Emily Chang – Designer

In case you didn’t hear, the much-anticipated Apple iPad was announced today.  Some notable points for me:

• New 1GHz Apple A4 processor chip
• Uses iPhone 3.0 OS
• It’s 9.7″ with a 1024×768 resolution
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• Comes with 16GB, 32 or 64GB flash drive
• Choice between Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi and 3G
• Starts at $499 and goes up to $829 for the full config (64GB and Wi-Fi + 3G)
• No built-in camera (would have been great for video chat)

Will I buy one? Tricky. In terms of actual use, I don’t have much need for this first version. I already have an iPhone, MacBookPro and a MacPro Tower. I’m also trying to resist buying another first generation Apple product and wait for the second.  But of course, as an interaction designer, I’ll want to test it and explore the interactions for future projects. I’m also excited to see what design applications are adapted for iPad. OmniGroup has said that they’ll be making their products, including OmniGraffle, available as an app. So, we’ll see ;)

UPDATE: Craig Villamor and Luke Wroblewski extracted 8 minutes of video about the new multi-touch interactions on the iPad that were shown of during Apple’s unveiling.

I like this new solar charger, the P-Flip™ Foldable Solar Power from Denix. It’s foldable, rechargeable and generates up to 8 hours talk time, 15 hours of video or gaming, and 60 hours of music. The design makes it easy as to use as a desktop holder. Costs $79.90 USD.

Via PicoCool

From Siftables, the Amazing Computerized Toy Blocks, Are Coming To a Store Near You (Hopefully Soon):

Sifteo, makers of Siftables, the ingenious cookie-sized computer blocks that play together in infinitely interesting ways, has today officially gone from MIT Media Lab research project to actual company. They’re now open for business, but you’ll have to wait a bit longer to actually get your hands on some. Nonetheless, we’re excited.

Siftables, which you may have already seen featured on PopSci’s Future Of on the Science Channel), are computerized blocks that can communicate wirelessly, sense their orientation and proximity to other blocks, and display an image. Those seemingly simple attributes enable a nearly endless range of gaming and other interactive possibilities.

Siftables blocks can transmit music cues to each other to become musical instruments, display letters or numbers for educational games, or interact with a console to become the controllers for a larger gaming system. By giving physical form to abstract data, the blocks bridge the gap between physical and virtual.

Also see creator David Merrill talking about it at last year’s TED conference.

Having a mellow Sunday with lots of new design magazines and some homemade broccoli and roasted red pepper soup.

I love the personal work of Ji Lee and enjoyed his talk at the 99% conference:

Bored with his ad agency gig and the uninspiring work he was producing, Ji Lee – now Creative Director of Google Creative Lab – decided to take matters into his own hands in 2002. The result was the ad-spoofing Bubble Project, in which Lee placed blank speech bubbles on ads around New York City. The masses responded and the project went viral, gaining Lee recognition and ultimately forwarding his professional career. Here, Lee talks about how he created, financed, and marketed the project single-handedly.

SOMA Magazine has always been one of my favorite culture magazines.  It was a pleasure to meet and chat with Ali Ghanbarian, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of SOMA Magazine. His interests and point of view towards independent art and culture really mesh with mine.

Iconic is a minimal set of icons consisting of 84 marks in raster and vector formats — free for public use.

Lego has released a fun, free application for the iPhone, which lets you transform any photo into a Lego brick mosaic. You can take a new photo with the iPhone camera or use one of out of your library. There are a variety of color filters that you can swipe through and select. Visit the site at legoclick.com or download the app directly at iTunes.