TrendCentral: There are more fits, cuts, and styles out there than the average shopper can keep track of, especially since sizes vary dramatically from one brand to the other. In an effort to aid consumers, websites have been created to analyze personal fit information to identify the “best fitting” brand and item for their particular body shape.

Zafu analyzes multiple pieces of fit information (no measuring involved) from the user to identify the “best fitting” brand and style of jeans from a bank of over 200 styles and 70 brands. No jeans are sold on the site, but users can click through to purchase from other online stores.

The Perfect Fit [TrendCentral]

Engadget: If Chumby, maker of this rugby ball-sized computer by the same name, has its way, then it will replace all of our bedside digital clocks with a stripped-down computer stuffed in a cuddly exterior case. Apparently the Chumby is designed to be a little hackable nugget that will play Flash applications (known in Chumby-speak as "widgets") that can do various other things like (you guessed it): play music, check your RSS feeds, and display your photos. Inside this little furball is a 266 MHz CPU, 32MB SDRAM, 64MB Flash RAM, 320 x 240 3-inch screen, two USB ports, 2W speakers, and WiFi.

Chumby, the snuggly bedside computer [Engadget]

Springwise: Offering an alternative to boring office supplies, russell+hazel sells stylish binders, paper, storage and accessories.

Minneapolis-based russell+hazel, founded by a former architect, is a range of aesthetically pleasing office supplies that combine a designed look with durable quality. The company's newest range, Audrey, is a fashion-forward selection specifically tailored to women, offering 'working girl chic' supplies with details inspired by vintage architecture, classic Hollywood and contemporary couture.

Office supplies, upgraded [Springwise]

LuxuryLaunches.com: A unique artistic fusion of two genders - feminine embellishments to the masculine weapons! Antonio Riello has spruced up of real military weapons into fashion items for ladies. Ladies Weapons are born from the most outstanding contemporary Italian features: the obsession for personal security and the passion for elegance and fashion. Contemporary military weaponry is restyled by the artist as high fashion accessories for sophisticated ladies. Using leopard skins, brightly lacquered colors, inset jewels and fake furs, Antonio creates a range of specialized items for wives of mafia bosses, arms dealers, sophisticated ladies and exigent soldiers.

Weapons for Women - Furry Guns and Jeweled Grenades! [LuxuryLaunches.com]

New Business Ideas/Opportunities Featured In This Issue:

LIFESTYLE & LUXURY
Media Immersion
In the world's most media-saturated city, people take a break by checking themselves into media immersion pods: warrens cluttered with computers, TV's, video games and every other entertainment of the electronic age.

RETAIL
Smart Shopping Cart
It looks almost like any other shopping cart, except sensors let it follow the shopper around the supermarket and slow down when needed so items can be placed in it.

GADGETS
USB Massager
Idea Shop's super-small massager has drawn the admiration of workers struggling through the day and students who want to loosen up during long hours of test preparation.

AUTOMOBILES
Car Broke Down?
The Jump-N-Carry is a much easier way to jump a car; no jockeying the live car to kiss bumpers, no stretching jumper cables between cars.

Various Fuels On Car
Volvo showcased its Multi-Fuel, a vehicle prototype capable of running on gasoline, ethanol, methane, natural gas and Hythane.

SERVICES
Delivering Baggage
Typical is Camp Trucking, based in Denver. Employing an army of college students on summer break, the firm picks up baggage at the homes of campers and delivers it to camp just before a session begins.

Mobile Office
A card costs ZAR 1,000 (USD 145 / EUR 115), and gives holders access to all of the facilities at Habitaz, each of which are charged by use.

Webcast My Wedding
WebcastMyWedding.net is able to provide broadcasting of weddings to a couple's friends and family unable to come over from (or to) far flung places.

Travel Entertainment
Launched yesterday at Schiphol Airport, Fuel for Travel lets consumers download travel guides, music, audio books, tv shows and movies to their MP3 players and other digital devices.

AGRICULTURE & ENVIRONMENTAL
Windsave Saves You Money
Sensing a real opportunity, British/Scottish Windsave launched the Windsave 1000 system, which is able to produce energy enough to run a TV, DVD player, computer, fridge/freezer and several lights.

