Invented by photographer Jamie Beck and graphic artists Kevin Burg, the cinemagraph has become the darling of the online marketing world, as evidenced by recent promotions for everything from films to fashion. More engaging than a static photo, yet more artful than the animated GIF, the cinemagraph is proving to be more than a passing fad. And, now, thanks to a number of apps, anyone can make one.
Cinemagram: Apps like Viddy and Socialcam are starting to find an audience, but video sharing has yet to attract the numbers of photo sharing. Might it be that people find videos a little too real to share? Cinemagram may be a happy medium between the two genres. The iOS app can convert a brief video clip into an even more fleeting, two-to-three-second cinemagraph, complete with flattering filters, which can be shared within a social stream. It has a long way to go before it catches up to The $1 Billion App, but with one million users after launching just six weeks ago, it seems to be on track.
With the success of high performance headphones like Beats by Dre, consumers are gravitating towards premium headsets for richer audio experiences. It follows, then, that several innovative companies are pushing the envelope by working to meet the needs of various niche markets. These new products will satisfy the discerning demands of even the pickiest, or just style-minded, audiophiles.
Spin Doctor: The Spin Doctor is an MP3 player/turntable hybrid headphone meant for music fans seeking to replicate the remixed tunes played at their favorite clubs. Creator Victor Declety fashioned the interactive headset to mimic the DJ experience, with a scratch-able, turntable-like dial on one side and a 4-axis directional button for controlling samples that have been stored on the device’s embedded SD card on the other. The prototype of this concept product curiously features Beats by Dre branding—an audio designer’s version of a vision board, perhaps? Should this portable nightclub go into production, users will be able to hit the dance floor without ever leaving the couch.
Innovative gadgets and accessories designed to maximize people’s non-waking hours give those who burn the midnight oil new ways to feel rested despite limited slumber time. More recently, though, sleep technology has extended to encompass a new type of shut-eye product: the dream control app. These dream weavers purport to get sleepers through the night in ways never before thought possible.
Yumemiru: The Yumemiru (translation: “see the dream”) iPhone app puts people in the proverbial director’s chair when it comes to their dreams. Before going to sleep, users can essentially script the images they’d like to see while sleeping, from among eight different fantasy scenarios (including, ‘flying in the sky’, ‘romance’, and ‘becoming rich’) designed to stimulate the astral plane. Users run the app in their phone’s background, where it plays sounds programmed to trigger the specified illusion. Of course, the app’s roots lie in advertising—it was created by Japanese agency Hakuhodo’s Future Technology Works department—so don’t be surprised if you awaken yearning to buy something random.
A recent rise in appreciation of street art – as seen in film, in art books, and even on museum walls – has encouraged connoisseurs to seek worthwhile works outside of traditional galleries and exhibitions. Because few are likely to stumble upon an authentic Banksy mural in their everyday life, a crop of new apps has emerged to help users uncover works of public art in their respective cities.
Street Art London: With the Summer Olympics mere months away, London is finalizing preparations for an impending influx of athletes, tourists, and press. For summer travelers who seek a diversion outside of the stadiums, the Street Art London app for iPhone offers a comprehensive map of the metropolis’s vibrant outdoor art scene. This virtual guide features more than 280 urban art installations, including works by renowned graffiti artists like Banksy, Obey, Pablo Delgado, and Eine. The app’s Map Mode, which uses GPS functionality to plot and track users’ locations in relation to street art sites, is sure to prove particularly useful among visitors who are unfamiliar with the Tube.
When Google unveiled the prototype for its Project Glass initiative last week, it became clearer than ever that technology is still being fashioned to accommodate needs that many don’t yet realize they have. And while it’s hard to envision folding one’s iPhone in half, the bitter experience of damaging expensive gadgetry is inspiring companies to design devices made of more pliable materials.
LG EPD E-Reader: For traditionalists, standard e-readers don’t compare to turning the pages of a paperback. LG, having taken note, is launching the world’s first plastic electronic paper display (EPD) for e-books. The flexible tablet can bend as much as 40 degrees from the center, is one-third the thickness and one-half the weight of an average glass display, and mimics the look and feel of traditional newspapers and books. Especially beneficial for readers with fumbling fingers, the durable six-inch device was put through break and scratch testing with a urethane hammer, withstanding repeated hits and a five foot drop. Of course, the abuse of a dog or toddler may be another story.
