Over the last few days, I’ve gotten a few questions about what are the coolest things that I saw at MacWorld. Here’s a rundown of what’s on the top of my list…
Probably, one of the coolest things I saw were the laptop/commuter bags from Rickshaw Bagworks. Yes, I was most impressed by a bag company. As someone commutes an hour to work everyday, you really start to desire something which is going to better meet your needs.
The company was started by a former employee of the Timbuk2 bag company. He saw a lot of things that they weren’t doing and he wanted to do differently so he started his own company. When he told me about the bag, he went through how every inch was purposefully created to serve some purpose. For example, the bag can stand upright when you put it on the ground. I could do a whole post on them. Lets just say I was just really impressed.
Secondly, I was really impressed by the online bookmaker Blurb. They provide you the tools so that you can design, create, and order your own books, for reasonable prices. And… these books are GORGEOUS.
The coolest part was that Blurb was launching a community for creative professionals Blurb Nation. If you’re looking to create a book but feel like you’d want the help of someone with design skills, you can tap into a member of Blurb Nation. With people throughout the country getting laid off and deciding to become independent/freelance, I think the companies that create this type of ecosystems around themselves is really smart.
Lastly, one of the things that most impressed me was Griffin’s iPhone acoustic amplifier AirCurve. For a while now, I’ve been looking at these different devices which turn by iPhone into a boombox. Due to the typical price tag ($120-200), I’ve never made the jump.
The AirCurve, which is $20, is essentially a hunk rectangular plastic that is curved on the inside like an ear. When you set your iPhone in it, the sound is amplified by 10x. It’s pretty outstanding. I was bummed that Griffin wasn’t selling these at their booth. I probably would’ve bought one.
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word on the street is that Rickshaw just laid off most of their staff.
That’s a bummer. Hopefully they’ll stay a float because their bags rock.
hey, just wanted to let you and your readers know that Rickshaw is alive and very well. we’ve even added a great new product if you’re into journaling in your moleskine notebook. Thanks again for the blurb!