A Marc Newson designed mobile phone, the Talby, made its debut recently at a Japanese trade show . The design is aesthetically forward and fun, but I question how usable the product will be. A recent ZD Net Japan article gives the review (if you don’t speak Japanese there are still some good pictures).
A recent story in the New York Times points out that the hottest gadgets originate in Japan and take many months to make it over to the States, if at all. Duh. The most useful parts of this article, however, are the links to www.dynamism.com and www.japan-direct.com. Both sites specialize in distributing the latest and greatest from Japan.
The MCA Chicago is featuring work from Hiroshi Sugimoto, a Japanese photographer. Sugimoto’s blurry perspective on architecture is sublime. The installation was also designed by the artist and is among the most intriguing presentations of photographs that I have ever experienced.
