More highlights from IFA 20.
Satisfyer App 
Satisfyer Toys
Eccov Bike 
Fauna Audio Glasses 
Mystery Vibe 
Deep One Audio 
Opening IFA 
Stay Tuned for the videos. We produced a few.
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IFA 20
Author: Editor
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IFA 20
Tech is Back
“Tech is Back” the message to IFA 2020 tech attendees for a year in upheaval. As with everything in our present reality, Covid-19 hangs over events big and small. When the Messe Berlin team announced in May the plan to go ahead with the fair, I had of surprised reaction. This years Mobile World held in Barcelona got cancelled. Many industry brands pulled out due to health concerns.
Skepticism ran high, the continent is registering uptakes with infections, unplanned quarantines coming from certain countries. Planning normal travel can be difficult, but these days it goes beyond challenging. Attending my first big event in the “New Normal” gave me anxiety. I had many expectations. As days rolled closer to the opening of IFA on September 3rd. I waited for an email reading “Cancelled”. None came.
On the first day of the 3 day IFA 20, the difference from past years was apparent, fewer people. I walked in, no crowd, no hassle. I walked in the media and press hall furnished socially distanced low back chairs. Without exhibitor stands, these halls are massive. Event press conferences were a mix of digital and live presentations. Shift and NEXT Innovations held in The Cube was more intimate. The present trend in technology, not a hard guess. Connections and gadgets for making home stays more comfortable.
Highlights
Discovered higlights at IFA 20 Special edition.
The tech sector cannot fault the IFA team for trying this year. #Thisyearisdifferent. Trying to get back to “normal” is easer said than done.
Bob, a mini dishwasher requiring 3 liters of water for washing 4 place settings in 20 minutes while using UVA disinfecting technology. Designed by D.A.A.N. Tech from France.
Cardi B’s summer hit song “WAP” places female needs to an in the front and center. Women want to get their groove on. Satisfyer adult toys come in many shapes and sizes. Plus, they connect to Spotify.
Fitbit released new gear. I saw the watch but I have never used the brands device. Hopefully, in the future I will have a review.
The future of social interaction without being there, GoBe Robots has a solution, a smiling face while practicing social distancing. Mobile digital screens putting the user at the center of meetings.
Because we couldn’t have hands on experience with devices introduced digitally. I decided to skip writing about those gadgets.
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Xiaomi in Your Pocket
Chinese brand Xiaomi has been called the “Apple of China”. Founded in 2010, the brand ranks as the one of the world’s top smartphone makers.
The Xiaomi Mi 10 5G launched in Feburary 2020. I tested the device in Berlin at Fonschmiede Centre, Friedrichshain. My first impressions, a polished statement for those looking for an Android alternative to Samsung.
Radu and Sven from Fonschmiede 
Sharp Display
Tech Associates Radu Muncelean, Sven Birkhahn, and I went over the specs. The sharp display and cameras standout. The smooth body finish gives the Mi 10 a premium look.
At around $600, the bang for buck mobile gadget is worth it.
How did it fare with battery life? I cannot comment on this because I used the Mi 10 for a few hours. But I was assured by Radu and Sven the battery holds up well. Also, I checked the other tech review sights, the 4500 mAh pack got good marks. Additionally, the battery charges from 0 to 40% quickly.
Thanks to Fonschmiede and Vodafone Ring Centre Berlin.
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Wine Country Franconia
I spent my staycation in the Franconia region of Bavaria Germany. Romance, picturesque, rolling vines on hills shape the landscape. Traveling from one wine tasting spot to another, with every glass, my fondness grew. The warmth of the area beamed under the sunlight.
Hill top views, palace terraces, and old churches; traveling around from one village to another made for inspiring images.
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Tech August
As the world stays home these days, being connected is important. What do I think of these Jabra headphones? Hint: they have become my work horse devices. This Jabra headset delivers.
Stay Tuned for the review on this device and more.
