Skip to Content

Summer Budget Travel Tips from Gadling
AOL Tech

design posts

Genius soundshelf concept keeps speakers out of corners

by Darren Murph posted Feb 19th 2009 at 10:18PM


You know the deal -- unless you buy some $50,000 loudspeaker, chances are you'll be doing your best to hide those front towers in the corner. Designers Witek Stefaniak and Anielka Zdanowicz from Poland have a better idea, and it has come to life (or to render, anyway) as the soundshelf. Put simply, these speakers have hollowed out innards where DVD / Blu-ray racks can be installed, giving them dual purpose in life. Imaginative souls could even envision a bookshelf or a rack for components, all ideas which sound infinitely better than just draping a shroud over the thing and pretending it's not there. Commercialization, please?

[Via CyberTheater]

ILVE introduces VELA rangehood with built-in LCD TV

by Darren Murph posted Oct 29th 2008 at 6:37PM


Not that we haven't seen LCD-equipped rangehoods before, but ILVE's VELA just has that art deco flair that so turns us on. All personal details aside, this here kitchen appliance was designed by Marco Valerio Agretti and features a 4-speed touch control extraction, optional automatic switch-on / speed regulation, all stainless steel construction, a light indicator for filter management and a washable anti-grease filter. Now that you've survived that snore-fest, here's the real details you're after: there's a 10-inch LCD TV built right in there, and with that comes a remote control and an RCA input / output for hooking up your cable box, a DVD player or any flavor of game console. Unfortunately, actual specifications of the TV -- as well as pricing for the entire unit -- are nowhere to be found, but it's pretty safe to assume those who have to ask probably won't be buying. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via T3]

Limited edition Goccia gold speakers exemplify opulence

by Darren Murph posted Oct 14th 2008 at 8:12AM

When it comes to designer speakers, we still place Alex Underwood's speaker buddies atop our list of favorites, but Goccia's glamorous gilded drivers do have a certain sparkle to 'em. The limited edition (1,000) Golden Goccia came as a result of a collaboration with Tecnosolution for the "Una Goccia per un Sorriso" project, and a portion of the profits will reportedly be donated to charities to aid less fortunate children across the world. Each teardrop-shaped speaker is coated in 24K gold, individually numbered and autographed. Curiously enough, an actual price isn't mentioned, though we assume this is one of those "if you have to ask..." type scenarios.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Alex Underwood's speaker buddies take cute to a new decibel

by Darren Murph posted Oct 6th 2008 at 8:08PM


We've seen some pretty unorthodox speaker designs in our day, but we can't recall a set with a cute factor like these. Designer Alex Underwood recently exhibited his aptly-named speaker buddies in London, and understandably, they received a good deal of attention. The child-shaped devices are crafted from expanded polystyrene that can be moved about with ease, and while there's no telling if the audio quality is even close to bearable, we'd say that's hardly the point here.

Pea Speaker concept makes multi-room audio easy

by Darren Murph posted Sep 18th 2008 at 10:21AM


Look, we never said we meant multi-channel, multi-room audio, nor did we imply that these were the real deal, but the Pea Speaker concept would make it mighty easy to fill up to seven (tiny) rooms with audio sans wires. In theory, Lu Le's peas-in-a-pod-like creation would enable each speaker to play back audio that was streamed over Bluetooth, though just one would posses a global volume control. Oh, and unless these spheres are much heavier than they look, we can imagine your kids having an absolute field day.

[Via CyberTheater]

Black and white home theater has no need for vividness

by Darren Murph posted Jun 30th 2008 at 12:57AM


Oftentimes in fanciful home theaters, we can only imagine that the designers spent hours mulling over oh-so-similar hues in order to get the tone just right. As for NC homeowners Ray and Shelley, they ditched the whole stressing process and decided to stick with just two: black and white. As a matter of fact, the entire home (including the swank home theater) is doused in the two hues, with a strict policy of no grays to be found anywhere. In order to offset the immense contrast, they also own a condo in Florida which is decidedly brighter. Still, there's no denying the colors that jump from that gorgeous projection screen, more of which can be seen via the read link below.

John Lewis' Ultimate kitchen combo includes obligatory LCD TV

by Darren Murph posted Jun 23rd 2008 at 10:30PM


While those of us here in America puff our chests out each time we waltz by that LCD-equipped centralpark Connection refrigerator, folks in the UK can get extra prideful courtesy of John Lewis. Although the integrated coffee machine, electric oven, steam oven and 19-inch HD-ready LCD TV can all be purchased separately, they're being (smartly) marketed together to create the "ultimate kitchen combo." The whole shebang will run you £2,246 ($4,363), and not surprisingly, it's the £699 ($1,358) tele that's likely to bring in the most profit. Meat-heads will agree to anything with pixels though, right?

