Archive for the ‘Gadgets’ Category
Ever wanted to carry a fun Roulette game every where you go? Made especially for two players to eight players and many ways to change the game around for extra fun, use your imagination, the X-Ploda Roulette gets a rating of 7/10. A fun small version of a Roulette that can be easily carried anywhere because it is very small and it’s very light.
All it requires is a balloon and some friends to play. It cost $18 which is a bit high but worth it for all the fun that happens. There is a small spinner that have 6 different choices which are pass it to your left, pass it to your right, spin again or have the choice of giving it to anyone that’s playing! This game is a time bomb because there is a pin that can pop the balloon at any time to end the game and scare some friends. The balloon must be inflated before it is inserted to the X-Ploda Roulette. There is a randomizer button that gives a random timing of when the bomb will be exploded. This is suitable for up to about eight players and is made for 8 years and older. It’s 14cm x 6cm x 4cm.
A great way to make this small gadget more fun is to fill the balloon with water! So when it pops near one of your friends, they’ll get wet! Although do not do this in the winter but it’s a great way to have fun and play around in the summer times. A great little invention that was made for loads of fun. Since the balloon will pop, this game is not suitable for those that have a nervous disposition but it good for almost everyone else.
Mainly this item has gotten all it’s ratings from the way the game is made, the different ways to play the game, which you can even make up one your self, maybe include some money. Also the size of the X-Ploda Roulette. It’s very small so it is convenient to carry around whether you’re going far away or just going to a park to meet up with some friends. This game is made to be played at almost everywhere. One of the most popular ways to play this game among my friends is to put up some money. When the balloon pops, the person who got to spin the X-Ploda Roulette get the money and then we play again! This can go up to hours of each time we start to play, we never want to stop. It’s just way too much fun and it’s a great gift for your friends. After all, it only cost about $18 to buy one and some extra money to buy the balloon to play with. A great gadget that is recommended to almost anyone. You don’t even have to follow the original set of rules that is given and play with even more fun since it’s your game, your rules your way of getting winners!
As I am one of the newer authors here I would like to introduce myself as John. I run many blogs and became a writer here at www.tech-faq.com to post about gadgets that can make your life more amusing and easier. Bear with me while I post up 5 gadgets that I feel will add that touch of fun and ease to your life. If you like what you read, consider subscribing to the full RSS feed and leave a comment here.
Many people work long hours and get bad sleep to begin with. Now it’s 6am and you have to rise and shine for you next full day of blogging, TPS reports or whatever it is that you do, and you can’ get out of bed. Do you think that you could get out of bed if there was an earthquake every morning?
That, of course, would be a little unrealistic if you don’t own a Sonic Bomb Alarm Clock with Bed Shaker. That’s right, you will now be wide awake when you set the alarm for 6am and the bed starts to shake like the sky is falling. The Sonic Bomb Alarm Clock with Bed Shaker is such a neat little gadget I can hardly contain myself from ordering one for myself.
Quick stats:
Features:
Red Display
Two Brightness Settings
Snooze Button
Battery Backup (9V - not included)
Alarm Volume Control
Alarm Tone Control
3 Alarm Settings (Buzz, Buzz/Bed Shake, Only Bed Shake)
Manufacturer Limited Warranty: 1 year
ThinkGeek.com has such a wide variety of these types of things it’s kind of insane. If you like this product why not put it on a Christmas list or even get it for yourself if you can’t get out of bed in the morning.
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007 | Posted in Gadgets | No Comments »
iFly Vamp Indoor/Outdoor Radio Controlled Flying Bat
While radio controlled helicopters and planes get all the attention, if you are looking for the ultimate in home radio controlled aviation, this bat may be for you. The i-Fly Vamp is a radio controlled Styrofoam bat that flies via its flipping wings. To make things even more intense, the i-Fly comes equipped with glowing red LED eyes for practically pitch black dark operation.
While the bat can be difficult to fly- until you get the hang of it. It’s a great toy for almost any kid or adult. The i-Fly Vamp hovers around the $50 mark and is available at Interactive Toy Concepts.
USB Doomsday Device Hub
Just like in every James Bond movie, the USB Doomsday Device Hub helps you destroy the world by first activating switch one, then flipping switch two and then turning your authorized key to arm the device. Once your USB Doomsday Device Hub is armed, the plastic shield can be lifted and the big red button can be pressed.