FOOD & BEVERAGES
Food Text Services
The service – short for "mobile order" – enables Manhattanites to order and pay for food ahead of time.

Healthy Meals
Time to outsource those bleary-eyed mornings of sandwich making. Bay Area parents of pre-K to eighth-graders can sign up for Kid Chow to really pack it in – lunchboxes, that is.

Cocktail Kick
The company is proud to introduce Cocktail Kick — a new product that adds an extra puckery, tart, tangy taste to adult beverages like margaritas, mojitos, martinis, bloody marys, and more.

CONSUMER GOODS
Outdoor Fridge
Keep your beer cool in this Weber Chill Refrigerator that can be rolled indoors or outdoors according to your needs.

Kids Soap
A new product called, "SquidSoap" is designed to teach kids good habits in washing their hands thoroughly.

Trash Without Pest
Terry Feinberg was tired of having pests and animals snooping around his garbage bags, so he decided to come up with a new type of bag that would discour-age them by both scent and color.

Tracking Time
Next time you open a jar, bottle, or package, stick a Timestrip on it. Once it’s activated, the genius product counts down to expiration.

ONLINE & SOCIAL NETWORKS
e-Real Estates
The company offers website design, e-mail marketing and personal coaching to real estate agents nationwide with projected sales of $18 million.

WIRELESS
Smart WiFi Bunny
Well this bunny can teach you tai chi, read your e-mail, report the weather or stock market, pull RSS feeds and tell you the time.

HEALTH & BEAUTY
Mobile Dentist
On-Site Dental owns two trailers, each fitted with two dental offices in which dentists and hygienists see about 1,000 patients every Monday through Saturday in the parking lots of 11 casinos in Las Vegas.

FASHION
Jam Sells
Ladies/Girls' Accessories are now available for sale on a LJ site! All kinds of items to suit everyone from FRUiTS fans and decora girls to the classy and hip ladies who want a bit of spice.

PETS
Cool Vest
Originally marketed in Japan, the Cool Vest is now being sold in the United States to keep dogs cool in hot weather.
Read more

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Digital Chosunilbo: The Chosun Ilbo lists some unique products whose fun concepts and designs can help you cool down the last hot summer days.

The summer's biggest hit is a small and handily designed USB fan that needs no external power when connected to a desktop of laptop. The product is seeing whirlwind sales of 1,110 units a day at the online trading site Auction. There is also a lamp/fan that goes for W4,900 (US$1=W956) and a fragrant fan that goes for W4,000.

Hot Gadgets to Help you Stay Cool This Summer [Digital Chosunilbo]

DailyCandy: Going for office sophisticate? Look the part in a sensible pantsuit and pumps.

But lose the fake glasses and bun. (That’s more porn librarian.)

If you really want to work it like Career Woman Barbie, you’ll need plastic accessories.

Like Plastic People’s laptop cases. Custom made of vinyl, they look plastic (hence the name). They’re functional, with a half-inch of safety padding, two external pockets, and an interior sleeve. But they’re so bright, cheery, and whimsical that you’ll feel like you’re carrying Sweet Valley High and magic markers instead of the McClarin file and your overdue bills.

The cases have small hearts on the front and come in a mishmash of pick-it-yourself colors. You can stick with the conservative black-on-beige (investment banker) or the splashier red-on-yellow combo (freelancer/unemployed).

Life in Plastic, It’s Fantastic [DailyCandy]

ThinkGeek: So you are probably wondering if a rabbit can really be "smart"? Well this bunny can teach you tai chi, read your e-mail, report the weather or stock market, pull RSS feeds and tell you the time. We'd say that's pretty smart - but he's also got personality. Nabaztag can move his ears, play music, talk and whistle, and his body can show off hundreds of colors and special patterns of light. Sometimes he will even have his own random things to say, as long as you can put up with his moods!

Okay, so Nabaztag is smart and has personality - but what about interpersonal skills? Can he relate well to you and other rabbits? Well, Nabaztag can marry another rabbit - that's right - copying the other rabbit's movements, sounds and lights. Move your Nabaztag's ears and its spouse's will too. And as far as friendship, Nabaztag can let you know when you have a new e-mail, read you today's headlines or give you his opinion of the previous week. But be careful because he is uncompromising - if he thinks that he didn't receive enough messages he might be unhappy.

