It is a bonus that the games in Pinel & Pinel Arcade 80s Trunk actually work, as the luxurious trunk alone is a marvel. More than 60 classic retro titles — including Pacman, Space Invaders and 1942 — are encased in meticulously detailed trunk dressed with calfskin (51 colors available) or, if you are really particular, also crocodile and shagreen are available. Superior sound and screen quality round out the enjoyment.

Pinel & Pinel is the Paris-based atelier of salesman-turned-designer-and-craftsman Fred Pinel, known for his luxurious luggage and accessories, and such bespoke items as a wood, leather and brass trunk for a folding bicycle, and a full-scale champagne pic nic trunk. Apparently, his Numero O trunk takes more than 400 hours of work, so the price of 40,000 Euros should not come as a surprise.

Pinel has cooperated with Lacroix, Rabanne, Bang & Olufsen and other stars of design and fashion, and is expected to introduce shoes, scarves and perfume in the near future. - Bill Tikos

The characters and voices from Star Wars will now guide you via your GPS - Awesome initiave from Tom Tom. We can't wait to hear Darth Vader force us to turn right. Geek genius.

If you cannot find a pair of headphones that visually meets your needs from Kotori’s more than 100 variations, you may have more serious problems than just the lack of cool audiowear.

However, if you just don’t like any of the suggested color combinations, you can easily design your own by selecting the color of each of the 10 components, or just hit shuffle and see what happens randomly.

With the technology of the Japanese Fostex, supplier of recording and speaker gear for professionals, Kotori headphones should meet your needs also in audio quality.

These headphones will likely add a few problems to your life, though: They are so cool that you will forever be telling everyone where you got them AND you will have to keep a close eye on your Kotoris as your design-hungry friends will want to borrow them.

Apparently, kotori means little bird, or lucky bird in Japanese, and screech owl spirit in native American Hopi language. Either way, you will want to flaunt these, even if you only played mute.

In the appealing Japanese style that it both cute and sleek in its rounded friendliness and minimalist functionality, Kotori headphones have a yummy sensibility that makes you want to choose several pairs at once. Each of the seven pre-set themes – pop, sweet, cool, vivid, natural, animal, and delicious – has 15 variations. Our current favorites are the Mikan in Vivid and the retro Woody in Natural. - Tuija Seipell

In days gone by, headphones were the size of half-a-head and blocked out the entire outside world. The audio was amazing but you sweated profusely because of the generous foam padding. And you looked idiotic. Through several mutations, we then ended up at the other extreme, with minuscule earbuds that nearly vanished in your ear — and you still looked dorky.
 
Now, we have moved on to “audio fashion wear” that combines the best of all worlds. Copenhagen’s AIAIAI with its design partners at Kilo has come up with stylish, light-weight Tracks Headphone Series that combines toned-down nostalgic looks with superior sound quality. A leather version of Tracks, in natural and black, is apparently in the works as well.

More retro on-ear fashion is available at WeSC (WearetheSuperlativeConspiracy), established in 1999 in Stockholm. Some of their latest models seem eerily and comfortingly familiar, especially our current favorite, the MARACA 0004068 created for WeSC by Stockholm-based Norra Norr. - Tuija Seipell

Just when technology couldn't get much easier, it suddenly does, thanks to some handy new devices from IPEVO - a company specialising in enhancing experiences over the internet.

Take the TR-10i for example, your new desktop pal. It's the ultimate accomplice for anyone who uses Skype and iChat as much as we have been lately.

So what exactly does it do? It works as a desktop mic, a speakerphone and also as a handset for when you want to take a private call. With dedicated Skype buttons, you may never have to pay for a call again. Want to record a call to listen back to at a later date or to add to your podcast? This gadget has got you covered. It also weighs next to nothing so is pretty handy to take with you on business trips and of course it helps that it is a bit of a good looker.

