<div>Finding your soulmate might be easier than finding that perfect piece of metal (or glass) that brings you terminal joy. Assimilating the tangible benefits of cutting-edge tech with indispensable human craftsmanship and design, this choice crop of gadgets will certainly alter your lifestyle, if not your life!</div><div> </div><div><strong>Vertu Signature Touch</strong></div><div>Placing your phone on the dinner table may just be the modern form of intimidating your business associate or client. Restaurants are more open to them over revolvers and if they cost as much or more, it just raises the stakes. Vertu has been crafting fine communication pieces for over a decade and their latest creation is the Signature Touch. Swathed in Jet calf leather, grade 5 titanium and ceramic, it’s quite unlike any other smartphone. But the exclusivity extends to its insides as well. Ringtones created by The London Symphony Orchestra, camera certified by Hasselblad, sound tuned by Bang & Olufsen... the list of A-listers goes on. Of course, the legendary Vertu Concierge service is standard so you can order a set of flamingos in Faridabad or Bengali sweets in Berlin. Over the years, these services have reached a high stage of curation and can get you front-row access to many VIP events, simply by virtue of ownership. The Achilles’ heel of Vertu has always been its ageing operating system but with the latest version of Android KitKat running through the speediest Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, this has been addressed too. This may just be the ultimate symbol of personal accomplishment. <img src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=b59a5956-4535-41da-b226-629e5bae44db&groupId=222861&t=1417430920170" width="600" height="452" alt="" /></div><div> </div><div><strong><br /><br /><br /></strong></div><div> </div><div> </div><div><strong><br />Dyson Cinetic Vacuum Cleaner</strong></div><div>Yes. You read it right. The Dyson Cinetic is a vacuum cleaner but unlike no other. James Dyson is obsessed with making our daily lives more elegant and simple, by engineering solutions. The Cinetic (pronounced kinetic) is the pinnacle of this philosophy. Imagine a vacuum cleaner that requires no filter change and suffers from no loss of suction power, ever. It’s a tall claim but Dyson does it by employing high-frequency vibrating rubber tips that never get clogged and a very fine mesh that blows air out while trapping the dust in a one-touch emptying bin. Various attachments, again designed by Dyson, work effortlessly on hard or carpeted surfaces without the user ever having to change any mode or switch between brushes. This level of engineering isn’t ordinary and nothing that Dyson designs, really is. This may not exactly be a Monet but if you ever wanted to flaunt a piece of engineering art in your living space, this is it.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Porsche 911 Office Chair</strong></div><div>Any and every Porsche owner would vouch for the car’s iconic status as being one of the primary reasons behind the purchase. It’s the ultimate example of the car and owner becoming one unit whether it’s during driving, washing or just sitting in the cabin and admiring the exquisite build quality. But if you want to keep the dream alive, you also have to keep working and the Porsche Office Chair enables you to do both at once. It’s made from the same specifications and materials as the 911 Carrera Sport and even features electronic backrest adjustment so you never feel out of place while plotting those PowerPoint presentations. The embossed emblem on the headrest reminds intruders that this is, indeed, the boss’s throne and sends a signal to keep out. Well, not literally but it does have a presence that reeks of power and performance, which in traditional Porsche Design style, doesn’t come cheap. </div><div> </div><div><strong>Samsung VR Headset</strong></div><div>While the world waits for virtual reality to become a reality, Samsung has gone ahead and announced its first commercial product that should go on sale by the end of the year! Cleverly collaborating with Oculus, the pioneering company that gave the world the first peek at Tom Cruise’s headset, Samsung has brought the cost down dramatically too. By using its flagship Galaxy Note 4 as the primary display, using all of its 5.7-inch real estate and Super AMOLED 1440x2560 pixels, the sensor-packed headset tracks your head movement across all axes and immerses you in a 96-degree viewing angle, covering your entire field of vision. Games, movies or navigating through a new city virtually, it all takes on a whole new dimension. The first gaming title out will be a World War II epic named Bandit Six and will let you gun down bombers. So if you’re on the fence regarding the purchase of a Galaxy Note 4 as your next smartphone, now you have another very compelling excuse. </div><div> </div><div><strong>Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon Ultrabook</strong></div><div><img src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=5c840961-3366-4212-b301-06f6c9bff2aa&groupId=222861&t=1416922193039" width="600" height="326" alt="" />People in the know, know. There is no substitute for a ThinkPad, especially when it comes to workhorse-like ethics and a keyboard second to none. If God had to type a memo, it’s pretty obvious this is the machine he would put his thoughts down on. The X1 Carbon Touch is an improvement over the 14-inch ultrabook from 2013 and now adds a touchscreen and an all-glass trackpad, just like the MacBooks. Thanks to the carbon fibre top and internal bracing, this is as light and stiff as Air, pun intended. Intel Core i7, fingerprint sensor security, Lenovo RapidCharge that gives you five hours’ work time on a 35-minute charge are just some of its headlining features. But perhaps the one that is the most revered is its yogic posture of 180 degrees — it makes all the difference when you’re working while on a flight, in bed or while you are doing