Top-notch AV fiddlers Bang & Olufsen have unveilied a new brand recently called B&O Play.  The new brand is not going to be a poor man’s B&O (sorry!), instead a range of products which integrate with consumer electronics and take design inspiration from art, fashion and furniture.

So this, the first offering from B&O Play, not surprisingly looks a bit like a toaster.  It’s not though, it’s a high-end portable wireless speaker system.  Running Apple’s proprietary Airplay standard this one is only for the iPhone/iPad users of the world, but surely that’s everybody by now.

Inside that shiny exterior is a 120 watt amplifier, 2 tweeters and one 4 inch subwoofer.  It also has a built-in power supply and rechargeable batteries for music on the go.  Looks lovely and I’m sure it will sound fantastic because it’s by B&O – but that fact will probably also mean I can’t afford one.

For more info, visit beoplay.com.

This week at the CES conference in Las Vegas, Victorinox unveiled a new range of their iconic Swiss Army knives featuring a new tool – a flip-out flash drive.

Available in capacities up to a HUGE 1 terabyte, this beast also boasts some fairly serious technology.  A specially-designed connector allows you to use the flash drive in both USB and eSATA ports, and it supports both hardware and software encryption using AES 256-bit.  It also has an OLED display right on the flash drive for labelling contents, and sensibly the drive comes off the knife to make it airport-security-friendly.

How much does all this cost?  Around  a cool $3,000 (£2,000 ish) for the 1TB version.  But on the plus side you can also use it to get stones out of a horse’s hoof…

Nokia’s latest attempt to take on the iPhone is now available to pre-order.  The Lumia 800 (shipping in November) is a strikingly designed smartphone running Windows Phone OS 7.

Boasting a 1.4GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 16GB storage (on board, no expansion possible) and available in black, cyan or pink, the Lumia 800 appears to be all about design – there really isn’t anything else on the market that looks quite the same.

But whether that will be enough to lure the iPhone aficionados away is something we’ll have to wait and see.

For more info, see the Nokia website.

]]> http://www.mantrends.co.uk/2011/10/nokia-lumia-800/feed/ 0 http://www.mantrends.co.uk/2011/10/lighter-cufflinks/ http://www.mantrends.co.uk/2011/10/lighter-cufflinks/#comments Sat, 22 Oct 2011 15:13:25 +0000 admin http://www.mantrends.co.uk/?p=490

Both a very cool gadget and a serious fire hazard, these cufflinks are fully operational miniature petrol lighters.

Very cool indeed, although the manufacturers do say that you have to remove the cufflinks from “any clothing” before using them, and I think that’s the downfall.  Not only would it be a royal hassle to light a cigarette, you’re also clearly going to think you know better and end up running around a dinner party shouting “Help!  Help!  I’m on fire!”.

Still, they’re gorgeous even if you don’t use them, and available for $80 from the Cool Material shop.

Surely one of the weirder ways to amplify your iPhone’s puny speaker is to stick it into a piece of bamboo and let the sound resonate through the woody tube like some sort of hi-tech didgeridoo.  However, if that idea floats your boat you might just be interested in the iBamboo.

Laser cut from a length of bamboo no two are the same, and the website claims the natural material will “improve the feng-shui of your desk”.  Unfortunately you can’t order one yet as the startup is currently looking for funding on Kickstarter, but when you can the projected price is between $25 and $30 USD.

On Wednesday Apple announced the eagerly-awaited successor to it’s hugely popular (if initially deemed pointless) tablet computer.  The creatively-named iPad 2, set to go on sale in the UK on 25th March is a logical progression from the first version, and looks set to become the must-have gadget of 2011.

Notable changes from the previous model include the new dual-core “A5″ processor, boasting up to 9 times the graphics performance of the first iPad.  It has 2 cameras, one on the back and one on the front (for video calls).  It’s thinner (just 8.8mm) and lighter too, and now available in white as well as black, if that’s your thing.

You can now plug it in to an HDTV via HDMI cable and watch movies or photo slideshows in full 1080p resolution, and it comes in 16GB, 32GB or 64GB flavours.

One of the things Apple is shouting about is the new cover they’re releasing for it, which snaps on magnetically and rolls up partially to create a stand.  Not sure about that one yet – what about protecting the back of it too?

Pricing has stayed the same, starting at £439.  For more information check out the Apple website.

DJs: Looking for an alternative to that wobbly pasting table which makes your records skip all over the place?  Perhaps your other half is fed up of your decks sat in the corner of the living room uglying the place up?  This might be just what you need…

The Hoerboard Scomber Mix is a beautiful, hugely customisable deck stand designed and made in Germany.  You can have it glossy or matt, in any number of colours.  You can specify whether you need space for turntables, CDJs or both, maybe a laptop stand, and lay it out in either standard or battle configuration.

The construction itself is all sleek lines and curves, and your equipment fits flush into the surface of the Hoerboard.  All cables are neatly hidden away and you can choose what sort of connectors you need (located underneath).  The stand is made from laser-cut, powder-coated steel.

Such beautiful engineering and customisation doesn’t come cheap, naturally – prices start at €1,690 – about £1,450.  But if you’re still tempted head on over to the Hoerboard site…

While it might be rocking some seriously 80’s styling, the inMotion Air from Altec Lansing could still be just the ticket for bringing your music collection kicking and screaming into 2011.

This little speaker unit can pretty much go anywhere, either plugged in or on it’s built in 7-hour battery.  The real big deal though is that it supports A2DP bluetooth – so you can stream music to it from your phone, MP3 player – anything really.  It also comes with a dongle for your computer so that you can stream all your PC-based tunes to it over the air.  Add to that the 90 metre range and this really does open doors (if you’ll pardon the pun) for mobile audio.

It’s priced at $200 in the US and it’s due to hit the shelves on this side of the Atlantic shortly, but no mention of pricing yet.  This does mean that the most important thing – sound quality – is anyone’s guess!

Sometimes a gadget comes out that makes you think “Why wasn’t that invented a hundred years ago?!” In this case it pretty much was, albeit not as an iPhone accessory.  What you’re looking at is the iVictrola – essentially a gramophone attachment for your iPhone or iPod Touch.

You can thank New York designer Matt Richmond for this stroke of genius – or not, your call.  Either way what we have here is a wonderful looking device which amplifies your music without electricity (valves or otherwise) – simply pop your iPhone into the walnut base and the music from it’s speaker is amplified by bouncing through the enormous horn.

I like it – if only because it just prompted me to use the words ‘enormous horn’…

iVictrola – $425 USD via Etsy

Found via iPhone Savior

Apple announced their much-hyped tablet computer a few hours ago, dubbed the “iPad”.  It’s pretty much an oversized iPod Touch, down to the App Store lock-in and inability to multitask.

These are issues that we don’t mind in the iPhone, but is this really going to kill the netbook market?

Doubts aside, you can’t deny that it is a beautiful looking device.  It sports a 9.7 inch LED backlit 1024×768 display, has an on-screen keyboard and connectivity via wifi and (optionally) 3G.

Functionality wise it has a new eBook reader, and other than that does everything that your iPhone does.  Except for making phone calls, taking photos (this baby lacks any kind of camera) or fitting in your pocket.

If that hasn’t put you off entirely the iPad’s pricing ranges from $499 to $829, and UK prices are sure to be follow suit.  Personally I think I’ll pass…