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Tivoli's crystal encrusted Model One
Tivoli, well known for its iconic Model One table radio, has commissioned Scandinavian designer Per Sundberg to re-envision its simple radio design -- and boy has he come up with a winner. For the extremely affordable price of 39,000 SEK (or about $5,866), you can buy one of these limited edition little radios covered in handcrafted crystal. Of course, the Model One normally sells for $119, but it's not like you're investing in just any old tuner -- this one gets AM and FM stations.[Via technabob]
The crystal Jesusphone
Well, we suppose if you're gonna worship a false idols this weekend this is probably as good as you're gonna get. $295 for the ice, not including the cost of the iPhone. Nobuddy fugs wid da Jesus.[Thanks, Stacey]
Swarovski's LED couture
If you're like us, you're probably sitting there thinking, "Why don't I have more seizures?" Well luckily crystal-maker Swarovski and designer Hussein Chalayan have got you covered -- literally. This dress was shown for the company's 2007-2008 collection, and while we've seen this kind of thing before, this garment functions a little differently. Beneath the translucent crystal "material" is a grid of LED chips, which display patterns and can apparently run short video clips. For you fashion plates eager to pick one up, the cost will clock in around $16,000. How you sit down and the amount of D batteries required is currently unknown.
Philips' Active Crystals range features Swarovski, who else
Standing in stark contrast to their "sense and simplicity" corporate slogan, we bring you the full line-up of Philips' Swarovski gear mentioned earlier. Available in August, the latest crystal-laden kit takes "technology to a fashionable new level for women." Perfect for little girls who grew up in a generation of Hello Kitty body fat meters and breath testers. Now go check the prices after the break sweetie. Better yet, have your oily man-servant do it, that's why you pay him.%Gallery-3909%
FFCC: The Crystal Bearers trailer finally revealed [update 1]
After weeks of teasing us with screen captures from its Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers trailer, Square Enix made the 55-second video public early this morning. Though a third of it is taken up by an animated, spinning crystal, the movie still manages to pack in plenty of airship shots, city scenes, and even a tender, tearful moment with the RPG's blonde-haired protagonist. Jump past the post break for the clip and some skydiving action.[Update 1: We mixed up our Ring of Fates with our Crystal Bearers, citing this trailer as belonging to The Ring Bearers. How embarassing.]
Brando's Wii Crystal Cooler lights up your life
Although it's been unscientifically proven that Nintendo's Wii is the least likely of the three major consoles to actually need a heat suppressing adornment flanking its side, it's no surprise that accessory manufacturers are out to get the suckers anyway. For those of you who just can't keep your Wii cool enough, and weren't about to drop any dough on the repulsive China Shenzhen Firstsing variety, Brando's coming to the rescue. The company famous for its USB-powered, unnecessarily flashy gizmos has struck again with the Wii Crystal Cooler, which utilizes USB power to fan off your Wii, sports a nifty blue LED to give it that special touch of tacky, and also doubles as a stand. It can be yours today for just $19.
Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates screenshot love
And it's all for you, dear reader. Resident blogger Alisha has officially declared today, April 25th, "Super JRPG Screenshot Day," in commemoration of not only these great screens but also these, from an equally desirable title.The vote is pretty much unanimous that Final Fantasy III is the best-looking DS title to date, but it looks like Square-Enix whipped their programmers into making their games even prettier. Which means those men have whip marks everywhere. The problem with the original Crystal Chronicles was the amazingly intense hardware requirement, but if the new multiplayer cooperative system is easy to use, we might have yet another Squeenix bajillion-seller on our hands.
Check out these blingtastic DS Lites
The folks at Go Nintendo recently hit up the Nintendo World Store in New York City, spotting this beauty, along with a few others. All we can say is that if we were to dream up a DS Lite, it would probably look a lot like the one above. And, even though the tacky Swarovski crystals aren't really our thing, we would love to have ourselves one of these.We've included the others past the post break, for your viewing convenience.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: new fun-size screens
The name (Final Fantasy Crystal Chroncles: Ring of Fates) may be long, but the characters are all lil'. The party of adventurers looks like it's composed entirely of three-year-olds. Maybe it's a modern interpretation of the kind of character art found in the NES Final Fantasy games, but whatever the reason, we definitely appreciate toddling in our world-ending crises.Like the Gamecube version, you'll have to have friends nearby to play in multiplayer. However, unlike the Gamecube, pretty much everyone has a DS these days. Check out some screens after the break-- you'll want to e-pinch the characters' little virtual cheeks.