Besides looking very cool on any presidents, I mean programmers desk, this device is also an extremely practical USB hub with 4 ports. You can pick this bad boy up at ThinkGeek.com
Digital Photo Keychain
For all you tech geeks out in computerland, this charming digital keep-sake is perfect for your girlfriend (if you are lucky enough to have one). While there are many different styles of the digital photo keychain, most include a 1.5 inch LCD screen and a USB port to connect to a computer. You can easily fill up this device with many photo formats including: JPEG, BMP, PNG and GIF. It should be noted that images are automatically formatted to fit on the tiny screen. Most digital photo keychains store about 72 images.
NovoPhone Retro Cell Phone Handset with 2.5 mm Jack
Remember the old days when a phone handset was big, bulky and beautiful. Well if you are sick of those slick Bluetooth earpieces or even the less ridiculed hands free headsets, this retro cell phone handset is for you.
This handset is a good old telephone handset. It is heavy, made from tough plastic and big enough to let everyone know that you are packing a traditional phone. This handset works with most phones; however it is not compatible with either the RAZR or Nokia phones. Available at X-Treme Geek.
R2-D2 Interactive Droid
No tech-toy list would be complete without a Star Wars product and this R2-D2 interactive droid is perhaps the most fun I’ve had since 1977. R2-D2 stands about a foot tall and works via voice activation. It even includes an extendable utility arm which is perfect for holding drinks, etc.
R2-D2 just doesn’t look good on your desk or in your room, he also obeys commands, flashes his lights, plays games, beeps and whistles and can navigate with sonar and infrared sensors. He is much smarter than the average dog and understands up to 30 phrases. Perfect for the home and great with kids, R2-D2 is a good little pet robot. Available at the Sharper Image.
USB Heated Gloves
If your boss hasn’t paid the heating bill and your hands are freezing at your computer keyboard, then you’re probably thanking your lucky stars that you can slip on your USB heated gloves. These gloves are perfect for any office environment and only require a working USB port (computer, Playstation, Xbox, etc). The gloves have a cut fingered design- so you can still type away and it includes two heating levels. Available at Kleargear.
Rollaway Piano Keyboard
Perfect for any traveling musician, this flexible, silicone piano can be rolled out in a moments notice. The keyboard includes 49 full size keys and a built in speaker. It weighs less than 2 pounds and works via 4 AA batteries or AC adapter. Perfect for work, home or on the road. This item is available at Kleargear.
ZipZaps- High Performance Remote Controlled MicroCar
Looking for extremely small remote control vehicles, ZipZaps are super small 2.5 inch pocket sized radio control cars that zip around super fast. They come with a full size controller and are extremely affordable- around $20. ZipZaps are first sold as part of a starter kit which includes a chassis, a 16,000 RPM performance motor, 12:1 gearing, body shell, wheels, tires and rims. It also includes a six way controller charger. Besides the starter kit other accessories are available, such as four different powered motors. They include: control, performance, turbo and NOS Nitrous. Perfect for those that want something that is extremely powerful, but simple to use. This item is available at Radio Shack
Garmin eTrex Vista CX Color Handheld GPS
If you are lucky enough to venture away from your computer, you might need this device to keep you on the right path. The Garmin eTrex Vista CX Handheld GPS is not only small, lightweight and cool looking, it also offers many features that are perfect for you rugged outdoor geeks. Features include:
• Bright, full-color TFT display, automatic routing, and long, 20-hour battery life
• Powerful navigation chip for supreme accuracy
• Includes barometric altimeter and electronic compass
• MicroSD memory slot; includes 64 MB memory card
• Preloaded with an Americas autoroute basemap
Weighs 5.6 ounces and runs on 2 AA batteries. Available at Amazon.com.
Penguin EZ Pull Stainless Steel Cork Screw
Yes geeks another techy wine cork to add to your collection. This one called the Penguin EZ Pull is made from beautiful stainless steel and extremely easy to use. No more chunks of cork in the bottle, instead you can look super cool effortlessly opening that bottle of wine next time you throw a Star Trek party.
To open a bottle simply raise the handle of the penguin, place it on top of the wine bottle, lower the handle which inserts the cool magnesium corkscrew and then lift the handle to effortlessly remove the wine cork without any twisting. This item also comes with a super cool looking storage case. Available at Sharper Image.