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A Musician Turned Model
From the 2019 Archive. During our editorial shoot at the Aqualux Hotel in Italy we met musician Simone Clementi. We grabbed him to pose for a few shots.
The Black and Paper Team: Pics by Ivan Siggillino, Asst-Simone Toson, Make Up-Lorena Palmieri. Shot on location in Itay.
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Tech August-Xiaomi Mi
A quick first impression of the Xiaomi 10 5G Smartphone. A high-end feel, sharp screen, lightweight Android power device packing great features. Stay Tuned for more details.
From the Vodafone Ring Centre and Fonschmiede Berlin.
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Harris for Vice President
I should be euphoric for Kamala Harris as a Vice President candidate. Not really! After going over the record, another Reagan Democrat who stepped on the bodies of People of Color to make her way to the top. Another follower of the “Tough on Crime” mantra, code for put more people in jail. Her infamous record of prosecuting parents of school delinquents left a bitter taste for many families in California.
Contrast this with the prosecutor’s record on going after banks during the 2008 housing crisis. Not a single prosecution. Would it have been difficult to have made a token effort of legal, moral outrage?
Kamala only got 2% of the Democratic primary vote. African Americans did not line up behind her candidacy. Unable to reach the top tier candidate ranks, Harris quit the campaign race in December 2019.
This Democratic ticket is part of the establishment that drove the country into the ditch. In conclusion, nothing will change.
I will not support Kamala Harris’ efforts to obtain the highest office in the land. As a willing accomplice of judicial oppression, she obediently pursued power while ignoring what it was doing to her people.
This writer will vote 3rd party.
The 2020 America votes happens on November 3rd. Trump/Pence vs. Biden/ Harris.
Girl’s just want to have fun! But in Cardi B’s world,,,it is a more explicit. Normally I do not post about social media trends on music. But “WAP” caused a stir on its release. I can see why. The single leaves little to the imagination about what Cardi and Megan Thee Stallion expect and want in the bedroom. Come loaded or go home!
Back in my neighbourhood we knew people like Cardi. We would shake our heads, say a pray for her but love her to come around. Just make sure your man is away when she comes for a visit.
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Fabulous Denial Syndrome
Being Fabulous! Aspirational living! This is the lifestyle Vogue and other Conde Nast publications put in our faces. That $1500 bag matched with a $900 linen top. Advice; Pay the rent before heading to Bloomingdales.
Once again the magazines find themselves in the headlines, but for the wrong reason,,AGAIN! Six years ago Conde Nast debased from Mid Manhattan to the World Trade Center. Fast Forward to the 2020 Pandemic, ad revenue flat lined. Suddenly, those palatial 1.2 million square feet became a brick tied to an ankle in a sea storm.
Fashion magazines have been in a denial stage for a decade. Bloggers and social media elbowed in once exclusive territory. Brand advertising splintered. But to the heads of Conde Nast, this was a bump on a Champagne Boulevard. They had become victims of a movement they help create, “Living In A Fake Reality”.
Nothing says success than new digs. Trading up, moving to 1 World Trade in lower downtown New York represented the future, optimism. Anna Wintour and staff sat on top of the world. August 4th 2020, reports started circulating Advance Publications, parent company of Conde Nast, is scouting for a new office. I had to do a double take. Suddenly, Vanity Fair, New Yorker, Teen Vogue’s 21 floors lost its appeal or a need to “trade down”. Six months ago I saw Vogue editors coming in and out of the Bristol and Hotel de Crillon hotels in Paris.
One Minute This, Then,
In April requesting government a bailout, today negotiating cheaper rent. No more fashion week teas in “Le Boudoir”. Have the company credit cards been cut? No worries, if a Vogue Staffer is reading this, send me a message. I know a few affordable places in Paris and Milan.
Looking over the magazines social media channels, I could see problems. Access to the best writers and photographers in the world, yet, a lack of original content replaced by recycled stories. How many pictures can be from the archives? Or Vogue Challenges every week? HMMM!
All smokes and mirrors, denial is a fabulous way to live until a “reality brick” hits the face.