Gizmodo: leather

DIY Aged Leather-Bound Hard Drive Is At Total Odds With Your Slob Lifestyle

Dan Nosowitz — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:20:00 EDT

Sure, this mod looks great. But sooner or later, somebody's going to ask about the contrast between this classiness and the seven pizza boxes on the floor.

Created out of some beautiful leather upholstery, this mod takes Western Digital's "MyBook" theme to its logical conclusion. The vents, for those who are wondering, are on the back side and are still left exposed. [DeviantArt (bonus news: DeviantArt still exists!) via Engadget]

Gokukawa Leather Keyboard Provides Buttery Soft Typing Experience

Jack Loftus — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST

It was just last month that our mouths were agape at the sight of a leather-wrapped Asus Eee PC. Now, dammit, they're agape again after viewing the buttery soft Gokukawa leather keyboard.

The $548 asking price is kind of a kick in the teeth, especially since there are no labels on those smooth, silky keys. However, for $603, you get letters etched into the leather. Lucky you. Not so for the cow. [Wazakura Koubou via technabob]

Cow Dies Needlessly to Coat Eee PC in Horrid Leather Modding

Kit Eaton — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST

There's just no excuse for this leather-clad Eee PC 901 mod. No excuse at all. No—not even the fine workmanship which means it's got an arguably professional-grade finish. A cow died needlessly for this, remember. Daisy, I think she was called. And it's just a tiny, crappy netbook. If you're going to mod anything into a leather-clad version we want to see a 150-inch plasma TV in shocking-pink nubuck. That would be a worthwhile use of skin. [EEEPCNews.de]

These Steampunk Goggles Really Are Too Nice

Mark Wilson — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:30:00 EDT

When is a pair of steampunk goggles too nice to be just a pair of steampunk goggles? How about when the metal components have been swapped out for solid milled titanium that's then coated in golden colored titanium nitride? How about when the goggles feature irises that can be opened and closed through independent sliders, or photochromatic lenses that automatically tint in sunlight? Nah, these goggles still have plenty of room for improvement. When the leather has been replaced with tanned baby foreskin and the optics can pierce a brass corset, then we'll be getting close. [SmugMug via bbGadgets]

Poufman Luxury Leather Seats Are Like Pac-Man Biting Your Bum

Kit Eaton — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:20:00 EDT

Pac-Man-like padded seats, kitted out in leather and with accompanying power-pill-like stools...sounds like a fabulously retro way to pay furniture-y homage to the '80s arcade game. The Poufman seating sets come in a bunch of colors, but retro gamers keen to dot them about their homes had better have made lots of dollars in the time since the '80s: the price of these things is unknown, and not listed on the maker's website. And we all know what that means. [Product via Technabob]

Diamond Embossed Leather iPhone Case Will Waste Your $15,000

Elaine Chow — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 13:30:00 EDT

I don't think I'll ever understand the type of conspicuous consumption that produces junk like this: A leather iPhone case that's embedded with 272 diamonds (6.8 karats worth) fashioned into luxury goods purveyor Noreve's St. Tropez logo. The asking price is $14,990. You heard me right: $14,990 to keep your iPhone from scratching. The company's VP of sales, Sam Brust, says the case is “yet another step we are taking to help the Noreve brand become one of the most unique and recognized case manufacturers in the world,” which I feel like actually means “We are trying to make sure that anytime someone sees you with a Noreve product, the first thing that springs to their mind will be that super rich asshole.” [Born Rich]

iMac Thinks It's a Laptop Inside Reinda Leather Transport Bag

John Mahoney — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:30:00 EDT

When the Feds are at the door and it's time to rip and run, what better way for the style- and safety-conscious hacker to make a protected getaway than with this all-leather handmade iMac Transport Bag (or apfeltaschen, as Reinda says) Then again, if you're that hardcore, why are you using an iMac? Guess this is for the regular folks who need to move their all-in-one, all the time. It's €90 ($140) for the 20" and €96 ($150) for the 24." [Product Page via Cool Hunting]

Mercedes Benz Makes an iPhone Pouch...Wait What?