Sunday, December 16th, 2007 | Posted in Gadgets | No Comments »
I purchased my Olympus Stylus 790 SW for two reasons: It’s shockproof and it’s waterproof. Since then, however, the camera has impressed me with its intelligence and its ability to create quality shots under almost any circumstances.
The shockproof and waterproof labels come with important disclaimers. It’s shockproof only on falls up to five feet. In reality, almost any digital camera will survive a 5′ fall. The 790 SW’s metal body, floating circuit board and internal shock absorbers should provide significantly more than the stated shockproof performance.
The 790 SW is waterproof up to ten feet. That may not seem like much, but when was the last time you were below 10′ of water?
Both the shockproof and waterproof performance can be enhanced with Olympus accessories. The PT-041 Underwater Housing increases the waterproof guarantee up to 40 meters. The Silicon Clear Skin provides a cozy rubberized cover to protect the camera (and the finish) against the effects of drops.
The 790 SW is also freeze-proof to 14F (-10C). I’m not freeze-proof, so this was not an important feature for me.
Similarly, the camera’s 7.1 megapixel resolution far exceeds my requirements. My photos will be compressed significantly for publication on the web. Most of them will be published at less than one megapixel.
The 3x optical zoom is very nice to have. No digital zoom can ever take the place of a decent optical zoom feature and it’s amazing to have a 3x optical zoom on a camera this tiny.
The 2.5″ HyperCrystal LCD is an amazing performer, especially in sunlight.
SCN mode allows you to configure the camera quickly for the type of photo you intend to take. You can choose from 23 different options with presets to help ensure the best picture possible.
Guide mode is the real genius of this little camera. The shooting guide enables you to set an enormous variety of photographic effects — and preview them on the screen before the photo is taken. It’s like having your own photography instructor in your pocket.
This is an awesome little camera. If I had a complaint, it would be that the camera may be just a little too little for my club-like hands. Other than that, this may me the most perfect pocket camera on the market today. And it’s waterproof. 
Ever wonder what it would be like typing without a 
keyboard. Check out the Celluon Laserkey CL800BT which offers a look into the future of desk space saving and convienient typing. How it works is the mini tower that is the size of a large PDA projects a laser keyboard onto the surface in front on it. Just tapping your fingers on a plain desk surface with a projected keyboard is all it takes to type something up.
The laser is a red laser diode that casts a keyboard image on a surface, works best with non-reflective, opaque flat surfaces. The keyboard is in a regular sized QWERTY style and is visible in 1000-5000 lux ambient light.
The Celluon Laserkey CL800BT picks up 400 characters per minute which is pretty good for the average keyboard user especially a user getting used to pressing their fingers on a regular flat surface, so unique and cool.
The Celluon Laserkey runs on an integral lithium ion battery and has a 830mAH capacity at 3.7V. Adaptor comes in 1A or 5V depending on your capatability. Bluetooth technology needs v1.1 class 2.
Right now the Celluon Laserkey is compatible with Windows Mobile Pocket PCs and the smart phone edition so you can spead out your fingers and type on any flat surface avaiable (the Celluon Laserkey mini tower is easy to carry with you when you are on the go). also compatible with Palm OS, Blackberry, Symbian products, not to mention Windows 2000/XP or higher.
The Celluon Laserkey Cl800BT is one the coolest gadgets coming out in tech I think. Pretty soon a computer will be a screen with USB pocket portable drive sized hardware, a little nob for a mouse and now a mini tower with a projected image of a keyboard right in front of you. Break out the table cleaners because you will be able to type and use you free desktop space for anythings else you need it for.
74 days ago, Apple released iPhone, a revolutionary little gadget-like device that was to keep the front page of tech blogs for days to follow. Today, the very same Apple sold the 1,000,000th phone. Therefore, the predictions turned out to be true, as they passed the milestone before the end of September as presumed.
In the end, I congratulate Apple for the accomplishment and for those interested, here’s a small quote from the press conference. Fear the fruit, Gates!
Apple(R) today announced it sold its one millionth iPhone(TM) yesterday, just 74 days after its introduction on June 29. iPhone combines three devices into one-a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod(R), and the best mobile Internet device ever-all based on Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface and pioneering software that allows users to control iPhone with just a tap, flick or pinch of their fingers.
“One million iPhones in 74 days-it took almost two years to achieve this milestone with iPod,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We can’t wait to get this revolutionary product into the hands of even more customers this holiday season.”