This bunny likes to nibble on WiFi [ThinkGeek]

The New York Times: All cities takes a toll, and at times all city dwellers have to take their leave. When life in Istanbul gets too stressful, people can head to the baths. In Rio there's the beach. In Tokyo, though, the antidote to urban overload is more of the same. In the world's most media-saturated city, people take a break by checking themselves into media immersion pods: warrens cluttered with computers, TV's, video games and every other entertainment of the electronic age.

The Bagus Gran Cyber Cafés are Tokyo's grand temples of infomania. Situated well above retail level, on the odd floor number where in Manhattan you might find tarot readers or nail salons, these establishments contain row after row of anonymous cubicles. At first glance the spread looks officelike, but be warned: these places are drug dens for Internet addicts.

The first Gran Cyber Café opened in 1999. Today there are 10, serving some 5,000 people a day. Each has a slightly different orientation — some are geared to teenagers, some to salarymen — but the atmosphere is the same throughout the franchise: equal parts lending library, newsstand, arcade, Kinko's and youth hostel. An inspired extension of the basic Internet cafe, the Gran Cyber Cafés shift their meaning the more you study them, as if by a trick of their trademark low light.

In Tokyo, the New Trend Is 'Media Immersion Pods' [The New York Times]

CNN: It looks almost like any other shopping cart, except sensors let it follow the shopper around the supermarket and slow down when needed so items can be placed in it. And it never crashes into anyone's heels.

"The immediate thing that jumped to my mind was all those times as a kid when my sister would accidentally hit me with a cart," said its inventor, Gregory Garcia. "It seems like the public would really want this, since everybody shops."

His cart, also known as B.O.S.S. for Battery Operated Smart Servant, was one of about 30 robots displayed last week by University of Florida students.

A shopping cart that doesn't run into things! [CNN]

Digital Chosunilbo: Idea Shop's (www.1300k.com) super-small massager (W3,500) has drawn the admiration of workers struggling through the day and students who want to loosen up during long hours of test preparation.

Hot Gadgets to Help you Stay Cool This Summer [Digital Chosunilbo]

Cool Tools: Mechanics here in Boston call this a "jump kit." It's a briefcase-sized, 20lb, 12V battery with built-in 12v/120v charger, and with built-in jumper cables attached. The Jump-N-Carry is a much easier way to jump a car; no jockeying the live car to kiss bumpers, no stretching jumper cables between cars. I tend to keep mine in my car, so it's quick & easy to help anyone who needs a jump. A cute trick for a dead alternator is to hook up the jump kit, lay it inside the engine well, close the hood as well as you can, and drive to the shop. One of my mechanics has a J&C with a case that melted from doing this trick, but it still works fine.

Jump-N-Carry [Cool Tools]

IHT: Samantha Taube stepped out of the MGM Grand hotel and casino into the bright sun to walk to the parking lot. After a short distance, she approached a trailer, entered, sat in a dentist's chair and had her teeth cleaned.

"If you know Las Vegas traffic these days, you know what a benefit this is," said Taube, who trains employees in the huge casino's slot machine operations. After 20 minutes, she was back at work.

Down on the Strip, Beverly Egan, a poker dealer at the Stardust Resort and Casino, sat in air-conditioned comfort, in another mobile dental office decorated in pale blue amid menacing power drills and X-ray equipment. Egan had popped in to have X- rays taken before scheduled dental work. She, too, appreciated the convenience.

"I'd have to take three hours at least if I had to drive to an office," she said. This visit took only 30 minutes.

The mobile units are owned by On- Site Dental NV, a Las Vegas company founded seven years ago by Chris Davenport, who is not a dentist, but an entrepreneur. His company's basic service combines technology, mobility and the American reverence for saving time.

On-Site Dental owns two trailers, each fitted with two dental offices in which dentists and hygienists see about 1,000 patients every Monday through Saturday in the parking lots of 11 casinos in Las Vegas. Most of the patients are employees covered by the casinos' dental insurance plans, which pay up to 80 percent of the costs of most dentistry.

