“Ring” is a futuristic lamp created by Italian designer Loris Bottello and obviously inspired by the world of Tron. It’s lit by bioluminescent polymers and its intensity can be adjusted by rotating the disc. By design, the energy is transferred by brush contacts on the outer copper ring. Aesthetics and functionality aid each other in this bold concept that I want by my bedside stat.
[Via Gizmodo; Designboom]
Mark your calendars, people. The Steven Spielberg/Peter Chernin sci-fi drama Terra Nova will air its preview event across two nights: May 23 and May 24 at 9PM. Just like FOX did with Glee, the network is going to preview the new show before its fall 2011 debut in attempt to generate buzz.
Refresher: Terra Nova follows Jim Shannon (played by Jason O’Mara), a man who is sent back in time to prehistoric Earth with his family in an attempt to save the human race. At the Television Critics Association press event, the producers screened an action-packed trailer; unfortunately it did not reveal the dinosaur design since production on the pilot episode recently wrapped and the special FX have yet to be finalized. However, many people connected to the show shared their thoughts on what to expect. Executive producer Brannon Braga (24, FlashForward) explained, “Earth is essentially dying – most animal life is extinct. They’re hoping to re-start humanity through this time fracture they’ve discovered.” The plan for the Shannons and over 1,000 time-travelling colonists is to re-colonize the planet in the past. “What effect that will have on the future, they hope it’s a positive one,” said Braga. “The characters are hoping for a second chance.” The show will have “continuing elements of suspense…[but] at the core of this show is the Shannon family.” Director Alex Graves (Fringe) says that Terra Nova is “not a scary show. It’s an adventure show. My kids have seen some of it and they love it.” He continued, “You’re going to see dinosaurs you haven’t seen before.” When asked to compare this show to groundbreaking series Lost Graves said, “It’s so made for a massively broad audience, I cannot tell you.” Insinuating that Lost catered to a very specific audience he then noted, “Terra Nova, more than anything I’ve ever done in my life, is for everybody.”
Then Braga shared some concluding remarks about the promise of this show. “It’s just a great concept. Philosophically, it’s the closest thing to Star Trek I’ve worked on since I read that show years ago. I wanted to gravitate back to a science-fiction premise with big, humanistic ideas. ” He is compelled about the focus on “people from the distant future coming to the distant past.”
The show is being shot in Australia, so you can expect a beautiful backdrop. After watching the teaser trailer, IGN described certain aspects of the show as having a Jurassic Park meets Aliens vibe.
Today FOX released some stills from the two-part pilot episode slated to air this May; check ’em out after the break along with some character profiles. And if you’re interested in reading about the trailer shown at the TCAs today click the source link.
[Via IGN] Continue reading ‘Terra Nova’ preview night lands a date, producers talk about its promise
The Droid Bionic from Motorola is one helluva smartphone. It’s super fast, both in processing and network speeds. It’s one of the first mobile phones to pack a dual-core processor, with each core running at 1GHz, delivering up to 2GHz of processing power, and it’s Moto’s very first 4G LTE enabled phone. More specs: 4.3-inch qHD display, 512 MB of RAM, rear-facing 8-megapixel camera, front-facing VGA camera, HDMI out. It will ship with Android 2.2 (Froyo) on board. Moto’s also pushing Mirror Mode, a function that enables simultaneous streaming of video to the TV and on the device. All in all, this is a pretty solid device. 2011 is going to see a big push towards faster phones with larger, higher quality displays and right now the Bionic is the clear leader of the pack. Precise price point and release date have not been specified yet, but you can expect it the Bionic to land on Verizon Wireless in Q2 2011.
At CES 2011 Verizon kept reiterating the blazing speeds of 4G LTE. They claim the next-gen cell service is up to 10 times faster than current 3G speeds and they used a fun example on stage at their press event to show how these incredible speeds can be utilized. They invited Electronic Arts to show off Rock Band Mobile‘s multiplayer capabilities. Owners of select 4G LTE devices will be able to “jam together” with up to four friends over the network. Verizon is hopeful Android apps will take advantage of 4G LTE’s fast speeds with wireless connectivity functionality as featured in the upcoming Rock Band game. Look after the break for the PR which lists the 20 songs in the game; there you’ll also find a video demonstration. If you didn’t know, Verizon plans to expand its 4G network to blanket its entire 3G coverage area within the next three years.
