I'm a big music listener and I would never leave the house without my earphones. Unfortunately, I think I must be some sort of innate earphones wrecker as inevitably, one side of the earphones will lose its sound without fail within a year. After having broken yet another pair of earphones last year, I dragged ShoeGeek to help me find a replacement. After wandering around the shops for a while, I discovered AIAIAI earphones, created by a Danish design house. I was attracted to these earphones primarily because the wire was thicker than normal hence I hoped that it would survive the one year curse. It will be coming up a year in a month or so and things are looking pretty promising. Having already been a fan of AIAIAI, I was delighted when the company sent me a pair of their latest AIAIAI Track Headphones for trial.
These headphones are a hipster-friendly design by Copenhagen’s Kilo Design, which pays homage to the original Walkman headphones. With a simple stylish design, these headphones come with a range of different coloured parts so you can customise the look depending on your mood. So let's go to the sound, for the audiophiles, the headphones boast 40-millimeter drivers with a sensitivity of 112 +/-3 dB and a 23-Ohm impedance. For the rest of us, the music sounds a little fuller on the bass than other headphones but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Turning up the volumn still brings a nice clear sound with minimal distortion. However, do note that the noise insulation of these headphones are pretty poor. Everyone around you will hear exactly what you are listening to so fans of Justin Beiber might want to shy away from these.
Check them out at CitySuper's Log On or LCX. iPhone compatible.
The lovely @FindelaTierra showed me this amusing website which is hailed as a “beautiful new dating site created for fans of Apple products by fans of Apple products!” You’d think Applemania has settled for now but obviously it’s still going strong. Best part? The site’s name. Cupidtino. A nice play on Cupertino, Apple’s headquarters. To register for the beta, you need to select which Apple products you own, from a list that includes iPod, MacBook, iPhone and iPad. The site will launch this coming June and of course it will only be available exclusively on Apple platforms, Safari, iPhone and iPad apps. For more information, check out http://cupidtino.com/.
I’ve always thought that beauty gadgets have got to be one of the easiest products to sell from electric eyelash curlers to blackhead removers to portable steamers for instant facials. Tell us ladies that this gadget will do something and we are likely to believe it. Of course, when it doesn’t work, it’s more likely that it’s due to us not being diligent enough to use it on a regular basis than the failure of the product. (Although sometimes I do have my doubts.) Anyway, I just discovered this latest gadget from Oregon Scientific; the Platinum Beauty Roller. Originating from Japan, the Platinum Beauty Roller is a facial massage tool that allows users to give their faces a lift any time. The press release claims that this roller combines nourishing minerals with unique massage functions to rejuvenate and tighten the inner layers of the skin and smoothen the outer layers. I’m not quite sure where the nourishing minerals come from, maybe from the skincare you use along with the roller? Anyway, the key factor of this roller is apparently the special rhythmic piano-touch massage that mimics fingers lightly playing on keyboards that will enlarge your capillaries to push out the excess water and other harmful minerals. If you do try it out, let me know what you think.
Platinum Beauty Roller features: • Instant face lift for slims facial contours • Restore skin firmness and elasticity • Reduce fine lines and wrinkles • Usable with water soluble beauty essence and after make-up • No electricity is required; portable to carry around • Suggested price: HK $1,680
So the iPad is finally out and the early adopters are all eager to test it. Personally, I haven’t decided if I’m pro or against the iPad. What I am interested in knowing is how businesses will take marketing forward using new technology. (Must be the PR Geek in me.) Earlier, I wrote about how the Langham Hotel was offering guests an iPod guided tour to their Chinese contemporary art which the hotel boasts as being the first in the world. Hot on the heels of this comes the news of InterContinental Hong Kong equipping its Concierge teams with iPads. I’d be interested in seeing how the InterContinental will utilise the iPad’s functionality to compliment guests’ experiences. One question I have would be with regards to mobility. After all, a key selling point of the iPad is the fact that you can take it wherever you go much like a netbook. If the iPad is stationed at a concierge desk much like any desktop or laptop, what would be the point? (Besides the cool factor of being the first to utilize the iPad and generating buzz about it.)
Thankfully, the InterContinental realizes that and won’t be underutilizing the iPad’s functionality. They’ve already downloaded a ton of apps for the iPad such as the Hong Kong 720º by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. In addition, videos of the concierge team’s top local recommendations will loaded onto the gadget as well. Of course, it’s early days yet and I’m sure the InterContinental will be coming up with more uses for the iPad. What do you think would be some cool uses for the iPad in a hotel concierge service?
