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January 27, 2007
I'm Fussy About Bags
I'm a sucker for bags. I carry so much stuff with me, it's impossible without some sort of carriage. When i do buy bags, I usually go all out and drop lots of cold hard-earned cash for one that exudes quality, luxury, and utility.
Isaburo is a Japanese leather goods brand known for all three characteristics. I'm currently fawning over the Rucksack bag which works as a messenger bag, hand bag and backpack. The hard shell Rucksack is covered in soft leather meticulously hand-stitched on. Every nook and cranny on this bag screams high-quality. Its innards contain a bevy of compartments and pockets to hold everything from a laptop to iPod.
$699, anyone want to buy me one?
more pictures after the jump
Posted by tranism at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
January 26, 2007
Bends to Your Heart's Desire
The Micama by designer Francesca Donati takes floor comfort to the next level. The Micama is a series of segmented cushions thick enough to support yet soft enough to lounge in. The design lends itself to many configurations bending to your heart's desire.
A German product for a cool 2,969 euros or 3,777 U.S. dollars.
Posted by tranism at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Ooo Snap! My Future Hair Dryer
Actually it’s a nanobot by industrial design student Daniel Kocyba. He envisions them on Earth circa 2050 working both medical and military applications.
I however, being a total fashionista will pretend it’s my future hair dryer; totally sentient without any human assistance whatsoever. With a press of a button, it unrolls from its rollie-pollie state and flies around my head until I end up looking more fabulous than Paris Hilton.
Yes I know I dream a strange but clever future.
via core 77
more pictures after the jump
Posted by tranism at 2:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
January 25, 2007
Luxus Light Chair
What is that thing? It looks kind of like a kidney bean and boomerang had a mash up.
It's the Luxus Rocking Light Chair by designer Christian Findt. The chair explores interaction between subject and object - one affects the other. The lights turn on when you rock in it. The patterns it creates depends on you, inspiring the subject to try and change the patterns or maintain it.
picture of it lit up after the jump
Posted by tranism at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
The Cell Toilet
Hooray for space-age toilets. Why you ask? Well because toilets are so boring compared to the dizzying array of tubs, fixtures, sinks and faucets. Designer Sung Hoon Mun created the Cell Toilet; a minimalist approach to potty use. The egg shaped throne has no back or tank. Water is only pumped in when needed.
Just a concept for now but one I'm already wishing were real.
via yanko design
Posted by tranism at 8:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
January 19, 2007
Sorry iPhone, Japan's Not Impressed
Steve Jobs' - "iPhone in Asia - 2008". Now I don't want to be the one saying this because I'm a total Apple fanboy but did Apple R&D and marketing not clue Jobs in on cellular tech in Asia?
For people in America, the iPhone is a major advancement in hardware and cellular tech. Let's forget about the fact that it doesn't have 3G mostly because America's 3G network is spotty and shoddy to say the least. Simply put, the infrastructure isn't there yet. The iPhone seems to be the holy grail between hardware and software design. The UI is deceptively simple and that's how phones should be right? But is this enough for Asia, specifically Japan? The short answer is no.
Japan's cellular tech is about a generation and a half ahead of America. Yes in case you didn't know, 3G is already widespread there and has been for many many years. In fact, the country is currently testing their next-gen cellular network which I'll just call 4G. All this while America is still hobbling along at 2G.
If the iPhone is the holy grail of hardware and software design, then Japanese cell phones are the holy grail of convergence devices. In no other part of the world will you find a phone that checks email, trade stocks, watch TV, act as a charge card, plays music, interface with other phones, act as portable computer, book tickets, 3+ megapixel cameras, unlock doors, remotely control other devices, GPS navigation, mobile shopping, bar code and fingerprint scanners, push to talk with multiple people, video chatting and conferencing, and of course . . . cell phone.
I spoke to my Japanese friend and asked him what he thought about the iPhone. Most people in America love it. Most of the press are enamored. To preface, Claude is a 27 y.o. Japanese male I met in my college days. He lives right outside Tokyo working as a textile designer. He thinks the iPhone is super sexy. To him, it doesn't look like any other phone out there. He loves how slim it is and is completely smitten with the multi-touch interface, but when asked if he'd give up his Sharp branded phone; he says no.
Claude's typical day starts with him checking his email on his phone. He gets all his daily tasks and calendaring events this way. He then syncs it with his computer. He pays for the subway by placing the phone on a kiosk granting him access past the gates. The commute is spent watching TV on his phone by rotating the screen. A small antenna extends up and catches the wireless digital TV signals (something we will never have here in America). About 45 minutes later, he's in Tokyo and heads to a vending machine to buy fresh fruit and water. He places the phone up against a pad. The vending machine reads his bank information which is tied into his phone. He then places his thumb on the phone's tiny thumbprint reader to verify his identity. As he makes his way to the office, he waves the phone near the door handle to unlock it. During a 10 minute break, he's flips thru a magazine and sees something he wants to buy. The item has a tiny stamp size barcode pictogram next to it. He scans the pictogram with his phone. A receipt and shipping confirmation hits his email minutes later. As the day ends, he syncs with his work computer and goes grocery shopping paying for items with his phone. Before heading home, he heads to a bar his friend has invited him too. He uses the phone to give him step-by-step directions. The day is finally over and his phone's battery is nearing the end of its life. He plugs it in and goes about the rest of the evening relaxing before bed.
Okay, I think the iPhone can do 1-1/2 of the things he's mention; checking email and watching TV (by first purchasing shows on iTunes and syncing them). Everything else is alien to the iPhone and alien to US customers.
It's easy to see why the iPhone can't replace his phone. Japan's mobile phones were designed with years of co-development with their two carriers; KDDI and DoCoMo. This synergy between network and software has graced the country with mobile features unheard of anywhere else. The way I see it, one of two things can happen. When Apple releases the iPhone in Japan, it will fill a niche market because of its lack of features and use of quad band GSM which most of Japan doesn't run on. The other option is for Apple to choose one of the two carriers in Japan and attempt the same hardware, software, network synergy they have planned with Cingular here in the US. This path seems the most daunting but the most amazing if successful. Think about; Apple's iPhone running on the world's fastest cellular network with features so well integrated, it'll make all other phones in North America, Europe and Australia seem antiquated. What's more, Apple will probably push to create new features in Japan just as they did with visual voicemail here with Cingular. Apple is a high tech company and it excites me to think what the engineers at 1 Infinite Loop can think of when they're given the option to run wild on Japan's superior cellular networks.
Claude feels the iPhone will sell but only to people who already have Macs and to people concerned about style. As for the rest of the country, he thinks asking a Japanese person to give up mobile digital TV is like asking an American to give up football for soccer. So I asked him what his next phone would be if not the iPhone. He says he has his eye on the Sony Ericsson SO903iTV.
A super slim phone with a 3" Sony Bravia widescreen display, 3 megapixel auto-focus camera, software to pause, skip, record live TV!, GPS navigation, and Felica cashless electronic payment system.
So there you have it. It's a battle between fluid hardware and software design vs. hardware and network superiority. Apple will have a huge uphill battle in Japan if they plan to release the iPhone as it is now. I know some people felt it was sweet justice that a new gadget would see release in America first before Asia but I can definitely say the Japanese are not that impressed.
more pictures of the SE SO903iTV after the jump
Posted by tranism at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (97)