Sylvania a online store dedicated to innovative LED and other lighting technologies for interior decoration offers a e-textile like light innovation in form of the ‘Lighted Placemat‘.

The ‘Lighted Placemat’ uses bright, white LEDs which run off an easy to replace CR2016 coin cell battery providing 20 hours of sparkling dinning atmosphere.

The sparkle is activated via a Push-button inside the ‘Lighted Placemat’. No need to worry about spills as these mats are treated with Scotchgard™ brand fabric protector for ease of spot cleaning.

Available in Black and Burgundy for the price of $24.99 you get a pair of those high tech place mats – not a bad deal.

A cute idea and nice example of ’soft technology’ used to create atmosphere and a bit of magic in  our homes.

[via: ChipChick]

We just got a hot tip from Noon Solar announcing the introduction of The Elston, the latest addition to their gorgeous looking line of solar fashion bags.

The Elston is a messenger bag named after one of the longest and most bike-able streets in Chicago. Like any good messenger bag, the Elston is roomy and chocked full of pockets and style!

The Elston will charge your cell phone and iPod while carrying your books, file folders or superhero outfits.

The Elston is manufactured in NYC and is made with organic, naturally dyed and veggie-tanned and veggie-dyed leather from Austria.  It measures 15″x 13″x 5″, comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery to store your harvested solar power and costs $447.

Noon Solar won’t post the Elston on their website until next week, but if you email to info@noonsolar.com by Wednesday, May 6, you will get a 15% discount!

Email your name, phone number, and shipping address and Noon Solar will send you a google checkout invoice that can be paid with any credit card.

Hurry up if you want to make better use of the long., sunny days ahead and like The Elston as Noon Solar’s bags are usually sold out very quickly.

Need to cheer up a bit the last leg of this school year? How about the Targus SonicPak from Dell?

Dell is offering this cool looking BoomPak featuring a padded compartment for protection of not only Dell laptops but will also fit for MacBooks of up to 15.4″.

The sound part is integrated into the front panel which is transformed to a sound emitting area giving decent sound via the surface sound technology from NXT. As this technology uses the soft, called ‘EVA’ material of the bag itself it is a space saving and extremely lightweight sound solution for on-the-go.

Any audio source can be connected via a standard 3.5mm pin connector, so many cell-phones, MP3 player and of course laptop computers.

The battery compartment with an on/off switch, a power-indicator LED as well as a 1.4W*2 amplifier (yeah it’s stereo sound) is integrated into the surface sound panel. The batteries should be able to provide power for up to 100 hours, sounds a bit much for 4x AA batteries or the volume is turned down to ‘unhearable’ levels which misses the point of having a BoomPak. Having half of that time for real volume would be still a good thing.

Dell is selling the SonicPak for S85.99, a reasonable price for what you get next to the great looking sound: side mesh water bottle holders, adjustable, padded shoulder straps, molded carrying handle, oversize zipper pulls for easy gripping and  plenty of pockets for accessories.

Pearl Izumi, covered on talk2myShirt earlier with the Vertex MP3 Short keeps innovating and exploring possibilities how embedded technologies into apparel can add value (and safety) to sports gear.

The Shine Hat represents a great innovation for commuters and those who prefer to ride or run in twilight/darkness.

The lighting system provides enhanced visibility with either a blinking or constant on light symbol which acts as a reflective element when switched off.

The integrated light system runs off a CR2032 watch battery located in the top of the hat which provides power for 100 hours of constant light on and double of that in blinking mode. A soft on/off switch for the light is integrated into the hat as well. The battery and light module is removable for washing.

The Microsensor Thermal fabric is warm, soft and breathable and will quickly wick moisture away from your head keeping you warm and dry. The 18% spandex content gives the Shine Hat excellent stretch to fit any size head.

For $14.99, the Shine Hat is an affordable visibility enhancing gear for runners or cyclists helping to avoid close encounters with cars during nightly runs.

A simple but bright idea in every sense.

With the warmer and more pleasant weather approaching we can finally spend more time outdoors and looking forward to sit in mother natures living-room with a book in hand and soothing music for a relaxing afternoon.

To make this picture perfect, I am always on the lookout for the perfect accessory to get me free of earphones so I can enjoy natures sound together with my own sound tracks.

One choice is to use the ‘typical’ audio accessories that hook up to a MP3 player. The down side is:  I need to carry another piece of equipment with me.

Audio bags are another option. Many styles are available nowadays starting from heavy duty outdoor backpacks to briefcases, messenger-bags, totes and now these Audio enabled Boho bags from Fi-Hi.

The Fi-Hi Boho Bag has a built in 3-watt stereo amplifier with water-resistant speakers. It connects to any iPod, cell phone, MP3/CD player, hand held game, or any other multimedia device with its built in 3.5 mm stereo jack.

At a price tag of $39.95 the Fi-Hi Boho Bag is on the lower end of the audio bag  price scale and is available in different color/style variations.

If you look for more sound bag choices follow this link for a full overview of Fi-Hi bag products for Her and Him.

We have covered bags and backpacks that double as boom-boxes many times. These bags do a great job when you are out and want to have your tunes as backdrop to your life on the go.

The sound quality will vary depending on the speaker quality but I suggest do not expect HiFi quality on any of them but some will deliver better quality than others.

