---

Gear

---

Strida foldable bike

Currently I ditch our car and ride a scooter but with the price of fuel continuing to rise with no end in sight cycling may be the only way I can afford to get to my clients office and my favourite café. With it's ability to fold into a compact shape the strida 5.0 might also be an ideal travel companion. Getting in shape might just be the only benefit of peak oil.

Strida foldable bikes are perfect for any city dweller. Inside a triangular frame of lightweight aluminum, power is transferred to the rear wheels via a silent clean Kevlar belt. The genius of the triangular frame is that it can fold. In five seconds, you have a light, compact form that you can easily wheel before you, stow in a closet, load in your car or take on the train. With no external grease to soil your clothes, Strida makes daily commuting fun and practical. One size fits all - seat is adjustable. Only weighs 22lbs.

Link.

Continue reading »

---

Compact Cassette Tape Dispenser

A bit of nostalgia for those like me who grew up with boxes full of blank cassettes. I still have some of my recordings and mix tapes from 30 years ago! J-me have taken this iconic form and made an 'easy to use tape dispenser' made with non-slip rubber.

Available here. More on the history of the compact cassette.

---

Mobile phone flob

It unclear to me exactly what the function these fobs have other than adding 'sickingly' cute little pink characters on the end of your phone. Except this one pictured of course which actually looks like something I would buy except again I have no idea what it's for. It certainly looks great (and well photographed too). Available here. They also have some beautiful stationarywhich I will feature another time.

Continue reading »

---

Xtremely Bright Light

Don't mind the name left over from the 'X' branding madness, this poorly photographed emergency clip light is useful and a worthy addition to your go bag. It's 1 inch x 1 inch and costs $8.00US.

---

---

Yubz USB Skype Phones

These aren't new but they are interesting in that they focus on what feels and works well. I doubt replicating the quality of the original analogue phones that these phones have as a source of inspiration was their original intent but they are designed to be ergonomic and user friendly. I think products like these are a statement that not all new forms are an improvement.

The Yubz talk online series works without the need for a software install, comes in 4 vivid colors (Jet black, Alpine White, Russian Red, Lemon Yellow) and works with either a PC or a MAC. The focus of the product would be software like Skype but I assume it would work with most voip software.

Link.

Continue reading »

---

Thomson VOIP phone

Thomson Symbio DECT VoIP phone combines the functions of a wireless VoIP phone and an Internet radio in one somewhat attractive device. It certainly would match last years iMac aesthetic (inspiration always follows late). I like devices like this for short conversations as I always feel somewhat odd wearing my headset all the time. There’s a small LCD screen in the body in order to view contact, VoIP network info, Internet radio information, and your RSS feeds. The ability to play HiFi ringtones would no doubt fill an already jingle filled office environment with yet more annoying sounds. Good device for those days you might be strapped to the desk. More pictures after the jump.
Link.

Continue reading »

---

Action Book & Pad

The Action Book was designed by the Behance team and is based on the Action Method. The four distinct zones on each page provide a flexible template to get the most out of meetings and everyday brainstorm sessions

.

I can't believe that I waited until now to mention this elegant productivity note book. I'm pretty partial to the pantone orange they are using but would likely pick one of the other more subtle colors available.

I've experimented with and tried many productivity tools. Most if not all never work better than committing ideas to paper. I've lost so much time trying to make up time that I've lost faith in anything that doesn't look immediately usable. The action book and pad looks like one of those products that will immediately fit and improve the way I work. It certainly doesn't hurt that they look great. Definitely worth a try for anyone looking for a way to tackle next steps.

Action Book

---

LaCie Little Disk

This portable HD designed by Sam Hecht for LaCie looks really great and it's super small. They say it's the size of lighter but being a non-smoker I'll have to take their word for it. Available in 30 & 40GB sizes. It's a platter and not solid state.

Ever notice how horrid all these 'designed' external hard drives look together when you purchase them over time? I've got a whole history of case aesthetics pilling up beside me here at the home office.

LaCie Little Disk

---

---

Portable Rotary Phone

Unfortunately it won't fit in my pocket but imagine the looks if you were using this at your favourite Café. Good fun!

This is the ever popular Portable Rotary Phone, now in Red! Phone comes fully assembled and tested. All you have to do is open the phone, insert your SIM card, and turn the unit on! The unit will utilize your phone number and account minutes. Phone dials out like normal through the rotary. Incoming calls ring the original, loud, gong style metal bells. This phone even has a dial tone! The internal cellular module works within any country that has one of the 900MHz, 1800MHz, or 1900MHz cellular bands (90% of the world). The Port-O-Rotary is truly international with up to 15-digit dialing, auto-frequency selection, '+' characters, and PIN # entry for pre-paid cards.

Link.

---

Wooden Radios

Singgih Kartono chooses wood for his radios not just based on aesthetics but on his appreciation of wood's simplicity and organic vitality. The Magno radio combines the most current mp3 player compatible electronics with sustainably grown woods.

Magno Wooden Radios. Via Swissmiss.

---

Laptop Bag Tag

Something fun to add a bit of colour to your laptop bag. 'Planes' pictured but there are many different styles to choose from.
Available here.

---

Memo Mousepads

I know all the rage these days is to use sexy web 2.0 applications for all your task and note management needs but for the most part I still love to use a simple pad of paper. For the office but small enough to take with you is this neat combination notepad and mousepad - "a notepad for humans and a smooth surface for your electronic mouse!" It's available for a number of uses and styles but I like the plain memo pad the best. Not the most green product, you end up throwing away the underlying padding after you use the 60 sheets of paper, but I do like the concept.

---

Helvetica Coffee Mug

When it comes to buying more than I could possibly need, coffee mugs rank up there with bags and t-shirts. Helvetica, the ubiquitous typeface, is featured in this large coffee mug from Veer. Perfect for the coffee drinking design geek.
$18.00.

---

Hand-crafted sound system for iPod

This looks like a real space saver for those of us worried about clutter in our work and home spaces. The Vers 2x is one of the first compact sound systems for iPod which is priced within my meagre monetary means [$149.00US] and doesn't look like it belongs in the Bed Supper Club. Sorry Apple but this looks better than your effort. The Vers 2x is made with hand-crafted cherry veneer - displacing 80% of what would have been plastic - and requires over a week to build. Obviously you need more than a great cabinet to create wonderful sounding speakers and to this end this system uses a clean class D amplifier driving 2 3" 15 watt speakers which feature a dual port design for richer bass. This Vers 2x includes a 14 function remote with 25' range, compatibility with most iPods, and a 3.5mm stereo input which allows compatibility with other mp3 players.
More information here. Purchase it here. More pictures after the jump.

Continue reading »

---

---