If you go to the Sanrio Hello Kitty store in New York City’s Times Square at any given point in the day it will inevitably be mobbed by tourists- all hoping to grab a piece of Japanese pop kitsch. The reason for it’s popularity is that Americans crave the novelty and inventiveness of Japanese pop-design, and the Japanese are covetous of America’s neon-and- cowboy consumer past. It’s because of this symbiosis that mobile phone company iida has been able to successfully launch a new collaboration with avant- guard artist Yatoi Kusama that’s not just popular in Japan, but is also [...]

Infrastructurist has compiled a fantastic gallery of some of the last remaining full-size phone booths in New York City. Once a standard feature of any urban landscape, these days, any kind of phone booth seems like an anachronism. With the advent of ubiquitous mobile phone use these little phone-call stations are next to obsolete, but hopefully some kind of new purpose can be found for these structures.

[Infrastructurist via Doobybrain]

Ribbit is an open API platform for integrating phone call features into the online world. Calls, texts, and voicemails can be integrated into web banners and sites.
In the demo pictured above, drag and drop features were used to create a pizza banner with features to place an order over the phone. After inputing your number and clicking “Call”, a rep would call you and take your order.
The next demo involved a community voicemail-box. Let’s say you want to promote a movie before it comes out, you can set up the voicemail and have actors call into it leaving updates about [...]