[Press Release]

Live life in the fast lane with the XPERIA™ X2 from Sony Ericsson. Designed for those who always need to be connected, whether it’s for business or personal life, the XPERIA™ X2 blurs the boundary between work and play.

London, UK – September 2, 2009 – Today Sony Ericsson announces the XPERIA™ X2 a new Windows® phone that offers a best in class email and multimedia experience. In the modern world where 24/7 communication is key, users can instantly synchronise their mail and calendar and open and edit Microsoft® Office Mobile documents quickly and efficiently to stay connected with colleagues wherever they are.

The XPERIA™ X2 also includes the unique SlideView feature, which provides quick access to frequently used phone activities. Providing quick interaction with contacts, messages, media and more, SlideView gives an overview of missed incoming activity, notifying the user of any missed calls, e-mails and text messages so users don’t overlook an important contact.

With 14 specially designed preloaded XPERIA™ panels and 16 more to download, users can work with no boundaries with the XPERIA™ X2. From Skype, Mytopia and Google™, to games, CNN and Windows Live™, the panels ensure users are up-to-date with what matters most to them. With an improved touch interface and new 3D signature panel users also benefit from flexible desktop panels designed to categorise business, fun and communication features. Just set favourites to appear during certain times of the day and can get the latest news in the morning, YouTube™ at lunchtime and games for the journey home.

Powered by QWERTY messaging, Windows Mobile® users can even show their presentations on the big screen with the TV out cable – the XPERIA™ X2 makes a day at the office a walk in the park.

“In the fast moving world we live in, the need to stay connected has never been so important.” said Sumit Malhotra, marketing business manager, Sony Ericsson. “We constantly rely on our mobile phones as an extension to the office and the XPERIA™ X2 debuting with Windows Mobile® 6.5, allows users to work quickly and efficiently while on the move. The XPERIA™ X2 also features a new range of interactive panels as well as SlideView, which provides quick access to frequently used phone activities – perfect for those who need to see any missed incoming activity at a glance.”

Entertainment is not compromised on XPERIA™ X2. Enjoy amazing multimedia with the 3.2” high resolution touch screen and DVD quality and take advantage of the 8.1 megapixel camera to capture and instantly share experiences with friends and family. Personalise the panels and users can access Facebook™ to upload their party or holiday images and they can chat with friends across the world via Skype. Whether it is music, photography, email, video or gaming the XPERIA™ X2 has it all.

“Windows® phones allow people to manage their whole world – from work to home to play – on a single handset,” said Stephanie Ferguson, general manager, product management, Microsoft Corp. “The XPERIA™ X2 taps the powerful messaging and multimedia capabilities in Windows Mobile® so customers can be in touch, productive and entertained wherever they are.”

With the need to stay connected 24/7 Sony Ericsson has designed XPERIA™ Services, a bespoke and unique after sales package designed to help XPERIA™ X2 users get the most out of their mobile phone. With a specialised technical team standing by to support busy users and talk through the outstanding features the XPERIA™ X2 has to offer users can get help from troubleshooting to how to access their favourite websites. And if their XPERIA™ X2 stops working while they are abroad, XPERIA™ Services can replace the mobile phone via a simple phone call.
XPERIA™ Services really has been devised with the consumer in mind and to help consumers discover more about their XPERIA™ X2.

Live life without boundaries

* Windows Mobile® 6.5 – work on the move easier
* Make the most of the day – flexible desktop panels categorised for life: communication and fun, multimedia, business and internet
* Work without boundaries – instant synchronisation of mail, calendar powered by QWERTY keyboard messaging and Windows Mobile®
* Slide view – quick access to frequently used phone activities and overview of missed incoming activity
* Present documents on the big screen – TV out cable
* Never get stranded – XPERIA™ exclusive travel insurance
* Enjoy amazing multimedia – 3.2” high resolution touch screen and DVD quality
* 8.1 mega pixel camera with Photo light – easily upload images to web albums
* Real 3D panel – 3D effects and zoom, music playback controls

Big business meeting? Arrive charged with the Car Charger AN300 – ultra fast, ultra-safe and ultra-reliable. A perfect accessory for the XPERIA™ X2, it charges 40 per cent faster than most car chargers – just plug into the cigarette lighter and go.

XPERIA™ X2 supports GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS/HSPA 850/900/2100. XPERIA™ X2 will be available in selected markets from early Q4 in the colours Elegant Black and Modern Silver.

Designer : Sony Ericsson

The bicycle is designed to generate energy when riding and this energy can be used as currency to pay for your bus rides. The bike electronically folds into the bus seat storage mode for space and weight efficiency and to fit on the bike stand. Bike stands can be found at the bus stops where the bikes will be stored securely in order to collect energy from the sun and wind. Moreover, it contributes energy to the bus system that was generated during riding and stored in inner batteries. Finally, the energy will be accumulated from all the bus stops into the London Garden network system, which is the Universal Electricity Network of this concept.

