Creative Home Life

People-oriented design

Just three days into CES, the buffet foods, complimentary candies, sleepless nights, coffee and energy drinks are taking their toll on everyone, everyone but me because I came prepared. I’m dressed to the nines, rocking my freshly knitted tabi boots, constantly sucking on my Water Bobble, here to bring you part 3 of our coverage.

Exhibition: CES 2011 Part 3

While everyone is drooling over the super thin LED TVs, InnVision Lab’s HoloAd Diamond has my full attention. It’s kind of odd looking but the tech is proof in the pudding. Not exactly sure how, but the system is able to convert 2D video into some kind of sudo-holographic 3D image. That puffer fish was almost as real as those seashells.

Samsung showed off it’s latest wares in super thin, flexible displays. The 4.5″ AMOLED prototype carries a 840 x 480 resolution. Barely 0.3 mm thick, it’s quite “bendy” but the image never distorts. It’s incredibly sharp and other than cost, I can’t see why we shouldn’t see it mass produced soon.

The Motorola Xoom is by far the best in show in the tablet category. Android 3.0 Honeycomb, 10″ display, HD resolution, dual-core processors, front and rear facing cameras, 10 hour battery, and it’s its own mobile hotspot providing Wi-Fi access up to five other devices. The hardware is beautifully designed – basic and utilitarian.

The X100 is Fujifilm’s entry into the pro-sumer camera market. All of the tech inside makes it comparable to other compact SLRs so they’ve opted to go retro in industrial design. I’m not usually partial to retro styling but this thing was damn fun to use. The new Fujinon 23mm f/2.0 pancake lens produced some awesome pictures on the 3.0 screen. Expect it in March.

WheeMe is a palm-size robot that gently massages and caresses as it moves slowly across your body. Embodying a unique tilt sensor technology, it automatically and silently steers itself over your body without falling off or losing its grip. It’s no Swedish massage but I was tickled. Yea.. I’m getting one.

Our best buddy Bluelounge had a booth at CES to unveil the Nest iPad stand and StudioDesk XL. As usual they’ve come up with the simplest, smartest solutions for everyday problems. The Nest props the iPad up multiple ways and has a built-in caddy to store tchotchkes. The StudioDesk XL is a gorgeous mahogany table designed to hide all those unsightly cables. Totally drooling for one. Both are available this Spring if not sooner.

And yea… I’m the one wearing knitted tabis. Hey, a unicorn herding ninja has got to stay warm somehow.

People-oriented design

This year’s CES sees incremental improvements, nothing revolutionary. However Ford has the distinction of being the first automotive company to reveal a new car outside a major automotive press event. Hit the jump!

Exhibition: CES 2011 Part 2

Say hello to the Ford Focus Electric. 100 miles on a single charge that takes less than 4 hours on a 240 volt outlet. That’s 3 hours faster than a Nissan Leaf. It’s loaded with pretty much every tech doohickey out there but the icing is MyFord Touch which takes in-dash user interface design to a new level. The accompanying MyFord Mobile lets you check charging status, adjust climate settings, locate and even start the car. I totally have a crush!

The iRobot Scooba 230 is so fracking cute! Hard to tell from that picture but it’s barely 4″ tall. It’s a lot smarter than previous models and the diminutive size works to your advantage because Scooba can now get under furniture and tables. It cleans up after itself and self-charges too. Tentatively will retail for $300.

You know 3D will be big in 2011 when companies start marketing the technology in consumer lineups. The Sony Handycam was one of several 3D video camera on display but its compact size stood out. Spec-cally (my made up word for specifications), the HDR-TD10 shoots 1080p that can be viewed on the optimized display. Of course if you want to take it off the camera, you’ll need one of those new fangled 3D TVs.

The Quirky Perch is an iPhone speaker dock. The detachable speaker has its own kickstand and connects to your phone via Bluetooth. Simple idea, gorgeous design.

