It is if product designer and serial correct guesser of future iDevices Antonio De Rosa has anything to say about it.
The iPhone 7 isn’t far off, so it’s time for the internet to do what it does best: serve us unlimited free porn, troll our enemies and teach us things so we don’t have to think for ourselves. No wait. Build up our expectations and then let us down. That’s what I mean.
De Rosa has released the following teaser video on Youtube of what he thinks the changes in the new iPhone will be.
In summary:
Similar to the iPhone 6 – no surprise there
6.9mm
Has a digital crown (supporting Touch ID and gesture support) on the right – Samsung will no doubt sue for that
Integrates elements of the iWatch
5.5-inch Retina HD+ display
A9 chip with 64-bit capabilities.
Only time will tell how right or wrong he is. But in the meantime, lets perve.
Alegre Industrial Studio have created the WeON glasses which in a way retro fit your gadget so you don’t ever need to spend thousands on Google Glasses. The WeON glasses feature a Bluetooth chip within which connect to your device which has a tiny LED that only the wearer can see. Get information from your phone, skip tracks or take pictures via the frame. The fact that they look more hipster than Colin Farrel in his beanie on a hot summer’s day is just a bonus you don’t have to pay for. Here’s a question though: Are our gadgets becoming too boring looking? These being the case study.
Two new announcements coming out of the Geneva International Motor Show lead us to believe that the future of the offroader may very well feature more roomy, spacious and airy interiors thanks to opening and removable roofs.
Jeep teased their manly Renegade at the show, an offroader with tried-and-tested off-roading capabilities and the legendary Jeep brand behind it.
The new Renegade has been made by the Italians, but is still an American car that has AWD, an open air roof and a 9-speed auto gearbox, underpinned by their Cherokee range.
The big change is their open air system which removes manually or via a power slide removable feature. The honeycomb fibreglass polyurethane covers are lightweight and stow in the rear cargo area when removed.
The other roofy announcement in the off-road/SUV market is from VW whose T-ROC concept brings me one step closer to my life-long dream of the 4×4 hatch.
It’s a two-door with the skills of an AWD SUV. And the fact that the roof parts in the middle to reveal the heavens makes it a convertible too.
Spec-wise, it has a TDi engine, relies on VW’s 4motion all-wheel drive system and 7-speed DSG dual-clutch gearbox.
The Smarter Phone is a genius piece of design and intelligence that puts a fully functioning, customisable and upgradable by components smartphone in your hands.
I’ve been saying it for years: one day soon, we’re not going to be buying an Apple or Samsung flagship device. Instead, we’re going to be walking into a store (probably an Apple or Samsung store) and ticking a bunch of boxes based on what we want in the phone we’re about to buy. Touchscreen VS QWERTY keyboard, one camera or two, 5-inch or 7-inch. Everything decided by you then and there.
The Smarter Phone is a design by Bernat Lozano and Rocío García that has won second place in the Design for (Your) Product Lifetime Student Challenge and the idea is straight forward. It looks, functions and is a smartphone. Except, when it breaks (a bad drop, the camera goes fuzzy or a button kicks it) you simply strip the device open, buy a replacement part and carry on regardless.
Of course the immediate lifestyle problem is that you want a new smartphone every year, you want something to show off to your friends and you definitely don’t want to be stuck with the same piece of plastic for 5 years. What does that say about you as a trend-setter?
How about if I told you that by using the Smarter Phone instead of a new phone every year, you’d be doing your part to stop the dumping of unused electronic parts in far-flung (or not so far-flung) countries like Ghana?
This unnecessary wastage of technology is the driving force behind the designers who acknowledge that new technology like NFC arrives on the scene more often than poo on Patricia De Lille’s doorstep and they’ve theoretically made space for that in the phone.
Sure there’s a long way to go still and it’s far from a packaged solution or ideal product, but I think it’s a sign of the times and an omen of what’s to come: major manufacturers feeling the pressure of their discarded device cluttering the beaches of an African paradise, thus being forced into producing longer-lasting devices, user-upgradable hardware and fewer unit sales.
