I can’t believe someone would really make cola powered-cell phones, but it sounds a jolly good idea. Actually, the conceptual mobile designed by Daizi Zheng would run on any sugary water – Pepsi could power your conversations, too.. The designer, a Product Design graduate from London’s Central St…
A frustrated design engineer whose company uses a proprietary lithium-ion battery made in China complained recently here in the Made by Monkeys blog about significant problems with those batteries swelling up. Bloated batteries sound like fodder for yet another “Made in China” recall story – and it’s not inconceivable…
Prized by design engineers for its enviable strength-to-weight ratio and high modulus, titanium has made its way in recent years into all sorts of high-tech products from turbine engines to bicycle frames. Now, a new toothbrush with a titanium dioxide core in its handle has hit the…
The recent brouhaha in this blog over the underwhelming performance of lithium ion batteries and the care that must be taking when charging them reminded me of a case in Design News that involved an explosion of near-Hindenburg-like proportions Oh I know what you’re thinking — it’s…
The announcement last month that 46 million Nokia-branded lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries made by Matsushita Battery Industrial could potentially short circuit and overheat was just the latest in a spate of product advisories and recalls of the technology over the past two years. But it’s not as…