Mobile dentistry: Filling new needs in the U.S. [IHT]

StartupJournal: This week, thousands of kids will be returning home from summer camp -- without suitcases, duffel bags, tennis rackets, or even their dirty clothes.

Much of the baggage will be delivered back to their homes by small firms that have made a business of transporting campers' bags to and from the camps.

Typical is Camp Trucking, based in Denver. Employing an army of college students on summer break, the firm picks up baggage at the homes of campers and delivers it to camp just before a session begins. It charges a flat rate, with no restrictions on size or for bulky athletic equipment and duffel bags that sometimes weigh more than 100 pounds. At the end of the session, bags are returned -- with some parents even arranging drop-offs at laundries and dry cleaners along the way.

"We really are service companies that happen to be trucking companies," says Camp Trucking's 39-year-old owner, Stuart Seller.

The service is useful to the camps, too. They receive bags for a session all at once, a few days before the kids arrive, allowing the camp staff to focus on getting kids settled in, rather then keeping track of arriving luggage. The services often deliver the bags directly to a bunkhouse and the bunk assigned each camper.

To Camp and Back -- Baggage Is the Business [StartupJournal]

TRENDWATCHING.COM: Continuing concerns about climate change and skyrocketing energy prices are fuelling interest in alternative sources of energy. One of consumers’ major complaints though is the lack of making a real impact: separating bottles and papers only goes so far. Sensing a real opportunity, British/Scottish Windsave launched the Windsave 1000 system, a three-bladed fan (1.75 m in diameter) that connects to a building's standard mains supply. The turbine is quiet, with noise levels comparable to the sound of a person talking at normal volume. It produces approximately 1kw of electricity, enough to run a TV, DVD player, computer, fridge/freezer and several lights.

Windsave is now partnering with British Gas to market and install roof-top turbines; trials will be carried out in Scotland and South-West England later this year. Engineers from British Gas will supply and install all equipment for GBP 1,500, and it's projected that the turbines will save households up to GBP 100 on their annual electricity bills. With government-funded rebates and subsidies, consumers could earn back their initial investment in less than 6 years.

Innovation Overload [TRENDWATCHING.COM]

Springwise: A novel twist added by Habitaz is the pre-paid office card. While most of Habitaz' lease plans are per month, their pre-paid GreenCard allows customers to rent space and facilities by the hour, minute or megabyte. A card costs ZAR 1,000 (USD 145 / EUR 115), and gives holders access to all of the facilities at Habitaz, each of which are charged by use. Facilities include open plan workspace that's open 24/7, with free parking and 'bottomless Ethiopian coffee' (ZAR 22/hour), admin support and secretarial services (ZAR 19.74/15 minutes), phone calls, delivery services, etc.

Habitaz is developing a network of furnished business centres, shared work spaces and meeting rooms in South Africa and all major business hubs in the rest of Africa. Perfect solution for travelling business people, virtual offices, and start-ups -- a group that's growing explosively in South Africa.

Being space for mobile warriors [Springwise]

Iconoculture: Think of Mobo as curbside takeout for urban dwellers. The service – short for "mobile order" – enables Manhattanites to order and pay for food ahead of time. Here's how it works: Hungry citizens use their cellphones (or a computer) to text an order to a restaurant from a selected list and pay with a linked credit card. The restaurant sends a text message when the order is ready and has a special Mobo counter for pickup. So far, participating eateries include Subway, Quiznos and a few independent salad and sushi joints. Want the usual? Frequent Mobo users can save their "faves" for speedier service.

Hyper lives demand maximization of all the gadgetry at our fingertips. "Fast food" doesn't mean the same thing it did even five years ago, and consumers expect businesses to keep up.

Mobo lets New Yorkers order takeout food via text [Iconoculture]

BornRich: Keep your beer cool in this Weber Chill Refrigerator that can be rolled indoors or outdoors according to your needs. The ultimate big-party cooler features a huge 1.6 cubic feet capacity, and can store 72 ice-cold cans of your drink or 48 beer bottles or 36 wine bottles as cold as you want. The roll-bar party-refrigerator is constructed of rugged, powder-coated steel and it features an aluminum grip rail that can hold two beer-bottles and two mahogany side tables for holding your drink glasses.

