[ geek chic ]

I'm not big on Apple or any of their products. I've never owned an iPod or a Mac and I'd rather have a Droid than an iPhone. But this, this is one Apple product I don't think I could live without! The iBangle is fashionable and functional. It was designed by a guy named Gopinath Prasana. Basically, this concept is a thin piece of aluminium that incorporates a multi-touch trackpad. In case it’s too lose on your wrist you can press a button and activate a cushion inside the metallic ring that’ll keep it perfectly attached to your hand. Something like this would be pretty expensive and I can't imagine that it'd hold more than about 8 GB, but even so I love the design!

A similar concept was designed by Tao Ma. Behold the bracelet phone! This shiny gizmo vibrates when you receive a message and you can read the text by taking the bracelet off the wrist and pressing its precious looking keys. You might want to know that this fancy handset includes an MP3 player and the designer even throws in a headset for the concept. Unlike the iBangle, this bracelet phone doesn't give you a way to adjust the fit, but it does do more than just play music.



But the most impressive design I've seen yet is the O.R.B. Orbital Blue Tooth Ring. This wireless earpiece finger ring was developed by Hybra Advance Technology, Inc. in partnership with AbsolutelyNew’s Science + Technology Division. It's a finger-worn ring that twists open to become a comfortable, secure and sophisticated Bluetooth headset for hands-free calling. The deluxe edition features a FOLED (Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode) screen to keep caller ID and calendar reminders quite literally on-hand. It also offers voice-to-text for effortless communication without taking the ring off the finger. The base model has no screen or display. Hybra plans to start selling its first ORBs in the U.S., Asia, and Europe as early as January 2010, at approximately $129 USD for the base model with premium aluminum housing. The Deluxe edition Orbs with displays will launch as early as April 2010, at approximately $175 USD. The designers are also planning limited edition models in April 2010 featuring decorative gemstones, to be priced based on the value of the gemstones.



These designs aren't the only of their kind. On drawing boards across the world companies like Nokia, LG, and Sony are also coming up with ways to make your geek chic. And although most of these designs are very pricey and many have yet to make it to production; there's already a lot of wearable tech on the market that isn't gonna cost you an arm and a leg. The Brando Workshop has produced a lovely collection of USB flash drive bracelets and necklaces and ThinkGeek.com features a really neat LED necklace made by Firejewel. Though it can't hold files for you or play your music, it can shine brighter than any diamond on the market and it comes in red, white, and blue!