iPhone Icons As Throw Pillows. New iPillows from Craftsquatch.

Need to rest your head someplace fun and comfy? There's an app... er, pillow for that. A ways back I introduced you to the Social Network pillows by Craftsquatch. Now he's done it again with iPhone pillows. The 12" x 12" pillows are 100% handmade with soft fluffy fleece and a firm filling so they won't lose their shape. Each pillow is $19.99 USD




Buy them in his etsy shop here.

Echoism, Your Left Side Vs. Your Right Side.

Above: one of the subjects in Wolkenstein's photography study of facial asymmetry

Do you have a good side? Most people do. Rarely are faces symmetrical and more often than not, features are misaligned and various facial characteristics make one side of your face appear very different from the other.



I first introduced you to the work of Julian Wolkenstein three years ago. Echoism, a recent project of his, plays with the notion of your own identity as expressed through your features. What do you look like? What are the things that make you look like you? If you are made symmetrical, do you consider yourself more beautiful, less so, or is it just weird? Or is it you at all? Do you have a best side? What is to be said of left and right brain dominance?



The process is a face-to-camera portrait, after which the image is split into a left and a right section, then one side is horizontally flipped and placed against that same side to make up two separate portraits of the right side and left side of a human face.

In photographer Julian Wolkenstein's initial project, the subjects were specifically cast for their individual facial features. They were photographed front to camera and in the same position. They were asked not to express emotions or character.

Below are images from the study:









Echoism is now available for you to try via an online website or with an app you can buy in the itunes app store. If you've got a built in camera on your computer, you can visit the website, have your image immediately taken and upload it to the site.

Echoism.org is a project by artist and photographer Julian Wolkenstein.
via Trendland via Notcot

Science + Sons Releases Phonofone III, Ceramic Amplifier For The iPhone

Science and Sons releases PH III, the third in their series of ceramic amplifiers or loudspeakers for the iPhone.

FIRST BATCH RELEASE - 50 PIECES

Science and Sons is pleased to present the newest member of the family, the Phonofone III.

The Phonofone III is an elegantly designed passive amplifier crafted from ceramic and designed explicitly for iPhone. This clever device amplifies the volume emitted from an iPhone internal speaker roughly 4x (approx. 60 decibels).




The first edition of 50 serial numbered pieces are available for order here, with more to follow soon.

iPhone Compatibility.....Gen 1, 3G, 4G
Weight........................800g (1.75 lbs)
Height...........................27cm (10.6in)
Width............................29cm (11.5in)
Depth............................22cm (8.75in)
Price $195 CAD
Handmade in Canada, 13% harmonized sales tax apply to all Canadian orders.

Phonofone I and Phonofone II

Both are still available. For more info, please contact Science and Sons.

Fun With Skype Screen Grabs By James Callahan.

I figured it wouldn't be long until we began seeing more and more 'art' made from the latest tech apps and devices. We've already seen a wonderful series of illustrated versions of You Tube's most popular videos and seen how the New Yorker Magazine has featured covers created with an iPhone painting app.



Now, UK advertising art director, illustrator and photographer James Callahan has had some fun with screengrabs of his Skype video chats. His ongoing project which he calls Screengrabography is simply his superimposing of screen grabs from Skype chats over stock photos or art.

They are not super impressively composed or even that inventive (men's heads on women's bodies), but they are fun nevertheless and certainly simple enough for almost anyone to do. The results are good for a chuckle. And may just inspire you to start making a few of your own.





Extra points to James' friends Daisy and Joseph for being such good sports.


See James Callahan's portfolio here which includes some very impressive advertising and design work.

What You Need To Know About The New Apple iPhone iOS4

Because MacRumors did such a great job with their live feed of this morning's WWDC Keynote event, I can give you the upshot of the new iPhone iOS4 features, specs, price and availability as well as photos of the slideshow presentation.



I've dumbed it down to some fundamental points and left out much of the developer speak. I hope most of this is clear enough for the layman.

General info:
• iPhone OS is now iOS 4
• 100 new user features
• iPhone 4 powered by Apple A4 chip.

• 32GB of storage, quadband HSDPA/HSUPA
• iOS4 has multitasking, folders, retina display integration, enhancements to mail, camera and photo apps, much deeper enterprise integration and tons of new features
• search engine now includes Bing, Google is still default

• Can view all inboxes for mail:



Battery Charge:

• Bigger battery plus A4 processor, 40% more talk time.
• 7 hours talk time.
• 6 hours of 3G browsing,
• 10 hours of WiFi browsing,
• 10 hours of video.
• 40 hours of music.
• 300 hours of standby



External Design:

• 9.3mm thick, 24% thinner than current iPhone.
• Glass on front and rear with stainless steel running around the side.
• comes in white or black
• external buttons, volume up and down, mute, front facing camera. Micro-sim tray, Camera with LED flash on back.

• Top has headphone jack, second mic for noise cancellation and sleep/wake button.
• Bottom has mic, 30 pin connector, and speaker.
• 3.5" display, same size, 960x640.

Display:

• 326 ppi. 800:1 contrast ratio also 4x better than 3GS. Uses IPS technology for superb color and wide viewing angle.
• Retina Display has 78% of the pixels of an iPad right in the palm of your hand.

• Apps automatically run full size but look even better because iPhone OS automatically renders text and controls in higher resolution.
• Text is sharper


Gyroscope:
• iPhone 4 has a Gyroscope.

• Gyro makes rotation much better, smoother, faster.
• Gyro joins 4 other sensors, accelerometer, compass, proximity and ambient light sensors.


Camera:

• 5 megapixel camera
• Backside illuminated sensor.

• 5x digital zoom in camera app and tap to focus with LED flash.

• Camera records HD video

• Now has iMovie for iPhone.

• Record, edit, and share HD video right on your phone.

• LED flash can stay on during video recording
• One-click sharing.
• Can export to 360p, 520p, and 720p.
• Tap to focus video with built-in video editing. 720p at 30fps.

Organization/ Folders:
• Folders can be renamed and go in the dock.
• Automatically names folder based on category of apps inside.

Stores/Downloads:
• Three stores on the iPhone: iTunes, iBooks, and App Store.



iAds:

• iAds for one simple reason: To help developers make free and low-cost apps for users.

•Animated just like a flash ad.
•When you tap on it, it fills the screen or you can hit a button in the top left to close the ad.

Face Time (Video calling):


• iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 video calling, anywhere there is WiFi (Apple calls this "FaceTime".)
• Apple will ship tens of millions of FaceTime devices this year so there's going to be a lot of people to talk to and devices that work.
• FaceTime WiFi only in 2010, quote "Need to work a little bit with the cellular providers."
• Portrait and landscape mode is supported.

• Both front and rear camera can be used, switching is easy, All you have to do is make a phone call. No set up required.

Cost and availability:



• iPhone 4 in 88 countries by end of September.
• Canada not in initial batch of countries that will get iPhone 4 on launch.
• iPhone 3GS will be $99.
• On sale June 24th.
• Pre-orders begin June 15th
• Up to 6 months of early eligibility for an iPhone
• AT&T is making an "incredibly generous" upgrade offer.
• Price with 2 year contract: $199 for 16GB model, $299 for 32GB model.

• iOS4 upgrades for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G (with not all features supported), and iPod touch (again with not all features and no first generation) for free on June 21st.

• colored cases available for 29$


Worldwide release info - July for following countries:



Apple's video:


Learn more