TechEBlog -

Auto Enthusiast Recreates the Mazda Suitcase Car from the 90s

By Bill Smith August 24, 2026

In 1991, seven Mazda transmission research engineers combined a hard-shell Samsonite and a pocket bike to create something no airline would ever allow. Their submission for the company’s Fantasyard contest was a three-wheeled motorcycle that folded into luggage, weighed seventy-one pounds, and could reach speeds of nearly nineteen miles per hour with a 33.6-cubic-centimeter two-stroke engine. Assembly takes approximately one minute. The thing was highlighted on Oprah and at major auto shows, but just one original remains today.

Friends 3D-Printed a Working Railway Pump Cart and Took It to Open Sauce

By Bill Smith August 23, 2026

Old railway handcars appear in classic films as simple machines with a long beam that two people push up and down in opposite rhythm. That motion turns a crank and spins the wheels, sending the cart rolling along the rails at a steady, unhurried pace. Sam Barker and Tom decided the idea deserved a modern remake built almost entirely from plastic.

Pocket Perfect and Ready to Unfold, Early Testers Warm to Apple’s iPhone Ultra

By Jackson Chung August 23, 2026

Photo credit: Sonny Dickson
Apple’s long-awaited foldable phone has reached the hands of a small group of early testers, and the feedback arriving through Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter is largely positive. People who have spent time with the prototypes, referred to internally as the iPhone Ultra, keep coming back to how the device feels when closed and how it works once opened.

Why Beats Studio Pro are the Over-Ear Option That Actually Makes Sense Right Now

By Bill Smith August 23, 2026

People who want a pair of over-ear headphones with good noise cancelation and a long battery life without spending money on AirPods Max continue to prefer the Beats Studio Pro, priced at $149.99 (was $350). They borrow enough from Apple’s playbook to be comfortable while being versatile enough for Android users, and they do it in a package that is substantially lighter and more robust than the aluminum cans that many people desire.

BeanBot Robot Moves Like a Jumping Bean by Bumping Into the World

By Jackson Chung August 23, 2026

Mexican jumping beans have long intrigued people with their capacity to twitch and hop across a table when touched by a hand or exposed to sunlight. A little moth larva within a hollow seed pod is responsible for the motion. Heat drives the larva to pull on silk threads, propelling the entire pod into rolls, flips, and short hops in search of cooler shade. Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology’s Bioinspired Soft Robotics department have developed a robot that exhibits the same restless behavior without the usage of motors, batteries, circuits, or an onboard computer.