Hasta La Ideas

A while ago, when we posted on the rare (in Sweden anyway) two wheeled wheelbarrow from Canada, we had a quick response telling us there are such wheel barrows available in this country, too. Perhaps Smart Stuff reader Åke G. read those posts, because he has sent us an e-mail with information on yet another take on wheel barrows. The power barrow. Åke’s business, Electro-Mobile, sells these barrows, so naturally he is looking for some publicity. But since we like the idea, he’s gonna to get some. Almost any old wheel barrow can be converted to electrical power with Åke’s kit. It comes with a wheel with an electric motor in the hub to replace your old one, a battery pack and a throttle/reverse handle. The conversion kits starts at SEK 5.550:- (about USD 820:-), but you could also choose to buy a new ready-made power barrow for SEK 6.525:- (approx. USD 970:-).brbr

Magnifiers lets one see details in one’s face that one hardly knew existed. And sometimes even stuff one was better off not knowing about. But of course they are very handy when one’s vision is no longer 20/20. This product is called Spegelzoom (Swedish only), and it is a pretty smart magnifying lens that attaches to any mirror with the integrated suction cup. The lens gives approximately 3X magnification and its inventor, Annika Winell, was nominated to the Best female inventor award in 2007 by the Swedish Inventor’s Association. The Spegelzoom is SEK 895:- (about USD 132:-) on the company website.brbr

The post on this pretty cool and clever beach chair is courtesy of a tip from Smart Stuff reader Rauz L. (thanks!) who found them on the Gadling travel blog. The two sticks or posts on the chair, or rather backrest, is pushed into the sand and that’s it, folks! Consider the amount of unprintable language and injured hands you could safe by not having a folding chair. It should be easier to bring along to the beach, too. The chair is made of plastic, designed by Lawrence Laske, and available from Design Within Reach for USD 30:- a piece or 2 for USD 50:-.brbr

A few years back there was a show on Swedish TV featuring where the British design firm SeymorPowell attempted to solve various everyday problems by applying industrial design knowledge. Unless we are completely mistaken one of the programs was about remote controlled locks and alarms for ordinary homes. We liked the idea, but unfortunately the program ended in uncertainty wether the ideas would be produced or not. We cannot remember the name of the company involved, but the other day we stumbled upon the remote controlled locks from British Locca. These locks open via remote from up to 50 meters distance, and you do not even have to remember locking it again since they re-lock after a programmable time, from 1 to 120 seconds. The Locca locks are supposed to mount on almost any existing door, and they are sold through British locksmiths and D-I-Y stores BQ. Locca are planning a launch in Sweden and they will be starting at about SEK SEK 1.200:- (approx. GBP 88:-).brbr

We spotted one of these Chaino bicycles with a flat in a bike stand yesterday afternoon, and we must admit we had not heard of them before. As far as we could see, instead of an ordinary chain, it had a drive-shaft sort of arrangement, much like BMW motorcycles. It also seemed to have some gear shift arrangement. We vaguely remember a bike a bit like this for sale in a Muji shop in London in the eighties, but other than that we have not seen anything like it. Now we want to know more. Do you know anything about these bicycles? Were they nice bikes or disasters? Do you own one, or have you owned one? If you have any information, we’d love to hear from you!brbr