Also from the IPEVO team come some new WiFi toys for the office, including the desktop Skype phone (no computer needed), and a wireless digital frame that actually looks nice (hurrah!) and streams images straight from your computer. Because fussing around with memory cards is not such a fun thing to do. Another sweet feature is the inbuilt search function which allows you to search and display images straight from flickr and content from RSS streams.

So get involved, get communicating, and give your friends a call on your nifty new gadgets. They'll be well impressed. - Brendan McKnight.

 
The venerable Italian brand Brionvega thinks the 60s and 70s are worth bringing back, or that at least some of the design sensibilities of the era warrant new life. The classic, groundbreaking Radiofonografio, divined in 1965 by two of the three Castiglioni brothers, Pier Giacomo and Achille, is making a new entrance as RR226. In 1965, the 'musical component robot' was a home electronic marvel that in one sleekly designed device included a radio, amplifiers and a record player (for both 45s and 33s).
 
The modernized model has also a CD and DVD players but otherwise it is as close as possible to the original. The amplifiers are moveable which makes it possible to create different configurations both for visual and listening pleasure. Showcased at the Salone del Mobile in Milan in April, RR226 may be a while coming to a store near you. But like so many of the Castiglioni brothers' objects, still produced and/or displayed by Zanotta, Flos, Artemide and MoMA, the Radiofonografio is most likely going to stay with us for yet another long period. - Tuija Seipell


 

Here at The Cool Hunter we are always on the look out for innovative gadgets that as well as being aesthetically pleasing, are also practical and can be used in real world situations. miShare is such a product.

One of the biggest problems that people have with iPods is that unless you have a diploma in hacking, it is extremely difficult to share your tunes, especially without getting a computer involved. That is of course until now. Want the latest album from your friends' iPod? Simply connect both iPods to the miShare unit, press the button and away you go. It's kind of like swapping football cards in the playground, although much cooler.

Providing that your files are not DRM protected (that's digital rights management to you technophobes), everything from movies to photos to songs can be transferred. Even entire playlists. Nice. There is however one downside - for now the unit does not work with the iPhone or iPod touch, although we are told that a firmware update is being looked in to.

Developed in Brooklyn and currently being shipped to all corners of the world for US$100, may the sharing epidemic begin. By Brendan McKnight
 

Remember when Joey and Chandler from Friends started a foosball craze in the 90s? This new product could well mark a revival of the game and attract a league of new players and also be a hit with those who are already passionate about a bit of table football with the gang.

'11' is a new table designed by GRO design and developed by TIM model makers. It is due to be exhibited for the first time at Milan Design Week later this month

The thought behind the design was to reflect the many football stadiums built in recent years that are architecturally stunning, have become landmarks and represent the spirit and passion of the game. If the stadiums are becoming so spectacular, then why shouldn't the foosball tables?



Much thought and care has gone into the craftsmanship and concept. The 22 players are finished in bright silver chrome that represents footballers' status in sport and society. The lighting effects and the software controlling the game add further excitement to the atmosphere and to the experience of playing the game.

And now that we have whet your appetite and you have your credit cards ready, we must give you the bad news. For now, only one prototype model exists . However, it will not surprise us if they end up being manufactured very, very soon by the hundreds. By Brendan McKnight

If you’re like us, you sometimes get that nostalgic feeling for picking up the phone your mum had in your kitchen growing up.  But in the constant struggle to find a phone small enough so you can’t see it in your pocket when you leave the house, you probably forgot how comforting it was to cradle a phone between your ear and shoulder and talk for hours. 

Now YUBZ has designed a USB Skype phone for computers and mobile phones. YUBZ TALK ONLINE works with most PC’s and Mac’s (US$44.95) because it comes with VOIP plug-and-play technology in black, red, white and yellow. For the same price you can also get the YUBZ TALK MOBILE in 10 different colours.  It’s designed to attach to most mobile phones. By Andrew J Wiener

Isn't it about time you invest in a new laptop sleeve? Here's one sure to raise a few eyebrows in the office. Spotted any  other interesting laptop sleeve/bags we should know about? tip us