So much art at auction, so few digital doppelgangers to bid on it for you. Artfact Live -- the live auction bidding site for works from houses like Christie's, Bonham's, and so many others -- may have a solution that doesn't involve cloning. Instead, it has created an app that keeps you in real-time auction action for more than 100,000 items of fine and decorative arts, collectibles, estates, and more.

If you're unsure of what to bid on or how much to bid, there's the Artfact database. Have your eye on that LeComte coming up for auction in Paris but need to know a bit more, the database will reveal its provenance, history, what it's worth and why. On the other hand, if you know the LeComte you're after but it hasn't come up for sale yet, you can enter it in the Auction Advisor and Artfact will alert you when that stingy collector decides to relinquish it.

Additionally, the widget lets you place anonymous absentee bids before the auction if you cannot participate, and if you'll be notified if you're outbid before the auction begins. You can also search auctions to see what a particular work or complementary works have gone for. It's not as cool as cloning, sure, but you can spare yourself the ethical considerations and you won't ever have to worry about your clone bidding on that purple glass rooster behind your back...

Whenever I get a new cell phone, I obsess over protecting it from every scratch, but after fruitless shopping for a case that's not too bulky or too expensive or too blah, I usually just give in to the basic black leather case. Yawn. Now that I'm finally ready to join the modern era and get myself a BlackBerry, I started noticing all the cases for those and discovered ... Gizmobies. Forgive my excitement, but now NYC area residents can buy these at the Gizmobies store in Midtown or via its online store (more below).

Made of a thin yet durable gel-like material, Gizmobies provide superior padded protection, come in tons of colors and patterns, and are thin enough that your phone or PDA slips in and out of your pocket or purse easily, yet provide a great grip so that your device won't fall off a table or your lap. You can easily change skins without any trouble at all -- they peel right off, and don't leave any residue.

I recently chatted with Andrea Balkin, who owns the New York area Gizmobies franchise, and here's what I learned: Gizmobies were started about three years ago by a successful technology start-up team with the goal of inventing a product that allowed iPod and cell phone owners to customize and protect their device but keep it pocketable and enhance its aesthetics without adding bulk or weight.

Andrea noted, "I purchased a Gizmobie for my iPhone 1G at the beginning of 2009 and fell in love with the fact that my phone, my most used possession, now felt great in my hand, looked really cool, and had excellent protection! No more ugly bright pink rubber case, which got stuck in my pocket, collected dirt in it, and looked so very pedestrian.

"I loved my Gizmobie so much that I wanted to get another one, but found that there was no place on the East Coast to purchase them. A budding entrepreneur myself, I knew that Gizmobies would be an instant hit out east -- especially in the iPhone Apple mecca of Manhattan!" And so ...

If you're in the NYC metro area, you should stop by Andrea's kiosk in the Manhattan Mall, on 6th Avenue at West 33rd Street. It features more than 130 designs, with new ones arriving regularly, for most BlackBerry phones, Nintendo DSi and Lite gaming systems, Nokia N97 mobile phone, and the Apple suite of devices; iPhone, iTouch, iPod, and Nano ($20-$25). Gizmobies for laptops are due out before the Christmas holidays.

Gizmobies offer a lifetime guarantee that allows the customer to mail the product back to the company's headquarters in Las Vegas if anything should happen to the product. Gizmobies are made in the USA.

Check out the gallery for examples of the array of patterns available, and how Gizmobies look on some popular devices.

Keeping your eyes on the road is of the utmost importance no matter what kind of vehicle you are piloting. To that end, automakers all over the world have experimented with heads-up displays that show such vital information as your speed and navigation directions right on the windshield in front of the driver.

Now, a company called Recon Instruments is extending similar technology to the two-wheeled world with a new technology that flashes the same kind of information right on a pair of goggles. The goggles were originally designed for ski, snowboard and snowmobile applications, but Recon envisions its technology being used in all kinds of sports, from mountain biking and motorcycle touring to kite surfing and scuba diving.

Recon expects to begin shipping its goggles in the Fall of 2010 for between $350 and $450 and is now accepting preorders.

[Source: Recon Instruments via Motorbiker.org]

Vertu has come out with a new range of stylish, high-tech accessories created to complement the brand's pioneering range of luxury, handcrafted mobile phones like the new Constellation Ayxta.

First previewed at Baselworld, the inaugural collection features a luxury Vertu V Bluetooth Headset and Vertu V Memory Card reader together with contemporary versions of the traditional ballpoint pen and a collection of small leather goods.

The Vertu V Bluetooth Headset (right) for $730 is made from stainless steel and high quality resin. The resin combines low weight and high strength properties in a scratch resistant material with an ability to be hand polished to achieve a lifetime lustrous finish.

