Elite Traveler January-February 2016

DISCOVER

elite traveler JAN/FEB 2016 42 Technology

We love…TVs of the future In particular, the 4K Ultra HD VIZIO Reference Series television. It is packed with techie features and a massive 120-inch screen so you can see every blade of grass up close. $130,000, vizio.com

DOWN TO THE BOATHOUSE If it hasn’t floated in your direction yet, it soon will. We are talking, of course, about the excitement surrounding Floatwing, a new super high-tech floating home that, when fully-charged by its 334 sq ft of solar panels, is self-sufficient for a week. It was designed by a team of naval architects and industrial engineers from the University of Coimbra in Portugal, the same team behind a conceptual personal submarine. What we love is that it can reach some of the most remote lakes and rivers in the world, allowing you to travel in utter peace and privacy – no traffic, noise or noisy people. Just you and the open water. The spec is pretty impressive and can be built to order with up to three bedrooms. It has a height of 17ft and can measure up to 59ft in length. The design is sleek too, in a pared back, New England style. In short, it’s up there with Philippe Starck’s legendary PATH Series of prefabricated homes in the style stakes – with the added bonus that this one floats. Up to $253,000, gofriday.eu

The boat is designed to be taken apart so it can be shipped anywhere in the world

NEWYEAR, NEWGADGETS To mark the start of 2016, we pick out our favorite new gadget release of the year (so far)

amplifier housed in Italian Carrara marble, (the same type of marble Michelangelo used for his statues). In the making for over 10 years, they will finally be available from mid 2016. $55,000 sennheiser.com

What: Sennheiser Orpheus headphones Why: These extravagant new earphones are a reboot of the legendary Orpheus HE90 headphones created in the 1990s when the powers that be at Sennheiser, or so the

originals were limited to 300 in total) and they comprise a complicated sounding roll call of 6,000 components, including gold-vaporized ceramic electrodes, platinum-vaporized diaphragms and – most elaborate of all – an

story goes, asked its engineers to craft the best headphones in the world, no matter how long it took them. Flash forward a couple of decades and they’re at it again. The new Orpheus are limited to just 250 pieces a year (the

Words: Laura Powell