Weber Chill Roll Bar Refrigerator For Your Outdoor Parties [BornRich]

Entrepreneur.com: Steve Weber always wanted to be part of something big, but he repeatedly saw opportunities, like the fax and PC markets, pass him by. "I told myself, 'I'm going to get on the front end of one of these market waves,'" says Weber, 42. "When the internet came, I knew that was it. I didn't want to miss out on the biggest opportunity in the history of business."

A year after launching, Z57 narrowed its marketing services to the real estate industry. That same year, the company had its first $50,000 month; sales have increased every quarter since. Even during the dotcom crash, Z57, which remained privately funded and owned, managed to thrived.

Today, Z57 has four offices, 225 employees and 2006 projected sales of $18 million. The company offers website design, e-mail marketing and personal coaching to real estate agents nationwide.

Riding the Wave [Entrepreneur.com]

Springwise: Springwise loves forward-looking ventures that manage to stick around until their time has truly come. Like webcastmywedding.net, which broadcasts weddings to a couple's friends and family unable to come over from (or to) far flung places. Customers need a video camera, laptop, and high speed online access. The company then charges USD 395 for setting up a live stream of the event, support for up to 25 simultaneous viewers (who are sent a url and password), and an on-demand archive of the wedding for 10 days. More streams and an annual archive account can be had for an extra fee.

Business is thriving, thanks to a powerful mix of tech and social developments: everyone is online; the infrastructure is in place (the web is finally about broadband and video: thank you, youtube!); more and more couples choose to get married in exotic locations far from most of their friends and family; globe-spanning immigration means family members literally live everywhere; while jet setting couples have friends in every major city in the world. Not to mention Generation MySpace, who, when they eventually choose to get married, will have virtual friends in every country with an online connection.

Wedding Webcasts [Springwise]

Iconoculture: But will it run on empty? In June 2006, Volvo showcased its Multi-Fuel, a vehicle prototype capable of running on gasoline, ethanol, methane, natural gas and Hythane (a trademarked hydrogen-methane blend).

The Multi-Fuel earned a gold medal in the emissions category and a silver in the carbon dioxide emissions contest. Five-fuel flexibility is intended to make it easier for consumers to fuel up on locally produced/available energy sources. Gasoline may have new competition, but it's not dead yet. Consumers who want to embrace alternative fuels appreciate vehicles that run on whatever's at hand.

Volvo's Multi-Fuel concept car can run on five different fuels [Iconoculture]

Strange New Product: A new product called, "SquidSoap" is designed to teach kids good habits in washing their hands thoroughly.

When you push down on SquidSoap's dispenser, it shoots a small amount of black ink with the soap. You're supposed to keep washing your hands until you remove all the black ink. It takes about 15 to 20 seconds to get everything off.

The company that makes this, Squidsoap, LP, out of Wichita Falls, TX, claims it's also a toy, because the orange-colored squid tentacles that adorn the bottle is stretchable, providing kids with hours of fun.

Imagine, kids having fun with handsoap.

Training Soap for Little Squids [Strange New Product]

Entrepreneur.com: Terry Feinberg was seeing red. "I can't [count] how many times I went outside and found my garbage ripped apart in the street," Feinberg says. He was tired of having pests and animals snooping around his garbage bags, so he decided to come up with a new type of bag that would discour-age them by both scent and color.

Feinberg, the owner of a health-care and beauty product distribution company, began researching his product three years ago. He asked a chemist friend to help him create a scent offensive to animals and insects but pleasant to humans.

Feinberg is currently testing his Repellem Garbage Bags, which sell for about $13 to $15 per box, in more than 100 Petco stores and is negotiating to have his product appear on QVC. He predicts 2006 sales will be between $1 million and $2 million.

Talking Trash [Entrepreneur.com]

Iconoculture: Time to outsource those bleary-eyed mornings of sandwich making. Bay Area parents of pre-K to eighth-graders can sign up for Kid Chow to really pack it in – lunchboxes, that is.

