Cool Hunting

Absolut Machines: Absolut Quartet
Absolut Machines is Absolut's promotional initiative that explores where technology meets design in the form of two "machines." Last night we got to check out one, the Absolut Quartet, an interactive multi-instrumental robotic machine. It consists of a marimba played by rubber balls precisely shot from a robotic cannon, a series of spinning wineglasses dampened by robotic fingers and an array of percussive instruments....

Monome
Since the multi-use controller Monome first came out a few years back, it's slowly gained a cult following thanks to its attractive and flexible design. If you're unfamiliar with the device, the Monome is an ultra-tactile, interactive and adaptable MIDI interface that takes advantage of open-source software to manipulate any number of musical parameters. With a pleasing grid-based design, the programmable buttons function as...

mStation Orb
I swear I'm not that big of a nerd, but anything that kind of reminds me of Star Wars is just totally awesome, especially when it happens to look like the Death Star. The Orb from mStation is just that, a sleek and stylish "Made for iPod" desktop docking station/speaker system that, just like the name suggest, is an orb that packs a powerful...

V-Moda Vibe Duo
Not everyone has welcoming outer ears to the standard iPhone earbuds. While we haven't found the perfect replacement, the V-Moda VIBE Duos deliver the best combination of functionality, sound and in-the-ear fit. The VIBE Duos feature the inline mic and button to switch between music and incoming phone calls similar to the Apple iPhone stereo headset. This is a must for smoothly handling unexpected...

USB Cassete Archiver
Whether it's old mix tapes made by exes or an obscure Kid Dynamo album bought before everything went digital, us nostalgic types all have a shoe box or two full of old analog cassette tapes. Every now and again I get the urge to dig back into them, but I don't even have a deck to play them on anymore. The USB Cassette Archiver...

Pacemaker
When one of CH's designers tipped us to the Pacemaker, the world's first hand-held DJ system, (right after we also heard about it when in Europe recently), we knew it was worth checking out. Fortunately for us, we had the chance to experience it first hand when co-founder Ola Sars stopped by our offices earlier this week. In person, the "PSP of music's" look,...