Jason Chen — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:00:00 EDT

It's Mercedes' Swarovski Elements iPhone pouch from their GLK collection, which holds your iPhone the way that only a gaudy piece of leather can. Only 40 are going to be made (as of now), and will be raffled off in the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin to people who are rich enough to attend. More gaudiness after the jump. [eMercedes Benz]

Orbino Aria MackBook Air Case: Was Rumorware, Now Real, Luxurious

Kit Eaton — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:36:00 EDT

Remember the MacBook Air case that was announced even before we knew for sure that the Air was real? Well, the Aria from Orbino is now a real product (meaning the 50% of you who voted it to be rumorware were wrong!) and it's pretty darn luxurious. Aircraft-grade aluminum, hand-folded calfskin leather... and that's just the start.

It's got a spring-loaded latching mechanism, removable leather shoulder strap, and a padded "alcantara" exterior. It keeps its Air-matching shape by having all your accessories (read: power brick) in a removable external pocket, which is a little clunky but not too bad. It's made entirely by hand, machined from a single block of aluminum, and it's in premium hand-stretched leather (with exotic skins available on special order.)

I, for one, think it's not a bad-looking way to carry your Air around, and was worth the wait to see it make it to reality. But, of course, there's just one tiny sticking point: its price. Starting at $529, it costs nearly 30% of the entry-level Air. Ouch. [Orbino]

Vaja Ivolution is Leather Protection, Not Gimp Suit for MacBook Air

Kit Eaton — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:37:00 EDT

A close-fitting leather suit, complete with cutouts for your precious Air... that's roughly what the Vaja Ivolution Leather Suit case is. Sure it adds to the bulk of the skinny Air, but it snuggles it in protective leather when open or closed and gives you access to power socket and connector drawer. I vaguely worry about air circulation inside it, since even sitting naked on the table my Air is cranking out a blaze of heat... but I guess that's why there's that mesh fabric segment where the vents are. It's a hand-crafted affair so there's over 1,000 color combos to choose, and that means the price starts at $280. [Vaja via LikeCool]

Leather Keyboard from Japanese Artist, Only For Expert Touch-Typers

Kit Eaton — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 05:44:00 EDT

Remember the beautiful gold and flowers keyboards from a few months back? This new keyboard from Japanese artist Kazuharu Sakura should probably go in the same "typing nightmare" category. Because it's handmade, and leather is a pretty unusual thing to have your keys made from... but they're missing something important. Legends. So, if you're into conversation-piece leather-gimp peripherals, and you know your way around a keyboard better than you know how to aim safely for the toilet in the dark, then this might be the one for you. There's no info, though, on how much this piece of luxury may cost—I imagine quite a lot. [Akihabaranews]

Iomega Introduces Leather 250GB Hip Flask, Er, eGo Drive

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 22 May 2008 08:45:00 EDT

The people who brought you the camouflage eGo portable USB hard drive have traded the hunting rifle for the meerschaum pipe: the leather-clad 250GB eGo, which goes on sale today for just over $140, will look good in any study, but best in ones where there's a roaring fire and many leather-bound books. Iomega takes pains to note that this is the only leather portable drive on the market. Our guess is that, as stylish as it is, it may remain so for a while. (Second photo after the jump.) [Iomega]

Mouse Jacket Grown, Euthanized In Museum Lab

Mark Wilson — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:30:00 EDT

In one of the odder stories we've spotted in some time, an installation called "Victimless Leather" was on display at NY's MoMA. The piece was actually a living jacket crafted from mouse embryonic stem cells, fed nutrients through tubes. But after five weeks, it grew too large for its containment flask and had to be killed.

The exhibit's curator cut the coat off from nutrition and it died thereafter. But the decision haunted her.

I've always been pro-choice and all of a sudden I'm here not sleeping at night about killing a coat...That thing was never alive before it was grown.

Personally, it's the image of a pulsating living rat coat that's going to keep me from sleeping. Did anyone see the exhibit? [The Art Newspaper via boingboing]

Hannspree Leather Purse TV Renders Us Confused, Somewhat Angry

Jason Chen — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:24:51 EDT

Hannspree, a company that's no stranger to putting LCD screens in absurd places, has just pioneered a leather purse LCD TV. You read that right. Leather. Purse. LCD. TV. Purse. TV. LCD. Leather. TV. Purse. LCD. Purse. TV. Italian Leather. 9.6-inches. $259. You don't want one. [Hannspree via Shiny Shiny]

