OK people, here it is, the iPod of 2020 - the Microsoft Surface. Although slightly less portable than everyone's favorite gadget today, Microsoft is rigorously positioning its concept device for the kind of widespread consumer - and commercial - craze that only Apple have been able to drill up. As you can see from their flash video, good ol Gates and Co want every last one of us to be able to use this touchscreen surface to do everything - from consumer applications like organizing and sharing photos, music and video - to consumer uses like in-restaurant ordering and bill paying.
In an interesting and unforeseen attempt to freshen up a veteran instrument company's image while consequently raising one of Europe's preeminent A/V pioneers to world renown, Steinway and Sons have paired with Peter Lyngdorf to "expand the Steinway & Sons brand into the high performance digital sound system market," according to Steinway & Sons Executive Vice President, Frank Mazurco. Their first offering from this new amalgamation, Steinway Lyngdorf, will be dubbed the Model-D, and it will be available for shipment and installation in early Fall 2007 starting at $150k. Audiophiles: check out how Lyngdorf's installers utilize their patented "RoomPerfect" technique to acoustically correct any room here.
If you're anything like us, you probably appreciate the convergence of art and science slightly more than the average Joe; there's just something extra appealing about sleek, aesthetically attractive representations of the hyper-complex. We found some of this cool 'DNA Art' a whileback from a company called DNA11, but it seems they're finally being challenged from the Brits at DNA ART UK Limited. They'll run your DNA as a graphical interpretation (the method that seems to have been popular in the past), but they'll also etch out every letter of your DNA code into a cube of crystal. A little more unique than that Van Gogh print you've had on your wall since college, eh? Just be careful if you're a wine mogul using your DNA to protect your cellar.
We don't usually cover the sort of over-extravagance that only ridiculously overpaid sports players can love, but this latest chop-job from Galpin hit our radar when we heard that it sported a $10,000, 5.5 carat diamond clock in the dash. Unfortunately that's about the only thing worth mentioning on this Transformer-esque monstrosity.
It's done up in true "Pimp My Ride" fashion, with 27" Lexani wheels, a giant speaker-and-LCD-filled rear end, completely redone interior (the red leather seats remind me more of a 1977 Lincoln than a 2007 model) and two automatically rising champagne flutes for the backseat passengers (this is cool only because Maybach did it first). Turns out this is what happens when you give an otherwise decent ride to a bunch of over-hyped, under-qualified wrench monkeys. More plus pics after the jump.
Rumors of the Sea Phantom, albeit in varying degrees of truthiness, have been circulating for a while now, but the concept vehicle has just struck the engineering world's pot o gold this month as they're featured in the revered Popular Science. The vehicle is, as PopSci writer Gregory Mone puts it, "Half powerboat, half plane, and all agility, this craft dodges waves by hydroplaning above them." At speeds exceeding 100mph, it's claimed to get you, in complete comfort, to your destination as fast as a helicopter, but with the ease of operation of an offshore speedboat. Could this be a nod at the long-whispered blue highway? Check out pics of the 2006 sea trials after the break.
The Turin, Italy based company Red Travel is offering a unique service that may intrigue those of you a bit more independently-inclined than the traditional Europe-in-luxury goers: you can rent a Ferrari for one to eight days and scoot your way around the rolling hills, through the countryside, parallel to the ocean, or you know, whatever suits your fancy, from one end of Italy to the other. Some packages include stops at high-end hotels and spas in traditional cities, whilst others cater to a more rural-minded crowd with stops for dinner at a former convent and a farmhouse. Oh, and don't worry about trying to fit your bags in the little red hotrods; a tour manager follows you via GPS and can even arrive at your destination ahead of you if you wish. The four day trip from Rome to Siena and back will run you and your shotgun buddy €4,300 each (about $5,700), but the deposit on the car will set you back €15,000 (or about $19,800) until you bring her back unscathed.
When having a ridiculously awesome wine collection and a super posh cellar just isn't cool enough for you gadget-crazed, database-mongers out there, organizing your bottles could become your new obsession. This organization called ThingM is highlighting their concept product for a RFID-enabled database system called WineM, that can store your collection by a number of different variables, including regions and varietals, and allows you to call up the perfect bottle on a handheld device. Visit their site to see a video and shots of the UI, and check out a close-up of the actual gadget after the jump.
