Subscribe to The VoiceNews FeedSubscribe to The VoiceComments

Browse > Home / A&E / Trend Report: February

Trend Report: February

photo from 3.bp.blogspot.com

February 2, 2010

Lucy Ainley, Senior Editor-Sports  

Filed under A&E

Heads up everybody: 2010 has arrived, and brought a slew of gadgets, gizmos, fashion and many other trends along for the ride.
Let’s start out with gadgets. The year 2010 just rolls off the tongue; fittingly there are some new gadgets to look forward to in the coming months that do the same. The new Google phone likely comes to mind at this point. Officially branded the Nexus One, it is the first phone to be released by Google and is now available on Google’s online store. Many of the Nexus’s primary features including WiFi, video and picture capture, e-mail and iTunes access. Google has also added more three dimensional touch key options and menu displays (for those who have an eye for details), along with an enhanced battery life that includes up to 10 hours of talk time and over six hours of internet time and 20 hours of audio playback. Perhaps the most distinct feature is the language options on the Nexus. Keyboard display settings can be programmed in a variety of languages: Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian and Russian are only some of the options!

For those who are looking forward to the new music of the year more than the toys, you are in luck. Several well-known artists have rung in the New Year with new albums. Nashville-based pop artist Ke$ha recently released her debut album Animal after her single “Tik Tok” topped the charts in five countries. Lady Gaga has also graced the music charts with her hit “Bad Romance,” the leading single from her newly released album The Fame Monster. With her second album out and raking in the Grammy nominations, Lady Gaga is continuing to climb the ladder of music industry success since she first stepped into the scene in 2005.

But let’s not forget about the Indie scene, which is home to popular groups like Vampire Weekend. The band members all met at Colombia University and began putting together their Congolese-style jams into a full-length album, debuting in 2008. The newest installment from the group, Contra, was released January 11 in the United States.

In terms of the fashion avenue, keep your eyes peeled for the latest spring trends that are going to be creeping into local retailers in the coming weeks. A popular trend in the fashion magazines is the shirt dress. This comfortable piece combines a button down T-shirt with the length of a short dress, providing both girly appeal and tomboy edginess. The shirt dress fits all shapes well, and Michelle Obama has even been seen sporting one recently while on vacation. Check out stores like The Limited and Ralph Lauren, who are already launching spring lines.

Not quite ready to start bringing out all your warm weather clothes again? Not to worry, because many stores are still in post-holiday sales, where plenty of winter clothes will not only be available but will be on sale! Macy’s, Kenneth Cole, French Connection, and Michael Kors are great places to go to find classy coats and jackets that are appropriate for a California girl’s idea of winter.

With the variety of new appliances, music, and fashion news to keep up with, it might come as a relief to know that one new trend might also ease some of the back pain that is so common among Pres due to lugging around backpacks jammed full of books. It is called the “Nook”, a compact digital book made by Barnes & Noble that allows owners to download books straight onto the device. The Nook is built with an E Ink display screen designed to protect the reader from the damaging effects of staring at a computer screen.

So what is the niftiest feature of this little gadget? Users can download novels, magazines, and newspapers at the Barnes & Noble online store or through AT&T cellular networks. As many as 700,000 selections are available, all of which can be shared with friends with the Nook’s “Lend Me” feature. Friends do not even have to be fellow Nook owners, as the Lend Me feature allows titles to be sent to iPhones, iPod Touches, BlackBerries or computers.

There are plenty of new items out this year, so keep your eyes peeled for these new trends!

Email This Story Email This Story       Print This Story Print This Story      

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments

Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!