By David Ponce
While most of us concern ourselves with the latest XM/RIAA lawsuit, other people busy themselves re-inventing the old classic in completely different ways. The BookRadio is a project by Vinay Venkatraman & Pei Yu from the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Milan. It seeks to “revisit the way we perceive technology today” by making a book that doubles as a radio.
But see, it’s not that banal. The book itself then becomes the interface between the user and the radio. To change stations, you turn the pages. To adjust the volume, you slide the bookmark in or out. The entire device is wireless and can be used just like a regular radio. You can bookmark radio stations and also annotate favorite programs by actually writing on to the relevant pages.
It works by detecting the density of paper, and then wirelessly communicating the resulting frequency to the base unit, which then broadcasts the signal via speakers or headphones.
There is no price anywhere, but there is mention that it “now has been developed as a produceable product.” To me, it sounds like they’re waiting for someone to pick it up, and manufacture it. And let me tell you, if the price is right, I’m first in line.
[The BookRadio] Thanks, Priya.