ASUS: the rest of the bunch at CeBIT
We've gotta say, Asus made a pretty decent showing at CeBIT this year. We covered the new releases and rocked 'em for you yesterday -- now here's the best of the rest. The Z801 is a high-end tri-band device that has been given the super-style treatment by Asus. The screen is sapphire crystal, the handset is lovingly accented with leather, and a dash of chrome is thrown in for good measure. Features include Bluetooth (A2DP and AVRCP lovingly included), a 2 megapixel cam, and a gee-whiz Karaoke feature that allows you to wail along with your favorite songs while seeing your speech converted to text on the screen. We also bumped into the C1000 3.5G HSDPA data card -- this thing is sick (and that's saying something for a fricking data card) thanks to quad-band GSM, triple-band WCDMA, and phone call / SMS / MMS management. No word on pricing for the C1000, but it sounds like something we could use, like, right away. Check the shots on the following page. Asus at CeBIT
Swarovski bejewels Samsung's 707SC for Softbank
Softbank Mobile customers finding that their Samsung-sourced 707SCs aren't getting the sheer volume of mesmerized stares they were hoping for, we come bearing good news: you can now re-up the chances for hypnotizing passers-by into a dazzled trance with crystal encrusted versions of your phone, courtesy of the good folks at Swarovski. Personally, with its HSDPA, QVGA display, video calling, and 2 megapixel cam, we thought the 11.2mm phone was hot enough as-is -- but adding sparkle never hurts. We guess.[Via Gearfuse]
Final Fantasy: Ring of Fates trailer
And rounding up the recent deluge of Square-Enix trailers from their annual Jump Festa event, this Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates trailer certainly impresses. There's some shiny text, and then a long, confusing sequence in which one tries to focus on five different scenes in the picture at once. Leave it to SE to try and simply overwhelm your senses ... they're rather good at that.The original Crystal Chronicles was a bit of a let-down, but this title can hopefully bring FF:CC out of the "crappy Final Fantasy spin-offs" category. Oh, and for a slightly higher quality version of the trailer, click here for the official movie from Square-Enix's website.(And did anyone check out what appeared to be a stylus-based fire spell around 1:41? Awesome.)[via Penny Arcade]
FF: CC screens show off single player and multiplayer screens
Famitsu published some screens and info via their website today. The screens (the top two are from single-player, with the bottom two providing a glimpse into the game's multiplayer) show some in-game sections of the title, but don't really reveal much. Aside from that, any online translation aid we've tried online has spit back indecipherable code. So, we're stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment in trying to gain any further information than the game stars twins.
Crystal Chronicles to be shown at Jump Festa
According to German gaming site GameFront, Square-Enix will have Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on-hand at Jump Festa, a gaming/anime/manga event held in Japan, taking place on the 16th and 17th of this month. The only information missing is just what version, or versions, of the game will be at the show. Will we see the new DS game or that installment that is Wii-bound? We'll update you as soon as we receive confirmation.[Via Go Nintendo]
Have too much money? Cover your PSP in jewels
Maybe the new Silver and Blue PSPs are a bit too... boring for your tastes. If you're allergic to money and have to desperately get rid of as much as you can right now, you might be interested in picking up these crystal PSPs from German mail-order store OTTO. The "Black Cobra" and "Passion of Flowers" both feature 2000 crystals each. That's 2000 more crystals than your boring busted-up system.They cost 899€ ($1143 USD) each, so if you're able to buy one, you'll be my new best friend.[Via Joystiq]
DS expected to outship PSP by almost 30% percent this year
It's no mystery that the DS has been continually kicking the crap out of the PSP when it comes to units sold. We've been paying attention to the numbers and when we saw this story where market research firm In-Stat is projecting that the DS will out-ship the PSP by almost 30% this year, we figured that was about right. Number of units shipped does not have as much weight as number of units sold, obviously, but it's another feather we'll gladly place in our cap.Considering the rampant obsession the DS enjoys in Japan, its cost-effective price tag, and large library of incredible games, Sony is in dire straits to find a viable way to present their handheld to consumers in such a way as to generate as much appeal as the DS. They've already cut the price once and even given another cut, we can't see them breaking through the impenetrable force field of popularity the DS has erected over Japan. Game over man, game over!
Would you like a DS with those Swarovski crystals?
The latest in a trend to adorn gaming goods with Swarovski crystals comes from Japanese designer Tikko. For a mere 45,000 yen (about $380), you can protect your DS Lite's outer shell with a solid-crystal barrier. And it sparkles!For the record, real hardcore gamers don't splurge on crystals, we improvise, we shred jeans, saving money for what counts, the games.See also: Would you like ice with that Xbox 360?[Thanks, Trixie]
Confirmed: Black and Pink DS Lites in September
On September the 13th, those hating the simple elegance of the Crystal White DS Lite may finally seek an official alternative in either the Black or Pink DS Lite (officially dubbed Onyx and Coral Pink, respectively). It's about time Nintendo has gone ahead and tossed us poor American gamers a bone. Check out the official press release after the break.
DS Lite: Crystal Navy mod
We aren't just about modding those old, useless DS Phats, actively looking for the first actual mod to be done on a DS Lite. Well, the first we've found is very impressive, which looks as it balances both the yin and the yang in its combination of Crystal White and Enamel Navy components. A very cool mod and what we hope is the first of many to come.
Crystal Chronicles from Comic-Con show floor
Taken from the show floor of Comic-Con last week, this video of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for the DS is an extended version of a previously released trailer. During the video, all the usual things are addressed such as exploring and fighting.[Via Go Nintendo]
