Selection of innovative products

The cube is back Forget the already-dead Dreamcast and the oldy PlayStation2. Nintendo is back in business, with this "cube", and the will to go one step further in game consoles. Fitting in the palm of your hand, the machine will come with a 400 MHz processor, and is already presented as the "definitive gamers experience". Nintendo - Gamecube - In July for Japan, in October for the US. www.nintendo.com
Zap the Web Cyber couch potatoes will adore it. TAK, a subsidiary between Thomson and Microsoft, has launched what looks like a TV set, but is in fact more than that. With a built-in modem and a dedicated online service, this "Interactive TV set" will connect to the Internet and allow you to get customized news. Plug the dedicated keyboard, and you'll even be able to send mail with your TV. Junk TV-ads and mail spams altogether on a wide screen, this is typical modernity. Thomson Tak Interactive TV - Tak - From $750 to $2,000 www.tak-tv.com
	Keep It Half, Stupid Bored with cumbersome QWERTY (or AZERTY) keyboards? Try this well named "half keyboard", and things will never be the same. This one must be used with one hand, while the other, as they said, can do "something else" (in fact, hold the mouse - what were you thinking about?). Fits with Palm Pilots, Mac and PCs. Half Keyboard - Matias - $99 halfkeyboard.com
Phone Music When the leader of the mobile phone industry comes into the music, it gives us this small and smart device. Able to receive FM radio and to read MP3 files, it can be used without a phone. But when connected to a Nokia handset, it will also play as a hands-free headset, won't need its own batteries anymore, and will even pause the music when receiving phone calls... Music Player - Nokia www.nokia.com
MP3ing life Bang & Olufsen is mostly known for its award-winning design TV sets and Hi-Fi players. Now, its seems as if the Sweden company wants to jump in the MP3 bandwagon, with this brand new piece of software. With its simple but smart interface, and the ability to manage a database of songs or artists, this player is not the most comprehensive on the market, but it's surely the most elegant. For PCs only. Beoplayer - Bang & Olufsen - Free www.beoplayer.com
Easy Cycler Leave this noisy and polluting Harley stuff to others, and take a ride on this "Business Class Phat Chopper Cycle". Comes with 7 gears. "It's not a cycle, babe, it's a chopper..." Business Class - Phat Cycles - $399 www.phatcycles.com
Hi-mazing This small device has everything you normally find on bigger ones. But it also has much more features. Offline, the Hi-muse can read CDs or MP3 files, and can record songs (roughly 6,000 titles) on a dedicated hard drive. Online, the device allows to search and listen to Internet radios, and to download MP3 files. All music is stored on a database, accessed via the LCD screen. To be released in Q1'02. Beta-testers are welcomed. Hi-muse - Future Sound Technologies hi-muse.com



 
Cyril Fievet