Snap and send
Next month, Kodak will start shipping its EasyShare-One, a digital camera that wirelessly connects to the Internet at any Wi-Fi hot spot. Users can snap a photo and e-mail it to friends on the spot without having to connect the camera to a computer first. The camera will come with a rotating LCD touch screen for viewing photos and on-camera albums for organizing them. The camera can store a many as 1,500 photos and will retail for $599.
Let there be light
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands has created phototonic textiles, soft fabric into which light-emitting diodes have been embedded. To show off the fabric, the company has fashioned pillows, backpacks and rugs that display messages in lights. If the company adds wireless networking, children could send text messages to their moms on a pillow or surprise classmates with a message on a backpack.
Black, white and read all over
You can fold up a newspaper, so why not unfurl an electronic version of the same? Philips Polymer Vision has created a prototype for an electronic reader whose flexible display can unroll into a 5-by-5-inch screen. The networked device, called Readius, can be used to view messages, news and maps. When closed, the mobile reader measures approximately 4-by-2-by-1 inch, small enough to slip into a pocket or bag.