Hasta La Gadget!

The new Google Nexus 7 is a big improvement over the original with a bunch of additions like LTE and a super high-resolution display – the best in tablets, in fact. And that’s driving a lot of first generation device owners to trade in their old Nexus 7, according to gadget buy-back site Gazelle. There was a 333 percent spike in the number of Nexus 7 tablets traded in compared to the same day last week, for example.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday, that spike was even higher – a 442 percent jump in Nexus 7 tablets happened between the day before Google’s official unveiling of the new model, and the day of. The Nexus 7 trade-in activity spiked so high that it made up nearly a quarter of all trade-ins for non-iPad tablets since the site began accepting them earlier this year.

Wednesday, the day Google made its announcement, was also the biggest Nexus 7 trade-in day at Gazelle to date, beating the next biggest day by 380 percent. That previous record was set when the new Nexus 7 leaked on July 17, which clearly prompted early adopters to take advantage of a small head start ahead of the big reveal.

The news means that Google Nexus 7 owners are probably happy with their devices and eager to grab new ones, by trading in their last-gen devices to fund their purchases, but there’s another stat that tells another side of the story: Gazelle saw no appreciable increase in iPad trade-ins on the new Nexus 7 launch day. That means Google probably isn’t luring iPad owners away from the iOS fold.

It’s probably not surprising to longtime tablet space watchers that the new Nexus 7, with all its apparent merit, isn’t an iPad killer. The Apple camp seems happy where they are, but the tablet market has plenty of room to grow; we’ll see if Google can expand outward, or if it’s mostly eating its own Nexus tail with this new model.

Every detail that emerges about Lars von Trier’s “Nymphomaniac” seems more salacious than the last, and the latest from the highly anticipated film may top them all: A new photo featuring Shia LaBeouf and Stacy Martin engaged in a heated act of passion marks the most graphic image we’ve seen from the movie to date.

The scene comes from the second of the film’s nine chapters, entitled “Jerome,” which boasts this description: “Though love is a shallow feeling in the eyes of the cynical nymphomaniac, young Joe is met by forces penetrating her armoured defences.”

“Nymphomaniac” has several international release dates scheduled in December and January but has not yet nailed down a U.S. premiere. Check out the steamy photo below, courtesy of Vulture, and come back on Friday to see footage from the movie that’s debuting on its website.

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Some toys look like they’re about ready to come to life and stab you. And if Disney has anything to do with it, we’re going to see even more toys with creepy, lifelike faces in the future, thanks to a new technology called Papillion that 3D-prints eyes onto toys, robots, and other interactive characters.

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We’re suckers for Jonathan Adler’s needlepoint novelties, especially his accent pillows. Packed with vintage charm and his signature quirk, they’re just the thing for adding a bit of personality to a space. We’ve been pining after his sea-inspired options like this Needlepoint Seahorse Pillow, but tend to talk ourselves down from the $99 price commitment. Luckily, we’ve stumbled upon a similar pillow that’s a steal.

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How’s this for customer service? J.Crew‘s exalted CEO personally phoned a customer after a ranting email complaint about the retailer’s latest collection.

Yes, really.

In an essay for Forbes, Chris DeRose describes his wife’s brief correspondence with Mickey Drexler, the man credited with transforming J. Crew into the style powerhouse it is today (he’s also had successes at Ann Taylor and Gap). It all began with an email she sent after seeing the fall/holiday collection. Here’s a snippet of Elizabeth DeRose’s initial message to the brand:

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