can check out a couple more pics courtesy of Impress after the break and plenty more at the link below.
[Thanks, kaztm]
[Thanks, kaztm]
It's a changeling!!!
stupid environmentalists... making technology go BACKWARDS!!!!
I don't understand why it's "backwards"?
I think if you've been in a situation where there was a power outage, you'd understand that there are a lot of potential paper weights all around you.
w/e, just have fun rolling around your media viewer before you can use it
Someone screwed up her press-on nails.
Derek, given the choice between making a few small sacrifices in order to be more environmentally friendly and, I dunno, fucking over the entire ecosystem, I know which I'd prefer.
At least people are trying out ways to stop soiling our nest so badly. That should be applauded, even if some of it seems ridiculous.
More pics here, including camcorder:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20070605/sony4.htm
Couldn't they just integrate the rolling, swirling and tossing for energy into the latest cool-looking devices? Why does anything eco-friendly has to look so alternative-ish all the time?
@drtekger, these are concepts designed to capture your attention and imagination. Ideally OEMs making 'cool-looking' devices will think, like you, that they could do better, and incorporate these technologies (licensed from Sony) into items for regular punters, who don't want to be 'alternative'.
Personally, I like gadgets that don't run with the herd.
Is that a "no pictures" sign in the background?
I'm glad that people are working on this. Not having to be tethered to a chain of power supplies would be nice for a change. In Asia battery life is key because we use a lot of public transportation and a) have more time to fiddle with our gadgets b)don't have car chargers to power them up.
Having something that you can shake, roll or spin to charge or give it a little boost would be great. In stead of losing a call on your mobile because your battery's dying, wouldn't it be easier to say, "hang on a sec, I've got to shake my phone."
The headphones could be great sellers, who wants to charge up their wireless headphones at the end of the day?