News and notes from around the interweb:
- Apple’s VP of Design has come up with a new way to cram more stuff into a rollaboard.
[I]ts internal cavity is 13% larger than similar bags. That’s thanks to a head-slappingly simple idea: to mount the anodized aluminum telescoping handle as an exoskeleton protecting the corners of the bag, rather than cramming those components inside the bag with your shoes and underwear.
- One town in South Korea experiencing a tourism boom thank to a glitch in Pokemon Go. The game uses Google Maps, which are banned in South Korea, but the town appears to be classified by maps as outside the country’s borders in error.
The mobile game has become a blockbuster hit in the U.S. within less than a week of its launch, but it has not been officially launched in South Korea and might never be. The country is likely to be excluded from the “Pokemon Go” Asia launch because South Korea’s government restricts Google Maps service for security reasons.
…Media reports attributed the monsters’ appearance in Sokcho to map glitches. By the way Niantic organizes the region, Sokcho and its neighboring area bordering North Korea were reportedly categorized as North Korea.
…Whatever the reason, South Korean “Pokemon Go” players have been going to great lengths to take advantage.
- How Alaska Airlines used to buy 737s
- Cathay Pacific launching twice-weekly service to Portland (with a freighter).
- Wow, I’m definitely going to have to plan a trip to the Park Hyatt Mallorca if I can find category 5 cash and points with Diamond confirmed suite upgrade.
“I have no idea why it was never been done before,” writes Newson. “It seemed an obvious way to me of maximizing the space inside.”
Yet he puts in spinner wheels at each corner.
“As a final detail, the bag features a single zipper—rather than the standard, oft-confusing two”
That pretty much sums up the target audience for the bag.
My 5 year old Briggs&Riley “wide body” has an external telescoping handle.
@Rico bingo. mine does too – its not a new innovation at all….
The “innovative” idea If it’s external, then the inside of the bag will end up with less cubic area… because whether the telescoping handle is external or internal, the entire thing is STILL limited to the space in the overhead compartment. So imagine two carry-on suitcases, both the same width & length, but 1 has internal handle & 1 has external — the external handle will have to be less deep than the internal-handled one, or else it won’t fit.
I guess the Apple guy’s theory makes sense if you’re talking about a regular suitcase instead of a carry-on.
Using the handle as part of the suitcase frame is a good way to save weight, and is different from the external frame on suitcases such as Briggs and Riley. I’ve seen it used in some ultra-lightweight designs, and wondered why it wasn’t used more often- people probably don’t like the extra wide handles.
The other issue is that it exposes the handle to more wear and tear, because the corners on the bag get impacted the most.
The single zipper is just dumb.
Innovative luggage designs are like luxury goods; they’re a tiny bit better, for a ton more money. If it goes mass market, I’ll consider it. 🙂
Marc Newson is not VP of Design at Apple. He doesn’t even work there. He is however friends with Jony Ive, who is Chief Design Officer.
I forgot he worked for Apple now… I always think of him as the Qantas designer.
Go look at ebags.com
ultralightweight luggage
There are several types that do just that