Before Apple began its global takeover with the release of the first iPhone in 2007, cell phones were as much an accessory as anything else. The T-Mobile Sidekick, in all its chunky glory, was beloved by celebrities as much as a Kaballah bracelet or an Alexander McQueen skull scarf. Nokia seemed to be the mobile du jour in Europe during the turn of the Millenium — I’m pretty sure they might have been among the earliest to introduce FaceTime. And then, of course, there was the Motorola Razr. The sleek and thin flip phone that was then the pinnacle of flip phones, back when the gesture of flipping a phone shut was as flippant as slamming a door or throwing a drink in someone’s face. And its imminent comeback, as announced last week, is just the latest throwback to fuel the nostalgia economy.
How does one resurrect the flip phone in 2019? For starters, the new Motorola features a 16-megapixel camera and the entire 6.2-inch touch screen is foldable. There’s also a mini-screen on the exterior of the phone that displays notifications and time. And its price tag, at $1,500, is something that’s very 2019. Pre-orders for the new Motorola Razr will be available on December 26. Happy holidays!
It’s that time of year again — the beginning of summer and the annual opportunity to show Dad some love. Whether it’s a shoutout on social media (parents love that) or an exotic luxury cruise, now is the time to thank him for all he’s done for you. We’ve rounded up some key items for the father who loves his gadgets.
These wireless and noise-canceling headphones are the perfect way to take every audio experience to the next level. $499, available on MasterDynamic.com
Announced Wednesday at Apple‘s star-studded Keynote – appearances by Sia, Maddie Ziegler, and James Corden, to name a few – luxury fashion house Hermès has once again partnered with Apple to bring high fashion to techies worldwide. Expanding on the previously launched collection, the new Apple Watch Hermès are a testament to great style and wearable ease. The undisputed highlight? The new Double Buckle Cuff in Swift and Epsom calfskin leathers – a dual band that catches the eye and draws instant, mouthwatering envy. An inviting new palette of band colors were also unveiled – Rose Jaipu, Étoupe, Bleu Agate – aiming to frame the wrist in elemental simplicity.
Image: Apple x Hermès.
Equipped with the latest Apple Watch Series 2 software, which includes the long-awaited GPS feature, and completely water resistant up to 50 meters, the Apple Watch Hermès are filling up holiday wish lists worldwide. For the sporty, an exclusive Hermès Sport Band in orange is also available, a lightweight alternative that is both durable and flexible for optimum movement and control. Available in 38mm and 42mm sizes, the new releases are the height of luxury and, with a $1149 price point, it shows.
The Apple Watch Hermès is available for preorder online starting September 9.
Gone are the days of the single faceted fashion label, as Giorgio Armani’s proactive boost in lifestyle enterprises reaches impressive new heights. While the new made to measure campaign takes the advertising world by storm, the Italian fashion house is not sitting idly back. With a state-of-the-art, high-end residential complex currently in development for Beijing, music-streaming app poised to burst onto the Apple Music/Tidal playing field, and a brand new exhibition space, the Armani lifestyle brand is more integrated and overtly extensive than ever before.
Image: Armani.
The new Smart Hero-Central Park Plaza Residences, a collaborative effort between luxury furnishings subdivision Armani/Casa Interior Design Studio and Smart Hero Group, will be part of the largest urban park in Asia when construction completes, as well as the leading green building complex in China through environmental integration with the nearby Chaoyang Park. The Beijing residency will join the already lucrative Armani Hotel chain, which boasts upscale locations in both Dubai and Milan, and supplement the ever-growing Armani property sector
Image: Armani.
The residence, voted one of the “Top 10 Contemporary Buildings in China” by China’s Ministry of Culture, is designed by Ma Yansong and boasts an impressive peak and slop exterior design, mixing Western design with Eastern philosophy. As with any Armani property, the brand oversees all aspects of the interior and style design, including the specially created furniture pieces by the Armani/Casa collection, and will blend seamlessly with the established aesthetic already curated in the previous properties.
Image: Armani.
