TransPhone modular smartphone / tablet goes Pro, still looks like a beginner
ASUS’ PadFone 2 may be the only notable contender in the phone-in-tablet space, but it does have a cheapo me-too in TransPhone. The latest “Pro” version of this budget hybrid comprises a 7-inch 1,024 x 600 TransPad dock, which swallows up a 3.5 inch 960 x 540 smartphone powered by a dual-core 1 GHz MediaTek chip. The set carries a $240 price tag on pre-order, though since this company doesn’t have much of a track record, you may want to hold on to your cash until it becomes a real entity sometime in March 2013 — even if it’d set you back an extra $50 at that point. There are more details in the PR, if you’re up for a gamble.
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Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile
Source: TransPhone International
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Leave a commentEver wondered what your design would look like on fashion. Check…
Ever wondered what your design would look like on fashion. Check it out: Constrvct is an online fashion revolution.
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Boeing 747-8, 777 to join 787 in support for in-flight cellphone use and WiFi, like it or not
The more cynical among us would argue that allowing cellphones in-flight is only a guarantee of an even more unpleasant trip, at least for anyone wanting a distraction-free cabin. There must still be a few optimists: Boeing is promising that future production runs of the 747-8 and 777 will have the necessary support for in-flight cellphone use, live TV and internet access that comes through either headrest screens or WiFi. Aircraft with the upgrade should roll off the production lines before the end of 2013, and they’ll be following a slight change to the 787 later this year that makes the technology support a common option. Some of us may wind up reaching for the earplugs in countries where regulators approve in-air wireless, but there’s definite upsides for all but the biggest curmudgeons — Boeing’s moves could lead to more ubiquitous in-flight WiFi next year, on top of ready-made wireless media streaming due in 2014.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation
Boeing 747-8, 777 to join 787 in support for in-flight cellphone use and WiFi, like it or not originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 02:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Udderly Irresistable Heifer Pitcher Pours Milk Like A Natural
A fun way for children to experience unexpected rural dimensions and an amusement item for adults, the Heffer Pitcher is irresistible. Or as the producers describe it – “udderly irresistible”. With its clever double walled glass design, the pitcher reveals its natural side when filled with milk. Probably the first adjective that comes to mind when describing this item is “cute”. Especially if you take its size into consideration: the pitcher is only four inches (ten centimeters) tall, which makes it a jewel to have around the kitchen. On the other hand, it would not hurt if the producers would come up with a larger version of the creative item (meaning a more practical design) as well. But we are certain that children will fall in love with its original appearance, no matter what the liquid inside. The user can totally take advantage of its transparency and color it in various ways- for example, the cup below was filled with a salad dressing, but also works great with sauces and syrups. Priced $24, the Heifer Pitcher is fun, creative and visually appealing. And it is the closest you’ll ever get to drinking milk “like a natural” from the comfort of your own kitchen.
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Leave a commentThe new stars of reggae are nothing like the old ones
Earthly music just ain’t enough for reggae / rock band Echo Movement. In search of extraterrestrial inspiration, they hooked up with researchers at Georgia Tech’s Sonification Lab, which specializes in turning ugly numbers into beautiful music. Using data from NASA’s Kepler telescope and its search for Earth II, SonLab generated “sequences of sonified musical pitches” from fluctuations in a star’s brightness (meet Kepler 4665989). Echo Movement got their loop on and composed a harmony from the sequences, adding a tremolo effect from another star’s pattern for a softer sound. Unfortunately, the finished track isn’t out til September, but in the meantime you can hear the six-second celestial hook at the source link — just don’t blame us if you get pangs of Nokia-stalgia. Also, if you want to imagine how Echo Movement might use the sample, we’ve embedded one of their rarer songs — that doesn’t involve Spider-Man’s girlfriend — after the break.
Continue reading The new stars of reggae are nothing like the old ones
The new stars of reggae are nothing like the old ones originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jun 2012 04:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A little bit of daily inspiration. via by9:Life is like…
A little bit of daily inspiration. via by9:Life is like photography by ~russanov
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There is no Gon like a Hexagon
Just launched in March — and, from what I understand, spun off Reproplan, a digital service bureau (a la FedEx Office) with 22 locations in Germany — PIGMENTPOL is a digital printing company with three locations across Germany providing small and large format printing, digital printing on specialty materials, fine art printing, textile printing, as well as all kinds of finishing. Their new identity was designed in collaboration between Dresden-based ATMO Design Studio and Berlin-based FELD. While the opening image above looks anything but interesting, the rest of the identity makes up for it.
The new identity system embodies a variety of perspectives, experiences and possibilities while maintaining a coherent appearance. The chosen hexagon serves as a central key element, from which the generated logos and backgrounds are derived.
FELD provided a custom software application for the creation of individual graphics to enable a flexible and individual appearance of the huge variety of PIGMENTPOL’s corporate media, including personalized stationery, shop interior and vehicles.
— FELD Project Description
A look at the generative tool.
Brand launch or, in other words, the results from the tool above.
In essence there is nothing new here: Gotham, hexagons, overlaid colors, a generative tool. We’ve seen all these before in one form or another yet this identity manages to bring them together in an energetic, explosive system that fits perfectly a digital printing business, one that can create one-off solutions and individualize each unit in a 500 print run. The result is, literally, dazzling with a vast array of colors, close-up crops of the hexagon, and the mini, snowflake-like hexagons at the intersection of all the diagonal axes. And even with that said, the applications have a certain restraint that makes it look grown up and sophisticated. Let the comparisons to City of Melbourne begin in three, two, one….
Many more images in this Flickr set.
Thanks to Roy Swinkels for the tip.
