NATIVE UNION MM03i MOSHI MOSHI CURVE

Moshi Moshi by Native Union, is a bluetooth mobile technology aiming to be the centrepoint of communication, and celebrating the simplistic art of talking. Their product list includes a number of well-designed handsets compatible with all bluetooth mobile phones, but this one in particular stands out.

Designed by David Turpin, the Moshi Moshi Curve iDock enhances the capabilities of the mobile phone when not mobile. So it's perfect for your home or office desktop. The iPhone fits into the beautiful high gloss dock for charging, with the wireless handset available for swift automatic pick up. Its streamlined shape revitalises that great feeling of picking up the phone and adds to the experience of talking. It's not just elegant to look at either, with room for two bluetooth devices to connect simultaneously, it can be used for internet calls via your laptop too. And if that's not enough to convince you, there are health benefits too, because as the iPhone itself isn't put against your head, the Moshi Moshi device absorbs 95% of the radiation for you, significantly reducing the exposure to threats of radiation. To be honest, I'd buy it without any of its features at all, I'd love to see this beauty sitting on my desk.

HYPHEN INDIAN STRETCHABLE TIME WATCH

"In India, time is not science but an art. And we know that art can never be rushed." Perhaps a slightly flawed argument, but Hyphen have played with this apparent Indian culture to create this quite humorous and certainly ambiguous timepiece, the ish watch. With numbers fixed vaguely by their positions, the watch is by no means one that is easy to read. But that's the point. And with it made from nice leather and clean silver finish, it makes for a very attractive accessory. It's a rather neat excuse to be fashionably late. Designed by Hyphen, it's now available through the Filter shop.

THE NEW APPLE IPAD

After months of speculation, rumours and raw hope, Apple have finally announced the brand new iPad in all its glory. The third generation model arrives with the expected Retina screen and full HD support, including iSight camera, revamped iLife applications and quad-core A5X processor to make sure it all runs smooth. The new screen is a welcomed addition, and certainly a due one considering the technology was available almost two years ago. With four times as many pixels as last year's iPad 2, the display is quite incredible, squeezing in resolution of 2048x1536, that's 3.1 million pixels in a 9.7 inch area.

It goes on sale March 16th worldwide, along side the iPad 2 which gets a new cheaper price as the 'low end' version. The naming ditches the numbering system, following suit of their iPods and iMacs, which makes more sense really, distinguishing models with generation and year. I am so tempted. Don't be surprised if you see it on my PURCHASES Page soon.

Other announcements at yesterday's event from San Francisco included new Apple TV with 1080p HD support, iTunes 10.6 equipped with full iCloud features, and Japanese Siri. Cool.

AIAIAI PACKAGING BY MUGGIE RAMADANI

Doesn't go as far as a rebranding, but Danish audio design company AIAIAI have entrusted Muggie Ramadani to create new houses for their beautifully made headphones and earphones of modern and minimalist designs. And what a great result. The brand's image remains unchanged, which I reckon has been successful from the start, but it now looks smarter and somewhat simpler, taking attention to the enlarged playback icons over the smaller ones scattered across the box. It's very effective and stands the brand at a refined and further developed stage of their design and quality orientated concept. I'm still representing with my Tracks headphones every day, and haven't noticed too many others being sported around, but this new packaging will for sure attract more eyes to the excellent product it holds.

BRAUN BN0035 CHRONOGRAPH WATCH

Braun, German tech giants who are perhaps most well known for grooming kit and kitchenware, have actually been making timepieces since 1971. And this is the reissued BN0035 chronograph watch. It's beautifully crafted with minimal decoration, featuring a clean black leather strap, stainless steel casing and pure white face. Quality is there too as we'd expect, running with quartz chronograph movement and it's fitted with scratch resistant mineral glass. It looks very simple but holds a sophisticated and elegant presence, that would finish a sharp look brilliantly.

AIAIAI CAPITAL HEADPHONES

Continuing their work with the designers at KiBiSi, AIAIAI yesterday unveiled their new headphone range, Capital, also on display at the Agenda trade show today. Adding to the lightweight Tracks and quality TMA-1s, this new model is set to conquer the harsh usage in the urban environment, inspired by the large cities of the world. And for sure, I use my headphones most when I'm on the tube in rush hour or walking through the rain. The Capital has been made to handle just that, flexible and rugged, made with fibreglass-strengthened nylon and rubber. It promises to provide crisp, clear sounds, whilst protecting it from damage in the city conditions. Sounds exactly like what we typical citygoers have been in need of. Its colour range will be released soon, which I predict will involve vivid combinations from a striking palette. Sounds great.

