Solar Plant generates Power

With energy costs rising like nobody's business all over the world, a Japanese institute has managed to develop a working prototype of a foliage plant-like solar cell module thanks to organic thin-film solar cells. This leaf-like module will feature bright green solar cells developed by National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Mitsubishi Corp and Tokki Corp. They are made up of a plastic substrate, phthalocyanine layer, and fullerene layer among other materials, capable of harnessing the power of the sun in order to juice up whatever thirsty appliance you have. Each module has also been sealed with an extremely thin protective film to prevent the entry of water and oxygen. Would be nice to see such thin solar cells make their way in walls, windows, and even clothing of the future.

Sony HST-S100 Goes Small

Sony certainly likes things small - either that or they grow some pretty large strawberries, with the new HST-S100 micro theater system featuring five tiny satellite speakers that are no larger than a standard golf ball. Despite the diminutive size, these will still be able to pump out some decent tunes without sacrificing on precious real estate space in today's ever smaller apartments. You won't find a central receiver with this model though, as the back of the sub will hold an integrated 450W amplifier, a trio of HDMI ports as well as Sony's very own Digital Media Port. If you're living in a cramped apartment and want a decent home theater solution, perhaps the Sony HST-S100 might fit your needs this July for $700 thereabouts.

Cell Phone Cars

We were pretty blown away with the Ferrari Sports car cell phone that we spotted a while back. But not everyone is the Ferrari type. Perhaps a BMW or Audi is more up your alley? If so, you’re in luck. We found another e-store selling cell phones that look like a BMW and Audi. The Audi comes in white, while the BMW comes in black. Both feature a touch screen, a 1.3 megapixel camera, an MP3 player, 3GP and Mp4 support, Bluetooth and 1GB of memory. The phones cost $160 each and are fortunately electric powered, not gasoline powered, or else you’d really be paying through the nose.