Make That New iPhone Even Hipper! Ways to Pimp The 3G iPhone

Okay, so it's not news that Apple's eagerly anticipated 3G iPhone (or iPhone 2.0) goes on sale tomorrow. Many thousands of people will be anxiously awaiting their new gadget and signing up for phone plans as though they've never before had a phone.

So, how do you make yours more hip than everyone else's? Customize that sucker! And here are a few ways to do it and links to all the places:

Make it a fun color at Colorware:


Colorware

Or buy from Continetal Mobile's Vivid Color Collection:


Continental Mobile's Vivid Collection

Make it 18k yellow, white or rose gold:



Continental 18k gold iphones

Or yellow or rose gold plated from Gold Genie:


Goldgenie

Or 24k gold plated iphones:

Goldstriker

more 24k plated iphones:



icandy phones

Paul Knight of Knight Creations has a special technology that coats the iPhone casing with a layer of TiN and TiAlN (Titanium-Nitrogen, and Titanium-Aluminum-Nitrogen) through a process known as "plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition."

What you get is an anodized iPhone casing (matte black to match the black plastic cover) and an Apple logo finished in the TiN or TiAlN. The TiN coating gives the Apple logo a shiny Gold presence, while the TiAlN coating gives the logo an understated, stealthy look.

Knight Creations

Even Platinum iphones can be had:

also at Goldstriker

Epilog Laser sells an engraving device that allows you to engrave your iphone:


Etchstar will custom laser engrave your iphone for you:


etchstar
As will ETCHamac
Appletattoo will gold plate, crystallize or laser etch your iphone.

And of course, blinged out iPhones, with real diamonds or with Swarovski crystals will separate your iPhone from the crowd.

Austrian jeweler Peter Aloisson's custom diamond iPhone with princess cut stones has a total diamond weight of between 16.50 – 17.75 carats:


He also has one with brilliant cut (round) stones only weighing 6.42 carats:

Peter Aloisson

Bling King Alexander Amosu's diamond iphone:

Amosu

Bling My Thing has many custom Swarovski Crystal iphones to choose from:


Bling My Thing

Can't afford gold plating or special custom colors? Then try one of the many protective 'skins' on the market.

istyles has several inexpensive ones:

istyles

And Gelaskins offers amazing artist designed removable skins for the iphone (yes, for the new one) that comes with matching wallpaper.


And even one by Jason Freeny whose art I featured here:

Gelaskins.

So go ahead, buy that iPhone, but then turn into into something that's uniquely yours, so you can identify it from the thousands that will undoubtedly be sold tomorrow!

Imagine A "No Girls Allowed" Sign On These Treehouses: Baumraum of Germany

baumraum, based in Germany, designs and builds treehouses.
But not the types of treehouses I grew up with. The are actual arborial dwelling spaces that are nicer than many homes! Various sizes, styles and venues, they build all over the world. Small, large, split level...you name it. And every single one is a sight to behold.

As they say on their website:
"we transform your individual ideas and wishes into ingenious and inspiring dwellings that combine versatility with craftsmanship of the highest quality and maximum safety standards. A major objective thereby is to handle the trees and their surroundings with the utmost care, ensuring their protection and preservation."

And they do an amazing job. Here are just a few of their international treehouses, both the exterior and interior images:

New York residence:



a meditation room:






Treehouse Apulien:




Treehouse Wencke:





Treehouse Osterreich:





Magnolia and Pine Treehouse:



Brazil Treehouse:



Alder and Oak Treehouse:



Stadtjugendring Wolfsburg und den Verband Christlicher Pfadfinderinnen:




Station Karnten:




Treehouse Louisa:




The Distler Family Treehouse:





contact info:
Andreas Wenning
dipl.-ing. architekt
roonstr. 49
28203 bremen
germany
tel. ++ 49 (0) 4 21. 70 51 22
a.wenning@baumraum.de

To see more many more images and learn more, go to the Baumraum site.

McLaren & Mercedes Last Collaboration: Limited Edition Topless Carbon Plastic Bodied SLR

Before going separate ways, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren have decided to produce one final edition of the SLR. it's super fast, lightweight and painted as ugly as possible.



According to reports from the German car magazine, Auto Motor und Sport (who captured first shots of this car under testing), this special SLR will come with neither roof nor windscreen, as a result of weight-shaving measures to trim its curb weight by about 200 kg (or about 440 pounds).

"The concluding SLR will feature an open-air only construction. Gone is the roof; gone is the windscreen - a small wind deflector will be the singular element between the SLR's occupants and the great outdoors. To reduce weight, a carbon plastic body will be used, while air conditioning and power windows will both be abandoned as well. The result in a weight savings of some 200 kilograms, enough to help the model reach 186 mph from a standstill in 26 seconds and achieve a top speed of 217.5 mph."



This means that only a small wind deflector stands between the driver and the ferocity of the wind, as the speedster tosses the countryside behind in a possible breakneck top speed of 350 km/h (or 217 mph). That's about 8 mph more than the latest SLR 722 Edition.


Above: the engine

The model is said to have been inspired by Rudolf Uhlenhaut’s legendary 300 SL in 1955, and earned the famous moniker Silver Arrow.:

Above: the 1955 300 SL, the "Silver Arrow"

Only 75 of these lightweight cars will be produced.
Below is a spy video of the automobile:



If you read German, here's the original source article.