BLUETREE THEKUBE2

Dubbed as the "smallest touch in the world", this is the second generation of Kube mp3 player by Singaporean technology company Bluetree Electronics. It unsurprisingly takes the form of a small cube, made with an aluminium body and one touch-sensitive sensor. Note this isn't a screen but purely present for player navigation, with touches and swipes allocated for all the necessary controls. If it were to be inevitably compared to an Apple iPod, this would be a Shuffle. Songs are stored on a micro-SD which slots in the back and it's charged via USB, and has a selection of customisable sticker skins if that's your kind of thing. I think the aluminium silver looks great to be honest though. It's currently only available in Singapore, but after going on show at CES 2012 in January next year, it will be on sale worldwide.

LOGICAL ART EMPTY MEMORY

It looks pretty right, this is the new concept of USB sticks by British design firm Logical Art, presenting the everyday mini drive as a piece of jewellery. Made with hand-polished 316 stainless steel, it's an aesthetically pleasing accessory of minimal design, finished with superb quality. It plays on the metaphor of filling the empty space with your memory, very smart and appropriate. They can be stylised as a slick necklace or key chain for instance, and let's be honest, they would look sexy on your Mac.

I was able to see these beauties first hand last night at The Temporium pop up store by Dezeen in Covent Garden at the Seven Dials Christmas Shopping Evening. The store itself was fucking amazing by the way, it's definitely worth a visit or two, open until December 24th. And for sure check out the Empty Memory USB-come-jewellery, they're available from £48.

MONSTER BEATS BY DR DRE COLOUR

I know you love them and you know I loathe them. Either way, it's a fact they're a popular choice of headphones and for the Holiday season, Monster Beats Studios will be available in six new pop colourways as part of their Colour Campaign. A smart introduction for an ever-growing product. Still hate it though.

MONSTER BEATS x FRAGMENT DESIGN

fragment's latest collaboration is with the ever-popular Monster Beats headphones by Dr. Dre. Featuring a white fragment logo on the side, Hiroshi Fujiwara has given the headphones some stripes, which I'm afraid just looks tacky. But then again, the headphones are tacky so I suppose it works. I do love the colourway though, a nice solid blue on grey, with the silver lining around the earpads adding some much needed sleekness. fragment design need to work on a pair of Bose I think, then we are properly talking sound and style.

AIAIAI x FOOL'S GOLD LIMITED EDITION

DJ A-Trak's music label Fool's Gold has launched their collaboration piece with AIAIAI. They've worked on one of my favourite sets of headphones around, the TMA-1, which has been growing in hype of late, and rightly so. The all matte black look has been refined and dashed with Fool's Gold colour through the slick yellow cable. Also with some added technical features, it's a great-looking piece of kit. The TMA-1 was designed with DJs and other professionals in the first place, so sound is assured to be amazing too. What's more, the item is limited to a worldwide number of 2000, and we love a bit of exclusivity.

LEICA D-LUX 5 TITANIUM EDITION

I'm no photographer, but I'm thinking this camera is sweet! The new limited edition Titanium version of Leica's popular D-Lux 5 looks rugged and refined with its titanium-anodised exterior. "Classical elegance meets premium quality materials" they say. Indeed.

It has manual settings to give the user easy control over the exposure and shutter speed, as well as ISO settings from 80 to 12800. I had a crash photography course just the other week where I held an SLR for the first time, and it seems I can make all the pro adjustments as I did there on this sleek little machine too. Less bulky, more style. Its zoom lens has a range of 24-90mm focal length. It even comes with the latest Photoshop software to edit RAW files, as well as a leather case made from Italian cowhide. It's not cheap but it is a great package.

APPLE IPHONE 4S

I thought there would be more significant changes really.

Like, I can get (and have got already) the new iOS with my current phone, the better camera is expected but no remarkable, and a faster processor sounds great, except my phone isn't slow as it is. I think Siri is cool but I feel they've developed an unnecessary function to be honest. I'm never going to chat to my phone. I use it to chat with people. It's a bit weird.

Now, I also thought I wasn't alone with this view, but it turns out many people disagree. 4 million to be precise. 4 million sales in a weekend is fucking mad, like proper unbelievable. I don't think I'll be joining them but I might just go cheer myself up with a new case.

UCS 10TH ANNIVERSARY TIMEPIECE

Japanese select retailer UCS have teamed up with Casio and fragment design to produce a timepiece commemorating their 10th anniversary. Following on from the brand's tradition of anniversary watches as of 2006, they've taken the classic G-Shock DW-5600 and reworked it with one Hiroshi Fujiwara. It's a great piece too, keeping the concept very minimal and yet leaving the simple design with enough intrigue and individuality. The strap and case are black, holding inside it a clean white dial which also features the fragment logo, UCS on the back. The details are found in the limited workspace of the screen layout and positioning, with the monotone colourway helping to emphasise the quality of Casio's iconic watch.

It becomes available mid December in Japan for ¥21000, timed excellently for seasonal gifts. Limited to 2000 pieces, each model is uniquely numbered on the back of the dial, making it even more special.

