360 DEGREES Weblog

Guests visiting London’s Mandarin Oriental hotel at any other time of the year will miss out on the hotel’s latest dining experience: a brand-new outdoor restaurant that’s open only in the summer.

Nestled in the shelter of the Mandarin Oriental’s north façade, The Park Terrace restaurant overlooks the southern meadows of Hyde Park below the Serpentine Lake and serves guests from May 1st through September 30th. Soft linens, elegant teak furniture, quarried Portland stonework and a lush floral backdrop combine to create the informal elegance of an English country garden that’s available all day long for early morning breakfasts, sunny lunches, traditional afternoon teas and balmy evening dinners. Head Chef Chris Tombling’s highly seasonal menu features fresh, summery dishes. The restaurant’s staff, meanwhile, go far beyond just serving food to create what might almost be considered a luxury urban beach. On hot summer days, a Terrace Butler is on hand with a selection of sunscreens, cooling iced towels, water sprays and a sunglasses cleaning service. Guests can also borrow designer sunglasses—including children’s sizes—along with hand-held Mandarin fans, soft pashmina shawls, books from the hotel’s Vintage Classics library, and a selection of magazines and newspapers.

There’s nothing like limited-time availability to increase an offering’s appeal, as we’ve noted on numerous occasions before, and reflecting local seasonal rhythms enhances the genuine feel of something that’s still made here. Throw in some five-star summer meals and a pampering spot to sun oneself, and you just may have something tourists will return to year after year.

Thanks Springwise

Austin-based automotive design and manufacturing company Ronn Motor’s has built the Scorpion; a hydrogen fuel injected hybrid.

The vehicle utilizes new ‘hydrogen on demand’ technology, which, simply put, generates water from the inbuilt tank, turns it into hydrogen and then injects this into the car’s system.

Not only does this approach allow fuel mileage to increase by between 20 to 40%, it also reduces carbon emissions to nearly zero. Couple this with its exclusive styling, and the Scorpion is sure to be a strong contender in the exotic performance car segment.

The Scorpion is out early 2009 and can be yours for a tidy $150,000.  Eat your heart out, Prius riders!

Unveiled today at the 2008 British Motor Show, Project Eagle has finally made its public debut as the Evora. The mid-engine 2+2 is powered by a Lotus-tuned 3.5-litre V6 engine that can generate 280 PS. weighing just 2,976 lbs; the Evora is expected to deliver breathtaking performance on road too as preliminary testing around Nürburgring showed it to be extremely agile and sporty even with full development disguise on.

IBM released a new study which reveals 80 percent of consumers would prefer a service provider that gave them more choice in the applications and services available on their mobile device. The study, titled, “Go mobile, grow” produced by IBM’s Institute for Business Value points to how consumer demand for customization and personalization will drive innovation and open standards in the mobile marketplace.

The mobile Web provides people with access to the Internet anytime and anywhere. The market for mobile Internet services is estimated to reach USD 80 billion by 2011, with increasing usage expected to fuel growth in both the provision of services and mobile Internet advertising.

At the same time, the number of mobile Internet users worldwide is projected to approach 1 billion, a 191 percent increase from 2006 and a compound annual growth rate of 24 percent. The ubiquitous availability of IP wireless broadband and more affordable advanced smart phones will change the way companies around the world operate and relate to their customers, employees and partners.

Clubbers and night cats in Beijing not only shake their booties to the hottest beats at the new ChinaDoll club, they are also surrounded by work from some of China’s best contemporary artists. Founded by award-winning Chinese actress/producer Ai Wan and club designer Wu Ying, ChinaDoll was conceived and designed via their studio E.P.I.C. Design

The new club is prominently located on the top floor of the ’3.3′ plaza building. The work of six contemporary chinese artists is integrated into the interior, custom made installations and furniture, depicting for example sexy female forms, Chinese dolls or modern Chinese love lives. A glossy backdrop of lightboxes adorned with abstracted fashion photography references the brush strokes and vivid colours of chinese water colours. When illuminated, it creates an electric atmosphere making ChinaDoll a lolly shop for the eyes and an amusement park for the senses. – Jeanne Tan

Thanks Coolhunter

Shortly after Apple reignited rumors of a touchscreen Mac Tablet with the disclosure that the company is “very excited” about a new project incorporating fresh “technologies and features”, MacDailyNews has heard from a trusted tipster that the product is indeed a multitouch keyboard-free tablet.  Describing the device -  MacBook Touch – as a little smaller than a MacBook display with an iPhone-style glass surface, advanced gesture library, slot-loading SuperDrve, accelerometer and GPS, the source claims the new tablet will launch “by October at the latest”.

It’s WALL•E! See the robot star of the hit Disney/Pixar film ”WALL•E” come to life with our Ultimate WALL•E remote control toy. WALL•E’s charming personality shines through with this interactive toy robot.

$249 available from October.

One of the coolest realms of technology currently transitioning from Sci-Fi to practical is that of exoskeletons. Above is an astonishing video of one such device in action, a medical model that helps a quadriplegic man walk for the first time in twenty years. The exoskeletons are still in development but Israeli startup ReWalk is undergoing clinical trials in Israel at the Rehabilitation Hospital at Chaim Sheba Medical Center – Tel Hashomer, with pilots planned for rehab centers in Holland and Italy. A US trial is scheduled to begin in November at the Moss Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia, after which Argo will apply for FDA regulatory approval.

A handful of TVs and radios from the house of Brionvega have already found a place in design collections and museums. The firm was in news all over the blogosphere when they announced the futuristic Alpha TV. In case, you think the Alpha TV is kinda too futuristic for you, the Brionvega Doney is the one TV you should be looking at. The retro styled TV was done by ace designers Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper and was first spotted in 1962. In fact, it was first TV with a transistor built in Europe. A perfectly serviceable set, with 99 channel presets, teletext, Scart and SVHS connectivity, a stylish remote and a 14-inch viewing area, the Doney is a TV meant to turn heads. The new edition totals 100 models in Chromed Night Black color, 100 in Chromed Snow White color and 99 in Chromed Orange Sun color, all rigorously laser-marked, equipped with metal identification tag and in an exclusive aluminum packaging. The masterpiece will set you back €1,500, but that’s not an issue when you are bringing home a design classic.

If you ever think of throwing a great party and you have to get a cake to keep your parents in law happy, at least choose for the amazing cakes of

Let Them Eat Cake in Costa Mesa, California. Just take a look at their site and see the amazing creations.

LET THEM EAT CAKE