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market this year with its revolutionary iPhone.
WordTracker is a useful tool for webmasters. WordTracker tells you what searchers are looking for on the web.
Occasionally, WordTracker will surprise you with an insight into something interesting going on in the world. Here’s a WordTracker result I just found:
| Search Term |
Number of Searches |
| iphone |
9,423 |
| iPhone Complaints |
3,321 |
| Apple iPhone |
1,149 |
What this tells us is that “iPhone Complaints” is the second most popular search term which ordinary web searches use to find information about the Apple iPhone.
It looks as if there are plenty of unhappy iPhone customers on the Internet!
iPhone Complaints
Common iPhone complaints include:
- No support for custom ringtones
- Battery life shorter than promised
- Sound volume insufficient
- Lack of Flash support in the web browser
- Built-in GPS is not user accessible
- Built-in Bluetooth cannot be used for data transfer
- Built-in camera has no ability to be adjusted
- Lack of useful applications (SSH, SFTP, VNC, Remote Desktop)
- No games
- No voice dialing
- Keyboard is very difficult to use
A lot of Apple/AT&T customers have already returned their iPhones for more mature devices such as the RIM BlackBerry.
If you’re a comfortable person, or if you just love to have the latest entertainment gadgets, the researchers from the Osaka university have just the thing for you. The gadget is designed to make you control your iPod with a maximum of ease and absolutely no use of your hands.
The headgear uses “infrared sensors and a microcomputer” to detect when you clench your teeth for a second or more and uses that to send commands to your iPod. The system is said to avoid accidental mouth gestures and allows you to talk or chew gum in the same time as you use the iPod headgear.
And the developers don’t plan on stopping here, they say they want to make this available for larger arrays of devices, and of course better the system itself. It might be comfortable and some might like it, but I really don’t think it’ll be such a great (or useful) gadget, but then again, I’m not the person who likes to make weird faces when changing the song I listen to.
Monday, August 13th, 2007 | Posted in Gadgets | No Comments »
Here is GPS product that takes you everwhere. With the new pocket sized Magellan CrossoverGPS you can navigate the toughest trails, traffic and oceans. Coming in at 8.5 oz. or 9.4 oz if you get the Sport Guard™ attachment and just 3.4″ by 4.3″ by 1.1″ the Magellan CrossoverGPS is very light and fits in one hand.
With built-in street maps of North America and light topographic maps of the connected 48 U.S. states it will kind of hard not know where to go. You can upgrade with regional MapSend® Topo topographic maps, MapSend BlueNavTM marine charts or MapSend Lakes charts by using Secure Digital memory cards. The battery which the best in its class offers up to 8 hours of usage before needing a recharge.
Road navigation features contain multi-destination routing, SmartDetourTM which finds different ways to get around traffic and SayWhereTM technology where you CrossoverGPS tells you turn-by-turn directions as well as the street names that to turn onto. Not to mention an optional TrafficKit accessory that makes avoiding traffic easy with Real-time incident reports.
With its waterproof to IPX-4 design the sleek and rugged CrossoverGPS lets you go anywhere with it. You can enhance the durability of the already fortified CrossoverGP with the afore mentioned Sport GuardTM.
There are lots more cool features such as an Auto night view where you can adjusts color and contrast for easy night viewing. Also a Digital Music Player so you can listen to music through the integrated speaker or your own headphones, a Photo Viewer to check out your pictures, and a Bird’s-eye 3D view that shows your surroundings clearly. All of this and a SirfstarIII chip set for quick access to a satellite signal is ready for you to take anywhere. Outdoor Magazine’s 2007 Gear of the Year.
The new version of the PS3, that includes a few tweaks and a 80GB storage space was announced earlier in July and now we expect it to be retailed real soon. The new version of the console will be sold along with a bonus MotorStorm game and of course the 5 free Blu-ray movies bonus that’s active until September 30th.
This is good news both for PS3 fans that want to get their hands on the new version of the popular gaming console but also to those who want a PS3 but don’t have the $599.99 it used to cost. Along with the release of the 80GB PS3 the 60GB SP3 suffered a price cut of $100. So now you can buy a 60GB PS3 for $499.99.
This being said, retail dates are different from store to store but Amazon has a shipping date of August 12th, Toys’R'Us deliver on August 6th but there are places like GameStop that will start selling right away.