Continue reading Motorola invites Bionic into the Droid family
Motorola and T-Mobile were downright giddy to announce their upcoming tablet devices at CES 2011. That’s because they are excited to bring Honeycomb, Google’s latest iteration of Android built entirely for tablets, to salivating consumers. Since I already detailed Honeycomb, I think it’d be best to simply jump into specs talk. Let’s start with the Motorola Xoom since there’s far more information about this product out there. The Xoom features a 10.1 inch (1280×800) screen and packs NVIDIA’s latest Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of DDR2 RAM. There’s a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera with dual LED flash and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera; support for 720p video recording and 1080p video playback; 32GB of onboard storage that’s expandable with SD card support; 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth; and ports include HDMI out, micro USB 2.0, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s also a built-in gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer and adaptive lighting. It will ship with 3G support and eventually gain 4G LTE support on Verizon’s network. As far as battery life is concerned, Moto’s only saying that it supports up to 10 hours of video playback. Note that the Xoom does not pack physical buttons. With Honeycomb, Google no longer requires hardware manufacturers to include buttons along the rim of their devices. What used to be buttons are now illuminated icons that can be made visible on the device in landscape or portrait modes. Motorola says they’ll ship the sexy Xoom tablet as a 3G/Wi-Fi-enabled device in Q1 2011 (we’re in that quarter now, so soon!) and they promise these devices will be upgradeable 4G LTE in Q2. Also in Q2 Moto will introduce an all-out 4G LTE/Wi-Fi- enabled Xoom. According to recent reports, a strictly WiFi-enabled version will also debut in the Spring. The Xoom looks like it’s going to be a hot item when it ships; a speedy Tegra 2 processor and the tablet-optimized Honeycomb OS marriage will surely make for an enjoyable mobile experience.
An honorable mention goes to the T-Mobile G-Slate because it is just one of the few tablets announced at CES 2011 that promises to run Honeycomb when it releases. T-Mobile has partnered with LG to make the hardware. Aside for it being the “first 4G Android 3.0 powered tablet” from T-Mobile, we know nothing else about it really. At the press event T-Mobile and LG execs held up the mystery tablet, and it look like standard fare–a black slate. We’ll have to wait for a more detailed announcement in the coming weeks.
Look in the gallery below for close-ups of the Motorola Xoom, and hop after the break to read some PR and watch a couple introductory product videos.
Continue reading Motorola Xoom & T-Mobile G-Slate will run Android Honeycomb
Remember way back when (about one year ago)… Lenovo revealed a funky and intriguing laptop/tablet hybrid design called the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid. Much like the Dell Inspiron Duo, it promised to double as a tablet running Lenovo’s custom Linux OS called Skylight and a standard notebook running Windows 7 when the tablet’s docked as a display. Since then, Lenovo has dumped Skylight for Android and beefed up the processing power. The detachable tablet is now called LePad and it’s powered by a 1.3GHz Snapdragon processor and runs a custom Lenovo skin called LeOS that’s build on top of Android 2.2. The LePad features a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800) capacitive multitouch display and it works in both landscape and portrait modes. An eight hour battery life is promised. Adobe Flash Player 10.1 is expected to play nice when the product ships. The notebook, or U1 Base, packs a 1.2GHz Intel Core and runs Windows 7. Switching from Android to Windows is a snap, literally. Once the tablet is locked into place in the notebook base, a couples seconds later Windows is fully loaded. When you detach the screen the switch to Android is instantaneous.
Unfortunately for those living in the U.S. the LePad and U1 Base will not ship until Google releases Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb). The first market Lenovo will hit is China this quarter. The IdeaPad U1 with LePad will go for $1300 and the LePad will be available as a standalone product with an asking price of $520.
With a refreshed look and Android integration the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid is leaps and bounds superior to its original incarnation unveiled one year ago. Here’s to hoping that Gingerbread arrives sooner rather than later so that Lenovo can work on an updated tablet skin and ship this puppy Stateside stat! Product images below, PR after the break.
[Via Engadget]
If you didn’t know, Lady Gaga was appointed the Creative Director of Polaroid. You know, the company famous for inventing the chunky camera that almost instantly spits out pictures onto film sheets. In 2008 Polaroid announced the discontinuation of its self-developing film, but now they’re back and with the help of Gaga they hope to reinvigorate the nostalgia of the aged Polaroid camera and their overall brand with three new products. The “Polaroid Grey Label” includes the GL30 Instant Digital Camera, GL10 Instant Mobile Printer, and the GL20 Camera Glasses. The GL30 is reminiscent of Polaroid cameras of the past and uses ZINK Zero Ink Technology for instant printing. Users can select from a number of filters and borders before the image pops out of the portable, sleek digital camera. The GL10 is a portable printer that also uses the ZINK technology and images are instantly printed on smudge-proof, water-resistant film that resembles white photo paper. The GL20 glasses has to be the coolest product of the bunch, and they’re something only Lady Gaga could think of to invent. The fashionably loud and futuristic glasses double as a digital camera. You can instantly capture or upload pictures with it and then display the images on the glasses’ LCD screens for others to see. Sounds strange at first but the idea is quite novel. It’s just another way to express yourself.