Designer : Marten Wallgren, David Seesing, and Miika Heikkinen

[Press Release]

MIT unveils EyeStop: an iPhone‐like interactive bus stop for the City of Florence

May 14, 2009. MIT architects and engineers have unveiled EyeStop, an interactive bus stop designed for the city of Florence. On Saturday 16 May the project will be presented officially at the Genio Fiorentino by the President of the Province of Florence Matteo Renzi (dubbed ‘The Italian Obama’ by TIME Magazine).

EyeStop, developed by MIT’s SENSEable City Lab, is an exploration into the next generation of smart urban furniture; it aims to enrich the city with state of the art sensing technologies, interactive services, community information and entertainment. The project is partially covered with touch sensitive e‐INK and screens, so that it can deliver information to people seamlessly. Users can plan a bus trip on an interactive map, exchange community‐relevant information on a digital message board, surf the web, monitor their real time exposure to pollutants and use their mobile devices as an interface with the bus shelter. “Interacting with EyeStop could change the access to urban information in a similar way to how the iPhone has changed our mobile life” commented Carlo Ratti, Head of the SENSEable City Lab at MIT.

At the touch of a finger users can indicate their desired destination; the system will then display the shortest bus route from where they are and the position of all relevant buses real‐time. The EyeStop will glow at different levels of intensity to signal the distance of an approaching bus. Riders and passers‐by can also post ads and community announcements to an electronic bulletin board placed on the bus stop, enhancing its functionality as a public space ‐ a place to gather and exchange community relevant information.

In addition to displaying information, the bus stop also acts as an active environmental sensing node, powering itself through sunlight and collecting real time information about air quality and the urban environment. “EyeStop is an experiment into urban computing: it may be considered an “info‐tape” that snakes through the city, rising up like a pole or cropping out of the sidewalk like a shelter. It senses information about the environment and distributes it in a form accessible to all citizens” – commented project leader Giovanni de Niederhousern.

A generative parametric model produces a unique design for each bus stop, providing both optimal sheltering for users and maximum sunlight exposure for direct photovoltaic powering. Unlike the typical mass‐produced bus stop, EyeStop is designed to fit the physical characteristics of its surroundings, with each unit being slightly different from the others. Furthermore, simple materials like shiny steel, extra clear glass and gray local stone (pietra serena), together with its minimalist design, serve to optimize how it blends into the historic urban fabric of Florence.

“Since the Renaissance, there has been an interplay between the physical form of the city (urb) and its citizenship (civitas),” added Carlo Ratti. “Today’s technologies are adding new possibilities to that age‐long relationship, thanks to the addition of digital information to physical space. It is as if a new materiality were emerging in architecture, with the seamless blending of bits and atoms…”

EyeStop was developed at the SENSEable City Laboratory by Giovanni de Niederhousern, Shaocong Zhou, Assaf Biderman and Carlo Ratti, in collaboration with the Province of Florence and the local public transportation authority ATAF.

Designer : Giovanni de Niederhousern, Shaocong Zhou, Assaf Biderman and Carlo Ratti via Core77

Text from the website:
The Freight*BUS is designed for several possible propulsion systems, including batteries that are automatically recharged when the bus stops and the potential for fuel cell operation in the future. Thanks to in-wheel electric motors, the bus can manoeuvre into tight bus stops in a ‘crab’ like movement.

Designer : Hugh Frost via Yahoo

Designer : Tong Shan Wong

Public telephones and other public services (such as Automatic telling machines, Internet services, informational services) that are put in streets for more convince to customers consume electric energy. Not only for illumination but for different digital devices such as computers, LCDs, information panels, wireless devices… More and more of these services will be available on streets and more energy will be needed to support them. Solar public multipurpose booths provide, whatever the apparatus is inside, with necessary energy. Also every booth has lights that are powered by the same solar panels.

Bus stops with their large protective panels provide ideal space for application of solar cells. Generally, bus stops do not use much energy and in this way they can help other users from the SOLAR STREET FAMILY that use more electricity. Even more, the electricity collected by the Solar bus stops can be used by any other user as they are all connected to each other as well as to electric company. Lights of the bus stop itself are positioned in the base of solar panel and in the bus stop seating directed toward ground.

Solar park lamp uses the same MoSESS (Movement Sensors Energy Saving System) as Solar street lamp to reduce energy consumption. In the same way it recharges its batteries during the day and in the night uses it for illumination.

Solar street stand booths are popular way of shopping. They can sell and show different kinds of things ranging from food, clothes, souvenirs to information pamphlets and ads. These street stands consume electric energy for illumination, refrigerators, cooking…etc. Solar panel stores electric energy in batteries that are placed in the storage box. Solar street counters are independent from electric company network. They can be easily moved and placed into different locations by trucks (and small transportation wheels underneath the construction of the counter itself).

Designer : Nikola Knezevic