Image caption: InterContinental Hong Kong Chief Concierge Louis Baleros with the iPad
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been one of those people who go to the museums, pick up one of those audio guides and then wander off looking at pieces without listening to the tour. I think the only exception was when I went to the Chanel Mobile Art exhibition and afterwards, I still retraced my route to look at the pieces in my own pace and order. If, however, you are a fan of audio guides, then you should check out the Langham Place in Mongkok which is now offering their guests iPod tours of their Chinese contemporary art. One little known fact: the hotel owns more than 1,500 pieces of contemporary Chinese art estimated to hold a value of more than HK$20 million. This collection is displayed throughout the entire hotel and the iPod tour highlights the hotel’s top 21 pieces from the ground level to the 41st floor. The free guide is narrated by Angela Li of Contemporary by Angela Li and is available in English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese. After the tour, you’ll receive a complimentary take-home petite box-set guide with image prints and written explanations in English and Traditional Chinese.
The tour is available seven days a week from 6:00am – 11:00pm.
Back in March, we wrote a post about nameplate accessories and how you can find a wealth of options on Etsy. Well I recently stumbled upon the digital version of the nameplate game. Check out Survival of the Hippest who creates your personal Twitter handle as a necklace, keychain, bracelet, anklet or pin. Choose between an @name or #hashtag. They charge by the character though so it can end up being rather pricey if you have a super duper long handle.
I can’t tell how I feel about the partnership between Dell and OPI. Yes you’ve read it correctly, the computer company and the nail polish company. Twenty six popular OPI nail polish shades - like "I'm Not Really a Waitress," "Big Apple Red," "Strawberry Margarita," and "Kyoto Pearl" will be glossing up Dell's line of Mini, Inspiron and Studio laptops, available at their Design Studio . To start with, they will be rolling out six holiday colours and then churn out 20 more classic colours throughout the year. These laptops start at US$450. Would you be lured by this marketing gimmick to purchase a Dell? If you still need convincing, take a look at the following quote (perhaps the most entertaining tidbit I found online about this partnership.) Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive Vice President & Artistic Director says “And now, with Dell laptops that coordinate with OPI Nail Lacquers, you can match your nails to your emails!”
I’m of the school that earphones shouldn’t be too expensive, not because I don’t support good quality sound but because I haven’t had a pair of earphones that lasted longer than a year. While gadgets that are designed by celebrities always signal a higher mark up, I’m rather intrigued by these earphones by Lady Gaga. Not only do they boast in pitch-perfect highs, precise mids, and club caliber bass but they use flat cables by Monster, so it’s supposedly tangle free which means the earphones will last longer. Available in pink, black or white, these earphones can be found online here
Since my hands landed on the iPhone back in Oct of 2008, I haven’t coveted another mobile phone but now comes a phone that is just beckoning my credit card. And before I continue, let me put this disclaimer up front, I am only tempted to buy this because it’s pretty. I know NOTHING about the specs and am only lured by its appearance. The LG GD900 Crystal is being heavily promoted across Hong Kong and the sexiness of having a transparent phone that lights up is not lost to this geek. And I find myself thinking about the technology that goes behind the touch screen that is transparent. Do you see any wires? I assume it’s done by fibre optics? Anyway in the interest of good journalism, I’ve dug up some specs to pitch my case. - Camera - 8 megapixel camera (3264x2448 pixels) with LED flash, autofocus and night mode, this mobile phone also has video and a secondary video-call camera - Data Features - GPRS Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots, 32 - 48 kbps), EDGE Class 10 (236.8 kbps), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB and 3G (HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps) - Display - 3-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen (16-million colours/480 x 800 pixels) featuring S-Class Touch UI, Multi-touch input method, Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, Transparent touch-sensitive keypad, Gesture Shortcut and Handwriting recognition - Size and Weight - 105 x 52.5 x 13.4mm - Networks - 2G Network GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and 3G Network HSDPA 2100 - Memory Features - Phonebook and photo-call memory, plus Call records at 40 dialled, 40 received, 40 missed calls, also comes with a microSD (TransFlash) card slot up to 16GB - FashionGeek thinks it’s hot
Regular readers of the blog will know that ShoeGeek and I are avid iPhone users. (Still contemplating on the 3GS though… not too keen to switch to 3 and Vinko insists that it’s much better to stick to Smartone). Anyway, tons of brands have infiltrated the iPhone apps market and now charities are doing the same. The Hong Kong Cancer Fund has launched a free iPhone application that brings you basic cancer information and aims to aid cancer victim and their families in coping with the disease by offering guidance and support. There are also preventative measurements that one can take against cancer showcased in the app. Available in both English and Traditional Chinese, the app can be downloaded by searching for “CancerCare” or “Cancer Fund" on the Apple app store site or through links on the Cancer Fund’s site.
All you germaphobes out there are going to have your lives changed. For better or worse, you decide. Considering I, one of the sloppiest gals a person can meet, am now disgusted beyond belief at the keyboard I'm touching as I write this, you should be too. If you feel like opening up that jpeg real big, you'll find a very lovely illustrated guide to the various dirts and dangers to which your keyboard is victim. Snacks and drips are child's play and common knowledge in comparison with that spore of bacteria that looks not unlike a bad-ass virus from House. Mold and fungus are kind of creepy, but that dust mite is going to invade my dreams with his millions of friends.
