Hasta La Ideas

A playful alternative to this home necessity

While navigating the endless maze at the 2012 NY International Gift Fair, we came across this playful take on a home essential, the smoke detector. The Chick-a-Dee is, simply put, a smoke detector shaped like a bird; it brings a bit of life to a device designed to protect it. As the winner of the Mooi uit de brand design competition, the Chick-a-Dee previously sold in the Netherlands and has just recently been approved for sale in the U.S. The cutesy appliance draws on the American Black-capped Chicadee for its size and sound, replicating the bird’s iconic “chick-a-dee-dee” call at the first sign of smoke then emiting a louder, more sustained 85 db sound as smoke thickens.

We love the fresh thinking and fun approach from the multitalented Dutch artist and designer Louise van der Veld, bringing design ideation to a corner of the home where it’s not normally found. Now let’s just hope the batteries are easy to access for those unfortunate—and all to frequent—burned dinners. The Chick-a-Dee smoke detector is now available online in white, white with black base, pink and blue for $75.

An innovative addition to motorcycling’s sweet spot

Honda’s NC700X, the newest addition to the Japanese manufacturer’s line, is a crossover bike designed to give riders the best of both worlds. Highlighting efficiency while retaining sports performance, the motorcycle is equal parts commuter, street racer and weekend warrior. The bike is what you make of it—an open platform approach to transportation that is sensitive to rider demands. In a sign of its universality, the bike will be distributed globally—a rarity in the motorcycle world—with the idea that this model can handle remote country touring and European cities alike.

In the development of the new engine platform, Honda leveraged design elements from their Fit automobile’s 117-hp 1.5l, 16-valve SOHC i-VTEC engine. This mechanical cross-pollination significantly reduces development and production cost, which explains the motorcycle’s very accessible price point. Other innovations include an impressive built-in 21-liter compartment for helmet stowage where the gas tank is typically located—resulting from moving the 3.7 gallon fuel tank under the seat, and installing the engine with a slight tilt. The digital LCD instrument panel presents operating data in an easy-to-use format that sacrifices analog looks to communicate information faster than traditional dials. While the standard version sticks to manual shifting, The NC700X DCT ABS version features optional automatic dual-clutch transmission with two automatic modes, as well as a paddle shifting mode that makes for easy control of the bike, especially in high traffic driving.

The NC700X is styled like an adventure bike, but overall the model is suited to city dwellers. Loads of accessories make it easy to convert this narrow-body bike into a respectable touring bike, with extra-large wind screens and 29-liter saddlebags on offer. The chassis design keeps weight centered and low, allowing for spry handling through turns. While the small size and multi-functionality will appeal to newcomers, the 670 cc bike remains respectable. Focused on efficiency rather than power, Honda is able to boast 60+ mpg fuel economy in the new model.

The price point for the NC700X promises to mix up the middle market, starting at $6,999 ($8,999 for the automatic transmission and ABS package). This lowers the barrier of entry of a full-featured bike for first-time and commuter buyers, promising to open the market to a new group of riders. The NC700X will hit dealers summer 2012.

Two lithium-ion powered boards that cruise up to 20mph

Nestled among the many iPhone gadgets and advanced home accessories at this year’s CES were a couple of companies taking a less conventional approach in the realm of outdoor activity. We spotted a pair of electric skateboards for those seeking the thrill of riding one without exerting the necessary physical effort.

The soon-to-launch ZBoard might be the closest thing to riding a regular skateboard, with an intuitive, hands-free electric motor that accelerates and decelerates as the rider adjusts their body weight forward or backward. The weight-sensing Pro board is powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, and can reach upwards of 17mph with a range of more than ten miles.

The Classic boasts a more modest set of specs, reaching 15mph with a range of five miles on sealed lead acid batteries. Both boards are kept under control by regenerative braking. ZBoard aims to launch their electric boards on 1 March 2012 with an impressive sticker price of $800 for the Pro and $500 for the Classic. Pre-order is now available with a $100 deposit.

The more customizable Metroboard offers the rider the choice between shorter cruiser-style boards and standard long boards. By going with a 27″ or 32″ board the rider gains agility, while the longer 36″ and 41″ boards are more stable, but limited in their maneuverability. Metroboard equips all models with rechargeable lithium batteries that support a max speed of 19mph.