METAPHYS HAKU IPHONE 4 CASE

This is the new iPhone case by Japanese design concept brand METAPHYS which will be arriving next month. With two material options of stainless steel or titanium, the ultra thin 0.5mm sheild incorporates anti-fingerprint innovation, covering just the right places to protect the iPhone's vulnerable glass and body. Their main point of focus with this slick new product is how the 'case' fits to the device's shape, moulding it into the iPhone as one - essentially, this is how the iPhone should have been designed in the first place so we wouldn't need any protective casing at all. The metal only really adds thickness to the back layer of the phone and it does indeed look appealing, very clean and very Apple.

I'm pretty pleased with how my plastic alkr case is holding up, but admittedly it is rather chunky and my iPhone now isn't too far off looking like one of those 'brick phones' we used to carry. This metal case ticks all the boxes for me, from aesthetics to function and it looks like the perfect product. But the slight problem is its price, coming in at ¥8400. I'll let you do the maths but conversion rates nowadays do us no favours.

UNIFORM EXPERIMENT IPOD BOOMBOX

Minimalistic Japanese designer brand Uniform Experiment have teamed up with Lasonic, experts in all things audio, to bring this ultra cool boombox for the much-forgotten iPod. With the ever-rising popularity of iPhones and iPads, Apple's original MP3 player is probably fading on its way out now, but I'm an iPod Classic owner and I still love the click wheel and the simplicity of how it works. I even occasionally find myself playing Vortex every so often.

Anyways, this media player, set for a Fall 2011 launch, takes a chunky retro boombox appearance, and I genuinely don't think there's anything cooler in the world than an original big ass boombox. Of course though, this one is ready and prepared for today's technology, allowing for iPod connectivity so any tune we own can come blasting out on demand. I've not seen in it action but if those speakers were to bounce and tremble massively to the beat of the music, that would be so awesome.

BOSE COMPANION 20 MULTIMEDIA SPEAKER SYSTEM

For the first time, audio wizards Bose have created a computer speaker system that not only produces room-filling sound sex, but also comes in only two pieces. That is, there is no bulky bass module that is truly massive and surprisingly heavy, a problem I have to deal with. But the all new Companion 20 incorporates TrueSpace® technology which allows for full, wide, natural sound through the two slick desktop units. And if what they claim is true, which to be fair usually is, then it's a top innovation that solves the modern-day pursuit of space and simplicity together with quality.

APPLE OS X LION RELEASE

When Apple properly unveiled Lion to us at WWDC, I have to admit I was impressed with what it had to offer. Then I read an entry on Gizmodo explaining why it wasn't as good as it sounds, prematurely hampering my excitement, despite the article going into such fine details about how many fingers swipe what that I wasn't even sure what it was talking about. But now that I've had a day to use it myself, I want to honestly describe its interface, whilst trying not to be biased by the negative review I had read first.

Except that's very difficult when everything said in that article I agree with.

I do not understand why iCal and Address Book have taken a cheap toy-like appearance, which by the way is unchangeable. It's so horrible, just doesn't fit with the rest of Apple's simple slick looks in silver. Gestures have been featured heavily as one of the main new functions but sadly finger swiping isn't at all consistent across applications. In fact, gestures aren't included at all in iPhoto to navigate between images or between events, nor does it do anything to see my next or previous message in Mail - both really annoying. Mission Control doesn't let you organise your spaces and windows to how you want. Little inabilities like these are so frustrating, making me pissed off with it all despite some great features.

Full screen apps are beautiful, exactly what we wanted. The animation when navigating between them is smart. The absence of the scroll bar makes a huge difference in terms of clutter. But for me, all these positives are completely overshadowed by the flaws I'm afraid. I'd think twice before getting Lion. Maybe three times.

NEW APPLE MACBOOK AIR

So that's their new approach. Light and thin but with no compromises. They've really committed to it too because it looks like the plastic MacBook is no longer available on their store. Fitted with the latest Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, flash storage and hi-res LED screens as standard, it does sound pretty good. And as an owner of the 2.5kg MacBook Pro, I would kill for a powerful notebook that's as portable as this. Of course it comes with the all new OS X Lion too, which I'll write about later once I get accustomed to its interface. Took fucking ages to download and install.

AUDYSSEY LOWER EAST SIDE SPEAKERS

The new LES media speakers from big-sound specialists Audyssey. Now I don't particularly need a new speaker system myself, but these do look impressive. "Inspired by the sights and sounds of New York’s Lower East Side neighborhood, the Lower East Side Media Speakers deliver exceptional clarity, deep bass and balanced sound for movies and music on your computer and media center."

These are the guys behind the audio in IMAX theatres and Jaguar automobiles, and so their technology used there for real powerful big sounds should be incorporated in these desktop speakers. Sounds good. They don't look as slick as they perhaps should, but they are clean and minimal, something the audio world is realising is essential in these modern days.

Priced at a relatively low cost of $199.99, I reckon they're a goer, though I'd have to hear them for myself.