Thumm by Pana Objects

An eye-pleasing beech wood iPhone dock that amplifies your tunes acoustically, with no plugs required

While many of the latest speakers for smartphones rely on highly specialized tech like Bluetooth or Airplay connectivity, a group of Thai designers chose to strip it all down to one material—beech wood. The result is a simple, beautiful speaker that uses natural acoustics, not circuits. Bangkok-based Pana Objects, a studio started by seven friends, embraces wood—unpainted, left as close to its natural state as …

Chevrolet + Beats Music

The Detroit-based automaker announces 4G LTE and a partnership with the streaming music service for 2015

Coinciding with the start of SXSW 2014, Chevrolet announced an exciting partnership with Beats Music, the newest name in the streaming music service game. While in Austin earlier this week with Chevy, we had the opportunity to see just how the service will be integrated into the in-car entertainment system in select 2015 models starting this summer—if, that is, summer ever comes. To enable the …

StreamMeUp

The SXSW Interactive installation that allows users to explore alien worlds through Kinect

While a good majority of panels and projects at this year’s SXSW Interactive centered around the NSA and government surveillance, interactive installation StreamMeUp offered a lighthearted alternative to the discussion on where advancements in technology can lead us as a society. Created in collaboration between Microsoft Studio and an impressive team lead by artist and acting Technical Director James George—with art direction and design by …