Steelcase
Latest
Microsoft and Steelcase envision the perfect Surface office
With the Surface Book, Surface Studio and other products, Microsoft has managed to attract graphics pros, designers and engineers, many used to working with Apple products. It's now taking the next logical step by expanding into workspace lifestyle concepts via a partnership with Steelcase. The two companies have unveiled "Creative Spaces," which are office furniture layout concepts optimized to work with Surface products.
Steelcase Gesture chair adjusts to support our smartphone slump (video)
As advanced as office chairs can be, they're still based on one increasingly bad assumption: that we're sitting upright in front of a traditional computer. Steelcase's upcoming Gesture chair at last acknowledges that we're living in a world of smartphones and tablets. Its back and seat shift in tandem to maintain support in any number of real-world postures, whether it's leaning back to check text messages or curling up for an e-book. The armrests are equally flexible to save us from the added strain that comes from holding a gadget in-hand. As long as habitual mobile device users can wait until the fall release, and aren't worried about the eventual price, the Gesture might literally have their backs.
Fossil's Meta Watch delayed once again, clearly has trouble keeping time
If you were planning on outfitting your arm with a new Meta Watch this month, you're out of luck, because Fossil has just announced that the wristpieces won't start shipping until September. The watches, which use Texas Instruments' CC2560 Bluetooth controller to sync with smartphones, tablets or desktops, were originally scheduled for a July launch, but that timeline was eventually pushed back to August, due to part delays. Now, manufacturers have discovered a new batch of issues with the devices' programming clips (used for micro USB connections) and the analog-digital version's steel case, meaning that the pair won't reach Hong Kong distributors until the beginning of next month, after which they may take another one to two weeks before shipping to consumers. The countdown clock continues to tick away, but you can still pre-order a Meta Watch for $200, at the links below. [Thanks, Glen]
Steelcase's Walkstation marries desk and treadmill
Anyone who reads the fine site Book of Joe knows that the man behind the blogging empire is religiously devoted to working out while writing, and prides himself on having integrated a treadmill into his workspace. Well manufacturer Steelcase thinks that this trend has grown beyond one individual multitasking in his underwear, and is poised to introduce a nicely-designed product called the Walkstation which seems more at home in a CEO's office than your messy living room. Not many details are available on this converged piece of furniture co-designed by the Mayo Clinic's Dr. James Levine (who's been working in this specialized field for at least two years, apparently), but supposedly there's an all day demo going down on October 25th at 4 Columbus Circle if you happen to be in the New York area. And if you do go, try to show up in a cab just to be ironic.Update: We've learned -- unsurprisingly, from the Joe mentioned above -- that this rig will retail for a cool $6,500, thereby making it the Rolls Royce of integrated workstations. Thanks, Joe, and keep, um, running for the stars!Update 2: Whoops, guess there's no demo going on after all. You can still show up to that address, we guess, but you certainly won't have the good time you would have had working and exercising simultaneously.