The Vertu V Memory Card Reader for $490 is a discreet USB memory stick with the ability to expand its memory capacity via a micro SD card. A three stage connection process also enables users to easily transfer data between a Vertu handset and computer.

The Vertu V Ballpoint Pen for $330 has a masculine look in black and steel. With a perfectly tuned twist mechanism it's ergonomically balanced. The small leather goods collection completes the range with its matching accessories cases made from Vertu's highest quality black saddle leather.

Lying somewhere in the thin-and-light category between the well-defined netbook and the traditional full-featured notebook is the new Acer Ferrari One. The latest installation of the successful partnership between the famous Italian supercar manufacturer and Acer America, there isn't really anything exceptional about the computer other than the bright red color and matching Prancing Horse badge on the lid.

Still, it's a well-equipped 3.31-pound laptop with (take a deep breathe) an AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor, ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics, 4GB of DDR2 667MHz system memory, a 250 GB hard disk, an 11.6-inch HD widescreen display and Windows 7 Home Premium.

If the lure of the latest Ferrari-badged Acer is too much for you to handle, the Ferrari One notebook is available now with a starting price one cent shy of $600. Feel free to peruse the official press release after the break.

[Source: Acer via Engadget]

Katherine Hughes, of Stuart Hughes, has designed what is likely the world's most expensive iPod. The iPod Touch SUPREME's body was re-formed using 149 grams of solid, 22-carat gold, with a rear Apple logo from 21 grams of gold that houses 53 VVS1, color F diamonds. The front outer section has been set with 300 VVS1 diamonds, also color F. The main navigation buttons has 12 diamonds of the same quality set in 16 grams of gold, all of which surround a single cut pink 2.10-carat diamond, color G-H. A true limited edition -- only three available. £139,995, or $231,776 USD at today's exchange rate.

It is always interesting to take a look at what some of the foreign manufacturers are producing for their luxury electronic lines. It seems that the series of new phones being offered by NTTDocomo Japan are heading in many different directions.

Some of the items that caught my eye, in particular because I thought they were beautiful and slightly unusual, are the prototypes for the Touch Wood phones. Not yet in mass production these phones are only able to be seen at trade shows in Switzerland and Japan.

The phones are being created as a joint venture with the "more trees" reforestation project founded by musician Ryuichi Sakamoto and others. They are made with specially treated wood from the thinned forests in Japan managed by the "more trees" project. Each handset is unique featuring the particular grains, patterns and natural coloring of the tree from which it was made. No artificial paints or colors are used in the unique compression process developed by the Olympus Corporation. The cypress phones are much more durable than other phones with wood bodies, are resistant to water and will keep their natural shine. I just thought they were beautiful.

For the those who are less ecologically oriented, the company is also releasing the Docomo "style series." This includes the F-02B which is a jewelry quality waterproof phone with a snap on perfume holder, the L-02B which comes with a special content for beauty tips and the N-01B with deigns and colors inspired by French manicure designs.

Let's just say that the company is busy covering all angles of the phone market!

It is not always the case that iPhone cases must only be used to protect your iPhone. They can also help make a statement about you. This concept has been clear to many, which is why the business of selling iPhone cases is probably as big as that of selling the phones. Unless you are serial butter fingers and need a heavy duty two inch thick rubber case to keep your iPhone out of the "dead gadget bin" you'll want something thin enough to not detract from your enjoyment of the phone, as well as something that makes a more individualized statement about you than "I am among the millions of people who have this Apple product." To help solve this problem Griffin Technology and the UGC (user generated content) trendy shirt maker Threadless have teamed up to offer two special iPhone cases based on popular shirts - and you can get the matching shirts too. Plus, you can download a matching wallpaper for your iPhone. They have really thought this all out. Now your iPhone will actually match your attire.

The first design is called the "Birds of a Feather" and uses Griffin's ultra-thin soft blue rubberized exterior iPhone case with a design by Ross Zietz. Then you have "Clouds Within The Thunder" by Joe Van Wetering that is a stylized thunder bolt on a yellow version of the case. Each artistic iPhone case is $34.99. You can visit Threadless from links above to check the out more, where there are also links to get the matching shirts for $18 a piece. The cases are also available at select Apple store locations. These items are nifty, and it is smart to change your iPhone case once in a while to keep things fresh. Certainly a minor luxury to have art on anything functional - and that is why I like these particular iPhone accessories.

