Now this is something I can really get behind. I love my Droid but damn if it doesn't feel good to use a regular phone handset every once in a while. Well, here's the solution. The Moshi Moshi!  Say it again... Moshi Moshi!!

Comfort comes to any cell phone, smart phone or computer with the MM02 Curve mobile handset by French designer David Turpin. The ergonomic design allows you to communicate by phone comfortably--and safely. When plugged into a cell phone, user can keep talking while checking out a PDA's email, the internet or calendars. A high-quality speaker and microphone provides clear communication. The weighted base and silicon mat protects phone from wear and tear. Connect to computers for VOIP calls--the ultimate communication and business tool. The Curve is compatible with all 3.5mm jack phones and computers, including the iPhone, BlackBerry, MacBook and iPad. Mac computers can also use it out-of-the box for Skype or other VIOP applications.

How cool is that? Somebody buy me one... oh, and a droid too because I don't really have one of those yet either. Check out the video below for a super sexy English guy showing you all the Moshi, Moshi features.

Those English guys are so dreamy...

Keep those inventions coming and be sure to send a prototype to me and I'll review it for you right here on dannisblog.

Danni~

One day in 2006, stuck in bumper-to-bumper Bay Area traffic, Amir Abolfathi had a eureka moment. Formerly vice president of R&D for Invisalign, a company known for transparent dental braces, he had recently been chatting with a friend who was working on hearing aids. Abolfathi knew that bone was a good sound conductor. What if he could somehow make a removable oral hearing aid—one that could channel sound from wearers’ teeth to their ear through the bones in their head?

That moment of freeway inspiration gave rise to the SoundBite, a device designed for sufferers of single-sided deafness, which strikes about 50,000 people every year in the U.S. After his friend, Michael Benninger, an otolaryngologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, told him it could really help to solve the problem, Abolfathi set about turning his idea into reality. The biggest challenge was miniaturization, so he opted for a piezoelectric actuator, which needs very little power to generate the vibrations that travel through bone. That allowed him to use a much smaller battery, making the entire insert compact enough to fit comfortably in the mouth.

Invention: SoundBite
Inventor: Amir Abolfathi
Cost: $19 million
Time: 4 years
Is It Ready Yet? 1 2 3 4 5

Made of acrylic, SoundBite snaps onto a user’s molars. A tiny microphone worn in the deaf ear wirelessly beams incoming sound to an electronic receiver in the molar insert,

which transmits sound waves from the teeth through the bones in the jaw to the cochlea, the part of the ear that processes sound. (Traditional hearing aids only amplify sound, so they don’t work for people with non-functioning cochlea.) The battery lasts for six to eight hours at a time and can be recharged in a wall outlet.

The best remedy for single-sided deafness currently on the market is a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA), which, like the SoundBite, uses direct bone conduction to deliver sound to the cochlea. But BAHA installation involves surgically implanting a titanium post into the base of the skull. Other noninvasive tooth-based systems have been attempted, but none was ever fully developed and brought to market.
The SoundBite restores hearing just as effectively as a BAHA but requires no surgery. Instead it can be popped in and out of the mouth like a retainer. In clinical trials that wrapped up in February, patients typically reported that it restored from 80 to 100 percent of their hearing in the deaf ear and that they scarcely noticed they were wearing it. Lawrence Lustig, the director of the University of California at San Francisco Cochlear Implant Center, is so impressed with the SoundBite that he says he’ll recommend it to people who would otherwise have to undergo surgery.

If the device secures FDA approval as anticipated, it will hit the market this summer for around $6,000. (Surgery for a BAHA can run well over $10,000.) Abolfathi’s company, Sonitus Medical, plans to negotiate with insurance providers to reimburse patients for at least part of the cost. Abolfathi is also investigating other applications for the technology, including wireless, water-safe MP3 players and stealth communication for intelligence personnel. But even if those don’t pan out, he’s satisfied to know that he’s already improved people’s lives. “One patient just e-mailed and told me, ‘I saw Avatar, and it was great. I hadn’t been to a movie in years.’”

Keep those inventions coming and be sure to send a prototype to me and I'll review it for you right here on dannisblog.

Danni~

Ok, this totally cracks me up! Whenever a TV product commercial plays I crack up during the parts where they show us what we're doing wrong and why we need the product. Come on people, have you had one of these ideas and didn’t get it to market first?

Track down a company to help YOU!

Also, bonus points and a shout out on my next blog entry to the person who can tell me what product the guy suspiciously unbuttoning his jeans at 13 seconds is in need of?? Enquiring minds need to know!

Do you enjoy taking long, meditative strolls in remote, forested areas alone? Do you speak fluent Ewok? If you answered yes, you might be more than a little strange, but you’re also a  candidate for the Rescue Balloon!

Designer Jaeseok Han wasn't fooling around when he created this compact kit — intended for hikers who get lost or injured in the wilderness and need to signal aerial search teams. It comes complete with a small, lightweight helium gas cylinder and a long, inflatable red balloon that can peer out from the tree canopy and flag down appreciative rescue workers (as well as passing Imperial Shuttles). Or simply take a dozen or so of these things with you and the next time you get lost blow the lot up and do a Balloon Boy to freedom. Go Falcon!

Since it doesn't bet your life on flare guns, cellphones and fancy GPS devices that can run out of ammo or batteries, I really do love the simplicity of this concept. So for the sake of seasoned adventurers and the navigationally challenged among us (I had a personalized chair at Disneyland Lost & Found throughout my childhood years), we hope the Rescue Balloon makes it to production someday.

