Stylish tech that’ll rev up your fashion cred. By Walter Sim and Ramesh William
LG Prada—LG-KF 900
Why it’s Hot: While
it has its drawbacks, the world of fashion and technology merge with reasonably
satisfying results on this sleek momma. It looks great (the simple, stylish
design is a winner) and comes paired with that five-letter magic word that
spells P-R-A-D-A.
Geek Speak: Boasts a good 5-megapixel
camera. The touch screen experience is great, too. The phone works with the
Prada Link, a Bluetooth watch that displays caller ID and SMS messages right on
your wrist. Comes packed with Wi-Fi, 3G and 60MB of storage.
Best
for: Style conscious tai-tais with lots of free to time to gossip on at
length and brand whores.
$1,188 from LG Concept Store 109 North
Bridge road, #04-39 Funan DigitaLife Mall, 6339-9486.
HP Mini 1000 Netbook—Vivienne Tam Designer Edition
Why it’s
Hot: How can something touted as the world’s first digital clutch, not
be fashion cool? We love the fact that New York designer Vivienne Tam went back
to her roots and slapped a dash of Chinoiserie with strokes of peony blooms in
shades of pink, mauve, lavender and yellow that signify prosperity and good
fortune on this otherwise ordinary notebook. It comes with a red silky sleeve
and slots for you to attach a hand strap—how suitably chi chi.
Geek
Speak: The smallish screen (10.1”) makes it a nifty piece of kit, but
the machine itself doesn’t really pack a wallop. With 1GB ram, a processor speed
of 1.6HZ and hard disk capacity of 60GB, this scrapes the lower end of the
notebook tech specs spectrum. But hey, who cares; after all this curvy babe is a
special edition fashion statement.
Best for: That aspiring,
go-getting fashionable young lass fresh out of university who needs something
handy for work.
$1,099 from Courts, #02-01/02 VivoCity, 1
Harbourfront Walk, 1800-222-6868.
Philips Designer Headphones—SHE9620 and SHE9621 for gals; SHE9550 and
SHE9551 for guys
Why it’s Hot: You’ll find bold
colors of masculine headphones with three band accents in a high gloss casing—a
design that has been consciously chosen to reflect music, mood and style. Best
of all, they features Philips’ angled acoustic design—developed to ensure music
is directly filtered into the ear canal. Sweet!
Best for: Fashion conscious guys and girls who just want to listen to music without
getting their ears pasted.
$49.90 (SHE9620 and SHE9621) and $39.90
(SHE9550 and SHE9551) from Tangs 310 & 320 Orchard Rd.,
6737-5500.
Sony Ericsson T707
Why it’s Hot: It’s hot as hell because
it has a huge visual appeal with its sensual colors, glossy skin, personalized
light settings for different callers and minimalist features.
Geek
speak: A 2-megapixel camera, music player, stereo Bluetooth, FM radio,
personal organizer, USB mass storage, PC syncing, voice recorder, and
speakerphone—so it’s not just a pretty face, its utilitarian quotient is pretty
high, too.
Best for: Stylish women with sense of flair.
The handphone will be out within the month, so keep your eyes
peeled.
Sony Walkman W-Series MP3 Player
Why it’s Hot: It’s
compact; looks fresh; wearer friendly; comes in a vibrant range of colors and is
as a light as dream at merely 35 grams. Let’s face it: It’s hard not to like
something heart-shaped (when not in use) and as quirky as this. Plus, there are
no annoying wires to get in your way—yup, they’ve gone for the all-in-one
MP3player/ear-to-ear assemblage.
Geek Speak: 2GB worth of
space and the option for a quick power zap (three minutes for 90 minutes of
playback, and half an hour for the full 12 hours) when you’re in a rush.
Best for: Joggers and sports types who just want fuss-free
tunes.
$129 from Sony Style, 435 Orchard Road #04-01, Wisma Atria,
6733-1876.
We asked three stylish personalities about tech gadgets that they can’t live without:
Cynthia Chua, owner of House
What are your favorite tech
toys?
My Blackberry Bold and MacBook Air.
What do the
products say about you?
The Blackberry Bold speaks of reliability,
while Apple products have all along been known for their innovation and
creativity. The MacBook Air is wafer-thin, modern and sleek, certainly an
evolution from ancient typewriter models. I like to accessorize my tech toys
too! I have a leather skin that goes with my MacBook Air and a tanned leather
pouch for my Blackberry Bold that I hunted high and low for.
Jo Soh, fashion designer of Hansel
What are your favourite tech
toys?
I am really not a “techy” person as I do not actively follow
the latest trends. But must-haves for me are my Black 13” MacBook, Nokia N95 and
Panasonic Lumix digital camera.
How do they feature in your everyday
life?
I mainly use my MacBook for work in fashion design. The
MacBook is largely associated with designers, though that no longer strictly
applies today. The Nokia N95 is the most user-friendly phone I find. I often use
my Panasonic Lumix on the go, to capture nice shots to upload on my blog, and
designs that may spark off an inspiration. That’s why it is great that it is
pocket-sized, has a wide angle lens and can take extreme close-ups in detail.
Jill Sara, writer and freelance publicist
What are your favorite
tech toys?
Music gadgets like my iPod and communications gadgets
like my Sony Ericsson K710i cell phone and Lenovo S10 notebook. These are things
which I cannot leave home without.
What do the products say about
you?
Being fashion statements with a lot of functions, they are
aesthetically-pleasing and pack a lot of punch at the same time. I love pretty
things. But my K710i looks more serious than the LG Prada or Samsung Armani
phones.