Versatile indoor/outdoor bench made from recycled aluminum is inspired by the texture of pasta

I love pasta, and I think most of the general population does, and whoever doesn’t is probably an alien from outer space. Soft chewy carbs that pair perfectly with two of my favorite things on earth – cheese, and wine! I mean, come on, pasta is quite literally perfection. And I guess Norwegian designer Lars Beller Fjetland had the same opinion because pasta is the inspiration for his newest furniture design – the Bello! bench.

Designer: Lars Beller Fjetland for Hydro

Fjetland designed the Bello! bench for the aluminum producer Hydro. And what was his muse for this piece? You got it right – pasta, or to be more precise penne rigate! Informed by the design and form of pasta, the Bello! bench is a versatile piece of furniture that can be used indoors and outdoors. It’s been created from nearly ninety percent recycled and hundred percent recyclable aluminum.

Fjetland was inspired by a piece of penne rigate, which is responsible for the ridged and textured surface of Bello! “The subtle ridges add so much value ā€“ you just have to run your fingers across the surface. These tactile discoveries mean so much to me,” said the designer. Aluminum extrusion was used to produce the bench, a process that involves the heating of metal through a hole, that is shaped in the desired form. The process is quite similar to the way pasta shapes are created!

“With this design, I really wanted to emphasize the possibilities of extruded aluminum. It is very much a culmination of everything I appreciate ā€“ from the planes, trains, and buses that were designed in the 1930sā€“1970s, to brutalist architecture and, last but not least, pasta,” said Fjetland. Since aluminum was the material of choice for Bello!, this instantly makes the bench sturdy, strong, and durable and not to mention lightweight. It can be used in places with high traffic such as public transportation hubs. It can be customized and modified to incorporate tables, lamps, or chargers since it does not have an internal support structure. The bench is not available currently, but it will be released at Norway’s annual Milan design week showcase, so keep an eye out for it!

The post Versatile indoor/outdoor bench made from recycled aluminum is inspired by the texture of pasta first appeared on Yanko Design.

Mobile Miscellany: week of February 4th, 2013

Mobile Miscellany week of February 4th, 2013

If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought the arrival of Cricket's first waterproof smartphone and Three introduced an updated Galaxy S III known as the Ultrafast. Not to stop there, we'll take a trip to India to highlight the latest value-oriented smartphone. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of February 4th, 2013.

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Kyocera Hydro hitting Boost on August 3rd for $130, lets you get your Ice Cream Sandwich soggy

Kyocera Hydro hitting Boost on August 3rd for $130, lets you get your Ice Cream Sandwich soggy

It's summertime, time for absent-minded running through the sprinkers with your smartphone in your back pocket. Thankfully, if you can hold out for a few more weeks without having some prankster toss you in a pool at a party, you can pick up the new Kyocera Hydro on Boost Mobile on August 3rd for $130 -- just think of all of the money you'll save on dry rice after your handset takes an accidental dip. The 3.5-inch Ice Cream Sandwich phone sports a 1GHZ processor and can stand being under three feet of water for up to 30 minutes. Jump into the the press release after the break.

Continue reading Kyocera Hydro hitting Boost on August 3rd for $130, lets you get your Ice Cream Sandwich soggy

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Kyocera Hydro hitting Boost on August 3rd for $130, lets you get your Ice Cream Sandwich soggy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 10:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kyocera Hydro bares all for the FCC

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What's a spankin' new Android phone to do hot off its CTIA 2012 debut? Why, stop by the FCC for an inside-out coming out party. The Kyocera-crafted handset outlined in the docs looks to be the recently unveiled Hydro, as the device's model number -- C5170 -- matches that of the unit we got hands-on with in New Orleans. The filings don't spill much of the middleweight mobile's guts, but we were able to discern radios for CDMA 1900MHz, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth, as well as the existence of a 1,500mAh battery. We're still in the dark as to where this waterproofed, ICS-laden phone'll end up, but if our magic 8-ball's any indication, all signs point knowingly to Sprint. Hit up the source below to rifle through the RF tests for yourself.

Kyocera Hydro bares all for the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 May 2012 04:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hands-on with Kyocera Hydro, a waterproof Android 4.0 smartphone (video)

Hands-on with Kyocera Hydro, a waterproof Android 4.0 smartphone (video)

It's been a while since we've seen a Kyocera smartphone for the US market, and if you'll recall, its previous two attempts -- the Milano and Echo -- didn't manage to sway many consumers. Today, the company is adding two new Android handsets to the deck: the Hydro and Rise. True to its name, the Hydro plays off of Kyocera's experience in the waterproof segment, and while it's not mil-spec, the phone's able to withstand submersion at depths of up to one meter for a half-hour. The Hydro is a CDMA handset, although Kyocera is keeping the carrier close to its chest.

The Hydro will ship with Ice Cream Sandwich, and we're pleased to report that the interface is largely unmolested, save for Kyocera's app to conserve battery life -- whether the carrier dictates future changes remains to be seen. Beyond the OS and the waterproof aspect, however, it's rather humdrum in the spec department. It features a Qualcomm MSM8655 SoC with a 1GHz CPU, a 3.5-inch, 480 x 320 display, a 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash and a 1,500 mAh battery. Because the screen is an IPS LCD, the quality is definitely a step-above your run-of-the-mill TFT-LCD mainstays, although it's hard to ignore the low-res image quality. The Hydro also offers 512MB of RAM, 2GB of built-in storage and a 2GB microSD card. In terms of connectivity, you'll find 802.11n (WiFi), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and EV-DO Rev. A. The handset itself is comfortable to hold, though its plasticky build materials reinforce the fact that it's a low-end handset. While the Hydro doesn't blaze any new trails, it may very well be suitable for those on a budget who'd like a phone that can handle life's accidents. Follow the break for our hands-on video.

Terrence O'Brien contributed to this report

Continue reading Hands-on with Kyocera Hydro, a waterproof Android 4.0 smartphone (video)

Hands-on with Kyocera Hydro, a waterproof Android 4.0 smartphone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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