Solar Bottle solar-powered water purification

Generally an energy-intensive, wasteful operation, but designers Alberto Medo and Francisco Gomez Paz have done a neat end-run around those problems with their Solar Bottle, a portable water bottle that purifies water using the sun. The bottle, which holds just over a gallon of water, uses a purification process called SODIS that takes six hours to kill off a whole host of baddies, including Oregon Trail favorites cholera, typhoid and dysentery. Just a concept for now, but the design has been well-received and won several awards, so hopefully someone will step up and take it into production soon.

Samsung's Croix: yet another 'iPhone rival'

Honestly, we're getting a bit tired of all these so-called iPhone rival handsets, but Samsung's elusive Croix doesn't do a whole lot to shake the stereotype. The mobile, which happens to boast a very similar layout to Apple's darling (and Samsung's own F700), just won an iF Communication Design Award 2007, and while details are scant about the actual hardware, it sounds like Sammy is hoping to grab your attention with a sensationally sleek interface (seen in detail after the break). The name, which translates to "Cross" in French, supposedly symbolizes the phone's "progressive continuum, as opposed to discrete transmission from one item to another," and touts an "intuitive interface through on-screen touch input mapping which supports five different ways of interaction." Of course, only time will tell if this thing actually goes commercial (or proves real, to be honest), but it certainly has the look.

IOGEAR

We know, "back to school" isn't exactly a phrase that brings a smile to most students, but IOGEAR is hoping to get you a bit more jazzed up than usual about the fall semester with a new duo of products. Following the Digital Scribe, the firm has now unveiled a 4GB Flash Wallet Drive and 3-in-1 Wireless Phaser Presentation Mouse to presumably help you with your studies. The uber-thin wallet drive ($69.95) measures in at just 3-millimeters thick and ought to hold quite a few research papers, while the wireless mouse ($59.95) combines a laser pointer and track ball to aid you in making those presentations go as smoothly as possible. Both products should already be available at your campus store or nearby big box retailer.