Via the splendid @johnoxton

I was chuffed to bits today to see that my blog has been added to Media Queries; a site collecting the best examples of responsive design from around the web.

I also received my Kindle today, and thought I’d try this site in the ‘experimental’ Kindle browser. I was surprised by how well the browser renders websites, and amazed that it could happily handle media queries reformatting my blog in portrait and landscape views. Cool.

It says so much about the obsessively beautiful design of Apple products that even the backs of their products look this good.

Via Simple Desks.

I have to admit it does to me. Of late I’ve become more and more aware of how frequently I check various social networks and apps on my iPhone.

Oddly I’ve found it’s the times I didn’t have the phone with me that made me most aware of when I would have checked it. It’s almost unconscious; standing in a queue – reach for the iPhone, waiting for the kettle (at work not home) to boil – reach for the iPhone. I have clearly formed a habit.

On a recent day out I hadn’t charged my iPhone and so my use of it was dramatically limited. My wife commented that it was “nice to have me there” and I could only agree – it was much more relaxing and rewarding to fully “be there“.

But I digress. I clearly fully recognise the the syndrome this advert describes, but I don’t see how it works to promote a new smartphone. I’ve read that it is targeted at non-smartphone users, but don’t see how will highlighting behaviour that is a potential annoyance to that audience will encourage them them to buy a smartphone, and quite possibly become a heads-down smartphone user.

That being said – it is a great ad.

These ceramic speakers are just beautiful. Designed by Joey Roth and created using simple materials including cork, aluminium, cast iron and of course ceramic they are wonderfully minimal and stylish. Whilst their form is beautiful their function is of equal importance:

Typical speakers are designed to play even the most compressed or poorly recorded track. They gloss over the details that give high-resolution music its depth. The Ceramic Speakers’ custom-made drivers, porcelain and cork enclosures, and Tripath amplifier reveal every nuance. They will show the difference between lossless and mp3 files, and will unlock vinyl’s richness.

I wish I had the space for a set of these on my desk.

Via Minimalissimo

Now I will admit to being out of touch with all mobile phones except those from sunny Cupertino so I was gobsmacked to find that the Satio includes a 12 megapixel digital camera. 12 megapixels in a phone – that’s incredible.

However as we all know there is so much more to digital camera quality than mere megapixels, but Sony Ericsson have always had great cameras so I’m really looking forward to trying out the phone and its camera.

The display is monochrome (gasp) but also transparent as demonstrated in this video:

The keyboard is invisible until activated; so half the phone is transparent while the other half is invisible.

Amazingly the Xperia Pureness is an HSDPA phone and has a web browser, although I’m not sure how good the browsing experience will be on a mono transparent screen, but then again I guess that’s not the point. The Xperia Pureness doesn’t even have a camera, but it does have access to a concierge service à la Vertu.

The only problem…the price: £600 and only from Selfridges.

It seems that Psion and Intel have reached an “amicable agreement” and that

Neither party accepted any liability. In light of this amicable agreement, Psion has agreed to waive all its rights against third parties in respect of past, current or future use of the ‘Netbook’ term.

I don’t know what deal was done, but I don’t feel that this rather grubby episode has done anything but tarnish Psion’s already diminishing reputation. Shame.