Cool Hunting

Best of Transport 2007
From the gas-guzzling to the eco-chic, the following are Cool Hunting's favorite alternatives to transporting yourself and your precious belongings—whether for a jaunt around town, cross-country or overseas. Aptera Developed over the past five years, the Aptera, a three-seat automobile that gets 230 miles per gallon, is finally available to reserve. Three-wheeled and pod-like, the Jetson-like automobile is what I thought cars would look like...

Socialight London
First introduced a few years back by a couple of ITP (Interactive Telecommunications Program) students, the cleverly named Socialight, a free service using social networking to deliver localized info to your mobile phone, launched in London today. Like a combination of Dodgeball and Google 411, The service works by geo-tagging places with "stickies" that list the particulars of a favorite bar (for instance), which...

Stratocruiser
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a blimp...no, it's the gorgeous, futuristic-looking Stratocrusier, currently in concept form by Tino Schaedler and Michael J. Brown. Calling it a "lifestyle zeppelin," the duo designed the white airship as the latest offering in luxury travel that refreshes passengers instead of leaving them dry, dehydrated and jet lagged, a consequence travelers have come to expect. The key...

Nüvi 680
A new and improved version of the original Nüvi line launched by Garmin at CES last year, the Nüvi 680 bests the older version with a bigger (4.3 inches) and brighter screen and with real-time info on traffic, gas prices, weather and movie times. Using Microsoft’s MSN Direct network, the system updates routes based on traffic incident and flow reports—a major plus for both...

Hope Forever Blossoming Vases
Packable, mailable, and otherwise generally easy to transport, these plastic vases by the Japanese company Hope Forever Blossoming are held open and stable with water and fold flat when empty, making them as clever as they are usable. Filled with flowers, they make an excellent gift that safely minimizes hassle on subways and in cars. Or, slipped in a suitcase, they add a romantic...

Design Your Self
Blob king Karim Rashid's unique brand of hyper-optimism isn't just about over-the-top design apparently. It's a also a lifestyle. Rashid's new book, Design Your Self: Rethinking the Way You Live, Love, Work, and Play, covers a wide range of topics (from watching porn to closet cleaning) and the super-designer's approach to nearly every mundane task is a rockstar mix of luxury and hedonism. Though...