We've been fans of Sanyo's rechargeable Eneloop batteries since they first entered the market in the lazy NiMH and NiCd days of 2005. We remember this because we, like Eneloops, don't suffer from the memory effect of our predecessors. Ok, ok, that date's in the press release but that doesn't change the fact that Eneloops will maintain their charge over time even when stored, ununsed in a drawer now does it? Anywho, Sanyo just announced its rechargeable Eneloop Lamp that serves to light your home when upright or your path when held like a flashlight -- automatically, just as soon as it passes the 90-degree mark. It also features a healing function that waxes a cool blue light into the tragic abyss of your misery and despair. The internal AAs recharge in about 12-hours when set atop the included induction charger. Fully charged, you can expect between 3- and 45-hours of white light, 12- to 16-hours of the blue stuff, and about 6 hours in flashlight mode. No price was given but it'll be on sale in Japan starting September 11th.

[Via Akihabara News]

While you're replacing your household incandescent light-bulbs with LEDs in a bid to save energy and possibly cash (over the 40,000-hour lifespan) you might want to consider these remote-controlled lamps from Sharp. The DL-L60AV gives you on/off and dimming functions as well as the ability to adjust the light in seven shades of white to warm up or cool down the glow. Best of all, they screw into a standard E26 socket for a one-to-one exchange with your existing ocean warmers. The features of the remote control are still unclear (lighting zone support, range of operation, etc.) but it appears to work with multiple-lamps in parallel which is a nice touch. However, we'd like to see Sharp integrate a Z-Wave or ZigBee chipset so we could link these directly (without special wall-switches) into a tricked-out home automation and power managment system. The DL-series start at ¥3880 (about $40) for simple LED lights before hitting ¥7980 (about $82) for the fully-equipped DL-L60AV and begin shipping July 15th in Japan.

Philips has always pushed OLED lighting concepts, and it looks like the company's Lumiblade products will be the first to start shipping. The folks at OLED-Info got to play with some pre-production samples, and while they're definitely cool and impossibly slim, there are some notable drawbacks: the rectangular panel has some unfortunate "speckles," and overall they're just not very bright on their own, so you'll need quite a few for an actual lamp. Still, we've no doubt OLED lighting will soon be everywhere, so hit read link for a quick glimpse of the future.

Could everyone just dole out a round of golf claps for Yoon-Hui Kim and Eun-Kyung Kim? Swell, thanks. These two designers have conjured up something that any second-rate hotelier (we kid... kind of) would love, as the Solar Vertical Lamp provides an eco-friendly (and eye-catching) alternative to those drab lamps from the 1980s. With the blinds open, you'll hardly notice anything unusual, but all the while tiny solar pads are being charged up; when time comes to shut these very blinds, a lighting instrument appears to brighten the otherwise darkened room. Brilliant, right?

[Via Inhabitat]

It's a shame that the amazing always becomes ordinary given enough time and popular exposure. Case in point: the x-ray. Childhood longings to possess such visual power are ultimately replaced by painful memories of leaden-concealed trips to the emergency room. Until this, the X-Ray Light from designer Wonsuk Cho. A whimsical look through the lampshade for eyes eager to see. Unfortunately, these lampshade / lights aren't yet available to purchase -- another dream dashed by cruel reality.

[Via Technabob]

Kyoto-based company Rohm impressed us at last year's CEATEC with a mega-tiny OLED display but it didn't rest on its laurels. A larger prototype exhibited this year emitted ambient light at 3,000 to 4,000cd/m² and a brief flash at 100,000cd/m² -- that's respectively 10 and 250 times the brightness of a typical LCD display. But the impressive bit was this: nothing illuminated cast a shadow. Obviously a light like that is a poor match for a haunted house or romantic restaurant, but surgeons use shadowless lamps at the operating table, so there are applications. The short shelf life of OLED materials is still a nagging disadvantage, but as Dr. Eldon Tyrell would say: "the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very, very brightly." Then again, he was talking about cybernetic killing machines, so, maybe not such a great endorsement.

[Thanks, Erik]

Some pretty extreme methods for waking up are out there, but for those of you who'd prefer something a bit more natural, have a passing glance at Philips' Wake-up Light. This admittedly brilliant device simulates the rising of the sun by gradually getting brighter as your desired required wake-up time draws near. If that's not enough, your windowless apartment can become the middle of Central Park with the inclusion of bird sounds, babbling brooks and millions of citizens yapping on mobiles. Okay, so maybe that last bit will come with a future firmware update, but if the current iteration is good enough for you, it can be acquired now for around $120.

[Via UberReview]

Update: Seems this has been around for at least a bit in some parts of Europe. Share the love!

Remember those battery-operated vibrating ladybugs that people used to pass around (multiple times) as office gifts? Yeah, that critter ain't got nothing on this stable of patently awful gizmos. We've seen a remarkable amount of garbage pass under our noses in the past few weeks, and we've rounded up the worst of the worst for your consideration. So, is a USB shell speaker really more embarrassing than a V-Sports console for folks tired of searching for a Wii? Is the i-Knock personal IM notifier more unnecessary than the Encore Rockin' Music Lamp? Or does the OMG-inducing Limbo String walk away with the gold here? We know, each and every item is a festering turd in one way or another, but which of the ones below just exemplify the word "crap?" Choose carefully.

Read - USB shell speaker
Read - USB back massager
Read - V-Sports console
Read - i-Knock IM doohickey
Read - Encore Rockin' Music Lamp
Read - Limbo String

It's hard to say what kind of individual seeks out lighting instruments that even look like eyes, let alone lighting instruments with cloned details of their own eyes, but just in case you know one such person, here's the perfect FYI for 'em. Paris-based 5.5 designers are offering a service that enables you to send in images of your eyes (along with a very large sum of money, we presume) in order for the craftspeople to construct eyeball lamps with hints of you splashed all over. Sure gives Rockwell's one and only jam a whole new meaning, yeah?

[Via ShinyShiny]

Remember that hundred pack of blank cassettes you bought back in '93 when they hit 90-percent off? Man, those were the days. Unfortunately, you only got around to making three or four mix tapes, leaving you with quite a few unused hunks of junk cluttering up the closet. If you've managed to hang onto 'em just knowing a worthwhile use was just around the bend, congratulations. The ingenious cats over at Transparent House have glued an assortment of old tapes together and inserted neon lights within to keep things cool and create a rather impressive source of lighting. Oh, and if you can't figure this one out sans a how-to guide, maybe DIY work just isn't your bag.

[Via technabob]

Though we've seen OLEDs used for interior lighting purposes before, OSRAM and designer Ingo Maurer have churned out what's possibly the world's first dedicated OLED lamp. Aptly named Early Future, the creation is being produced as a limited edition and unveiled at the Light&Building Fair in Frankfurt, Germany this week. Each OLED tile measures in at 132- x 33-millimeters, but we're not told exactly how energy efficient this desktop illuminator is (nor where to find one). Leap on past the break for a closeup of the tiles.

[Via OLED-Info, thanks Ron]

Despite numerous technological advancements in home automation, it's never really seemed to catch on with the mainstream. Now it's time for the children -- our future -- to take things into their own hands. Hasbro is launching the Room Tech Clock (left) and Room Tech Lamp (right), which put a bit of wireless conspiracy to good use by having the Clock turn on the Lamp when the alarm goes off. Sadly, these kids aren't really dreaming big yet, since that's about all this duo can do, other than an audio jack on the alarm to play tunes off your portable audio player. The two Room Tech devices will be out in September, at least in the UK, for £39.99 ($79 US) a piece.

[Via Inhabitat]