from pop stars to mickey mouse, the japanese are always the first to grab onto american trends, but one american classic japan isn’t rushing to embrace is burger king.
To entice the tech-obsessed nation in the past, Japan’s Burger King flagship in Tokyo has tried co-branding themselves with software launches from Microsoft, like their unsuccessful Windows 7 Whopper: 7 patties for 777 yen. Now they’re trying a less literal approach with Sound Spots, an overhead speaker that plays music from the customer’s iPod or other mP3 player. The speaker is encased in a dome that prevents the music from traveling to other tables. No reports yet on whether the Sound Spots are attracting new customers, but the design seems to effectively contain the sound around only one table.
Combining an new-age retro aesthetic, Eskuché presents itself as a combination of both design and performance. With their LR Soundsystems, the headphones recognize the need to properly balance sounds for the best in listening pleasure. The vintage aesthetic is evident with some brilliant metallic finishes as an added contemporary touch.
The new Shuffle is small. Really small. Smallest music player in the world. Apple says it the first mp3 player that talks to you. A new addition to this model is the new VoiceOver feature which compensates for the long-discussed anti-screen. You can manage multiple playlists and get song titles by voiceover at the touch of a button.
USA Networks Character Approved Award 2009 gets creative.
Winners include Charles Best, philanthropy; David Chang, chef; Shepard Fairey, artist; Lupe Fiasco, music; Patrick Robinson, fashion designer; Jennifer Siegel, architect; Jimmy Wales, new media.
Less about breaking news and more about affirmation: The Zeppelin iPod dock from Bowers and Wilkins not only looks good from across the room and CU, but the music is consistent with the manufacturer’s reputable sound.
First seen almost a year ago but did not mess with it until killing time in an Apple store last week. If you like modern, minimal, music, and have an iPod, this is worth a peek. It will set you back $600 USA but you get design, music, and art. What’s HD radio?(more…)