All three products were shown off in purely conceptual form at CES 2011, but Polaroid is confident they will ship the printer in May 2011 for $149.99 and the camera and glasses “later this year” at undisclosed prices. Look at the pics below and PR is after the break.
[Via Engadget]
This is one slick concept machine. Razer, the maker of high-end precision gaming products, revealed a concept mobile PC designed for gamers on the go. The Razer Switchblade is based on the Intel Atom processor and packs an ultra-sensitive, 7-inch capacitive multitouch touchscreen (1024 x 600) and a dynamic tactile keyboard. The keyboard is the most intriguing part of the design; key layout and configuration can be changed on-the-fly based on game content and user requirements. For example, it can serve as a standard QWERTY keyboard as you’re browsing a website inside a browser and the next minute it can morph into a keyboard made specifically to play a game like World of Warcraft where the keys become quick access points for magical potions and spells. So how does it all work? Easy; just like the top half of the device, the keyboard is actually a large LCD screen in disguise with physical keys layered on top of it. Inside the custom Razer OS skin the user can tweak the keyboard to make the keys function however they want. Customization is left up to the user’s imagination. Sure, you can make the keys display video playback controls such as play, pause, fast-forward, etc.; but Razer is a gaming company at heart and they are hoping that gamers will find the customization options to be helpful in optimizing the way they play games on the go when a full keyboard and mouse combo are not present.
As awesome as that keyboard hopes to be, keep in mind that the Switchblade is still a portable notebook. Razer’s custom skin can be hidden to reveal a standard copy of Windows 7. There are also USB ports (so a mouse can theoretically be connected), a mini HDMI port, and a webcam. Bluetooth and WiFi are also inside. The company is still determining whether or not to pack 3G capability with it. That’s right–this concept notebook unveiled at CES 2011 is actually coming to market in the near future. Razer is mum on exact release date and price, but you can expect to see this portable gaming machine attempt its transformation of the mouse/keyboard paradigm sometime within the next year or so. Full PR after the break.
“Red Rain” is about to fall out of the “Red Sky”. Anna’s vengeful act at the end of season one will be addressed head on during tonight’s one hour season premiere of V. We’ll also be introduced to Anna’s mother Dianna who is played by Jane Badler, the original V baddie from the 1980s miniseries.
In an interview with EW star Elizabeth Mitchell promises that the season two 10 episode arc will be grander than the first season. “If you were frustrated by the last season, which you probably were — I was, a little bit — I think that this will be far more satisfying,” says Mitchell. There is far more action and there is far more of what you want in an alien-invasion story, where the aliens are out to use us as food and take our technology and do everything bad you can think about. There’s more of that wonderful thing of “Us-Against-Them” stuff, which is always so satisfying in a fictional sense. And also, there’s some good sexy stuff!”
“I think the last three episodes [of season 1] were a good indicator of where this season is headed,” Mitchell continues. “Instead of people sitting around talking people were actually accomplishing things. I wanted to be an action hero, not an exposition hero! I spent all that time training, learning to kick ass, and then all I did was talk. I was like, “I’m so bored! I wanna hit people and kiss boys!” The first one comes in quickly, and it’s eerie, what happens and the way they go about it. It starts just like a movie, which is the way that you want it to. The effects in it are just gruesomely good.”
Less talk, more action. I like it.
THEY RETURN tonight at 9PM ET on ABC. Peer into the galleries below to view stills from the episode and character profiles.
Update: If you watched the fantastic season premiere (spoiler alert), then you know that the producers finally decided to reveal more of what’s hiding underneath the V’s human skin. First we saw Anna take her long, scaly tail out of hiding and kill a disloyal V ship captain, and then we caught a glimpse at Ryan’s alien/human hybrid baby. USA Today managed to get their hands on an image coming directly from executive producer Scott Rosenbaum that shows what the Vs look like if you found them on their home planet stripped of their human skin. If you think that V skeleton featured in the episode was revealing, you haven’t seen nothing yet. Note: USA Today reports that the V’s physical appearance will be revealed piecemeal over the 10-episode second season, and the full alien body will show up in the season finale. If you don’t want to spoil the surprise, don’t look after the break. Otherwise, click here: Continue reading ‘V’ returns tonight at 9PM on ABC [Update: Visitor skin revealed]
2010 was packed with some great movies including the mind-bending Inception, the action-packed Tron: Legacy, the Western True Grit, and the thriller Black Swan. For the most part film posters do a fine job at advertising movies before and during their theatrical release. But there’s something about these unofficial, “alternate” posters imagined by graphic designers and illustrators that instantly captivates my interest. Many of them are overly simplistic and yet very effective at the same time. Check out my favorite fan-made film poster for Inception above, and then peer into the gallery below to see a bunch more. Don’t you agree that these alt-posters are intrinsically better than the real ones? (After the break you’ll find a listing of all the contributing illustrators.)
