This UGO report on the Top 10 Strange Toys at the recent 2004 Toy Fair in New York is fun. I must say that the Flybar looks less like a toy and more like a sure-fire way to kill yourself, so let’s hope the company has some very sound insurance in place.

The Astronaut Photographs of Earth site features…er…what it says. Lots of them. 546,508 images at last count, and some of them are just breathtaking. Check out the Earth from Space collection for a good example. And it’s all free.

The Philips 755 and 759 mobile handsets feature touch screens which will let you ‘tag’ or annotate a snapped photo before sending it off MMS style. Now quite why anyone would want to do this in a rational world is somewhat beyond me, but I’m sure that the good folk at Philips know what they’re doing. After all they’re experts, no? ‘With both phones featuring integrated VGA cameras, users can easily snap a picture, �tag� a message by writing or…

The Gadgeteer has a neat round up of the current crop of Spot watches on offer, including the Dick Tracy version. They all look a bit big and clunky to me, but what do I know?

The IEEE 802.3af standard has now been ratified. Huh, you don’t know? Why it’s the Power over Ethernet technology. That’s right, if the boffins have their way we’ll be seeing lots of Ethernet cable powered gizmos around like razors, surveillance cameras et al. It might even be able to trickle charge a laptop to extend battery life. Shocking stuff!

OK, hands up, I’ve got to say that I like this Trixx concept from Opel. Practical and functional for the city. One day all cars….. ‘This ultra-compact city car can carry up to three adults and a child, or transform to a one-seater which can carry bulky loads…an inflatable rear seat; a foldaway front passenger�s seat; and a roof hatch that opens at the push of a button and carries extra-long objects in an upright position….’

Mediachest – their collection becomes yours. This could mean the end of civilisation as we know it, Jim! ‘* Borrow items from friends instead of renting * Meet new friends that like the same books, cds, dvds, and games that you like * Start building your own shared collection of media’

Hold the press, yet another application for mobile phones. This time researchers at NEC and the NARA Institute in Japan have come up with a technology that can turn a standard mobile phone into a scanner. Now that’s what I call a cool mobile app. [via Mike] ‘NEC and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology have devloped technology which uses movie recordings to produce high quality images, o�n par with those of a scanner….For example, a high quality image…

The first team out of the blocks on that crazy Grand Challenge race through the Californian desert by autonomous vehicles is Sandstorm from Carnegie Mellon. I wonder whether these robot cars will really ‘revolutionize land transportation….[or]….improve mankind’s quality of life.’

John Manzione is convinced that Apple is about to release a smartphone/PDA device to rival Palm and PocketPC. In light of the fact that the iPod is almost there anyway, I can’t see why not. Makes sense to me.

Matsushita has announced that it will be shipping the Maicovicon 2 megapixel, low noise, low power consumption image sensor for mobile phones in quantity from March. So watch out for 2 megapixel phones to start appearing on shelves in volume by the end of the year.

The Xitel INport is a neat little doohickey which lets you record easily from your stereo system to your PC. What’s more, it apparently gives really high quality results. A bargain then, at $69.95, especially since it comes with 30 foot of cable and software an’ stuff. ‘With Xitel’s INport, you can now record all your favourite vinyl and tapes back into your computer with crystal clear fidelity. Archive them, turn them into CDs, or even turn them into MP3s.’

I just love it! The Pokia retro hands free kit for mobile phones from Nik Roope. Of course they’re anything but hands free, but what a joy nevertheless. Only on sale via eBay in prototype form at the moment, but surely it’s only a matter of time….

The iMate Computer Mirror – See the big picture! Are you folks in Aus really that paranoid? Arf! Priced at $22.95 US. ‘Don’t be stuck in a corner again! With the imate’s wide-angle view, you can see everything around you – your work-mates, your visitors, the view behind you… and anyone approaching from behind!’

Fotolibra – the image library anyone can join. Think you’re a good amateur photographer? Fancy selling some of your stuff like a proper professional? Then upload your stuff here and they’ll split the revenue with you in return for offering you quality online library ‘space’. The advantage is that your photos are topic searchable and all that other good stuff. Buyers get cheaper images. Interesting idea, non? [Thanks Rob!