Hasta La Gadget!

If you prefer the feel of writing or sketching with a freshly sharpened pencil and are fastidious about keeping hydrated, this clever piece of synergy is going to blow your mind. Designed for use on standard plastic water bottles, this pencil sharpening bottle cap is a brilliantly obvious way to deal with pencil shavings. More »

Strapping your feet to a board and then sliding down a snow-covered hill requires skills that most humans aren’t born with. So to make it just a little easier for novices to learn how to snowboard, Australia’s Streetboardz has created a board with a built-in handbrake that lets riders easily stop before things get out of control. More »

It’s been over a year since we’ve seen these excellent weapon shaped pillows and if you’ve spent that year in pillow fight detente with your bed partner, we totally understand. But no more. It’s about to get on and fluffing feathery. You can buy the weapon shaped pillows now. More »

What happens when you have a company that is named “Genius”? Well, obviously you would expect to see plenty of mind boggling devices being rolled out from their production lines, don’t you think so? Thing is, Genius has been a normal peripherals manufacturer for the better part of the company’s lifespan, although credit must be given where it is due – the company has certainly taken more than a step up in ensuring that some of their more recently released peripherals are worth your time – and money, of course. The latest idea that was introduced by the folks over at Genius? Well, what you see here is a carbon grey Pen Mouse that sports a redesigned shape to deliver an improved grip and pen clip for portability.

Well, the Genius Pen Mouse will communicate with your computer of choice using 2.4 Ghz wireless technology. Thing is, the Genius Pen Mouse itself has been specially shaped to resemble that of a fountain pen, and it also enables you to sit back in your chair and use your leg, palm, or just about any other kind of number of unconventional surfaces, such as a mouse pad even. Heck, it does not matter if you are standing or giving presentations, you can still make use of the Pen Mouse in order to control your PC.

Not only that, the Genius Pen Mouse is far more than just a convenient mousing option, as it will also be able to assist those who have wrist problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome. How is this possible? Well, it prevents aggravating injuries which is differently from that of regular mice since it will, in no way, require use of the wrist. The Pen Mouse will also play nice with just about any surface, sporting a trio of dpi settings that can be switched between 400/800/1200 dpi to accommodate different sensitivity preferences.

The Pen Mouse will come in new carbon grey or silver colors, at $49.99 a pop.

Press Release
[ Genius takes a second look at the Pen Mouse copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

If you were planning on opening a store selling your brand new computer brand with a setup that’s not unlike the Apple Store, you’ll probably want to re-think your strategy starting this week. Apple has officially been granted a trademark protecting their retail store design and layout by the US Patent & Trademark Office this week. The original trademark request application was made all the way back in May of 2010, so whatever you remember about the store design back then that’s survived until now you’ll want to avoid when knocking out your own store in the future.

This fully granted trademark listing includes items such as “oblong table and stools [that are] set below video screens flush mounted on the back wall.” That’s essentially describing the sections many Apple Stores had where people were invited to classes on what their Apple product was capable of and what they could do with it in the future. You won’t see that feature in too many Apple Stores these days as the back is mostly reserved for the Genius Bar or sales counters (where applicable.)

Another feature listed in the trademark is “a clear glass storefront surrounded by a panelled facade.” This joins several other patents and trademarks surrounding the stores interiors that’ve been granted in the past, one of which is a design patent for a floating glass staircase granted back in 2003. You can find the full trademark listing at the USPTO right this minute complete with registration granted date set for January 22nd, 2013.

The original drawing of the store (which you see above) includes a note about what the store is put in place to show: “retail store services featuring computers, computer software, computer peripherals.” This listing goes on to note “mobile phones, consumer electronics, and related accessories, and demonstration of products relating thereto.” This should ring a bell as the patent was first applied for in 2010 and lists mobile phones but not specifically tablet computers – they must simply be included in the overall computer listing in the first place.

Have a peek at the patent and let us know if you find anything else that rings your bells on what Apple now has the rights to. Were you planning on opening your own store soon with an Apple look? Let us know what you plan to do now!

[via Reuters]

Apple Store design and layout granted official US trademark is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.