yoga too! This may be too pricey for a Windows 8 laptop but then, it has no peers and that’s what makes a ThinPad. </div><div> </div><div><strong>Estelon Audio Extreme X</strong></div><div>Putting Estonia on the map aren’t just their beauty pageant entries. If you’re into serious hi-fi, really serious, then take a look at Estelon Audio. They’ve been awarded multiple times for their blend of technical brilliance and handmade craftsmanship but the Extreme is indeed their most extreme expression of breaking the loudspeaker norm. Built entirely of a marble composite, the 250-kg heft of each speaker allows it to focus all its sonic energy into the room and not waste it radiating internally. The two-piece cabinet keeps the twin 10-inch woofers separate from the height-adjustable high-frequency module that houses the midbass, midrange and tweeter. A motorised column allows the listener to select between five preset positions and lock in the most appropriate given the listening position and acoustic conditions. Available in exotic finishes like copper, gold, dark silver and black lava, this is a statement piece that is more than just a conversation starter. It may, in fact, just end any conversation as it starts playing!</div><div> </div><div><strong><img src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=000da114-a7c7-48e2-ab0b-de1267d78796&groupId=222861&t=1416922196288" width="600" height="400" alt="" />Samsung 110-inch UHD TV</strong></div><div>Television has been with us for decades now but it has finally come of age, packing in more pixels and going on a stricter diet than ever before. The result is Ultra HD (4K) resolution screens. Take the Samsung S9 for example. It’s a huge slab of glass measuring 110 inches across and is the absolute state-of-the-art in terms of viewing technology. The integrated stand also hides speakers along the sides and the top and the easel-like form makes it look as timeless as any living room gadget can get. Obviously, if something looks so stunning when it’s switched off, it better look better when it’s on. The S9 is certainly equipped with the ammo to bawl your eyes out with detail. Local dimming, UHD upscaling, ultra clear panel, wide colour enhancer are just some of the terms you’ll find coming your way if you get serious about bringing this beauty home. The most underrated feature is the Samsung EVO Kit, which allows you to upgrade the TV to new future standards and interfaces. There isn’t a big library of 4K content yet but if ever you wanted to get future-ready in style, this could be your ticket to anti-obsolescence. </div><div> </div><div><strong>Hasselblad Lunar Limited Edition Compact Camera</strong></div><div>The Swedes know a thing or two about style and, as it turns out, even about photography. Hasselblad was the camera of choice for Nasa during the Apollo mission, so your picnic in the park shouldn’t break it into a sweat. The Lunar is the most luxurious compact system camera you can buy. Understanding the tangible bond between the photographer’s hand and the camera grip, Hasselblad offers the Lunar in a choice of grip finishes, which include black or brown leather, carbon fibre, olive wood or mahogany. The cases and straps are all sewn from the finest Italian leather, so you won’t have to worry about a rash, ever. Though it’s built on the back of the highly acclaimed Sony NEX-7, Hasselblad has modified the aesthetics, ergonomics and retained all the good bits of the Sony. It captures a massive 24 MP image and shows up the preview on a 3-inch pivoting screen. It lets you shoot a bat in darkness with its ISO 16000 upper limit. Usable with a wide range of Sony’s E-mount lenses, the real reason why you would want to buy one of these is for the heart, not the head.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Ultrasone Edition 5 Headphones</strong></div><div>Many people are serious about music but a minuscule percentage is serious about the quality of music they hear on the move. Germany’s Ultrasone is on the path to changing that. Or at least do what it can to the best of its abilities. The Edition 5 is one of its top headphones and one that was years in the making due to a special funnel-shaped arrangement of the driver. Unlike regular headphones, Ultrasone likes to mount the drivers off centre in the ear cups, thereby creating a much more three-dimensional spatial feel, more akin to high-end loudspeakers in the room. Partnered with its proprietary S-Logic EX technology, the Edition 5 aims to provide the same resolution and effect as recording studio monitors. Using materials like titanium drivers, moor oak for the ear cups, Ethiopian long-haired sheep’s leather for the ear pads and headband, the limited edition run of these headphones means only 555 lucky owners will ever be able to experience sound the way it was meant to be. Give those packaged iPhone earbuds a rest now. </div><div> </div><div><strong>B&O A9 AirPlay Speaker</strong></div><div>The BeoPlay A9 is a visual statement. To some, it may resemble a mobile telecommunications tower, to others it could be an oversized smoke detector, but to no one does it look ordinary or affordable. The distinct aluminium frame is typical B&O and the white or black fabric can be ordered in mind-bending prints too! Perched on its optional tripod stand, it looks like a mini-sputnik but it is B&O’s biggest wireless speaker that works via AirPlay or DLNA. Don’t lament the lack of Bluetooth support, the sound quality via AirPlay is just as good if not better and the visual drama of partnering this with a non-Apple device just wouldn’t be the same now, would it? Powered by a trio of amplifiers, a three-way speaker system is cleverly hidden inside the sphere of sound and no part or design detail is non-functional. Even the handle at the back doubles up as the bass-reflex port while the row of tiny dots across the top edge works as a touch-sensitive volume control. </div><div> </div><div>(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 15-12-2014)</div>