The UZO1 Drawstring backpack sticks out a bit with it’s duffle style bag design which gives another choice when looking for a boom-bag. The stereo speakers are integrated into the front pocket which can be detached and used as speaker module on other occasions as well.

The speaker pocket contains the amplifier with a 3.5mm audio connector allowing the use with almost any portable device including laptops. 3x AA batteries are required to power the amplifier.

The bag has a drawstring top with a large duffel main compartment to hold school supplies, clothing, and any other personal items. One of the two zippered front side pockets is designed to hold an audio player while the other, detachable contains the audio system.

Noticeable also the price, just $ 29.99 and available in three colors: Red, Blue and Yellow.

Personally I like the seamlessly integrated, surface sound technology from NXT as this technology allows and ‘invisible’ integration of the speaker but on the other hand, conventional speaker make the speaker-bags cheaper.

Color changing, glowing garments radiate a mystical, magical aura. No wonder that much effort is spend on bringing wearable light and color changing magic to our outfit.

The newest addition to this segment comes from two of the top sneaker brands which will release simultaneously glow-in-the-dark sneakers along their Spring 2009 collection.

Nike Sportswear and Kanye West, who knows how to use illuminated clothing to get out-of-this-world visual effects, teamed up to create the highly anticipated Nike Air Yeezy sneaker, first seen on Kanye during the 2008 Grammy awards. The release date is set for April 4.

Besides the cool design of the Air Yeezy, it will start glowing after sunset thanks to a ‘glow-in-the-dark’ treatment of the swoosh and sole material.

Glow-in-the-dark paint and coatings contain phosphor, a substance that radiates visible light after being energized – in this case by daylight. There are two main types of phosphor that have these properties: Zinc Sulfide and Strontium Aluminate.

Strontium Aluminate has a much longer persistence than Zinc Sulfide. Chemists created many variants of glow-in-the-dark material with different properties on intensity, color spectrum and more. Available as powder mixed into plastic or paint for coating and impregnation.

Back to the sneakers: The second brand is New Balance with the glow-in-the-dark sneaker model MT576S BAMBOO RAKE which will be available at Mita.

This particular sneaker is the product of a collaboration between New Balance, Mita and creative collective FRAT. The highlight of the shoe is the glow-in-the-dark. They look subtle at first glance, appearing in an off white colorway but start radiating magical light when night falls.

New Balance scheduled the official release for April 4 as well. We couldn’t find any hint on retail price yet but we will give an update as soon as these information for both glowing sneakers become available.

I don’t think either company has visibility for safety while wearing the glow sneaker in mind when creating them but I do believe that these glowing sneakers will be a killer for partying and clubbing.

Former Italian Davis Cup Champion Sergio Tacchini launched Moda Milano in 2007 as a premium elitist range for sports apparel and footwear inspired by the 80’s fashion style.

The Catania Retro Track-top iPod Jacket with Embroidered Sergio Tacchini logo on the chest, front zip fastening, ribbed collar, cuffs and hem and an outer shell  with two forms of polyester fabric give it an exclusive, stylish look.

Fibretronic’s soft, low profile control element in the sleeve blend’s seamlessly into the soft material and style of the Catania track jacket, making it easy to control the music while keeping the iPod safely out from rain, dust and other harmful environmental elements.

The jacket is bundled with Fibretronic’s IP30 iPod control module but is compatible with the full range of Connected-wear modules.

The Catania Retro Track-top iPod Jacket is a limited edition release so it might not be available for a long time. You could pick up one via this online store for £63.71 (around $91.00)

I am a sucker for Italian design and the MODA MILANO iPod Jacket is no exception on how beautiful classy fashion design can be.

Republic, a UK high street retail chain launched last year under their hip and hot style brand ‘Crafted‘ the iPod Bomber jacket constructed with metallic yarn to give it a unique crinkled appearance and designed for the urban streetwear market, cool and gorgeous looking.

The jacket uses Fibretronic’s ‘ConnectedWear‘ audio control technology and works with all iPod models including the iPod touch and iPhones (the last one in ‘airplane mode’).

When launched last year the retail price was £54.99 ($109.40), a reasonable price for a jacket like this but Republic has it on sale now for £15.00 ($21.00) but available only in size XL. Great news and big saving if XL is your size.

What a huge bargain, too bad it’s only in XL size and very limited stock. So if you are one of the big boys, you have the great opportunity to get your interactive iPod jacket for almost free.

Japanese love to make everything cute so it is no surprise that softening conventional technology is getting it’s share of cute products.

I like how Japanese using technology in such playful and fun way. The Music Bear iPod Speaker is such an example. Is it a high end speaker system? Properly not. Is it a multi functional remote control for iPod and more? Very likely not.

Is it an object to cheer you and your friends up? Very likely YES. Softening ‘everyday’ objects that are usually cold and hard brings the sunshine into our living area and hearts.

The Music Bear iPod Speaker is operated by batteries (for the sound amplifier) which is stuffed into it’s belly but can also be plugged via USB to any computer.

The cute Music Bear retails for $38.00 via this online store.

If you like to make your own cute Bear remote control by transforming a plastic box remote from off-the-shelf, here is the link for an Instructables that gives you inspiration to get you started.

Life is too short to be taken always too serious – follow the Japanese way of life and soften brighten up your life a bit with soft technologies.