I saw the Moshi Moshi MM03i at a booth and immediately made a b-line for it. It turns your iPhone into a landline, at least aesthetically. The base is quite heavy and charges the phone. All phone functions are then transferred to the wireless handset. You can even Skype on it. It’s beautiful. This picture doesn’t do it justice. $150, get it!

Sifteo cubes are 1.5 inch computers with full-color displays that sense their motion, sense each other, and wirelessly connect to your computer. You, your friends, and your family can play an ever-growing array of interactive games that get your brain and body engaged. Sifteo’s initial collection of titles includes challenging games for adults, fun learning puzzles for kids, and games people can play together.

When you have Lada Gaga has your creative director, “magic” will happen. A lot of people here at CES think Polaroid have lost their mind but I admire the company for doing something different and the industrial design is quite sexy. The GL30 Instant Camera does exactly what it says but the GL20 glasses have people scratching their heads. The shades have a built-in camera with 2 small LCD’s covering the eyes… and Gaga continues to expand her empire. Both available later this year. I’m sure all her little monsters will be lining up for them.

People-oriented design

I’m as giddy as a school girl at CES because I’m literally going to be living in the future for the next few days. The annual Consumer Electronics Show has so many products to offer that I’ll just play curator. Hit the jump!

Exhibition: CES 2011 Part 1

GOBIZ i-Microphone is so small you might miss it at CES but good things come in small packages. This little doohickey packs some powerful mic tech and records 12dB louder. Perfect for mobile devices like the iPhone for recording lectures or on-the-fly interviews. Also compatible with pretty much anything with a 3.5mm jack.

Microsoft unveiled Surface 2.0, their smart table that takes touch interaction to a new level. What’s new? Pixel Sense, the ability to recognize almost anything touching the surface right down to the pixel. Amazing to put a business card down and watch the “surface” instantly digitize.

The Microsoft Touch Mouse is basically an Apple Magic Mouse. The entire surface is devoid of buttons and is covered in a matrix of capacitive touch-sensing electrodes. The new mouse supports gestures including a few new tricks like pinch-and-zoom. Available this June for $79.95.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer won’t come to life and demand energon but it does come with a removable full size keyboard. The tablet runs Android 3.0 Honeycomb which is Android mobile optimized for tablets. 32GB SSD, 1GB memory, Tegra 2 processor, 2 camera video cameras, 16 hour battery life, and a partridge in a pear tree.

I’m an avid Nike+ user but having my iPhone strapped to my arm while running makes me feel like a total douchebag. The Nike+ SportWatch replicates all the functions of traditionally pairing a shoe sensor with an iPhone into a sleek watch but with the added benefit of GPS thanks to TomTom so you can actually map your runs.

If Sony had a VOGUE cover it would read “Thin is In and 3D wins.” The company’s industrial design prowess is clearly on display with a total of 27 TVs making their way to the market. The gorgeous ones share Sony’s Monolithic design language with minimal buttons, sharp angles and all draped in the color black. The new sets feature Gorilla Glass, backlight LED tech, remote apps that can be downloaded on iPhones and Android devices, and a whole host of internet connectivity.

It can be hard to differentiate yourself in the pocket cam market but Casio has managed to do so with the Tryx. The entire camera swivels and rotates inside a body frame doubling as a stand which could make for some interesting shots. The touch screen has the usual goodies like touch focus but the lens is some kind of magic. The tiny 12.1MP SMOS sensor shoots 1080p video inside a wide 21mm lens. THANK YOU Casio! Available this April for $250.

Apple announced 3rd party accessory support in 2009 but I haven’t really seen many compelling products since. The iHealth Blood Pressure dock saves me a trip to the pharmacy by letting me check my blood pressure in the comfort of my home. The accompanying app is quite beautiful and easy to use too.

Lenovo intends to keep the “World’s Thinnest Desktops” award they’ll probably do so thanks to the IdeaCentre A320. The specs aren’t anything to write home about but the design is quite nice if not a bit contrived. Available this June for $700.

Android 3.0 Honeycomb running on T-Mobiles new G-Slate tablet. Big UI improvements for Android but there’s something still too geeky underneath it all. I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel as inviting to use.