Make your money on deals with music companies. Oh wait…
VW have gone ahead and shown us what the ultimate Golf 7 GTi would look like, that is before some boy racers in Boksburg get a chance to do it. They’re calling it the Design Vision, and as it’s a concept, a vision is probably all it’ll ever be.
That. And fast. With a 3-litre V6 turbo-charged engine, AWD and a DSG gearbox, the mathematics of this car add up to a 0-100 time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 300 km/h.
Oh, just another awesome concept derived from a collab between a French architect and a car manufacturer. And despite its resemblance to something obvious, this is not a Mini. Wait for it…it’s a Toyota.
French architect Jean-Marie Massaud and Toyota are proud to present the ME.WE electric car and as has come to be expected, it’s all about the human, the environment and the good.
It’s made out of a tubular aluminium structure and has interchangeable expanded polypropylene body panels. That’s doors, wings and bumpers that come off and can be put back on. Imagine the number of colour combinations they’ll offer.
Each wheel has its own dedicated electric motor meaning it’s technically 4WD but can be operated in 2WD.
The floor and the roof are made from bamboo, and the occupants take precedence with any luggage carried on the bamboo roof covered by a neoprene housing. The back bench can also be removed in the case of a seat being needed while at the beach.
Two of the world’s most obnoxious brands have decided to get into bed together, and the results are magnificent. DISCLAIMER: Hey, just because they’re well made, functional and more desirable than fresh tik, doesn’t make the VW Beetle or the Apple iAnything any less up their own ass.
The iBeetle has been exhibited at the Shanghai Motor Show and it’s sole purpose has got to be to get peoples attention on the stand. Imagine your normal 2012 VW Beetle with the latest integrated Apple docking station on the dashboard.
But the advantages of the iBeetle are more than skin deep. Owners will have to download the Beetle App to get the other functions going in the car, these include: Spotify (music service which doesn’t work in SA yet), Trainer (a feature which displays driving times, distances, speed, economy and traffic data) and Photo which takes pictures from within the car and shares them on social networks for your friends to scoff at.
There is one good thing about the lull between iDevices, and that’s the fact that iFans busy themselves with deciding what they want Apple to start making. Case in point is Esben Oxholm who has devised one of the best looking iConcepts you’ve seen in 2013.
The watch obviously takes its look from the iPhone 5, matte finish, blck aluminium and shiny glass.
There’s the familiar “Home” button nestled neatly below the beautiful curved glass display and a rubber strap for comfort.
Mercedes Benz have responded to the 2012 Los Angeles Design Challenge to create the “highway patrol car of 2025” with this completely desirable off-roader based on the iconic G Class.
The ‘ener-G-force’ fuel cell SUV concept is an idea of the future of environmentally friendly off-road vehicles that ambulances and policemen might be using.
Bleeding awesome, I say!
So here’s how it works (at least in theory). Obviously it’s a zero emission vehicle which stores recycled water on the roof in tanks. This water is then transferred to the ‘hydro-tech converter’ which converts the natural resources in to usable hydrogen for the fuel cells.
The energy is stored in batteries stored in the side skirts of the car, that or replaceable batteries. These change color as the charge decreases, letting the driver know it’s time for a change.
Drive 500 miles on the four wheel hub motors driving each wheel. The car also has a “Terra Scanner” on the rood which permanently scans the surroundings and is thus able to adjust suspension parameters for maximum traction on the respective surfaces.
The most confused concept of the entire Paris Motor Show has been unveiled, and the name says it all. It’s a blend between the styling of a couple, convertible and crossover vehicle. But if concepts have taught us anything, it’s to take them seriously.
The Crosslane Coupe has a 1.5-litre, 133kw TFSI engine that is both petrol and electric, making this concept a plug-in hybrid.
The 17.4 KWH lithium-ion battery allows traveling of 85km on pure electric when cruising at an average of 130km/h.
Tope speed is181km/h and 0-100 is done in 8.6 seconds.
