Re:turntable

We all miss album cover art work, and the tiny digital cover art on your iPod just isn't the same. English designer, Michael Kennedy, has the answer that makes retro meet modern in a funked up way. I-Deck is a touch screen music player that revitalizes album art and user interaction, that has been lost in current mp3 format. You simply doc your mp3 player into the base and use the touch screen to cycle through and select your tracks, flick it to skip, spin it to fast-forward and turn it to play. Then sit back and watch the album art play. From Nirvana nude baby floating thru to Madonna in a leotard, album art is back in vogue.

AmmonContact

Somewhere in between extraterrestrial innovators Sun Ra and Sa-Ra, in the outer regions of the musical galaxy, lies Ammoncontact. Hard to pigeonhole, Ammoncontact is as much hip-hop for free jazz heads as it is minimal techno for afro-funkateers. Dark, moody, spiritual, and deep, Carlos Nino and Fabian Ammon’s unique blend of acoustic and electronic beats has been evolving organically over the last five years, and is at its ripest yet on this new release.
http://myspace.com/ammoncontact

Logo-motion

Here's a new twist for ya... Around Atlanta I've been spotting cars sporting logos of different brands all over the place. Not the multi-logo wall paper of Nascar, but one brand emblazoned on the hood and quarter panels. I don't know where or why this came about but it's all the rage. It doesent seem to be "officially" sponsored by any company and it doesn't look cheap. Most go as far as actually matching PMS colors to their exterior paint.

Crank calls

Designer Andre Minoli crafted this innovative prototype for Motorola to address that very issued. Dubbed the PVOT concept phone, the unit operates on a single AA rechargeable battery and features a flip handcrank. While a single AA battery won’t provide much talk time, 25 cranks on the flip handle will provide a single minute of talk time.

No doubt busy Wall Street types have better things to do than spend their days cranking away. On the other hand, for the vast majority of the world’s population who still view electricity as a privilege (as opposed to a right), this thing offers true utility.

Like to watch

I love watches. I think I saw this on Gizmodo.com a couple of weeks ago, and figured since I keep thinking about it, I'd go ahead and post it. Available in a tan leather wristband with yellow lights or a black leather wristband with red lights.

Eek -a- dresser

I don't get the name Eek Dresser but I love the style. This piece has me a little floored. It's so simple and yet really well done. It has a baroque pattern which is wallpapered onto a steel base. $3,270.00 http://www.twentieth.net

Mac to the future

MacFormat magazine (http://www.macformat.co.uk/) commissioned a conceptualized future iMac to accompany a related article. The design is based on current Apple design trends, as well as the previous iMac incarnation.

The iMac features a 30" utra-thin LCD screen, which is totally transparent when the iMac is not in use. The screen can also be set to various levels of translucency, and can fade during sleep modes etc. The keyboard is also totally tramsparent, low profile and a curved ergonomic design, with light sensitive illuminated keys.
Everything is of course, wireless.

Cut to the chase

Thieves and criminal thrill seekers beware – the police car chase will never be the same again. Thanks to some sophisticated new technology created by Virginia-based company Starchase, police can now track crooks by shooting Batman-esque GPS homing devices like darts and sticking them to the back of fleeing vehicles. Instead of a frantic pursuit, the pursing police cruiser eases off and allows police headquarters to track the suspect by computer. Police can then move in for a calmer arrest.

Stick with music

We’re always wondering, what does the future hold for personal and home audio? What will consumer packaged music look like even just a few years from now? With the advent of perpendicular storage, NAS systems, cheap flash memory, and increasing political and legal issues regarding ownership and piracy, the answer is not simple. Alice Wang, a product design major and native of both Taipei and London, explains her vision in her latest project called Audio Sticks. Wang envisions a future where artists will release their albums on USB flash memory keys, each holding 70 MB of data. Due to their compact size, the Audio Sticks will be more portable than the compact discs we use today and there will much less materials wasted on packaging.
http://www.alice-wang.com/audiosticks.htm

What's bumpin'

This like the Mac OS on crack. I predict Apple going this route. BumpTop aims to enrich the desktop metaphor with expressive, lightweight techniques found in the real world. Check out the YouTube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0ODskdEPnQ

You rock Urwerk

URWERK present the sensational 103 Blackbird: a black PE-CVD coated, platinum timepiece in a very limited edition of only 10 pieces.

