360 DEGREES Weblog

Not big on false modesty, those Krell people. They’ve apparently created the best iPod dock, in the whole world, that’s ever been invented, like, ever. It’s designed to work as a go between for your iPod and your existing hi-fi equipment, and is not to be sniffed at, costing £1,350.

The main problem with the quality of tracks on iPods is the bitrate, because in order to fit in the maximum number of songs, the quality is sacrificed when you burn from CDs. However, if you record them as an uncompressed file you lose very little. Krell are aiming the KID at those audiophiles who will happily fit less on their iPod in order to hear every deep bass and fret tap going.

All around the internet people have been pronouncing HD DVD dead. The past week I’ve seen it on dozens of sites, however, it really hasn’t been official. Until now. Toshiba finally issued a press release announcing the discontinuation of HD DVD business.

In the release from Toshiba, they mentioned that they will “reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008.”

Skid marks aside, the way to tell if a movie will be a trend setter is to watch the merchandising. Bob Iger, Disney CEO, says Cars is selling more merchandise now than five years ago when it was released. Because of that fact, Disney will spend more time and money to keep the profitable franchise moving along on all eight cylinders.

But the recent Disney (nyse: DIS – news – people ) franchise that Iger believes has the greatest long-term viability may come as a bit of a surprise: the 2006 movie Cars. The film did well at the box office but was widely viewed as a creative step down from previous Pixar features like Toy Story and The Incredibles. So why does Disney think Cars has staying power? “We’re selling more merchandise now than in the year that the film was released,” Iger said.”We’ve clearly struck a nerve.” As a result, Disney will be investing more in the Cars franchise. An online virtual world is in the works and it’s “a relatively good bet that ultimately they’ll be a sequel,” he said. Cars is also getting Disney’s ultimate vote of confidence in a new franchise: the construction of a theme park attraction. “Cars Land” is scheduled to open at Disney’s California Adventure park (next door to Disneyland) in 2012. A smaller Cars-themed attraction opened last year at Disneyland Resort Paris and “I’m fairly certain you’ll see more creativity and investment in terms of physical attractions at our parks [related to] that franchise,” Iger said. Will last year’s Pixar hit Ratatouille get the franchise treatment as well? Although the movie was recently nominated for five Academy Awards, “that wouldn’t be one we would consider a true franchise in terms of its leverageability across multiple businesses or its ability to drive huge value over a long period of time,” Iger said. (forbes)

In one of the strangest moves to attract customers, a McDonald’s in California is trying to integrate the five elements of fire, earth, wood, water, and metal – Feng Shui into the world of sugar, fat, etc. etc. The restaurant has totally redesigned their interior under the guidance of Grand Master Dr. Chi-Jean Liu.

Forget all those tacky TV stands you’ve seen at Best Buy. This simple and adjustable TV Easel by Swedish designer Axel Bjurström, on display at the Stockholm Furniture Fair last week, takes a familiar form and applies it to the task of supporting a flat panel display. Underneath is a shelf for a video source or two, and its ledge is just the right size for LCD or plasma displays from 32-47″. It’s looking good, too, available in your choice of finishes of natural wood or lacquered in shiny colors to match your abode.

Makes sense: You attach paintings to the wall just as you’re expected to do with a flat-screen TV; why not reverse that concept by placing a TV on a easel? Sure beats those atrocious and cheap particle board and glass monstrosities that pass for TV stands that are available at every cut-rate electronics store in the USA.

The TV Easel is in the design concept stage thus far; let’s hope something like it makes it to these shores sometime soon, giving us apartment tenants, vagabonds, and nomads a clean-looking alternative to the permanence of hanging a TV on the wall.

Yeah, it’s Valentine’s Day, which means you (hopefully) have a lot of romantic things planned that’ll make her “oooh” and “aaah” and pretty much make you feel like a wuss. If you’re full of dread at the thought, relax — Japanese chocolatier Frantz has you covered with this set of tools and assorted screws and nuts made with Belgian chocolate. While she’s wiping a tear because of that sappy flick you rented for the night, you could be tightening a chocolate bolt into place, and eat it, too.

With today’s airline baggage restrictions and cramped cabin seating, travelling light makes more and more sense. A new service from Dubai-based Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts helps travellers do just that by allowing them to pre-order items from the hotel’s retail offerings and have them waiting in their room when they arrive.

Founded in 1997, Jumeirah operates hotels in Dubai, London and New York, as well as 14 retail stores within those hotels. The company’s new pre-arrival service allows guests to choose from a range of personal-care products in the online Jumeirah Collection—including sunscreen, toothpaste and baby wipes by familiar brands—as well as a selection of books by current authors for entertainment. Orders are wrapped and left in guests’ rooms before they arrive, and the cost of the products is simply added to the room charge.

Parents of young children in particular would doubtless appreciate a wider range of products to choose from, including bulky items such as diapers and more items for kids, but Jumeirah’s concept is a good one. Items in its retail collection are priced in a manner befitting the hotels’ luxury clientele, so the pre-arrival service will enhance not just customer convenience but also the profitability of each guest stay.

American-owned zzzPhone is allowing customers to select their preferred features online and then manufacturing a phone for them within 15 days. (A few options lead to longer delivery times of up to six weeks.) Phones are custom-built and shipped directly to the customer from a factory near Shenzhen, China. Prices start at USD 149 for the basic unit, which is available in a range of colours. Customers can tweak to their heart’s delight, adding a camera (up to 7 megapixels), GPS, flashlight, stereo speakers, software, a touch screen, upgrading processors and boosting internal memory up to 4 GB. Another nifty feature, and one that most network-bound phones don’t offer, is the option of two SIM card slots, enabling buyers to use two phone numbers or accounts on one phone. The start-up claims to use the same components as major brands like Motorola, Nokia, Palm and Samsung.

Mimicking Dell’s mass customization model for personal computers, American-owned zzzPhone could tap into a broad base of tech-craving customers who care more about features and pricing than brand names.

Website: www.zzzphone.com

What make brands popular is their relentless pursuit for perfection and present something new every time they hit the market. And Wally is certainly a renowned name in the yacht market that we can rely on and prepare ourselves for new surprises the company puts forward in its new model. After the WallyIsland Luxury Yacht concept, WallyNano daysailer, Wally 50m luxury yacht and the 70 WallyPower Lau Lau, the latest from the house of Wally Yachts is the 64 WallyPower, reinforcing their dazzling cluster of yachts. Earlier Wally had the mighty WallyPower and relatively modest the WallyTender in its crew, still there was a certain breach between the two models. However, with the inclusion of the 64, a typical military-esque design, the WallyPower series will become not just trendy, but distinctive and comprehensive as well. Not only the latest model (1550 hp version of the 64 ) is fast and furious, reaching speeds of 50 knots with a 300 mile range, it also features spacious interior areas with large sunbathing areas and the glass superstructure, allocating clear visibility from within as well as out. Moreover, you may choose between the three different interior layouts for the hot military-esque yacht.