We wrote last week about Apple’s efforts to preserve the sanctity of the album through artwork and extras, a move that attempts to synthesize the digital format’s emerging dominance with the holistic listening experience of the past. But what is the future of the album exactly? Is it merely an outmoded concept that speaks more to the artist’s craft than what the audience actually wants to hear (i.e. hit singles divorced of any context that can be easily inserted into personalized playlists)?

Design Commission’s beautiful stainless steel iPhone stencil is meant to help developers sketch easy and clean application interface design ideas. The stencil includes outlines for the iPhone’s icons and blank interface shapes, and comes with a Zebra mechanical pencil. The stencils are part of a limited edition of only 100.
[via Gizmodo]

Never Center has created a clever iPhone application named Camerabag, that styles images to look like photographs from classic cameras of the past. Different filters can be applied to existing images or to photos taken live. Users can choose between the Helga, 1974, Lolo, Cinema, 1962, Mono and Infrared modes that add different gritty, moody washes over the often bland looking camphone photos. Priced at 99 cents, Camerabag looks like an inexpensive and valuable tool to add character to photos snapped on the run. Check out the Camerabag Flickr pool here.
[via Swissmiss]

Microsoft Tag is a mobile application that offers a way for users to quickly move between the real and digital worlds. Users simply snap a picture of a tag using the camera on their internet-enabled phone and they are taken to a page that shares additional information on the associated product or service without the extra step of entering complicated web addresses or texting special codes. In our modern society where instant gratification is increasingly expected and attention spans are fractured and short, mobile tagging provides a vital tool for businesses hoping to instantly connect with their customers.
Though the idea [...]