Where else but in Japan? The Central Japan Railway Company announced plans last week to introduce the world’s fastest magnetically levitated passenger train, at a cost of $44.7 billion US Dollars. Planning to top speeds of 500 KMH (310 MPH), the CJRC maglev train will become the fastest in the world, beating out the current champion which tops out at snails-pace of 430 KPH in Shanghai.

I was browsing through something or other, when I came upon pictures from trials earlier this year of the SeaPhantom, a 5 passenger speed boat from Maritime Flight Dynamics (awesome name!). The SeaPhantom is a work of maritime engineering art, radically reducing drag with it’s lifting-body, airfoil design and looking like something straight out of the newest Batman film. The goal of the project, is to make a sleek and efficient mobile craft, which can move at triple-digit speeds, potentially becoming a viable alternative for direct travel from city center to city center. Also, imagine the cool types of weaponry that could be mounted on that thing, I’m sure Chuck Norris is.

Read more: Trial photos of the SeaPhantom

Alright, now we’re getting somewhere! I made the switch to rechargeable batteries years ago, but I’ve always had a nagging issue, that appears I shared with many others: finding the damn charger. Now, problem solved. British technology firm Moixa Energy has created the USBCell, an ingenious invention which houses a normal battery with a flip-top USB plug, allowing you to recharge the battery directly from any USB port in your home or office. This includes directly from a Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii! The batteries need around 5 hours of constant charge to reach 90+/- percent of their 1300mah charge and will run you slightly more than you’d expect from rechargeable batteries, but, in the long-run, you’re doing the right thing for the environment and also looking damn cool while doing it.

Read more: USBCell, rechargeable USB batteries

Utilizing the Coanda effect to achieve it’s vertical flight patterns, the GFS-UAV from last year proved to be a pretty damn interesting experiment in air-flight and engineering. Having been tested by various military and private organizations, this one nifty little remote controlled spy-bot in the making. With silent running flight, some stealth skin and a long-range receiver and video transmission setup, I could see this little puppy flying over cities or large gatherings making people think the Xenu is preparing an invasion.

See more: The GFS-UAV project

3D printing technology is one of my most anticipated technological advancements. Sure it’s been around for awhile, but, it’s just not there quite yet, not until we can walk into Staples and easily walk out with our very own personal 3D printing device. The engineers behind the Desktop Factory are working hard on making this a reality, with their personal 3D printer, currently being tested for use in the engineering and design fields. The printer can take your 3D mock up and mold a durable, functional model from the bottom up, one layer at a time in sturdy composite plastic. The composite plastic material can easily be sanded down and painted making it of special use to industrial designers who rely on turnaround time. The Desktop 3D printer measures just 25×20x20 inches and weighs less than 90lbs, meaning it won’t take up too much space in your factory or design studio.

Not for sale yet, the 3D printer is currently undergoing a pre-sale, with a target price of $5,000 to $7,000 dollars US. As Desktop Factory says, imagine when your child can design their own small toy model or order a design off the internet, then simply ‘print’ it out and paint it. I can’t wait for the future.

Read more: Desktop Factory

Qtires, an Ohio company who’s revolutionizing tire technology, has introduced an amazing Bond-like new winter tire named the Celsius, with on-demand, retractable studs built in. The studs are controlled by air pressure within the tire, used to improve stability and traction control when driving in snow or ice.

Read more: Q Celsius tire

Geez, took you guys long enough. I remember thinking to myself years ago that the satellite radio market wouldn’t roll out as quickly as these two were hoping for. The two satellite radio giants today announced that they will merge, creating one mega-satellite radio station to rule them all, providing a pick and choose al a carte menu of radio shows featuring Martha Stewart, Bob Dillon and Howerd Stern. It remains unclear whether stockholders and the FCC will allow the merger, seeing as how the FCC frowns upon monopolistic behavior.

Read more: XM and Sirius merge | Sirius | XM Radio

Are you, or do you know a sleepyhead that constantly misses school, meetings or doctors appointments? Then a Clocky is all you need. An awesome little wheeled robotic nuisance, Clocky is an alarm clock for your bedside table, only, it’s on wheels. Clocky gives you one chance to wake up when it’s alarm goes off, if you snooze, it takes off, wheeling around your bedroom bumping into things and causing havoc while still blaring the latest horrible single from Fergie. That is, until you wake up and stop it, either by catching it and turning off the alarm, or hitting it with a golf club.

Read more: Clocky

Yeah yeah, so CES 2007 is like, so last week and hey it wasn’t really all *that* great, especially after Apple completely took the wind out of it with the announcement of their iPhone. There were some standouts however, most notably (at least to me) iRiver and their new lineup, which is not only super sexy, but also approaching Apple in industry design quality, though bordering on Sony-influenced lines and glossy black plastic, which starts to worry us a touch. But eh, enough of that, here’s some highlights:

See more after the jump..

Read more of ”Gearlust: iRiver’s CES 2007 product lineup“

Canadian inventor Troy Hurtubise is famous for his protection suit for hunters, known as the bear-suit. After hearing from Iraq war veterans about adapting the suit for combat use, Hurtubise shifted focus. Hoping to attract the Canadian and US military as clients, Hurtubise has invented a light-weight exoskeleton body suit of armor, which resists bullets, light explosives, knives and clubs. Called the Trojan, the suit could prove to be a welcome edition to the future of military warfare. The inventor was also quick to give credit to Microsoft’s amazing action shooter, Halo, as one of his inspirations in designing the Trojan. Be sure to check the video interview with Hurtubise for more information.

Man develops armor war suit | Video interview with creator