Nexus One: Phone

Google released its first consumer product, the Nexus One cellphone, this afternoon.

All I have to say is WOW!!!

This thing is the first legitimate competitor to Apple's iPhone to come along, in like, FOREVER!

My worship at the temple of iPhone is well documented, so I will just share with you those things about the Nexus One I find to be superior to iPhone. All of which will require are return volley from the folks in Cupertino, Ca, or they will see mass defection. I really think these features are that strong!

• Maps - beyond just finding an address, you are afforded the choice of turn-by-turn navigation to your destination, via animated map or Googles eye-level, satellite-enabled "Street Map." This feature boggles the mind, as you cannot accidently bypass your destination when the map on your phone is showing you a realtime photograph as you drive by.
  
• Photos - Clustering tools allows for creating  and sharing entire albums, all within the application.
  
• YouTube - share with social media sites without leaving the application. Also rate videos and comment while video is in "play" mode.
  
• Voice-to-Text - perhaps the holy grail of features for the Nexus One. Allows you to post text messages, twitter and Facebook updates by SPEAKING into the phone, as opposed to typing. Also has ability to convert voicemail into text, for forwarding or storage. BANANAS!
  
• Noise-Cancellation - the phone has an automatic noise cancellation feature, for when you are talking outdoors. This feature allows you to save your voice because 85% of all background noise is eliminated when you are on the phone.
  
• Camera - the Nexus One has a 5 MP camera, which dwarfs the 3.2 MP of the iPhone. But the real differentiator is the pre-installed LED flash. No more dark photos, ever.
  

There are also rumors of the Nexus One having a 1 Ghz processor, which would mean it had half the computing heft of a GREAT desktop computer, only packed in a tiny cellphone. This account for the reports of the phone being fast at an asinine level.

 

Each of these features are demonstrated at the Google website I have linked to at the bottom of this post. 

I cannot wait to see what Apple's reply will be, what it has to be! It is competition that brings out the best in everyone. Magic had Bird, America had Russia, lions have hyenas, Crystal had Alexis and now, apparently, the iPhone has Google's Nexus One.

More info at Google.

Oliver J. Benjamin: Suits

Oliver J. Benjamin is an actual person. Yes, his eponymous shops and label bear the distinct qualities thought to be lost to a bygone era. However, for the past twelve years he has executed the creation of bespoke menswear at the highest level possible.

Mr. Benjamin's Ready-to-Wear, of which these are all examples, is on par with most everyone's custom work and his bespoke is unparalleled .

No stores stateside, though when in London, Mr. Benjamin will be happy to see you . . .by appointment.

More info at Oliver J. Benjamin.

L'Objet: Housewarming Gifts

It's time to start visiting friends at their new homes, or catching up over dinner on all the the post-holiday goings on. 

Do not arrive empty-handed!

L'Objet has lots of great options, but I especially like their candles, which come in an array of decorative jars.

More info at L'Objet.

Charles Fradin: Stationary

Charles Fradin stationary has steeped into the massive void created by Mrs John L. Strong going under in 2008. 

Everyone from Oprah to Andy Rooney swears by the product. And with the ability to custom order note cards with enough paperweight to require crust on the edges, I am sold!

Charles Fradin's range is impressive, with:

Folded Note Cards

Flat Cards

and the most difficult paper product to find on God's Green Earth, 

Personal Library Book Liners

Don't walk, RUN!

More info at Charles Fradin Home

Aram for Waterford

Michael Aram's collection for Waterford can be proclaimed a triumph. 

Though I am on board with those that prefer the segment of the collection offered in metal, which is what Mr. Aram is known for, the crystal pieces are not unsightly, just a bit unimaginative.

From the Cocktail Shaker (pictured above), to the Nut Bowl,

Covered Ice Bucket

or "Wood Grain" Cocktail Tray

I find Aram's "Jaipur Collection," well, intoxicating.

More info at Waterford

Stelton:Housewares

Stelton "gets" home.

The Danish company is at the forefront of those rethinking all the little necessities we rely on at home.

Yes, I love their "Classic" line most, with it's nod to the best of Art Deco design. 

However, Stelton is no one trick pony. 

Their grasp of  modernity is evident in this fruit bowl,

The Future is represented in their re-rendering of the ice scraper for your car

and in a nod to the Now, the best looking eco-shopper on the planet.

More info at Stelton, or Bloomingdales.

Driving Shoe: Florio

The Florio Driving Shoe from Kurt Geiger comes in 8 color-ways,

retails for $125 with shipping

and is already on its way to my house for heavy rotation on afternoons this Spring and Summer.

More info at Kurt Geiger.

GasCase: Luggage

This may be the very last thing a responsible member of society should show up to an American airport with . . . but if you are overcome by the temptation to stick your thumb in the eye of the entire TSA, we completely understand.

The $140 GasCase has already been banned (for air and rail travel) in two European countries, and editorial boards have taken the recent attempted terrorist attack in Detroit to reexamine the suitability of the luggage.

Is it worth the extra trouble you will surely encounter at airport security? No.

Is it worth writing about? Absolutely!

Volkswagen Breathe: Auto

Chansong Park is asking us to wait until 2038 for his visionary vehicle being produced by Volkswagen, Breathe.

We will all do as he says, with baited breath.

Though the mockup shows three different vehicles, they are all, in fact, one.

Like "Avatar" director, James Cameron, the idea and materials are now available, but the technology for Mr. Park's "Delivery System" has not yet been perfected.

Park's entire idea for his concept revolves around the vehicle's ability to shape-shift, using a rapid temperature controlled gel, that softens with heat and hardens when chilled.