Unlike ZBoard, Metroboard requires a wireless remote control to adjust speeds. This remote—closely resembling those for the Nintendo Wii—uses Bluetooth signals to communicate with the board beneath your feet. If you drop the remote while riding, the regenerative brakes automatically engage once the board is separated by more than 10 feet to prevent runaway boards. Depending upon the size, Metroboards are now available online for between $545 and $500.

Upscale design lines, advanced technology and unmatched fuel economy in an all new sedan

You can’t help but notice the 2013 Ford Fusion, a midsize category-busting car hell-bent on improving suburban driveways around the world. The new Fusion is the first car that very clearly articulates the ONE Ford mantra (cars designed for a global market) and the company’s Kinetic design language (which debuted on the Evos concept car launched in Fall 2011 in Frankfurt).

Ford sold Aston Martin (in 2007) and Jaguar (in 2008) along with the other brands in their Premier Automotive Group. Perhaps the best thing the come out of that experience was the importance of design and how it can elevate a very expensive hand made car as well as a car you’ll find all over your neighborhood and in the parking lot at every mall. There was no shortage of comments at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit yesterday that the new Fusion looked “Aston-like” or “Jaguar-like,” things you don’t usually hear about the most crowded and pedestrian segment of the automobile market. Part of this may be attributed to the raised hexagonal grill, narrow lights and rear license plate surround, which Ford’s VP of Global Design and Chief Creative Officer J Mays says “create a terrific stance.” Sexing up the midsize market is good for Ford, and good for all customers who seek to be inspired by design regardless of price point.

The Fusion brings a new level of features to an inexpensive, accessible car—or, as Mays puts it, “a car you are proud to drive.” Standard features include Ford’s Sync voice-activated control system and a lane drifting warning system. Options include blind-spot warning and automated parallel parking systems—things you’re more likely to see on high end luxury cars.

Ford offers the extremely fuel efficient Fusion in five different four cylinder engines—an existing gasoline engine, two new EcoBoost turbo engines, a hybrid and plug-in hybrid. Mays elaborates, “the mpg on this car is truly spectacular—26 mpg on the standard model, 47 mpg on the EcoBoost Hybrid, and 100 mpge on the Energi model. It’s just game changing.”

From what we’ve seen so far, Ford has come together to achieve something their competitors have failed to do—create an economy car that is desirable, practical, and affordable. I’m looking forward to road testing it.

The 2013 Ford Fusion will be available in the U.S. mid-2012 (with all models available by Fall 2012), and will be available in Asia and Europe as the Mondeo in 2013.

New iPad app inspires in-the-moment personal problem solving to help you live better every day

There are times in life when the blank notebook page stays blank for far too long—even the most productive people occasionally get stuck. For moments like these there’s Unstuck, a recently released iPad app to help you work through the situation at hand. Acting as a step-by-step troubleshooter and catalyst for action, Unstuck walks the user through a series of questions that end in a diagnosis, complete with suggestions of thought-provoking tools to help find a solution, as shown in this cleverly animated intro video.

Released by SYPartners, the free Unstuck app marks the first endeavor of a new sister company that taps into their nearly 20 years of experience helping big-name companies, leaders and teams during times of transformation and offers these strategic lessons to the individual. Having helped great leaders lead over these two decades, SYPartners felt compelled to take up the journey to offer this accumulation of knowledge through “tools and methods” to help people people get themselves unstuck. As Keith Yamashita, Chairman at SYPartners, said in our recent conversation, “we’re driven by greatness by trying to help people, companies, teams be great.”

The user-friendly app features a clutter-free layout with eye-catching infographic-style illustrations and easy-to-read instructions designed to get your mental gears moving again. As you work through the series of fill-in-the-blank questions Unstuck uses an algorithm—combined with your answers—to offer a diagnosis of what’s likely to be going on. From here the user is given a series of tools to help themselves work through the situation. Check out this demo for a closer look.

Most importantly though, Unstuck delivers a different diagnosis each time to account for the user’s ever-evolving situation. This adjustment mimics real life in the sense that no situation is ever stagnant and the reasons behind it generally change over time. And thus Unstuck becomes a tool that can be used time and time again.

To make the app accessible to as many people as possible it’s been made available for free download through the App Store’s Lifestyle section. Once Unstucks’ subscriptions build more community-based aspects will be rolled out. Here individuals will be able to instantly connect with others who are in or previously were in the same place, to work as a team and share the good will to help one another get unstuck.