ASUS U2E Is A Light, Leather Bound Notebook That Is Heavy On Features

Benny Goldman — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:00:00 EST

The U2E notebook from ASUS brings a 32GB SSD, an LED backlit panel and a small-lens webcam to an 11-inch, 2-pound, leather notebook. The coolest feature announced so far is definitely the Smart Logon Face Recognition. This software keeps the computer secure by using the webcam to scan the face in front of it and only grant access after a positive facial scan. The U2E will be available in brown or black, but pricing and availability have not yet been announced. See the gallery for more hot pics. [ASUS]

Vertu Goes "Budget" With the $6,600 Ascent Ti

blongo3 — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:41:40 EDT

We told you about Vertu's Ascent Ti a few months ago when it was found in an FCC filing. Well, it's been a couple of months and the Ascent Ti is finally being released along with official details. So what does $6,628 get you? For starters, a quad-band GSM phone with 3G and a 3MP camera.

What, that's not enough to warrant a couple grand? Okay, it's also made with titanium, leather and sapphire crystals. Along with that is Vertu's 24-hour concierge service, automatic backups of your contacts and calendar to a network that is housed in an ex-military bunker, and three ringtones created by David Arnold (the composer from Casino Royale). Just a note—if you complained about the iPhone being too expensive, stay away from Vertu as it only gets worse from here (Cobra Signature) [Crave]

Worst iPhone Case Ever

Jason Chen — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:00:02 EDT

If you're going to get a case for your iPhone, please don't get this case. It's pink, it's tacky, and worst of all it has a "Lady Mirror" when you flip it open. We're not women (obviously, but it would be awesome if we were), but we're even offended by the fact that the manufacturer thinks ladies need a mirror in their iPhone case. What's even more offensive is the price: $34.99. We vomit in disgust. [USBFever via i4u]

Leather Mouse is All Class

Travis Hudson — Tue, 22 May 2007 19:00:11 EDT

Sick of the other billionaires at the Yacht Club snickering at your silly plastic mouse? Yeah, me too. Earth-Treck has answered our needs and created a mouse wrapped in the luxurious brown or black leather. If you still haven't impressed your peers, this mouse comes with a matching USB hub. That should woo over the billionaires in no time. I think the Akihabara News translators said it best: "How sweet is that ?" No word on pricing or availability. –Travis Hudson

Leather mouse and USB hub ? Why not ? [Akihabara]

First Photos of the Delicious i-Volution Leather Vaja Macbook Case: $580...OMGWTF

Brian Lam — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:32:50 EDT

I'm the last guy in the world to write a post about a mere laptop case. But I think you need to know about this semi rigid, form fitting case from Vaja, better known for their ipod cozies. Because it's gorgeous, hand crafted from fine Argintine full grain leather, and customizable in up to a 1000 color combos, it costs $580 bucks. That's as much as a cheap Dell laptop, like this Inspiron 1501. And it's almost twice as much as the aircraft aluminum Zero Halliburton laptop case. Of course, neither of those are hand stitched from the creamy buttocks of baby cows.

Mmmm, buttocks...and veal. Bring it.– Brian Lam

DLO's Zune Cases Hands-On: Luxury Edition

Jason Chen — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 14:11:47 EST

Continuing the Zune Accessories parade, today we have both the DLO Leather Zune case and the DLO Action Jacket, which is an armband case for the Zune. We still question the need for Zune cases, seeing as they're made out of a pretty scratch-proof rubberized plastic, but some people really like their gadgets pristine.

Both of these cases will protect your Zune, but one feels great and the other feels awkward.

The winner? The Leather case. The finish is supple and soft, which makes for a great feel when you're fiddling around with your player. There's a magnetic clasp to secure the flip-open flap, and the buttons aren't too hard to push—unlike with the Jam Jacket.

The only problem comes from the lack of a cutout on top for the hold switch when the player's closed. Not a big deal, when you think about it. And it's most likely the way they designed it. Pretty decent buy for $34.

The loser? The Action Jacket. It's no fault of DLO's that the Zune is so large. In fact it's so large, that mounting it on your arm while jogging will ensure that you're going to bulk up one arm more than the other.

The case itself isn't bad—it's made of rubber and felt—but the player doesn't quite line up with the cutouts and the buttons. Not a huge deal when you're jogging, but if you just want this case to carry around, we'd recommend you go up $5 from this $29 and go with the leather one instead. – Jason Chen

Leather Case Product Page [DLO]

Action Jacket Product Page [DLO]

Gallery [Gizmodo]