[Via Flavorwire]
Continue reading These unofficial movie posters are better than the real ones
Digital-imaging and CGI artist Michael Tompert is fascinated by the destruction of Apple products. Ever wonder what an iPad would like after a sledgehammer beating and torch treatment? Your inquisitiveness get resolved in the image above titled “Book Burning.” Sick and tired of antenna issues and feel like pounding your iPhone 4 with an eight pound sledgehammer? Don’t do that–just flip through the gallery below and visualize it. There you’ll also find “Breathe”, a MacBook Air with 12 rounds in it (damaged by a Heckler & Koch handgun); “Liquid Crystals”, a sledgehammered and torched MacBook; “You’re So 2000&L8”, a disfigured iPhone 3G; and “Caltrain Fatalities: Left Track/Right Track”, a rainbow of iPod nanos ran over by a train.
All of these disturbing images are part of Tompert’s 12LVE photography exhibit located at the WhiteSpace Gallery in Palo Alto, California. “The images are large-scale yet microscopic, providing a canvas for contemplating our relationship with fetish, fashion, freedom, and bondage,” says Tompert. The inspiration behind the gallery is rather simplistic; when Tompert got tired of his two sons fighting over an iPod touch, he took it from them and smash it on the floor. “They were kind of stunned — the screen was broken and this liquid poured out of it. I got my camera to shoot it,” he told the LA Times. “My wife told me that I should do something with it.” And the rest, as they say, was history.
It’s important to note that Tompert is not anti-Apple; in fact he calls himself “an Apple fan from Day 1”. If that doesn’t do it for you, he’s a former Apple graphics designer.
Again, take a look in the gallery below to gaze at the beautiful destruction and head over to Cult of Mac to gain insight into the making of the gallery.
[Via CNET]
From a melancholic loss to a tangible idea the C60 Redux was made.
In the book I Miss My Pencil, co-authors Martin Bone and Kara Johnson of design firm IDEO conceived twelve design experiments through collaboration, sketching, and prototyping. One of these concept designs is called the C60 Redux and it begs the question, “Does the mix tape still exist in a digital world?” Bone shares his thoughts: “I feel strangely melancholic that in this shift from analog to digital we somehow lost something; we traded connection for convenience.” And he gloomily concludes: “Ultimately this experiment won’t change anything; technology marches on, teenagers in love today play out their courtship online in their Facebook pages, not browsing record stacks. But I feel much better for having done it.”
This particular experiment inspired a group at IDEO to make a real working model of the C60 Redux and their efforts are revealed in the video above. Something was “somehow lost” in the technological shift from analog to digital, thought Bone. That something is physicality, and so the designers marched on to create a working model with this question in mind: “What if we could touch our music again?” Using Arduino Pro Mini boards and RFID tags the concept came to life. The designers constructed a small box that takes design cues from a record player, and built inside are Arduino boards that can read RFID (or radio-frequency identification) cards. Embedded inside custom-made cards are two RFID tags, each tag representing a song. When you place a card on top of the box, the circuitry inside the box instantly reads the RFID tag and plays the song stored on it. Flip a card over to play Side B. Place multiple cards on the surface to create a playlist (the cards are read in a clockwise order).
And just like that a mere concept born out of a need to bring back the physicality of music was made into a real product. Beyond the final product, what’s important to glean from this story is the tale of technology and how it can bring exciting advances and at the same time disregard staples of the past. In the move from vinyl to cassette tapes to CDs to MP3s, the convenience of throwing a couple hundred songs on an iPod has managed to make most forget about the materiality of music and what that brought with it. The days of collecting piles of vinyl and what Bone calls the “joy and love” of creating personal mix tapes are way behind us, but something like the C60 Redux might just have the power to bring it all back to our digital world.
[Via Engadget; IMissMyPencil]
(1) Medicom Toy is celebrating the collaboration between Tron: Legacy and legendary electric duo Daft Punk by producing the masked musicians in Kubrick and RAH (Real Action Hero) form. They will release in late December as part of the Series 21 BE@RBRICK assortment ($4.99). The 400% BE@RBRICK ($199.99) and KUBRICK ($19.99) two-packs will release in mid-January. The RAH figures are expected to come out in April at $229.99 each. All the Daft Punk-inspired toys will feature the same outfits and helmets the duo wears in the cameo they make in the film.
Look after the break for so much more Tron content. Continue reading This post is packed with TRON goodies including a music video, headphones, and a hotel room [Update: NSFW Playboy photoshoot]