Hasta La Gadget!

Fans of emoticon will love the Kaoiro from designers gung, a seven belt ink stamp that you can use to make two thousand face symbols.

“Kaoiro” (顔色) literally means “facial expression” and this kind of stamp gives you plenty of opportunity to “make faces” at your colleagues in the office! It’s not just a fun gimmick, though, since we think this is a pretty superior designer product too, and each one is handmade.

This also reminds us of the emoticon face stamp we blogged about way back in summer 2008. Now all we want is someone to come up with an emoji stamp to replicate all those cute symbols adorning Japanese emails and blogs.

The Kaoiro emoticon stamp is available from the Japan Trend Shop, priced $51.

How does technology a half-century old manage to be this sexy? We’re not certain. But this one-of-a-kind, handmade retro television — which seemingly combines an old desktop lamp and a giant magnifying glass — definitely tugs at our heartstrings. With a 5.5-inch monochrome CRT screen and no inputs to speak of, you won’t be watching Blu-rays on this set, and its PAL standard and 220V plug mean non-Europeans might not be bothered to try. Still, for an old over-the-air TV, it’s remarkably full-featured, with knobs for volume, band (VHF-L / VHF-H / UHF), brightness, contrast and V-sync, and we can’t get over its clean, handsome design. If your Nixie tube collection is getting lonely, check out the auction at our source link; bidding starts at €300.

[Thanks, Alex]

Unicat retro TV channels the 1940s, bidding now underway originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been months in the making, but CScout Japan is pleased to announce its new project, archiTokyo, an exclusive six-night immersive experience in Japan’s top contemporary architecture and design.

Noted international photographer and writer Roland Hagenberg, author of “20 Japanese Architects”, this July will be guiding a select pool of guests into Japan’s dazzling sites and architectural secrets. The delegation will take in major public buildings, offices and department stores — but also private residences designed by star architects, unusual urban spots, and street-level observations.

[Left, O House by Jun Aoki and, right, Roland Hagenberg with Sou Fujimoto.]

Unlike any other group visiting Tokyo, archiTokyo doesn’t stop on the sidewalk. Hagenberg will lead guests inside private homes for unique glimpses into how you actually live in amazing architecture, as well as arranging intimate opportunities to meet with major architects in their studios and at their projects. The concept is to provide global architects and enthusiasts the opportunity to connect on a personal level with the scene in Japan, promote exchange, and be able to explore the country in a way no other group ever has.

Japanese architecture is a dizzying contrast of the ancient and the modern, and archiTokyo traverses this whole spectrum. Hagenberg will escort you through Tokyo’s contemporary cityscape and then down to the calm and tradition of Kyoto where the group will meet designers, cultural leaders, and experience ancient structures up-close.

[Left, the Mineral House by Yasuhiro Yamashita and, right, Jun Aoki’s Louis Vuitton store on Omotesando.]

With SANAA founders Ryue Nishizawa and Kazuyo Sejima’s recent Pritzker Prize honor, there has never been a better time to get closer to the world-leading architecture that comes from Japan.

The experience runs July 12-16 for a limited number of places. For details and inquiries, visit archiTokyo.com.

[SANAA’s Ryue Nishizawa, Pritzker Prize-winning architect, gives a CScout Trend Tour an intimate look at his Dior Building design.]

It might not change the world, but it won’t be for lack of trying. Plus Minus Solar has designed what it’s calling the LED Solar Pebble, a multifaceted device that requires just a pinch of sunlight (or maybe gobs of it, actually) in order to generate artificial light. And charge your arsenal of gizmos. It’s engineered to be built at a low cost and used in developing nations, but unfortunately there’s no confirmation on what exactly it’d charge. ‘Course, it’s just a concept as of now, so we’re guessing a micro-USB and mini-USB socket could be tossed on by whatever manufacturer would be kind enough to get this to a production line. Right, prospective manufacturers?

Solar Pebble lamp doubles as a gadget charger, world changer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 05:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s a fantasy come true for the avid nerd / traveler, but unfortunately for us, it’s but a concept in its current form. Syracuse’s own Rahul Mahtani and Yofred Moik have dreamed up Google Envelopes, and if brought to production, this might just make the USPS as relevant as it was during the heyday known as 1985. Put simply, the solution would involve a new ‘Send Envelope’ method of passing along a note penned in Gmail; when pressed, you’d get a printout of the message along with a specially crafted envelope, the latter of which really makes this idea shine. The envelope itself would be a Google Maps representation of the quickest route to transfer said message from you to the recipient if roadways and kayaks were used in place of fiber and coax, giving the receiver a crucially awesome keepsake each time you dropped him or her a line. Oh, and having an ‘Avoid Tolls’ option would just totally put it over the top — even if were relegated to beta.

[Thanks, Yofred]

Google Envelopes turns Gmail into snail mail, wraps it in precisely routed Maps printout originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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