The vehicles will be entirely GPS driven, so no steering-wheel, brake and gas pedals, or rude cabbies are in the plan for Mr. Park's 2038. 

The vehicles also park vertically, so one thinks of an advanced hybrid of I-GO and Segway, meant to available on an as needed basis.

More info in this video:

Fedora: Silas Adler

Soulland's Silas Adler may have created the spring's hottest accessory.

After his father's beloved hat was mauled by a family pet, the designer re-imagined the idea of the classic fedora, with (we think) great success!

Knock-offs are already proliferating along New York's Canal Street, so this can be called a slam-dunk must-have for those cool Spring walks along 5th Ave or Michigan Ave.

Nobody is selling them stateside or on the web, just yet. 

Look for them at Bergdorf by the by the of January.

Overnight: Hermes

Hermes give us the perfect solution to packing for that first overnight with the new "significant other."

Ovni purposely allows for only a bare minimum of items and, of course, provides clues for its owner, so as nothing is forgotten.

More info at Hermes

Hediard is Coming

If you have ever had the pleasure of receiving a gift from this French chain, you'd be clicking your heels in happiness with the news of four boutiques opening stateside.

Hediard sells the freshest coffee, tea, spices, fruit, syrups and preserves (Oh, the PRESERVES!) on the planet. 

Take me at my word.

The four cities have not been announced and, due to the company's growth strategy of penetrating smaller markets first, every hamlet in the country is in play.

More info at Hediard (I have included a translated link).

Nissan Leaf: Auto

Nissan is launching this years most anticipated automobile, the Leaf.

The Leaf is an all-electric vehicle, meaning:

• Absolutely ZERO emissions.
  
• NO GAS, this is not a hybrid.
  
• A virtually maintenance-free car for the life of your ownership.
  

Leaf is a 5 passenger car, can reach 90 mph., drives for 100 miles on a single charge and can be recharged to 80% in 26 minutes at supercharge stations (or 4 hours at home).

This looks to be one of 2010's most exciting product launches.

More info at Nissan Leaf.

GTH: Mario Batali

This site is about decorum! 

Fashion, yes. 

Lifestyle, yes.

Politics, yes.

Society, yes.

However, all these subjects are covered in the context of the practice (or non-practices) of using decorum in our everyday lives.

That said, Mario Batali can GO TO HELL!

When you are invited to the White House, whether to cook or create policy, you rise to the occasion. That means sartorially, as well.

Look at this picture:

Batali WORE CROCS TO THE WHITE HOUSE!

His invitation came as part of First Lady Michele Obama hosting an "Iron Chef" show, one of her favorite television programs, at the Presidential residence. 

Never mind that grown-ups should NEVER wear Crocs, he chose to do so to the most formal address in the United States.

I don't care that he is one of the earliest adopters of the plastic shoes. His thorough disrespect for himself and the occasion is "screamed from the mountaintop" by his choice to followthrough with the offensive addition of shorts and tacky (almost, but not quite matching) socks.

The crime is made made more clear when contrasted with the splendiferously-dressed Alton Brown, who chose the afternoon event to roll out the very best touches of manly fall style touches. Brown touches Classic (bold plaid blazer, polished dark chestnut shoes and burgundy tie), Forward (pink dress shirts are only now being adopted for Autumn) and Solid Tailoring (the pants drape perfectly, the sleeve "peek" perfectly from the jacket).

Next to such an example, only one sentence can be the appropriate one:

Mario Batali, GO TO HELL!

Belkiz: Flat Pack

What kind of product: 

Wins (literally) every award in it's category for product design?

Is so popular in Australia, there have been fights at the beach over them?

Crashed the website of the manufacturer, Belkiz, due to demand (it's still not up)?

Is not available in the States, yet (it's summertime back home)?

Will make you the envy of every parent, period?

The ultra-Green, cardboard, collapsable, tote-able, high-chair from Belkiz.

The best thing? All that envy will only set you back about $35.00, if you can find one by the time it gets warm.

SATC-2: Movie Trailer

Some people say, they're fashionable. I say, you can't wear a football jersey with a tutu.
Some say, they're sexy Cougars. I say, the Stylist's pay took a back seat to the Photoshop guy.
Some say, they're so ahead of the curve. I say, opening a cupcake business is "so 2006!" 
Some say, they should pack up and go away. I say $172 million box-office means, "won't happen!

Last time the "Sex & the City" girls did a movie, I was blessed with the best-dressed weekend of women of my entire life.

I mean that sincerely!

For all the many fold reasons I find these women irrelevant, one thing cannot be denied: Women really took their entire "fashion game" to a whole new level on that Friday and carried through for the entire weekend. 

Well I, for one, cannot wait to see how beautiful you ladies do it this May.

Trailer coming:

Inception: Movie Trailer

What does one do after directing the second-best grossing movie in cinematic history? Well for "The Dark Knight" director, Christopher Nolan, it means taking a break between installations of the Batman franchise and astounding us once more with his movie-making abilities.

After resuscitating the beyond dead Gotham franchise for Warner Brothers with "Batman Begins," Nolan chose to film a side project called "The Prestige." The movie was a financial boon to the studio, which had few "other" wins on it's summer slate that year. 

While not in my top 100 favorite films, I certainly appreciated it enough to have watched it no less then 6-8 times. One of the hallmarks of any movie Mr. Nolan takes on is intelligence; he will never insert some ridiculous plot twist, just to make a story move. The effectiveness of his telling of Batman's origins gave us the okay to lampoon the exploits of Peter Parker, when the next installment (Spiderman 3) hit cinema's the following summer.

Inception stars Leo, which means, no further explanation is needed. 

Trailer coming: