REVIEW >> Interactive Story Telling Mirror

It seems like I am always reporting on how the mirrors of the future will be touch-interactive. This Through the Looking Glass mirror takes it one step further.

Designed by Romy van den Broek, this mirror allows children to experience an interactive fairy tale. If you have ever seen one of those interactive storybook iPad apps, then I am guessing that the experience is going to be quite similar.

Right now, they have it set up for Hansel and Gretel, and I am told that two kids can interact with the mirror at the same time. I wonder if they can take advantage of the mirror’s reflective surface, which would be the only difference between this an some sort of storybook app or interactive website.

The technology is done with a highly reflective LCD touchscreen display, and I suppose the idea is to imitate the magical mirrors that are seen in many stories. For example, Harry Potter’s Mirror of Erised, which I just realized is “desire” spelled backwards.

Right now, this is just concept technology, and I’m not certain whether parents would justify the purchase of one of these techno-magical mirrors for their own children. Perhaps one day we will live in an age where all mirrors will be like tablet PCs, and the functions of the Through the Looking Glass mirror will be just another App.

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REVIEW >> Sip N Spoon Set

We saw the Spork in the past, which is the merging of a spoon and a fork to help you save on cutlery, but how about the Sip N Spoon set? The name itself gives the game away, and while it won’t sound as cool as Spork, it will still boast a dual function. Usually, when you have some delicious watery soup that you just love to gobble down, you would have to scoop it up with a spoon, and bring the spoon to your mouth. No longer with this $6.99 purchase – all you need to do is bring your mouth to the end of the spoon and suck it up – the physics of a straw will come into action, and you will get more soup into your mouth faster than the traditional method. How about that for gastronomic innovation?

The Sip N Spoon is available from Perpetual kid for $6.99 a set.

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REVIEW >> R2-D2 Planetarium shows where the Death Star is

 

There is something about Star Wars that makes you want to put its iconic images from on Planetariums. There was that the Death Star planetarium that we reported about one year ago, and now there is R2D2.

Just to let you know, you aren’t going to see any holographic images of a galaxy far, far away from a long time ago. In fact, the 2-D projector is mounted on the top of his head, and not that nose-like projector on the side of his dome-shaped head. You won’t be hearing any princesses talking about how you are their only hope.

The R2D2 Planetarium displays about 10,000 stars, but I am not certain how accurate the display truly is. In fact, it shows something that won’t appear on any star charts: the Death Star. Yes, it is the original, fully-formed one from the first movie. You will notice the lack of planets surrounding it.

Not included in this R2 unit is the plans for how to destroy the deadly space station. However, if you take some fighters down into the trench in the middle, you should probably just shoot the exhaust port at the end. Yes, I don’t know why the Death Star designers left in an obvious Achilles heel in their plans, nor why there is a big trench leading right up to it. To me, that is a greater mystery than The Force itself.

This particular astrodroid is available from Sega Toys in Japan for a price of about $85. It should adorn the rooms of Star Wars geeks everywhere.

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