The lifestyle presence extends even further through Emporio Armani Sounds, the latest tech effort that combines the exhilarating world of fashion with the world-class audio of Spotify, adding to Armani’s digital space. Branching off of the fashion brand’s DJ series, Emporio Armani Sounds x Standard Sounds—whose Vol. 2 occurrence closed last fall’s New York Fashion Week— the app showcases EA’s rich world of music and features performances, handpicked playlists, and interviews by artists like Mark Ronson, Calvin Harris, and La Roux. Armani-produced fashion content will go live on the app on a weekly basis and users will be able to discover what songs are playing in nearby Emporio Armani stores instantly.
Image: Armani.
After 40 years of continued operation and growth, the brand also celebrates with a new Milan-based exhibition, Armani/Silos, a four-floor dedicated space, that chronicles the numerous themes and inspirations of the brand. Including daywear, exoticisms, color-schemes, and light, important moments from the label’s history are housed in the converted ’50s storage facility and nestled in a honeycomb layout that is arranged by aesthetic relation.
While Armani/Silos is currently open and Emporio Armani Sounds is available now for both iOS and Android devices, the Smart Hero-Central Park Plaza Residences is projected to complete construction in 2017.
Today powerhouse Italian brand Gucci and recording artist of Black Eyed Peas fame, will.i.am, announced a special partnership that aims to tie interaction and time with wearable technology at watch and jewelry summit Baselworld 2015. Powered by i.am+, the musician’s entrepreneurial entity—which made its eyewear debut last fall—the groups have come together to reveal a completely stand alone smart band that, independent from any smartphone, will be able to send and receive calls, text messages, emails, and other data, working as a sophisticated voice assistant. President and CEO of Gucci Timepieces Stéphane Linder said,“Today, through this innovative collaboration with i.am+ and will.i.am, Gucci Timepieces is fully embracing the future of wearable technology that is now ahead of us, with the objective of launching a wearable device concept that is a fashion accessory, incorporating the most comprehensive and advanced technological functionalities.“
As the internet continues to huff and puff over Apple’s latest roll out of the thinest notebooks yet—god how many times can we keep saying that?—it is with a twinkle of FOMO and tinge of bitterness that those of us burdened to desktop-anchored desks (for instance, myself) are forced to ask in that ever so charming privileged east coast liberal way, “but what about me?” I use at least two iMacs on a regular basis, one at the office circa 2010 and another at my apartment from 2012, and while I love the large display and processing potential—which, like my gym membership or public transportation, I don’t understand to make use of nearly enough—similar to a lived in apartment, I’ve been in need of a refresher. From the perspective of someone that knows nothing about what happens “under the hood,” what this boils down to is… accessories! Mice, tablets, mouse pads, dusters, etc. And while almost everything invented for these purposes is awful, a few hidden rarities are not. Cut to the most futuristic typing device you’ve ever seen: Bastron’s Glassy Keyboard.
Image: Bastron.
Straight out of the spaceship’s control room of your favorite sci-fi film from the late 2000s, this ultra-slim and super fashionable device features transparent smart touch keys that literally glow with a pink or blue backlight during use. Connectable via a micro USB plug in, the aluminum framed, glass keyboard is compatible with both Apple and Windows computers allowing for easy-to-spot crumbs and transcriptions of the high-techiest inception.
Bastron’s Glassy Keyboard is available online now for $199.
Only days after the rollout of the brand’s first-ever digital writing experience, Montblanc is back with a new innovative device that pairs with both mechanical and smart devices: the TimeWalker Urban Speed e-Strap. The brand’s foray into wearable technology—and a stylish one might we add—the e-bracelet is an interchangeable strap made of premium extreme leather created by the Montblanc Pelleteria in Florence with an integrated technology device that enables activity tracking, smart notifications, remote control access, and Find-Me functioning. Sync-able with Android and iOS devices via Bluetooth Low Energy, the band is also intended to pair with Montblanc’s TimeWalker watches: a chronograph UTC, and a three-hand watch. Together, the bracelet and timepiece releases make for a perfect combination of modernity and proven craft.
