CoolBusinessIdeas Newsletter Issue 12: 07/03/05 - 26/03/05

New Business Ideas/Opportunities Featured In This Issue:

ROBOTS
Hitachi's Talking Robot
Hitachi has delivered a talkative new robot Emiew, and will be displayed from June 9 at the 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan.

TECHNOLOGY
Ants Collective Intelligence Inspires Technology
Ants can work out the quickest way from A to B more efficiently than a computer. Now, human communications networks are based on their behaviour.

A Virtual World
Augmented reality (AR) is the technology behind new interactive versions of childrens’ stories.

AUTOMOBILES
BMW's Move
BMW is preparing to enter the market for car-style people carriers, the firm's chief has told BBC News.

MOBILE
Tenants' Mobile Solution
A text message service telling council tenants about housing repairs could be introduced.

A Firefly Phone For Your Child
The Firefly phone is a pioneer voice-only phone explicitly designed for the smaller hands of kids aged eight to twelve years old.

O2 Plus Kodak
O2 has sealed a deal with Kodak to offer online photo services to the mobile operator’s customers through a jointly branded service.

SERVICES
Laugh All the Way to the Bank
Humor can be used to move sales along at almost every stage of the process!

The Perfect Date
Why spend weeks brainstorming the perfect outing when you can pay a professional to do it for you?

ENTERTAINMENT
Skateboarding: The 25 Year Old Passing Trend
Skateboarding was just a fad back in the early 80's but 25 years on and it is a multi-million dollar industry that continues to grow.

HEALTH
FRĒ FLŌ DŌ Fitness
FRĒ FLŌ DŌ has been dubbed the next generation for fitness freaks. Inventor and fitness guru Kappel LeRoyClarke plans to take the tread trend beyond his classes.

Sugar Free Biscuits
This sugar free biscuit is being launched under the Healthline trademark.

Open Wide and Smile!
The oral care industry is a $4.8 billion gold mine in 2003, according to market research firm Euromonitor International of Chicago.

Rex For Patients
Rex the Talking Bottle fights prescription dosage mix-ups by recording and repeating patient instructions.

E-COMMERCE
Growing Online Sales
Consumer spending on online content such as music, dating sites and business and investment information grew 14 percent last year to $1.8 billion.

TRENDS & INSIGHTS
Apparel Market
Last year, the apparel industry’s revenue finally rose and growth is expected to continue this year.

How To Take Advantage of the Latest Trend
The secret of success is to find out exactly what is going on in the marketplace. You can’t do it from behind a desk: you need to get out there and listen to people.

Student Job Sites Hit or Miss
Some websites purport to help students find jobs and refine their employment-seeking skills.

TRANSPORT
Pogo Airline-Taxi Service
Introducing air taxi service Pogo: a whole new way to travel. The idea is to introduce air travel on demand, using Web-based software to route small aircraft as needed.

CULTURE
Japanese Influence
There has been an increasing internet-influenced trend that has American teens coveting Japanese culture.

BRANDING
Church Branding
A branded church understands who they are and their target audience, and they communicate that effectively through marketing.

CONSUMER GOODS
Mini Me
It's definitely a personalized world out there, so how about a miniature version of... yourself?

FOOD & BEVERAGE
A Great Dinner Together
No time to make family dinner? Tired of getting them takeout or fast food? Go to www.sayrelyns.com and sign up for a session!

Indian Food to Tickle Taste Buds
The Indian food sector is looking westward to acquire the latest trend that tickles the taste buds.

RETAIL
Pay by Fingerprint
Customers of a German supermarket chain will soon be able to pay for their shopping using fingerprint, saving 40 seconds spent scrabbling for change or card!

GADGETS
Bodybugg Calorie Management System
Ever wondered exactly how many calories you burn while sitting perfectly still but having a massive panic attack? Bodybugg, an armband calorie monitor can!

DESIGN
Icon Sets
TemplateMonster.com, one of the largest website templates providers on the Web, enters the market of icon design.

A House Powered By Spinach
This house takes energy from the sun and uses spinach protein to generate electricity for neighbouring homes and street lighting infrastructure!

ONLINE
Yahoo! Likely To Expand Into Blogs
Yahoo! is likely to build and buy tools that help its users create, publish and search blogs. Yahoo! recently integrated RSS feeds into its MyYahoo home page.

Dating idea: Don't Speak
A new dating phenomenon called Quiet Parties: singles aren't allowed to speak to each other, just pass notes!

MARKETING
The Relation Between Gaming And Advertising
Viral and buzz marketing are pushing the envelope and starting to gain more mainstream acceptance.

Marketers: Use Blogs!
By creating a blog, you can boost buzz for your brand in ways advertising can't, and do it for as little as $15 a month.

ADVERTISING
Tasteless Beer Advertising
There is an ad war between Miller and Anheuser-Busch about whether Lite or Bud Light tastes better, or has “more taste”.

Voicevertising
The newest wave in creative branding is loud and difficult to miss. HALLS Fruit Breezers has purchased Hayes' voice on eBay, in a unique advertising deal.

ENVIRONMENTAL
The Green Goat
Make way for the Green Goat: the world's biggest hybrid. It's a 2,000-horsepower locomotive that radically reduces fuel consumption and emissions of pollutants!

View this issue of the CoolBusinessIdeas Newsletter by clicking here. Subscribe for free (bonus gifts included with subscription) by clicking here.