Iconic German camera firm Leica has just unveiled a new, limited special edition – the Leica M7 Edition Hermès, designed in collaboration with the famed French fashion house. Only 200 silver chrome 35 mm cameras will be available starting next month wrapped in two colors of exclusive Hermès 'Veau Swift' leather: orange and étoupe (green), 100 examples of each priced at about $14,000. The special Leica M7 Edition Hermès set also includes a matching, silver anodised Leica SUMMILUX-M 35 mm f/1.4 ASPH. wide-angle lens. The lens is complemented by a classical round lens hood in silver anodised metal manufactured exclusively for the Edition Hermès. The set also includes a Leicavit M rapid winder finished in silver chrome. The finishing touch to the special edition is provided by a real leather carrying strap handcrafted by Atelier Hermès to match the color of the camera chosen. The camera marks the second collaboration between Leica and Hermès.

Zabar's is nominated for a Luxist Award in the Best Gourmet Grocer/Food Hall category.

For more than 70 years, Zabar's has been a upper westside institution in Manhattan. The company started in 1934 when Louis and Lillian Zabar rented an Appetizing Counter in a Daitch Market. Their philosophy was to sell only the highest quality smoked fish at a fair price. Zabar wanted his customers to trust him and he wanted them to become "regulars".

Zabar became known for his high standards and developed a reputation of being hard to please. The couple took over the Daitch Market, and and Zabar's was born. The Zabars worked long hours. They roasted their own coffee and hand selected every item that the store would put on its shelves, always wanting to give their customers the best available at a "fair" price.

The Zabar sons, Saul and Stanley Zabar took over running the store, and Zabar's flourished under their management. Over the years the store expanded, taking over neighboring stores, as they became available. The company battled major department stores over caviar prices. New Yorkers came to trust and love Zabar's.

Saul and Stanley still run the business while their children have joined its ranks. Ann Zabar, Saul's oldest daughter, runs the Mail Order Division and helps her father roast coffee and buy smoked fish. David Zabar, Stanley's son, helps run the office and Aaron, Saul's son, manages Zabar's mail order warehouse.

Zabar's is open 365 days a year and there is always a Zabar in the store. Today the store on Broadway and West 80th Street is over 20,000 square feet (almost a city block long). It has more than 250 employees and sells over 8,000 lbs of coffee a week. On average, 35,000 customers a week visit its store. The company's website offers an array of coffee, cheeses and fish. It also has a large selection of cookware, kitchen gadgets and other must-have items, from rice cookers to coffee grinders and espresso makers.

The first thing that came to mind when I saw this keyring from Scott Amron was the Jon Franklin quote: "Simplicity, carried to an extreme, becomes elegance."

Also called the Split-Ring-Key, this refreshing, unexpected hybrid key-and-keyring can be brought to your local key cutter, who can craft it to fit any regular KW1 or SC1 keyholes. At just $3.50 each, this is one of those luxuries that won't break the bank.

Amron, who also brought us the black leather bandaids this past summer, has a number of cool and outside-the-box usable-art ideas on his website. We also love this wine stopper, which looks like a talon digging into your bottle. Very goth chic.

Vertu has been hard at work cornering the niche automotive-inspired luxury phone market, but they're not going to have it all to themselves. Because TAG Heuer, creators of the Meridiist mobile, have strong ties running deep in the automotive industry that have included collaborations with Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and McLaren to name just a few. And have now teamed up with Lamborghini for an even more exclusive edition of the Meridiist.

The TAG Heuer Meridiist Automobili Lamborghini boasts a chassis made of stainless steel, coated in black titanium carbide and packed with all the bells and whistles you could expect. It'll only be made in a limited edition of 1963 examples, honoring the year which the Italian sportscar-maker started business, available exclusively from Lamborghini and TAG Heuer retailers.

You'll never be able to go back to 10-pack cheapo emery boards after having this beautiful accessory in your purse! The Swarovski Nail File, created by designer Craig Coulton for the design competition organized by Designboom, consists of two filing blades (regular and smoothing) that fold out to reveal a shining layer beneath them. Crystals are embedded along each side of a silver, gold, or platinum body. Seems there's just no end to many ways that crystals can beautify everyday objects.

It has seemed of late that mouse design has sort of stalled out. As many people switch to laptops only, the humble mouse is often forgotten. The new ID Mouse from Intelligent Design might drive people back to the desktop. The mouse, which was shown off Dutch Design Week 2009, is a Bluetooth-enabled mouse finished in hand-formed grade 1 titanium and resin that serves as an elegant rest for the hand. The wireless mouse integrates a three-button neodymium scroll wheel for smooth scrolling. The mouse is compatible with Window XP/Vista/7 and Mac OS X and runs on two AAA batteries. It sells for around $1,200.



[via The Design Blog]

Fans of the Motorola Aura with money to spare can trade up to the latest model. The Motorola Aura Diamond Edition is plated with 18K gold and boasts 34 diamonds set along the phone's circular display. Should you care about the inner workings of your new gadget, the phone is a quad-band GSM phone with email, web browsing, a two megapixel camera, Bluetooth and a media player. It will sell for $5,700 and goes on sale this week.