As evidenced by Kindle 2 text-to-speech fiasco and the fact Braille books are bigger and heavier than standard texts, the blind want in on the e-reader craze. But for readers who enjoy listening to a bit of background music, audiobooks aren’t the answer. To the rescue comes the Braille E-Reader, a concept from five Korean designers that uses electroactive polymers to transform the screen. The familiar raised dot patterns rise and falls as electric voltage is run through the device. It’s a pretty neat idea if it actually works, plus I highly doubt the Authors Guild would be able to whine about this one. [Yanko Design via DVice]

The crack developers at Kyocera are coming up with some crazy ideas, and just for the sake of exciting us, they’re passing around 3D renders of their wildest (phone) fantasies. The neatest, by far, is the EOS (pictured), which sports a flexible OLED display and a QWERTY keyboard function on the back side when partially folded up. It also uses kinetic generations to charge the device as it folds. Meanwhile, the iPhone-like NXT concept has a solar panel on the back and four detachable OLED displays. Obviously we’re a ways off from anything like these designs — OLED itself is just barely coming into vogue — but a Kyocera man can dream, right? [via MobileCrunch]

You didn’t hear this from Apple, but the company’s plans to create a slick touch screen netbook are for real, according to sources in Korea. Rumor had it that Apple is working with a Taiwan-based manufacturer to construct a product that is larger than the iPod Touch but smaller than the 13-inch MacBook. Reportedly speaking to LG, which in January signed a $500-million deal to make LCD screens for apple, Smarthouse says those rumors are true, and in fact there’s already a working prototype out there. Better yet, LG is supposedly working on an OLED screen that’s resistant to “body oils and sweat,” perhaps by adding a layer in the manufacturing process. That’s a technology that could benefit more than just Apple fanboys in the long run. Personally, I’m surprised Smarthouse didn’t reach out to Apple for the token denial or non-response, but where’s the juiciness in that? [Smarthouse via SlipperyBrick]

Back in the late 80′s/early 90′s I was totally psyched for virtual reality. Virtual sex with Sandra Bullock [Demolition Man ] ? Count me in. It seemed like it was just around the corner, then it kind of fizzled out without much fanfare. What the hell happened to all that hype?

Thanks to a team of British academics from York and Warwick universities, it’s back with more potential than ever. The team has set to work building a VR headset that will encompass all five senses. From what we’ve read so far, the device will be used largely to simulate the sounds, sights, smells, feelings and even tastes of far off destinations that you won’t be visiting in real life any time soon, including ancient civilizations.  No brain manipulation here, the helmet uses tangible sense manipulators such as built-in smell and taste sprayers. The high-def viewing screen produces images 10 x darker or 30 x brighter than a TV and information is supplied via computer connection. Those working on it say it’s so convincing that it’s “Real Virtuality”. Clever academics.

Estimates indicate that this could be ready for production in 5 years time with an estimated price of 1500 pounds (who knows how many dollars that will equate to then). [Daily Mail]

No more staring at the clock, trying to calculate how long ’till temporary freedom from the nine to five. Lazybone has created a countdown clock that pinpoints, to the second, when the weekend begins. This is either crushingly depressing or incredibly optimistic, depending on your mindset and what day of the week it is. Maybe its best to set it for Wednesday, just to bouy your spirits during the weekly hump. If you work odd hours, fear not; the weekend starting point can be set to any date and time. The Weekend Clock costs £19.99 (roughly $28), but it’s not in pre-order just yet. Too big of a weekend hangover, perhaps? [Lazybone via Dvice]

Does watching TV leave your sense of smell feeling neglected? Or perhaps your own couch potato-induced stank isn’t satisfactory enough for a truly immersive TV watching experience.  If you’re nodding “yes,” hope that designer Nuno Teixeira’s SMELLIT concept finds a way to market. The device uses DVD information to trigger one of its 118 aroma cartridges and wafts them out with a fan, though we know nothing about the full range of intended smells. From the pictures, it seems Teixeira plans the obvious “popcorn” scent, but what about more vile olfactory offerings? Seriously, though, the real challenge here will be getting movie studios to jump on board and embed the technology in their discs. “It’ll funkify your living room” probably isn’t the most enticing angle for marketing. [via Dvice]

Even if you’ve never given a presentation in your life, you have to admit there is something very cool about being able to whip your cell phone out of your pocket and get a 70-inch image on the wall in seconds. The newest player helping to make this a reality is the Explay Colibri projector module, to be officially launched at Mobile World Congress next week. The tiny module ( 24 x 28.6 x 7mm) draws just 1.3 Watts of power and can provide images in VGA, WVGA and SVGA resolutions with 10 Lm brightness, setting it up to be the smallest, least power-hungry, highest-resolution module available. One day, every junior high teacher in the country is going to have a dedicated desk drawer just to store confiscated devices with embedded Colibri modules. For now, the Colibri will be used in the newest Explay OiO mobile projector. [Boing Boing via Slash Gear]

Who needs a huge plasma screen television when you can watch your favorite shows directly in your eyes? British futurologist Ian Pearson thinks that we could see contact lenses that double as televisions screens in the next ten years. As circuits and displays are getting smaller and smaller, Pearson believes that they could eventually become small enough that they could be put into a contact lens, that could then be controlled through voice commands. You would put your television contacts into your eyes in the morning, and then watch TV whenever you feel like it throughout the day. The idea is a pretty interesting one. What do you think? Would you wear television contacts? [via Wired]

Aside from Macy Gray in the playlist, this concept iPhone has everything you could ever want in a mobile device. Measuring 9 mm thin and weighing just 4.4 ounces, the “speculative design” by Jim Young is constructed of titanium and glass. And it seems black is out, replaced by the more industrial shade of gray. The fantasy phone includes a front camera for iChat, true GPS and an OLED screen, but the real treats are the removable battery and enough storage space to finally make your old iPod irrelevant. What, no 3D graphics card and built-in laser beam? [via Gizmodo]