Everlasting brand-of-the-moment Beats by Dre delivers a sure-to-be-hot new collection by Fragment Design founder and streetwear icon Hiroshi Fujiwara. With a background in DJing, Fujiwara transforms Beats’ Solo2 headphone in premium gloss silver and the Beats Pill speaker in matte white and gloss silver, infusing both with Fragment Design’s future-focused aesthetic. The Beats x Fragment Collection is the latest installment in The Artist Series—a program that celebrates some of the world’s best artists and allows them to reinterpret Beats signature styles—and will be available for purchase on December 8, 2014 at Apple.com for $249.
Unless you’ve spent the last five years living off the grid, you’ve definitely seen a pair of Beats by Dre headphones. Formally established in 2008, Beats Electronics headphones (and earbuds) have become ubiquitous fashion accessories, in part from their street-cred backed name, but mostly because of the unmistakable red and black colorway and “b” logo. Now, hot on the heels of the announcement of an Apple acquisition, Beats has teamed up with Fendi for a special headphones collection. Having already worked with Alexander Wang last year, the company is no stranger to designer collaborations and this new roll out is sure to be hot.
The Fendi x Beats by Dre headphones are hand stitched and created in the Italian house’s signature Selleria leather. The series will be available in a wide range of colors including sunflower yellow, fire red, emerald green, blackboard, and asphalt, and all of which will bear the mark of Fendi Roma’s logo heat embossed at the top of each band. Previewed on Fendi’s Spring/Summer 2015 men’s catwalk, the complete collection of headphones will be available for purchase at the end of this year. In the meantime, start preparing your ears and saving your pennies!
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 22 years since the very first text message —a seasonal “Merry Christmas”—was sent. Today, American smartphone owners aged 18 to 24 send an average of 67 texts on a daily basis. But what about Emojis? They first appeared on Japanese cell phones in the early 1990’s. By May 1997, AOL Instant Messenger (remember that?) began automatically converting smiley face emoticons into a graphical smilies. But what we know today as Emoji wasn’t released until 1999 in Japan. Apple’s popularization of iOS 5 in 2011 brought the characters stateside, and September 2012’s extreme upgrade brought hundreds of new illustrated emotions into the fold thus eliminating the need for speech as we know it.
While many have come to love the “piece of poop with a beaming smile,” the twelve variations of the moon’s wane/wax, the bento box, and the mysterious yellow and red pill, it’s time for more. According to Emojipedia (yup) a range of new Emoji being are to be added to iOS systems in July 2014. While visuals aren’t available yet, we can confirm the addition of the following:
Sorry to interrupt your Friday, but something unexpected has floated into our ether and there’s no denying our excitement on this Friday, the 13th. Burberry is teaming up with Apple. And how? Burberry is using iPhone 5s technology to capture their SS’14 Runway Show at London Fashion Week this Monday (9.16). Using the all-new iSight® camera on iPhone 5s, Burberry is shooting high quality photos and vids both on the runway and backstage.
On a high from Tuesday evening’s Tom Odell performance at The McKittrick Hotel, Burberry Chief Creative Officer, Christopher Bailey, dished: “This collaboration celebrates our relationship and shared foundation in design and craftsmanship. We have a mutual passion for creating beautiful products and unlocking emotive experiences through technology, which has made it intensely exciting to explore the capabilities of iPhone 5s.” And don’t forget: You can watch the show live this Monday at 2:30 p.m. GMT+1 at www.burberry.com.
Last month at our #EssentialHommeSummerParty, NOIZY Brands joined us to celebrate the unveiling of our newly-designed print magazine, as well as the exciting season ahead for the makers of audio listening gear. Conceived from a frustration toward tangled up earbuds—or what you might remember as any time you’ve ever had to ride the subway—NOIZY created a lightweight, stylish audio set that uses Bluetooth technology to work with all Apple products, Androids, and even Blackberrys. With a 16-bit stereo and built-in mic, these babies function wirelessly up to 33 feet away from their music source. Don’t believe us? That’s okay, check out the video above featuring NOIZY co-founder Jerry Chu to learn more.