You know that thing you've been thinking about? That one you know is a great idea just waiting to happen? Now's the time! Take it from Danni. Everyday you let that great idea slide is one day closer to somebody else grabbing that idea from you and making their first million. So let's get your idea patented and on it's way to market.

Love - Danni~

The Fujifilm FinePix Z700 EXR is the first camera that has an "Auto Dog/Cat Detection" function. Basically, when your cat/dog/ferret looks directly at the camera, snap! a picture is taken. Even the exposure and focus is adjusted, so that you can get the best picture possible starring your big baby for next year's Holiday card. I think this function would work really well for human babies too. Also, you can program the camera to take 10 pictures at a time to see which facial expression you like most. I can't wait to purchase this invention! I wonder if it works on people who look like animals too. I once knew a guy who looked exactly like the GEICO gecko. I'll have to find him on Facebook to test my theory out.

Remember keep inventing out there! "Pet owners" is a huge market that you can easily tap into once you have a prototype. And we all know, who was the first in line to purchase the FinePix Z700: 

So much love there!

...We are replacing you, one invention at a time. At least, you still have your good looks to fall back on, because Live Luggage is taking away your ability to impress all the single ladies on the plane with your heavy-lifting luggage skills. Now women can fit all their pairs of shoes without struggling to lug their carry-on around the airport or into the overhead bin; Live Luggage is a power-wheel bag! Now if it could only get itself to the terminal on its own, we would be set. It also has an anti-gravity handle that pulls 85% of your weight, so that you can look stylish carrying pounds of last minute gifts that you purchased at the airport. You won't even be able to tell that you added the weight! And the real kicker of Live Luggage is that both bags detach making it easier to stuff and lift your carry-on into the overhead container. No more smacking random people in the head, unless of course, you want to. Hey, I have met a lot of strange and obnoxious individuals on airplanes as I am sure you have to. I don't judge.

If you have a great invention that will make traveling less stressful, remember to seek patenting advice first. Now let's all board a plane to the Caribbean Islands pronto!

"I am a nice shark that is being 3-D projected into your Roca Waterdrop Shower. Humans are friends, not food," says Bruce from Finding Nemo. Thanks Bruce darling for that nice introduction to today's invention, the Roca Waterdrop Shower! Now when you shower, you can watch three hour long movies on your surrounding 3-D touch screen that also allows you to control the water temperature and jets. I'm not sure how much water you can waste taking a three hour shower (I'm guessing A LOT), but I do know that you will look like a prune with eyes. At least, now you can join the Raisonettes like I know you've always wanted to!

This shower is only a concept for now-- darn it though, I was going to invite guests over for the weekend and play Psycho on the touchscreen! How entertaining would that be? Then an encore of What Lies Beneath. Also, I'm not sure how they would make the screen three-dimensional without the use of 3-D glasses, and just a little fact--Did you know African-American Kenneth J. Dunkley discovered the two periphery points on a human's eye that if obstructed create a three dimensional effect? Now you know! This discovery, of course, led to 3D glasses being created, which then led to Avatar. Thank you, Mr. Dunkley!

Hasbro is releasing the 75th anniversary version of Monopoly in fall 2010, with a few major changes. If I hadn't told you just right now that this was the new Monopoly board, I'm sure you would have never guessed it! Not only is the board round, the money is plastic and the bank teller is an electronic device that sings (creepy). You know what that means-- you are forced to play by the rules and no more raiding the bank when your opponent goes to the bathroom! Unless of course, you are an extraordinaire at hacking into bank accounts, which you could be. If so, you are my new best friend.

I'm not sure how I feel about this modern take on a classic game. I miss the silver game pieces (the top hat and car mostly), the physical money that you can throw up in piles to make you feel even more rich, and an actual banker that you can accuse of cheating if you are losing badly. Plus, isn't it a bad idea to teach children at such a young age how to use a credit card? Unless it says "insufficient funds" if you overdraft, then I'm all up for it. But in this case, it will probably sing you ABBA's "Money, Money, Money" song or Rolling Stone's "You Can't Always Get What You Want." I could go for that! Also, it has being updated from low prices to modern day prices; expect to pay 4 million for Boardwalk instead of $400. WHOA! On the plus side, you collect 2 million when you pass "Go." If only real life were like that, I would pass "Go" all the time (somehow that sounds wrong?).

What are your thoughts on this new Monopoly? Let me know! I'm curious.

The iPad, the new release from Apple, is a multi-touch screen that is basically a laptop computer minus the keyboard and mouse part. It is lighter than a laptop and the huge screen allows you to view websites one page at a time with finger scrolling to change the page of course. Think of it as a huge iPhone without the ability to make calls or take pictures. You can however view pictures that are "crisp and vibrant" according to the website. Also, because the screen is so large, it makes it easier to watch movies and YouTube videos, as well as read novels in the iBook application, check email,  manage your calendar, and more. I am sure they already are designing apps for the iPad, hopefully the Fart 2.0 makes the cut! I'm crossing my fingers. Plus, the design is like a Frisbee, so I'm sure you can toss it around if you feel like it; it might just come back.  

I think it will be interesting to see if people go crazy over this product like the iPod or iPhone. It looks just like the iPhone but in a much bigger form that it should be funny to see people pull them out of their bag, and others mistakenly thinking that this is the new phone must-have-- like we have reverted back to massive cell phones.

I wish!