Check out this Nokia “cell phone accessory” – a bicycle empowered phone recharger. In Africa and emerging markets, the cell phone must handle more than one SIM card, serve as a flashlight (it uses LEDs) and even work as a “phone”!

This device keeps the multipurpose cell phone always at the ready!

Entrepreneurs working out of their homes, small business locations or “on their bicycle” use cell phone based payment systems to securely transfer money too. Nokia’s attention to this market is noted. Good job!

Nokia: Bicycle Charger Kit for Mobiles

Possibly Related Post: A New Tool To Dominate Niche Markets

This is right out of the Wikinomics play book. If that’s a new concept to you, I’m talking about the book Wikinomics:How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything

I discussed it here. Basically, you put lots of people on the task and you remain open to where or how the “killer idea” comes from.

With a prize this large (if it actually happened) then you would see entrepreneurs scramble to innovate.

I’da never thought he’d thunk it!

It started to help link inventors, manufacturers, marketers, and the general public. Like many smaller towns, they experienced the “brain drain” of their young people so they hoped it would encourage some to stay near home.

Has it helped? In 1964 one inventor came with his prototype for a cane with 4 prongs to increase stability… now you see these everywhere. A few years later he brought his business back to Redwood Falls and employs 38 people.

Have an invention but don’t know where to go to get manufacturing and marketing links? You may find your answer in Minnesota!

It’s June 8-10th this year in Redwood Falls, Minnesota.

HT: BoomTownUSA

Some plant products defy such home grown processing – the cotton seed was one. Until now.

As reported in the Christian Science Monitor, a new genetically engineered form is being developed which could turn the otherwise indigestible seeds into a high protein food that could feed 500 million people if the variant is deemed safe to cultivate.

For every two pounds of cotton fiber produced, the same fields produce three and one half pounds of seed.

The full range of other side effects is not known… the variant could be too susceptible to pests to be commercially viable to grow.

How can you profit from turning otherwise disgarded items into useful products?

Photo courtesy Christian Science Monitor & National Academy of Science

Three years ago inventor Steve Grant was thinking about designing a new kind of desk-top fish tank. He didn’t see any on the market that he liked, and he wanted to tinker with his idea. But he was worried. “So many times the people that I’ve read or heard about commit their life savings for their inventions,� he said.

Grant came up with an invention called the Lavarium, a miniature tank for betta fish that is shaped like a lava lamp. It comes with an air pump, glass pebbles and a switch for seven different-colored lighting choices.

But he had to figure out a way to get the Lavarium to market without taking any big financial risks. So he kept his day job, worked on his invention in his spare time, and came up with a game plan.

Here are his five steps for turning an idea into a profitable invention:

1: Have a prototype. Anything that you can piece together to give prospective companies a vision of your invention will work.

2: Protect yourself. Grant found out that he could have his idea somewhat protected by filing a provisional patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trade Office.

3: Find the right company. Grant went “shopping� at the stores that sell small fish tanks. He wrote down the names of the companies who manufacture them, and later he chose Hawkeye Aquarium based in Kansas City and Fenton, Mo.

4: Get an appointment with the right people. Ask for the sales manager, Grant said. Usually that person will be involved in the decision-making process. Then ask that person who else should be involved and how they can all get together.

5: Look for the right contract. Grant decided to transfer the rights on the product to Hawkeye, giving them the responsibility of production, marketing and patent protection. And 18 months after their first meeting, Lavariums were in stores and for sale around the country.

“I think the most satisfying thing was when I saw it in the store,� Grant said. “It was the coolest thing.�

Photo by Hawkeye International.

Collaborate 2006 is North America’s only automotive, aerospace and defense collaborative event. This new annual conference and exhibition is produced by SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers) with special support from the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association (AAMA) and the Alabama Aerospace Industries Association (AAIA).

Inventors’ Digest:

In honor of August being National Inventors’ Month, Inventors’ Digest magazine will unveil a compilation of its best and brightest articles from the past two decades, providing the first downloadable volume free of charge now and throughout August, to help novice inventors move from idea to product development success. The 20 volume series contains more than 200 articles.“Knowing what NOT to do is probably more important than knowing what to do,� says Joanne Hayes-Rines, publisher of Inventors’ Digest. “I’ve met thousands of people who had what could have been a great idea, but they did everything wrong, burning through money and time. Their idea was doomed before it ever had a chance. We’ve brought together our best tips and advice from the last two decades to help inventors avoid these pitfalls.�

Inventing 101: What Every First Time Inventor MUST Know, is the first of a 20 volume series of the Best of Inventors’ Digest, and it is available for free.

The first volume outlines how inventors can find trustworthy companies and individuals to help guide them from invention to market, how to determine if an idea has market potential, and how to spot a scam company. “We know that a lot of people have, unfortunately, lost money with fraudulent invention marketing companies,� says Hayes-Rines. “So we are offering a bonus article that explains what they can do to get their money back.�

You might win $25,000 and 8% royalties for life if you have a great idea!

From Start Up Journal…

Neil Grimwood once missed a meeting because a Post-it note he’d stuck on his computer as a reminder fell off. That inspired him to invent a small rubber disk with strong adhesive on the back to serve as a stick-anywhere, mini bulletin board to which lists, photos and other papers can be affixed with push pins or thumb tacks.

In 2004, after years of fruitlessly marketing what he called StickDots to large companies, the Marina del Rey, Calif., inventor entered a Staples Inc. contest for inventors called InventionQuest. Winners of the contest receive $25,000 and up to an 8% royalty. Mr. Grimwood didn’t win, but the office-supply chain sometimes grants contracts to runners-up. In this case, the company agreed to carry the product under the Staples brand name, rechristened it TackDots and now sells packets of eight for $3.99.

The contest is part of a broad effort by Staples to develop a stable of exclusive products to differentiate its own-brand line from those of competitors. The strategy appears to be working; Staples-brand products, which carry a higher profit margin than other goods, accounted for 18% of Staples’s $16.08 billion in revenue last year, up from 11% four years ago. Chief executive Ron Sargent says he expects that to rise to 20% this year.

Staples products coming from private inventors: