I cannot stress how exciting I am to see so many new devices that combine the functions of, otherwise, very single-purpose devices. The official announcement for the release of the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY now has us thinking about the possibility of playing serious games on our mobile devices. The growing market for tablets has not only advanced the technology for multi-touch screens, but has also introduced a whole new breed of animal altogether. All of the devices and portables that we hold so dear are consolidating to become even more stream-lined and more useful as everyday tools, sort of like the trusty Swiss Army-Knife. That being said, my guess is that, soon enough, specs and hardware are going to become over-shadowed by software, user-interface, aesthetic design and compatibility.
What I mean is that the speed of your processor and internet connection, the life of your battery, the resolution of your screen (for as long as we still use screens) will “plateau”, to the extent that anymore advancements in performance will be almost negligible; sort of how a 500g weight difference in a high performance road bike is hardly noticeable to anyone who doesn’t already participate in the Tour De France. Design matters. This is obvious enough, and if there’s anybody who understand this more, it’s Hirotaka Matsui, an industrial designer and student from Georgia, USA.
PS Squared
The PS Squared is a conceptual design for a new mobile device targeted at being used for social networking and even gaming. You can watch a conceptual video of the device in action here:
It looks as though it’s a concept that Hirotaka is hoping that Sony might pick up, and judging by what I’ve seen, it would be mistake on their behalf if they didn’t. The PS Squared is the ultimate portable device. It has a slide-out design that hides a full qwerty keyboard (like the Side-Kick that was designed specifically for texting teenagers) and a D-Pad (like the Xperia PLAY). Fully opened, the phone is incredibly sexeh. It looks like that Z-shaped block from Tetris and if the edges were cut by a samurai. The screen goes from one edge of the screen to the other so that when the device is “closed”, it functions like smaller sized tablet (think 7″ Galaxy) complete with a multi-touch screen.
The Cradle
Another feature that seems to be gaining popularity for portable devices these days is the cradle as a method for charging (at least, the 3DS is strongly backing it up). But it has another function. On the cradle are a set of buttons to control video or music playback. The design of the cradle is also amazing. It has that “Tron” glow I’m sure you guys will salivate over.
Another look
In It’s Cradle – With Remote
Can You See The Tetris Brick?
Oh, right, the video. How can I forget. Well, according to Hirotaka, it’s only the first “trailer” designed to show-off it’s usage by “teenagers”. The girl’s look happy enough using it’s user-friendly interface. It worries me to see how happy the one girl is to receive those messages from her mother though; seems a tad unrealistic. However, this is my only real (fake) criticism of the video.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. I really hope Sony takes a peek at this design since it’s by far one of the coolest and most realizable concepts of a super-phone I’ve seen in a while.
Do you like new concept designs? Then make sure you check out this cool USB concept watch and this slim cordless mp3 design.
Via: Hirotaka Matsui