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With Windows Like These Who Needs Enemies? [UPDATED]
Gearing for its latest OS release — after a couple of lackluster and user panned versions in Windows Vista and Windows XP (and continued mockery from OS X users) — Microsoft has been slowly releasing previews and developer versions of Windows 8, a complete rethinking of one of the most frightening computer-using experiences. Based on Microsoft’s “Metro” design language, Windows 8 adopts the user interface currently in play on the Windows Phone OS. By the end of February, Microsoft will release a consumer preview (don’t call it Beta) of Windows 8 and its new logo was recently spotted. Update: This post has been revised with design credit to Pentagram partner Paula Scher and text from Sam Moreau, Principal Director of User Experience for Windows; scroll to the bottom.
Principles of Microsoft’s “Metro” design language.
Official video from Microsoft introducing the new user interface of Windows 8. A sample screen below.
Windows Phone user interface.
You have to hand it to Microsoft for reigning in their design approach to something more simple and useful — and dare I say pleasant to look at. The Metro approach relies on the Segoe font family, originally designed by Steve Matteson for Agfa Monotype and later licensed by Microsoft, which has been deployed on most Microsoft materials in the last four or five years. It’s a fine font, but pretty it is not. It’s a kind of middle-of-the-road sans serif without any memorable attributes and with a very peculiar “Default” aesthetic to it. It works best as a user interface ingredient but as the typography on a logo, it’s extremely underwhelming — pair it with the worst rendition yet of the Windows window and you have a real loser. I’m not saying the previous Windows icons were good, but they had enough abstraction (and gradients and shadows and highlights) to at least look techie and Microsoft-ey, but this “minimal” approach looks like, well, a window. A window in a $400-a-month studio apartment rental with beige carpeting and plastic drapes. Moving away from the more flag-like icon seems like abandoning two decades of equity — crappy equity, but equity nonetheless.
Update 02/17/12 @9:53 am: Just got a note from a very unexpected source (on the design side) that this is indeed the wrong release logo and that the proper one should be launched next week. Stay tuned.
Update 02/17/12 @11:47 am: The Windows Team has just published a post on their blog with details on the new logo, designed by Pentagram partner Paula Scher.
1. We wanted the new logo to be both modern and classic by echoing the International Typographic Style (or Swiss design) that has been a great influence on our Metro style design philosophy. Using bold flat colors and clean lines and shapes, the new logo has the characteristics of way-finding design systems seen in airports and subways.
2. It was important that the new logo carries our Metro principle of being “Authentically Digital”. By that, we mean it does not try to emulate faux-industrial design characteristics such as materiality (glass, wood, plastic, etc.). It has motion — aligning with the fast and fluid style you’ll find throughout Windows 8.
3. Our final goal was for the new logo to be humble, yet confident. Welcoming you in with a slight tilt in perspective and when you change your color, the logo changes to reflect you. It is a “Personal” Computer after all.
— Sam Moreau, Principal Director of User Experience for Windows
My opinion now that this has come to light? Remains the same. Nicer blue, though.
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With Windows Like These Who Needs Enemies?
Gearing for its latest OS release — after a couple of lackluster and user panned versions in Windows Vista and Windows XP (and continued mockery from OS X users) — Microsoft has been slowly releasing previews and developer versions of Windows 8, a complete rethinking of one of the most frightening computer-using experiences. Based on Microsoft’s “Metro” design language, Windows 8 adopts the user interface currently in play on the Windows Phone OS. By the end of February, Microsoft will release a consumer preview (don’t call it Beta) of Windows 8 and its new logo was recently spotted.
Principles of Microsoft’s “Metro” design language.
Official video from Microsoft introducing the new user interface of Windows 8. A sample screen below.
Windows Phone user interface.
You have to hand it to Microsoft for reigning in their design approach to something more simple and useful — and dare I say pleasant to look at. The Metro approach relies on the Segoe font family, originally designed by Steve Matteson for Agfa Monotype and later licensed by Microsoft, which has been deployed on most Microsoft materials in the last four or five years. It’s a fine font, but pretty it is not. It’s a kind of middle-of-the-road sans serif without any memorable attributes and with a very peculiar “Default” aesthetic to it. It works best as a user interface ingredient but as the typography on a logo, it’s extremely underwhelming — pair it with the worst rendition yet of the Windows window and you have a real loser. I’m not saying the previous Windows icons were good, but they had enough abstraction (and gradients and shadows and highlights) to at least look techie and Microsoft-ey, but this “minimal” approach looks like, well, a window. A window in a $400-a-month studio apartment rental with beige carpeting and plastic drapes. Moving away from the more flag-like icon seems like abandoning two decades of equity — crappy equity, but equity nonetheless.
Update 02/17/12 @9:53 am: Just got a note from a very unexpected source (on the design side) that this is indeed the wrong release logo and that the proper one should be launched next week. Stay tuned.
Thanks to Eugen Erhan for first tip.
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Shogun Bros. Ballista MK-1 Gaming Mouse totes new sniping system, looks like it’ll hit the spot
The latest gaming mouse from Shogun Bros. doesn’t double as a gamepad, but it does carry a heady list of extra features for sharpshooting gamers. These include independent X and Y DPi settings to stabilize targeting, thumb selector for speed shooting, 5,700 DPI accuracy and 11,570 frames per second movement tracking — sidestepping those pesky jumps and stutters when moving that cursor in the midst of a melee. Indicators include X, Y and refresh rate, while you’ll find 11 extra macro keys across the rubberized surface. There are 20 customized DPI settings for any game genre you’d care to mention — oh and a desktop setting, yawn. Expect to shoot the wings off a CGI fly some time in Q2 2012.
Shogun Bros. Ballista MK-1 Gaming Mouse totes new sniping system, looks like it’ll hit the spot originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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