No, New York is not underwater (yet, anyhow) – that’s a clever ad for HSBC. The bank wanted to raise awareness of the dangers of global warming, so the clever ad guys glued an aerial photo of a city’s skyscrapers to the base of a swimming pool … the effect of a submerged cityscape is fantastic!
Kids and adults alike enjoyed the Wall-E film that came out this past year, so it’s no wonder all sorts of toys and themed-products have made their way onto store shelves. Take for instance the V-Tech Wall-E Learning Laptop. It’s cute, fun and educational for kids.
This little laptop features five different learning modes including words, math, games, logic and letters. All of these modes focus on educational activities for kids and helps them build language and cognitive skills. The keyboard is a full QWERTY and flips down. The arrow keys or the arm controllers can be used to scroll through the various modes and options.
With an LCD screen to boot, Wall-E blinks at you every time you answer a question correctly. This is meant for kids in the pre-school age range, I’d say, as the activities are pretty limited. Priced at $29.99, this is a fun gift for any kid that wants to have fun and is perfect for parents that wish to help their children build knowledge from an early age.
The iPod is one of the most popular gadgets you’ll see people tote around, and over the years numerous accessories have already been released for it. One of the quirkier accessories include the iBreath iPod Breathalyzer that features a fold-out breath tube which allows users to blow into the device, deciding on whether they have had too many drinks to drive after reading their blood alcohol level. Pretty pointless for strongheaded people if you ask us – better let your friends perform this test on you and get you home safe instead. Another feature is the integrated FM transmitter. The iBreath iPod Breathalyzer will retail for $79.
These days, we’ve got our fair share of futuristic and slickly-designed gadgets. The problem? The furniture we sit in while we use said gadgets has yet to catch up. This day bed by Mauelsaez aims to change that.
Designed to help prevent the unhealthy posture of hunching over a laptop on a coffee table while you sit on a couch, the Daybed allows you to recline while having full access to your computer. It looks super-comfortable and is nice and stylish to boot. I’d love to have this in my living room for those times when I want to surf the web while watching TV. Pure comfort.
Last year we wrote about Tokyo’s Sample Lab, where Japanese consumers can sample and test new products. Roughly a year later, a similar concept has come to China with the launch of Shanghai-based Sampleplaza.
Sampleplaza is a new showroom featuring brand-new products not yet available to the Chinese mainstream. Membership costs 100 RMB per year, along with a one-time processing fee of 20 RMB, and is open to anyone over 15. In exchange, consumers are invited to visit Sampleplaza as often as they want and test out a diverse range of products, from exercise equipment to pantyhose, cosmetics to high-tech, drinks, BBQ sauce, soup and snacks. In addition to trying out samples in the showroom, members are allowed to take home up to 5 items per visit as well. Either way, they need only fill out an online survey—a maximum of 10 questions per product—for each sample that they test. Products are listed online, so consumers can see what’s available, and while the company’s website is being fleshed out, news and announcements are posted on its offsite blog as well.
As we’ve noted before, tryvertising is very popular with today’s ad-immune consumers, many of whom will gladly pay to be among the first to test something new.
The Porsche Panamera is the company’s first modern effort at creating a four-door sedan, have officially leaked all over the web and it looks exactly how we expected it to look. From what we can gather the Panamera will first hit the shores in Panamera S and Panamera Turbo trim, each fitted with a 4.8-liter V8 putting out 400 HP and 500 HP, respectively. Both will also get Porsche’s PDK 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox.Though no diesel version is likely to see production, a 3.6-liter V6 option good for 300 HP and a V6-electric hybrid are in the works for sale at a later date.
I’m not someone who relies on vertical blinds to keep his home in a constant cave-like atmosphere, but I can see the benefit of this Solar Vertical Lamp concept designed by Yoon-Hui Kim and Eun-Kyung Kim. The vertical blinds are embedded with a matrix of white LEDs which can be illuminated to produce glowing lamp-like shapes. Obviously the effect looks pretty cool, but the LEDs are also powered by a battery which is recharged by the sun during the day since the outward facing sides of the blinds also serve as solar cells. In theory the blinds should be able to provide plenty of ambient light during the night, without adding any costs to your electric bill.
The latest offering from the house of Geneva Lab is worth some space here. The new GenevaSound Home Theater in black offers a simple, elegant and integrated home theater experience. Combining a theater sound system and a TV stand, the new GenevaSound has a piano-lacquered wooden cabinet that will complement the decor of every modern living room. Moreover, the system eliminates clutter and complexity as all the audio and furniture needed for home theater has been integrated into one streamlined sideboard of thick, hand-lacquered wood. Other salient features include 2.1 surround sound with Embracing Sound DSP technology, an all-digital 700-Watt amplifier, seven speakers, a 12-inch subwoofer, an integrated iPod/iPhone dock, a radio receiver, and a CD player. Hook up your iPhone or iPod to the GenevaSound and get ready for the ultimate in the home theater experience. Yours for $3,999!
If you’re a gadget lover, the last thing you want to do is stand out in a crowd, but these geeky beverage coasters let you do so subtly.
Each coaster measures 85mm square (about 3.34″) and is made from sturdy MDF plywood, then wrapped with a premium vinyl decal and durable varnish to protect the design. A thin rubber layer on the bottom keeps the coasters from slipping around.
Sets of 16 coasters retail for $60 USD over at the Meninos online shop.
Ever the fashion pundits, the French have extended their obsession for what is très chic by asking design legend and man behind the house of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, to design the 2009 issue of “Le Petit Larousse Illustrè.” Translated in English as “Larousse Small Illustrated Dictionary,” besides lending his artistic talents, Lagerfeld himself is included in the book’s encyclopedia of proper names along with the likes of Brad Pitt and acclaimed French actress Marion Cotillard.
A realistic sketch of Lagerfeld graces the limited-edition box cover, next to the phrase habillé par Karl Lagerfeld (or “dressed by Karl Lagerfeld”) and on the dictionary’s front cover itself, La Semeuse blows the seeds of knowledge wearing nothing but blue evening gloves.
Released earlier this month, the book is available for €50