How to prevent nasty creepy crawlies from multiplying beneath your fingers and taking over your family and household? iSkin has these ProTouch keyboard protector pads that are easy to clean, but more importantly, look pretty darn snazzy. I'm thinking that regardless of the dirt factor, these things are a great way to glam up your laptop without having to stick large stickers all over the surface. What say you?
Sometime in between my purchasing my last set of speakers for my computer (some 6-7 years ago) and today, a whole culture of cool-looking, sound-dispensing monsters have sprouted. Back then, I thought my two dinky black cupcake-sized contraptions, connected to a larger subwoofer, were pretty high tech. It even had a separate volume control device, PHWOAR, how cool was I. Now, I play music directly from my iPhone, so it seems high time I invest in some sort of device that's both sexy and sonically sound (no pun intended, believe it or not).
Holy Batman, there are a lot of speakers out there, each one more orgasmic than the first. Why have I been buying clothes all these years when I could be outfitting my apartment with the sickest sound system known to mankind? For sound quality (or volume at the very least), I can't imagine anything comes close to these Ferguson Hill babies.
And you thought I was bad with the punning. Here comes Speak-er, aka speakers in the shape of speech bubbles. This is almost too cute for words...
...Whereas this actually IS too cute for words. iBoo, iPanda and iPig are friendly desktop creatures that will bring you crystal-clear sound effects in addition to ridiculous adorableness. Imagine if you were to download a pig/panda/ghost sound effect and play it from your computer? Yeah, TOO CUTE, that's what I thought.
And then going from one end of the spectrum to the other... who decided it would be a good idea to make speakers out of a headless dog? Not anyone I want to be friends with, morbid lunatic. Another pun-tastic one here. Instead of a sub-woofer, this is a... (say it with me guys) woofer. (insert ellipsis in speech bubble above head, or if you're Asian, a big drip of sweat on your forehead.)
Now speaking to Hong Kongers, you can order a replica of the HSBC lions here. Very cool.
Enough fun with barnyard creatures for now. These babies are a sleek option that'll double as a night light, and they come in multiple sizes.
And last but not least, what would you expect from your resident ShoeGeek but a stiletto-shaped speaker? Now that's sound judgement. And yes, that pun was intentional.
If you haven't noticed yet, our technomarvelous IT expert FashionGeek has added widgets to the site! (Yes, she's geeky because she's techy. I, ShoeGeek, am just geeky because, well, I'm a dork.) Anyway, so now you can facebook, tweet, bookmark, email hkfashiongeek posts to allll your friends, Romans, countrymen, relatives, relatives-of-relatives, colleagues, people-you-hooked-up-with-10-years-ago-and-want-to-forget... whoopee, and widgets, we digg you!
Why is there no love for the iPhoners? Well, that's not strictly true, since iPhanatics is happening tonight, but I think I need to get on Apple's mailing list. Research in Motion (those crazy kids behind the BBs) has launched a "Storm your Life" competition from April 24 to May 7. Just tell them why you love the Storm in 50 words or less and you could win one and HK$2000 worth of service rebate fees.
The judging criteria: (1) creativity; (2) quality of writing; (3) positive impact on others; (4) positive impact on the entrant; and (5) originality.
There's nothing more creative, qualitative, positive and original than a haiku, so that's what your Geeks have done. They're all in lowercase because that's the sign of positive, quality-ful, creative originality (well, unless the people at Research in Motion have read any e.e. cummings)
If you are a book loving Geek like us, then undoubtedly you would have attempted reading an ebook. While nothing beats the feeling of having an actual paperbound book in your hands there is something to be said for being able to store some 20, 30 books on your phone. Why? First thing that comes to mind is that when traveling, you save a lot of that baggage weight for shopping. My love affair with Stanza really began when Shoe Geek introduced me to the Twilight series. Unable to get my hands on Eclipse while on an Edward/ Bella high, I resorted to finding it online. Yet reading in front of the computer is something I associate with being at the office and at home, it just doesn’t feel right. Stanza imitates the reading process by ‘flipping’ pages when you tap left or right and allows you to adjust the font size. Books can be uploaded to the phone wirelessly via Stanza Desktop (although I do wish you can batch upload). Best of all, it’s a free app so why not take it out for a test run?
(And yes, that sentence was drafted just so I could title the post "Cupid Shuffle")
The latest iPod shuffle has landed, and it's slim and trim and the answer to my every whim. And it will whisper sweet nothings in my ear (just press and hold the main button); and it will store more happy memories than ever (4GB worth); and it will hang onto me for dear life wherever I go (thanks to that nifty clip-on device).
At $600, it's cheap and cheerful too. Watch the demo.
3:46 PM
hkFashionGeek
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