You seen fashion PCs, catwalk-worthy phones, and even haute couture-inspired cars. Now meet the fashion handheld console. A Japan-exclusive, Sony is releasing the “Jill Stuart Sweet Limited Package” a blossum pink PlayStation Portable. This special edition console was created in conjunction with designer Jill Stuart
The limited edition set includes the pastel-colored PSP a pouch with a beaded pearl strap along with a matching pink cleaning cloth. There is also a 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo all packaged in a cute pink box.
The “Jill Stuart Sweet Limited Package" becomes available on March 4 for $230. Interested gamers should start looking for a good import site.
Computer peripheral manufacturer, S&J Co., Ltd, proves that sometimes to get great sound you have to break a few eggs. Their new line of ultra portable speakers are egg-shaped and awesome hence their name, Eggy.
The little speakers pack decent sound thanks to their 2W output and digital amps. They're USB-powered so there's no need to worry about batteries. The coolest thing about these speakers is that the magnetically lock. Once you're done using them, just put them together and you've got a shiny egg that can be easily slipped into a bag or pocket. These speakers would be an awesome peripheral for all those netbooks and laptops out there.
No word yet on price or availability, but they will be showing at this year's CES, so hopefully there will be more information in January.
The pretty frock in he picture is more than the latest piece of haute couture. Thanks to the efforts of Forster Rohner, Alexandra Institute, diffus.dk, and The Danish Design School this dress is not only fashion-forward it's also eco-friendy.
The LEDs embroidered into the dress actually show the levels of CO2 in the room. The dress monitors CO2 levels and transmits the information to the LEDs which flicker in response to the data. I wonder if the decision to make the dress a charcoal gray a purposeful one made by the collaborators to symbolize our declining air quality. At any rate, this is another example of how technology and fashion can come together to create something that's beautiful and functional both on and off the catwalk.
There's something about LEDs and clothing that really gets me, provided it's done well. You won't catch me within 100 feet of one of those cheesy light-up holiday sweaters, especially those garish Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer deals. This kimono however, has class and sophistication that negates the gimmicky feel of the LED lighting.
The kimono was created by performing artist/composer Miya Masaoka. The garment's sleeve has 444 LED that are individually controlled. The lights respond primarily to sound and the movement of the wearer. Future iterations of the kimono will allow it to function more as a smart garment with the ability to improvise, listen, and react to its environment.
It looks a little bulky with the lights on, but once the lights are dimmed, this piece of performance art becomes a fluid showcase of captivating light and movement.
Traveling with a baby can be challenging. You need to make sure there's a solid supply of diapers and food as well as lug around that bulky stroller. Sure it comes in handy when you're transporting your little one, but it becomes the instrument of the devil when it encounters some stairs. It's even worse with the initial setup. I've seen too many parents struggle with getting the blasted thing set up while trying to comfort a crying infant. Whew!
Luggage company Samsonite, held a competition a few months back looking for designers that could design a better way for parents to transport their children. One such concept came from Iranian designer Pouyan Mokhtarani. Called the Smart Baby Case, the design is a hard case pod that borrows design cues from the humble egg, a shape already familiar to a child. The case would keep baby safe and comfortable while the parents navigate the hustle and bustle of pedestrian traffic or get to safety in the case of an emergency.
Franziska Dierschke was definitely having "fun" while creating the Aimat digital camera. Taking no assumptions of structure from the concept of a traditional digital camera, the Aimat carries forward its point-and-shoot functionality by creating the ability to take small, pinhole-shaped images without the aid of a viewfinder. And by being shaped like a gun.
Oops. Did I say "gun"? And that's supposed to be "fun"? Okay, I am going to shake off the skepticism and allow the playfulness that the designer had in mind while creating this concept camera. The intent behind which was to "put less emphasis on picture quality, and more on the playful act of taking the picture" itself. Cool. No word on when this one is going to find its way into production.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is "interactive" furniture of the most useless kind - a concept called the Mood Chair by UK based designers Aether & Hemera. And after some more wasted minutes spent in trying to understand its utility, I fail to find one.
The Mood Chair apparently has sensors that take cue from the user and the environment to determine his/her emotional disposition. That's not all. After the internal circuitry - consisting of "LEDs, embedded micro-chips, appropriate sensors and custom software" - can take stock of your mood while you are on it, the chair changes color to broadcast it to anybody who's around, and interested. Guess how infallible that can be.
For the others who jumped up in anticipation, we have no clue when this thing might get into the stores. If ever.
After the gorgeous Galaxy Dress, I've been keeping my eyes open for more awesomely fabulous fashionable tech. Lo and behold, there's the Flare Dress from Dutch designer Stijn Ossevoort. The dress in itself is lovely, a light and breezy number perfect for a spring day. What makes this frock a talking point is the dandelion detailing.
When a breeze hits the dress, the dandelions come to life, glowing in all their gentle LED glory. That's right the Flair dress is a wind-activated number that lights up in a pattern of lights when the wind or a human blows on it. A whimsical affair, I can't wait to see what other innovative designs will come from this talented designer.
Sometimes gadgets and their designers can take themselves a little too seriously. In the need to show that their new product is worthy of geek worship, tech gets painted in the utilitarian colors of black, white and silver. I'm not a huge fan of tech painted pink and marketed towards women either, but a little color wouldn't hurt some of these devices.
IPod speaker manufacturer Speakal has always been one to buck the trend, giving us speakers in the shape of cute little piggies, loveable ghosts, and playful pandas. Their latest speaker follows the same irreverent design cues and puts the "aw" in awesome.
The Speakal iPom is an shaped like an apple and has two flowers perched on top acting as speakers with the third hiding out in the apple-shaped base. This pom has a little punch with its 2.1 stereo speaker system, adjustable bass, and 12W subwoofer. In addition to being iPod compatible, the iPom can also play music from USB memory sticks and SD card. It also works with any mp3 player that has a 3.5mm output.
The flower speakers are removable so they can be placed around the room. Retailing for $99, the iPom is a cute change in pace from the black and silver, slick design gadgets have become.
If you agree with the line of thinking that a picture can replace a thousand words, you would surely agree with the extension - that a model can replace a zillion pictures. So assuming that it would be boring to look at a chart, however well-done, to visualize the evolution of a device, give your eyes a treat by looking at this creation by UK-based designer Kyle Bean to demonstrate the evolution of the mobile phone.
The design captures the evolution of the mobile phone in Russian Babushka doll style - starting from the earliest Motorola DynaTAC 8000X to the current Apple iPhone. A lesson or two for schools to make history more interesting.
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