Chocolate mouse: neither edible nor a rodent

The Chocolate Mouse belongs to a rare class of objects, with seemingly sensible names that turn out to be doubly stupid. Like the English sparrow, which is neither a sparrow nor English, but merely an Average Bird. Or jellyfish, which any halfwit can tell are not made of jelly and are no fish; they’re obviously an advance alien party tasked to eradicate humans, one sunburned teenager at a time.

Meh. I don’t care how much people love chocolate, this wireless mouse doesn’t look like it’s comfortable to use. But as the old saying goes, to each his own Chocolate Mouse. You can buy one at Lazybone for $33 (USD). Batteries not included.

Optoma hd20 projector: 120 inches of hi-def for $1000! *head asplodes*

Back in 2007 Optoma released the HD80 1080p projector. It’s initial price was a whopping $3,000 (USD), but actually it was one of the cheapest in its class. Think about that for a moment. Now think of the quality and size of a $1,000 HDTV nowadays. Think about that for a moment. Now get a load of this: Optoma’s new HD20 projector is capable of displaying full 1080p with a maximum display size of 120″ (diagonally, of course). That’s 10 freakin’ feet of HD for the price of a 42″ HDTV! Then again, I already revealed everything in the title. Dammit.

The 6.4 lbs. HD20 has two HDMI inputs, as well as VGA, component and composite video inputs, and it supports a boatload of video and computer formats. It has 1,700 ANSI lumens of brightness, with an estimated lamp life of 4,000 hours in standby mode and 3,000 hours in bright mode.

The HD20 ships early this Fall and is available for pre-order over on Amazon now.

Iphone playing cards: you gotta know when to hold ‘em

Our friends over at Meninos are at it again. The same guys who gave us those great iPhone icon coasters are back, and this time they’re packing a deck of iPhone playing cards.

While they look a bit more squatty than the proportions of an actual iPhone, these whimsical playing cards definitely get the point across. Each one features a colorful card face printed onto a PVC plastic card. And when the King calls, you’d better answer and not send him to Visual Voicemail.

I can’t find any pictures of what the Jokers look like, but if I designed them, I’d put Bill Gates on one, and Steve Ballmer on the other. You hear that Meninos guys?

The iPhone playing cards are available over at the Meninos shop for $25 (USD) a deck. Sure, that’s a bit expensive for a deck of cards, but I’m sure you’ll win that back the first time you flop a pair of pocket Aces and take down the whole table.

Sanyo eneloop portable solar usb charger: green energy on the go

Sanyo’s latest gadget is perfect for people who go on long trips as well as those who journey to places without readily available electricity. But even simple urban people can still benefit from having a portable solar charger. The Eneloop Portable Solar, as it is called, is small and light enough to be lugged around. Unless that’s a giant in the picture.

The charger actually spreads out into two panels to catch more sunlight. Unfortunately, according to Akihabara News, it’s only compatible with USB devices, so if your gadget doesn’t have a USB port, you’ll have to pair the charger with something similar to Sanyo’sEneloop Mobile Booster.

Even more unfortunate, we don’t have details regarding the Portable Solar’s specs, its release date or its price. I know that this device is still much larger than today’s batteries and chargers, but I really hope that devices that take advantage of renewable energy become mainstream soon. Not only are they environment-friendly, they’ll save us a lot of money as well.

Playstation 3 slim really almost probably coming soon

Thinking of buying a Playstation 3? Heard some rumors about the inevitable slim version coming sooner rather than later? Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica kindly rounded up the evidence for your perusal.

I for one, believe in ol’ Ben Franklin’s saying: “Nothing is certain but death and a slimmer version of a Sony video game system. And my eternal fame.” Really, it’s a question of when, not if. And the answer seems to be August 18. (pssst, Ben, you cited Gizmodo but your link leads to Engadget! That’s blasphemy!)

If PS3 Slim rumors were Pokemans, Kuchera’s almost caught ‘em all: everything from their own insider info, to the non-denial of Sony’s director of Hardware Marketing, John Koller, to significant increases in orders for PS3 components. Everything exceptEngadget’s alleged leaked shots of the console’s case and box art, which I have just pointed out to you. Because gossip is for geeks too. Check out the article for the rest of the links.

Walkman swallows iphone

I just love the design of this iPhone case that’s designed to look like an old-school Sony Walkman.

This handmade leather case comes to us courtesy of London UK artist Tovicorrie of Beautiful Skin. Each one is imprinted with a retro image of Sony’s classic cassette player, layered onto either a soft brown or burgundy red cowhide, and in orange, blue, brown or hot pink Walkman colors. Note the tape that’s in the player is AC/DC’s “For Those About to Rock” – a nice touch – unless the thought of Angus Young strutting around the stage disgusts you.

In addition to iPhone cases, he’ll also make iPod Classic or iPod Touch versions if you specify that when you order. They’re available over on his Etsy shop for $28 (USD) each. Tovicorrie – we salute you!