Sony ODO Twirl N' Take Hand-powered Digital Camera
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin 
on 01.13.08
Sony introduced the ODO series of gadgets in mid-2007 to demonstrate new advances in hand-chargable devices, easy to blog-love. Now Sony has brought out the ODO Twirl N' Take prototype. Twirl N' Take is a digital camera which sits in a clever flowerpot USB cradle, making the most of the sleek stem-and-circle design. For more pics and details on the charging technique, check over the fold.
The Twirl N' Take is recharged by rolling the rubber circumference of the round wheel housing across a table or other hard surface. 15 pushes required per snap. The construction appears considerably more durable than many of the crank-and-play products which have recently hit the market more as cheap gimmicks than reliable off-grid equipment. Additionally, Sony plans to minimize lifecycle impacts by employing recycled plastics in the ODO line.
The camera is built into the handle, and in the round end, Twirl N' Take has a built-in power meter (pictured at left). So you can keep track of how the charging progress is going. Ironically, there is no display screen on the device itself, presumably to save power. That flowerpot will come in handy if you want to see how your snapshots look.
The ODO products appear to still be in the prototype phase. When and if they come to market, the flower analogy will probably be realized as the green-and-white cameras sell by the dozen.
Via ::Engadget
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- iPhone 3GS: Snap Close-Up Pictures Like a Pro (Video!)
- Meet Green Business Consultant Tyler Moorehead, of GreenUnlimited
- 5 Reuses for Altoid Tins
- Build a Greenhouse without Going Broke
- We Love 5min.com for Simple DIY Solutions
- Improve Your Running Naturally with 4 Easy Yoga Poses
Computers, cameras, hair blowers, and other electrics will all be hydrogen fuel cells users in 10 years.
I like the idea of off-the-grid gadgets, and this is a nice proof of that concept. But I wish they had started with a device that was actually well-suited to the power capacity of their little crank.
As it is, Sony's showing off an [aesthetically questionable], bulky, nearly-disposable, already obsolete (cameraphones, anyone?) camera with miserable usability that uses an awkward electrical generator to address a problem the industry elegantly solved decades ago when the rechargeable battery came out.
But let me stop before I say what I really think...
I think we have to applaud Sony for this. If they can help seed the market (no pun intended) for hand powered devices, I think it's a step in the right direction.
It's also different than having a battery that can be recharged. Charging a battery requires power, which is usually from the grid, which is usually very un eco-friendly.
This is also only a prototype. So it could easily end up getting improved before final production.