[Via CNET]

ChauhanStudio's Jetsons-esque HAL LCD TV gets real

by Darren Murph posted Jun 13th 2008 at 1:12PM


Alright, so we're not really any closer to determining whether or not ChauhanStudio's HAL LCD TV is headed for commercial production, but we do know this: at least one of these bad boys are real. Yep, the mockup we saw a few months back has somehow made it into reality, though we can't say for sure that there is anything more than rarefied air packed within the glossy white enclosure. Regrettably, specifications are still unknown, but you can peek a shot of the back in the read link below should you be so inclined.

[Via Unplggd]

Conceptual remote could slip right into Bang & Olufsen's lineup

by Darren Murph posted Mar 27th 2008 at 2:57PM


Although we're seriously concerned that this concept wouldn't play nice with our current stack of components, we're still willing to let it into our hearts based on beauty / design alone. Dreamed up by Joris van Gelder, this wannabe Bang & Olufsen remote simply stays put on one's table and controls volume by being lifted up or down and manages channels by sensing when someone flicks their fingers up / down in the middle. Honestly, we can't see this thing gaining traction in all but the art deco sect, but be sure and check out the demonstration video in the read link below before passing judgment.

[Via textually]

Sony debuts tubular, non-directional speaker

by Joshua Topolsky posted Sep 12th 2007 at 10:54AM


Finally, Sony is striving to incorporate its technology into our "everything everywhere" lifestyles with a stereo speaker that matches our fast-paced, Jetsons-esque, 21st century "chill sessions." What are we talking about? Mainly, the company's new non-directional speaker prototype, a thin, tall, acrylic tube with a woofer at the bottom, a mid range "unit" at the top, and a tweeter created through the use of the vibrating, resin cylinder. Apparently, the speaker is capable of projecting sound in a omnidirectional fashion due to it's circular shape and unique speaker placement, though there's no telling how accurately it reproduces Mastodon's harmonized guitars. The speaker is self-powered (i.e., active), and as far as we know, Sony has no immediate plans for release, Stateside or otherwise.

Boynq offers up myriad of artsy speakers, peripherals

by Darren Murph posted Aug 11th 2007 at 5:31PM


It's been a tick since we've seen any randomness from Boynq's labs, but it looks like the firm has worked up quite a number of design-centric speaker stations, iPod sound systems, and superfluous USB-related gizmos of late. Among the standouts are the iCube II (pictured), which sports ten-watts of amplification, an iPod docking port, line-in, dedicated treble / bass controls, and a rather sexy look, too. Additionally, the tooth-shaped Sabre operates much like the aforementioned device but touts twice the wattage and a video output, and the USB-powered Alibi webcam looks an awful lot like a robotic pet of some sort. Do yourself a favor and check out a few more photos of Boynq's zany lineup after the jump.

Continue reading Boynq offers up myriad of artsy speakers, peripherals

Grundig readies spherical Audiorama speakers

by Darren Murph posted Aug 11th 2007 at 1:10PM


We'll admit, we're suckers for just about anything retro, and Grundig has certainly won us over with its forthcoming Audiorama speakers. These spherical gems can be placed on narrow stands, hung around, or sat on an end table, as the 360-degree sound emissions should cover the space adequately. Unfortunately, details concerning the power handling, frequency range, etc. are still under wraps, but those feelin' the vintage vibe can check out a four pack out next February for around €600 ($826).

[Via I4U]

"Slow Dancing" art installation utilizes slow-motion HD

by Darren Murph posted Jul 9th 2007 at 10:22PM


Here's an interesting one. In a wild art installation destined to debut at the Lincoln Center Festival, David Michalek will be utilizing high-definition video and slow-motion effects "to show 43 dancers moving at less than one one-hundredth of their original speed." The dancers were captured at 1,000 frames-per-second, and thanks to the additional slow down, an average five-second clip has been stretched into shorts that run between eight and twelve minutes. The project is slated to be projected on a trio of screens in uncompressed HD in the New York State Theater through July 29th, but if you're a good ways from the Big Apple, feel free to sneak a peek at the (less momentous) video in the read link.




    AOL News

    Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:

    Joystiq
    Download Squad
    The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
    BloggingStocks
    Joystiq Xbox
    Autoblog
    Big Download
    Fanhouse NFL Blog