September 15th, 2004
Gadget Watch: Cat-shaped LCD monitors and flower speakers
Two cool items from Japan that you may never get to buy:
Kitty cat screen
i-Mii, a 15-inch, cat-shaped LCD monitor from Greenhouse has ears that function as speakers, while the feet and tail function as the stand. Available in green and orange, the display runs at 1024×768 and will sell for around $400 US later this year.
Flower power
Ka-on (which means "flower sound" Japanese) consists of a donut-shaped magnet and coil at the base of a vase that hooks up to a CD player, stereo or TV. Place the flowers into the vase, turn on Ka-on, and the magnet and coil relay the sound vibrations up the stems through the plant’s water tubes. The system was originally designed for store flower displays, but with an upcoming speaker-phone model planned be on the lookout for people spending inordinate amounts of time talking to their plants. No word on the sound quality or volume control.
