Hasta La Gadget!

Jewelry inspired by food is nothing new, but Tiny Hands took things one step further by adding another dimension to their necklaces: the delicious smell of breakfast.

The necklaces are available in a wide variety of scrumptious designs, from waffles and pancakes to smores, cinnamon rolls, and shortcakes. Not only do they look like miniature replicas of the real thing, but they also smell like it, too.

It might not be a good idea to wear it when you’re on a diet though, for obvious reasons.

The Food Necklaces are available from Tiny Hands for $21 to $38 (USD) each. Or, for $25 a month, you can sign up for their Necklace of the Month club, and be rewarded with a delicious pendant every month.

[via Incredible Things via FoodBeast]

A new Apple patent application published by the USPTO today describes a magnetic connector similar to the one used to attach Smart Covers to the current iPad, but designed to be far more flexible with a variety of possible accessory combinations. It’s a smart connector system that could recognize the attached peripheral and change functionality accordingly.

The types of peripherals described in the patent are many and varied, and include things like speaker docks, trackpads and keyboards, drawing tablets, radio wave antennas, cameras, game controllers and card readers. There’s also a provision which describes how two iPads might be linked together via an intermediary magnetic hinge dock that connects to the smart magnetic link in each.

It could work either with basic magnets, or with electromagnets that can be turned on or off using controls built into iOS, according to the filing, which would allow you to theoretically ‘lock’ accessories in place, including docks that simply stand the iPad up or hold it on a positionable mount for different viewing angles.

The system’s flexibility doesn’t end there, however – Apple also describes various in-car mounts for connecting an iPad to your vehicle’s dash or headrests, as well as to a treadmill or other gym equipment. Each could be a simple enough magnetic connection with no attendant change in functionality, but the patent also describes how they could complete a circuit, too, to deliver power, and communicate with the attached peripherals to transfer specific kinds of data back and forth.

Finally, there’s mention of wearable tech that could be used to trigger the magnetic sensor and prompt various behaviour from the iPad. This could take the form of a ring, for instance, which when worn by the user would do things like unlock the iPad when the hand it’s on is waved deliberately across the tablet’s screen. In the context of other Apple wearable rumors making the rounds, this could theoretically also work with magnetic connectors built into some kind of iWatch, possibly for identification and unlocking purposes as well as for simple proximity-based communication with certain apps.

The system described in this patent is elaborate and filled with potential, but it’s worth noting that peripherals connected via the Lightning port can do some of the things depicted in the application. Still, were Apple to actively invest in putting this into shipping iPads, it would no doubt open up a world of possibility for accessory makers. Connections that don’t require physical I/O, and that could automatically prompt different behavior from an iOS device and from specific apps would significantly enrich the already vibrant appcessory ecosystem.

Apple already has magnets within the iPad’s chassis, so space constraints for components aren’t necessarily a huge concern, and this could easily be a focus feature for an iPad generational revision, especially in lieu of form factor or display changes. Apple patents rarely make their way intact into shipping hardware, but in this case, I’m holding out hope we do see something similar make its way to consumer hands.

It’s like a blast from the past but is really a trip back to the future in the soon to be present. Tinker Hatfield, the original designer behind Nike’s limited … Continue reading

Protective cases, of various shapes, sizes, and gimmicks, are a dime a dozen in the mobile device world but there are a few that rise above the others in design, … Continue reading

Genes, chromosomes, DNA. We all know it’s complicated, but who knew it could be so beautiful?

Electron microscopist Louise Hughes is passionate about microscopy and the genetic structures that she has studied and observed. And now they are available to wear as jewelry, as Louise has begun a Kickstarter campaign to get these pieces of jewelry in production.

Rewards include postcards featuring Louise’s microscopy artwork (told you she was passionate about it!), rings, pendants, earrings, and cufflinks that are available in XX, XY, XXY, or triplet of chromosome 21 designs. There’s also a ring available that features all of the chromosomes in a single piece.

For more information on the project and the rewards, check out the Human Chromosome Jewelry campaign page on Kickstarter.

[via C|NET]