Here's how this independent (not school-sponsored) delivery service works: Parents order online and pay via PayPal one week in advance.

Rather than mystery meat, think teriyaki chicken rice bowl and Caprese pasta salad. Other selling points? Kid Chow uses local, nitrate-free and trans fat–free ingredients, as well as biodegradable packaging.

Meal delivery services are popular at homes around the country – why not at schools? Busy parents are happy to call themselves "assisted gourmets" when they can feel confident about the quality and nutrition of the food.

Kid Chow delivers healthy lunches [Iconoculture]

DailyCandy: You don’t smoke. You avoid the sun. Your bathroom cabinet is heaving with all sorts of antiaging creams. You’re waging a war against time. And it shows.

But when it comes to the contents of your fridge, you’ve given up on the battle of the dates. It’s a time warp inside there — 2-month-old eggs alongside 2-year-old blueberry jam. Next time you open a jar, bottle, or package, stick a Timestrip on it. Once it’s activated, the genius product counts down to expiration. So not only will you avoid finding a thick layer of furry mold inside the mayo jar, but you’ll be able to spot the stinky culprit without using your nose. The Timestrip also works on bottles of medicine, cleaning products, and vitamins, quietly keeping track of the ticking on your behalf.

Old Timer [DailyCandy]

Ladies/Girls' Accessories are now available for sale on a LJ site! All kinds of items to suit everyone from FRUiTS fans and decora girls to the classy and hip ladies who want a bit of spice. All at extremely reasonable prices! The items numbers continue from the last item listed in the previous entry.

Japanese Entertainment merchandise are also up for grabs. Please check the previous entry by scrolling down.

Visit Jam Sells! to your girly picks.

PR Web: The next big thing to hit the Cocktail Kingdom is a retro-modern shaker full of fun from Phoenix, Arizona-based Sweet’s Brand, Inc. The company is proud to introduce Cocktail Kick — a new product that adds an extra puckery, tart, tangy taste to adult beverages like margaritas, mojitos, martinis, bloody marys, and more.

“I like a good margarita and whiskey sour,” says company founder and CEO, Ed Sweet. “But they’ve never been sour enough for me…Until now. Anyone who favors drinks with lemon, lime, and other fruit flavors will find my Cocktail Kick a terrific enhancement.”

Sweet’s Brand Cocktail Kick can be mixed into drinks and used to rim the glass. “Some people like to create a rimming mixture by combining Cocktail Kick with sugar or salt,” says Mr. Sweet. “But I’m a purist who prefers the puckery taste of Cocktail Kick all by itself.”

Sweet’s Brand Cocktail Kick consists of 100% citric acid crystals, and is as safe as it is sour. Citric acid comes from lemons, limes, and other fruits and is used in sodas and candy.

For recipes, check out Cocktail Kick.

Springwise: Launched yesterday at Schiphol Airport, Fuel for Travel lets consumers download travel guides, music, audio books, tv shows and movies to their MP3 players and other digital devices.

The Fuel for Travel features listening and viewing stations for travellers to browse digital content. Once they've found what they want, they can dock their device, pay by credit or debit card, and download the material. Pricing is similar to that of online music and video downloads.

Members of test groups were especially interested in destination travel guides. Schiphol, which is managing the project, hopes that offering digital content will add to a more enjoyable travel experience for passengers.

Letting customers create their own in-flight entertainment package makes perfect sense for travel hubs. One to partner with and set up at an airport or train station near you? Just try and get Apple on board.

Digital fuel for travel [Springwise]

Dayton Daily News: Just in time for the hot dogs of summer — the Cool Vest.

Originally marketed in Japan, the Cool Vest is now being sold in the United States to keep dogs cool in hot weather. Owners soak the vest in water and it remains wet, allowing the pet to stay cool as the water evaporates and takes away the heat. A laminated liner keeps the dog from getting wet and the special fabric dries slowly, taking up to two hours. It can be re-moistened. The Cool Vest comes in five sizes, two colors.

Canines can beat heat in 'Cool Vest' as well as chew on their 'Binkies' [Dayton Daily News]