Looking for a new band for your luxury watch? StrapLuxe has got your number. The company specializes in aftermarket leather watch bands for "collector timepieces," offering you the ability to further customize your cherished wristwatch. The only bands currently showcased on the site are those for Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore watches, but it looks like they'll also be offering replacement straps for Panerai, IWC, Rolex and Patek Philippe. The AP ROO alligator band goes for $239 and ships for free. Check out their website for a nice photo gallery.
Samsung just announced that their crack team of millimeter-shavers has done it again with their new fangled "Ultra Edition 10.9" slider. Being two millimeters thinner than the company's previously crowned D900 and boasting quite similar specs - the 3.2 megapixel camera, along with 80MB worth of music/video internal memory (plus a microSD slot) - it looks like we're getting ever-closer to the much sought-after two-dimensional mobile phone. No price or availability yet, but our Engadget cronies predict we'll know next month after the 3GSM Congress in Barcelona.
Click through for more pictures of the Ultra Edition 10.9
The LG KE850 PRADA became real today, the phone that LG is touting as the "first completely touch screen mobile phone," and is initially priced at €600 (about $778 US). The phone is due to hit "PRADA stores in the UK, France, Germany and Italy at the end of February and parts of Asia before March."
So sure, they'll beat the iPhone to market by a few months, but the two phones have little else in common besides their touch screen interface; the KE850 will have no usable internal memory for media (LG opts for a microSD slot instead), it won't have a native mail client or web browser, and it doesn't seem to support multi-touch capabilities.
Behold the supercar that very well may grace the silver screen in the 22nd installment in the Bond series: the Jaguar XF. Although a lot of this intelligence is speculation, it is relatively welleducated speculation. Given the fact that Ford still has exclusive product placement rights for this next Bond film, one might presuppose that Aston Martin may want to continue their reign after the beautiful DBS aired in Casino Royale...However! It turns out Ford has placed the Aston Martin badge on the auction block, and it isn't expected to stay there long. So unless Ford wants to give up a 500GT (and really, I don't see Bond behind the wheel of a muscle car), I think we can assume Bond will be riding the cat in the next one. And what great timing too, as they've just recently released a ton of beautiful photographs, CG and sketches of the XF over at AutoBlog. I, for one, am rooting for her; and come on, who doesn't love to hear those crazy Brits say "Jag-u-ar"?
Forbes just put together an impressive list of 2007 model year must-drives – impressive not only because of the hyper-sophisticated technology inside top-doggers like Audi's new $120,000, 420-horsepower R8 (pictured), but also because a lot of this technology is finding its way into relatively reasonably priced vehicles like Volvo's first V8 sedan, the S80, which starts below $40,000. So there you go, motorheads! Ten not-so-boring Sundays await you. Check out Forbes' entire list in a slideshow here.
Sony's gearing up to take on Samsung in the giant LCD market with their just-announced Bravia KD-70XBR3. This monster boasts a 7,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, their new LCD backlight, blur-reducing "Motionflow" technology and a whole host of other next-gen performance specs that promise to make you feel like you're actually rocking the eighth Freebird solo in Guitar Hero II. They'll be shipping in February (same as Samsung), but you can pre-order the Sony now at Sony Style or a few retailers for a cool $33,000 Georgies.
With CES season having descended upon us once again, we're starting to see some really cool new high-end offerings from the compy giants. This puppy looks like Microsoft's answer to the iMac, branded as an HP and (tentatively?) called the TouchSmart PC, and is at the same time trying to take over your study and living room. The whole 19" touch-screen thing is obviously making it a larger-than-normal blip on the radar, but it also boasts some of the new-fangled tech specs we're starting to see more and more: AMD Turion 64 X2 dual core TL-52 processor and that sweet sweet NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600. No official word on price yet, but our sibs over at Engadget hypothesized $1799 - $1899 a while back (lots of cool pics there too).
Private, pre-planned European expeditions have been rather popular amongst American upper-crustians for some time, but we're now starting to see a new breed of these trips offered that allow for somewhat larger groups, in some cases up to 20 people, and head off the beaten London – Paris – Madrid path a bit.
This particular one, "Private Epicurean Journeys," focuses on you foodies out there and hits some crowd-pleasing favorites in Paris and Brussels, but also hits some hidden gems like the northwest village of Bruges which is, in my opinion, one of Belgium's best kept secrets. Rates for this one range from about $14k-$22k/person, depending on accommodations and group size.
So this spring break instead of the same old beach trip, grab your honey and 18 of your closest friends and go soak in some of that good old world charm in style!