URWERK draw much of their design inspiration from deep space, powerful rockets and sleek jets. A quick glance at the world’s first stealth jet, Lockheed’s SR-71- aka Blackbird - leaves no doubt regarding the inspiration behind this incredible watch.
http://www.urwerk.ch

MP3 Wheeler

Piaggio launched the first Vespa model - and with it the scooter phenomenon - in the spring of 1946. The scooter revolutionised personal transport, giving Europeans a sense of utter freedom.
Sixty years on, Piaggio has come up with another revolutionary product: the PIAGGIO MP3, a totally innovative three-wheeler with two front wheels. The PIAGGIO MP3 provides safety, road grip and stability levels that no two-wheeler can match. Power, performance and ease of use make for a very entertaining ride.
www.mp3.piaggio.com

Just add ice

As if Smirnoff wasn't already sitting high on the ' top shelf', now they have gone one better by creating this amazing inflate-portable bar/club. This go anywhere comfort zone is comprised by a number of inflatable cubes to create the overall effect of a portable bar/chill out zone. The design brief was simple, create a cool image. Nothing cooler than ice is there? It's not all aesthetics however, the design must be wind resistant, water proof and with hold a large number of occupants. It's translucent appearance, invites the creativity of light shows to radiate through the bar at night. For the funkiest bar on the go.

GOOOOOOOOOOAL!

If you are currently in Germany, you may be driving under the world's biggest set of balls. Adidas have graced an overpass at Munich airport with this brilliant ad for the world cup soccer featuring goalkeeper, Oliver Kahn. The campaign needed to be as large as the current wave of soccer fever sweeping the country. That's a definite goal for the ad gurus at Adidas. What a save!

Palms Pimpin'

It has a touch of PIMP and guarantees to STRIKE. The Palms hotel in Las Vegas has taken the themed room concept that extra mile, with its amazing extra large, extra innovative deluxe thematic rooms. Take the King PIN suite for example. Who needs your luxury soaps, bedding and champagne when you can have your room own bowling alley complete with full sized lanes and music videos framed in plasma screens gracing the walls.

Doom with a view

Imagine gaming on this baby. The representation of three-dimensional objects on a surface so as to produce the same impression of distance and relative size as that received by the human eye is a practical definition of perspective. Now imagine the perspective created by a portable, inexpensive three-dimensional immersive viewing system that could be useful in a variety of real-world applications. Definitions and imagination aside, The VisionStation by Elumens is an exciting and cutting-edge product that will be appreciated by optic nerves everywhere.

Animated mini

This version of the Mini Cooper has been aesthetically enhanced by Sydney artist / illustrator Andrew Georgiou (www.mrgisby.com), who’s collection of home grown, twisted comic characters have made their mark in Australia, U.K and the U.S in recent months

X1R Remote Caddie

If you're not rocking a cart on most of your trips around the local course, you'll appreciate just how much carrying your own clubs can have an effect on your game. The X1R Remote-controlled Caddie ($2000) can carry many things along with your clubs, such as balls, tees, sunglasses, towels, scorecard and pencil holder, amongst others. The cart lasts up to 27 holes on a single charge, so you'll be able to make an entire round of it without worrying about your electric caddie falling behind.

Please fade me

The FADER summer spectacular will be hitting newstands in a week or so, but it's smashing into your iTunes today. Yes! For free! On your computrotron! First magazine to ever get this treatment!
Go to iTunes or http://thefader.com

Calling all ears

Alice Smith is a rare artist in a class by herself, whose commanding 4-octave voice lets her skip across genres effortlessly and transport you along with it. Based in NYC, but raised in Washington DC and Georgia, her references span the USA from country and classic rock to jazz and gospel. She is bringing back the American tradition of soul music with the raw emotions in her voice and relatable lyrics void of any pretense. “For Lovers, Dreamers, and Me” is a collection of songs that add an innovative twist to an undeniable groove. From the opening beat accompanied by piano and horn stabs, Alice reminds you that rock and soul came from the same place. The songs all have the anthemic quality of classic songwriting with a decidedly modern groove and vernacular. One free download @ http://www.myspace.com/alicesmith