Young whippersnappers may not know this, but before cell phones could do everything from SMS messaging to your taxes, we had other pieces of hardware to do these tasks separately. Walkmans played music through cassette tapes, accountants did your taxes, and yes, even calculators had their own blocky, hefty designs. Lofree’s Digit Calculator pays homage to this bygone age with its flat retro design, giant buttons and screen, and… you guessed it, mechanical switch keys. While most of the features are based on the same calculators your parents used when balancing their finances, the keys themselves use blue mechanical switches to get some extra responsiveness whenever you press them. Just…
Electronics these days are a dime a dozen. With large companies like Apple and Microsoft duking it out for consumers’ attention, smaller brands need to find creative ways to present themselves to stand out from your run-of-the-mill Beats By Dre. Mapuguaquén (which translates to ‘sound of the earth’ in South American Mapuche) isn’t the easiest brand name to pronounce, but its range of handmade clay speakers are most certainly easy on the eyes. While the acoustics are made in Germany, the sourcing of organic materials and production are done by native craftsmen in Nacimiento, Chile. And it shows… The speakers give you some sweet sounding tunes while showcasing the different…
It may not look like it, but those tiny comics on the side of your tax returns could one day be the next Calvin and Hobbes hit. And while you really shouldn’t be drawing on your tax returns, it just goes to show how something so small can spark a really big idea. The 3Doodler Create+ takes your misplaced creativity and allows you to bring your doodles into the third dimension. Using a special nozzle, it extrudes hot PLA, ABS, and FLEXY plastics which harden rapidly as you draw your desired 3D object. Two buttons near the nozzle allow you to adapt the 3Doodler for slow or fast printing. Slow…
It’s time for another round of apps that cover the spectrum of your beloved mobile device(s)! The Weekly App Smack is the best of new or updated design and productivity apps (and maybe a couple of fun ones, too) for the busy design or engineering professional and this week we have a list sure to make you more efficient. Do you have an app suggestion that has made your life easier or changed up your workflow? Let us know in the comments below or send it into tips@solidsmack.com. Hit it! Photomath (iOS — Free) Simply point your camera toward a math problem and Photomath will magically show the result with a…
Those of you who know us well know of our longstanding love for the iconic rOtring 800 Mechanical Pencil. But heck, it isn’t the only great mechanical pencil to have on your desktop. For those who are particular about sharp lead points — AT ALL TIMES — the brilliant engineering behind writing tool manufacturer Uni’s Kuru Toga mechanical pencil just might be the best thing for you since, well, sliced bread. Ideal for sketching, writing, engineering linework, or just about anything else that requires a nice bit of lead to the paper, the Kuru Toga features a mechanism that rotates the lead ever-so-slightly each time it’s lifted from the page—meaning, you’re always…
What you’re looking at right now isn’t a Bluetooth speaker. It isn’t even a pint-sized Roomba. What you see in the photos and videos here is actually Logitech’s newest MX Vertical mouse. While older users of computer peripherals are no strangers to mice the shape of actual rodents (some early computer mice were even bigger than many human hands), the MX Vertical is unique since it is set 57 degrees vertically from the surface it rests on. This makes it look like a miniature air humidifier, but the real purpose of the design choice is to alleviate the pressure on your hand and reduce muscle strain. To this end, the…