New Technologies

Skin Your Laptop, Cellphone, iPod, XBox or Gadgets!

2009-09-04T04:26:00.000-07:00

Your portable electronic device is with you most of the time, and it looks like everyone elses!

How boring is that?

You can add skins to your cell phone, laptop, ipod, game console, and most popular hand held electronics.

Now you can add skins to your portable electronic device and get a custom look. Add a a cellphone skin of your favorite band, sports team, celebrity, or a photo or design of your own!

laptop skins

Chocolate mouse: neither edible nor a rodent

2009-08-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

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!

15 things you must have.

2009-07-27T03:42:00.000-07:00

1. Aura Sensing Phone Strap

Solid Alliance has developed a new phone accessory, an aura sensing phone strap. The accessory, dubbed "aura tama" strap or aura ball strap, claims to be able to sensor the user's aura and changes to one of eight different colors depending on the energy the person is omitting. The aura-tama will be packaged with one of three "power stones”: crystal, rose quarts or amethyst.

2. Cell Phone Sexy Lingerie

Want some sexy underwear as your cell phone straps? I bet only girls would dare to buy and use it… some weird old man might buy it for personal collection though.

3. Cigarette Holder Phone

In order to appeal to billions of smokers in China, a company has brought out this ultimate cigarette phone. Not only does it look like a pack of cigarettes (the exact size and the exact warning labels concerning health), it actually holds half a pack of REAL cigarettes on the back. All you need to do is to slide open the battery cover and you're set to make new friends. The phone itself runs on dualband GSM, takes microSD cards, plays MP3, has a color screen and a VGA camera on the side. For $175 you will get a whole luxurious VIP kit with the phone, a pack of Chonghwa branded cigarettes as well as a lighter.

4. Mobile Phone Telescope

You are a Paparazzi and are just see Victoria Beckham walking on the other side of the street. But you do not have your trusty SLR camera with you only your camera phone. Good thing to have in this situation is the 6X Telescope lens for mobile phones. As you have to exchange the back-shell of your mobile phone with the one bundled to be able to mount the lens, it is not going to work with all mobile phones. Only Nokia 6230 and 6680 mobile camera phones are supported at this moment. Brando sells the Mobile Phone telescope lens for only $19.00.

5. Hot Vision Video Goggles

Surely a front runner in the “Most Likely to Cause Severe Retinal Damage” awards, this device claims to simulate a virtual 50 inch screen by placing tiny screens very close to the user's eyes. Theoretically a solution to the irritation of watching video on a small cell phone screen, the inclusion of headphones apparently allows for some serious immersion.

6. Piece Of Shit Accessory
This accessory is self explanatory. It's a piece of shit and you can squeeze it too.

7. Cigarette Lighter Phone

If you can't go very long without a smoke pressed between your lips and your cell pressed to your ear, you might need a way to join the two mediums. Sure, we've seen the device which swears to be the ultimate smoker's phone, but where is the lighter? The SB6309 Cigarette Lighter Phone includes a lighter in its ingeniously deadly design. Slip the protective cover back and flick the lighter button. Soon enough, you be flaming mon.

8. Backup Pal

Most of the people living in modern society rely on hi-tech severely. You don't have to remember any phone number, because you can find it from your cell phone easily. However, what if you lost your cell phone? It might that all your friends will be lost forever. I'm not alarmist, but it is true. Sure, you can back up your contacts with your computer, but it is a little bit complex. So I bet you need this backup pal. Just connect your cell phone with this cute gadget and then press the button, all the contacts will be backup.

9. Wind Chime For Cell Phone
Wind chimes and cell phones seem to be unrelated to each other, but no, this chine definitely is : It will tell you with the charm ringtone every time you have a call.

10. Bluetooth Bracelet

This gadget, shown in a rather charming pink, vibrates and displays the name or number of a caller on an OLED screen when a call is received. Probably the most useful product on this list. While this may seem like a strange product at first, imagine the alternative applications of this technology away from bracelets. As cell phones become more general purpose appliances, the number of uses for a device like this increases exponentially. Imagine a device like this sewn into the sleeve of a shirt, wearable computing is said to be a growing technology and this is surely a forerunner.

11. Flash Pet Tree

Pioneering a new era of mobile horticulture, the Flash Pet Tree is a jar that combines the flashing function of some cell phone charms with the unparalleled excitement of watching a plant grow. Slowly. The perplexing thing about this product is the sheer pointlessness of it. The futility of a plant in a hermetically sealed container is almost enough to cause an existential crisis for this writer, which is not something one wishes to occur on receipt of a phone call. The sales website promises ‘the fun of raising plants, the scents of joy' as well as to ‘help busy people of our times be in touch with nature'. Indeed.

12. Seat Belt Mounted Phone Holder

Using a phone while driving usually means taking one hand off the wheel to scramble around for your phone when it rings. Luckily an inventor has solved this tricky problem by creating a £5 holster that fastens your phone right to the seatbelt in front of you.

13. Flashing Cell Phone Pen

Have you gotten in the habit of tuning out your cell phone's vibrating ring to the point where you're often missing your calls? You can avoid that problem by attaching this cell phone pen which is equipped with LED lights that flash when you're getting a call. It's a functional pen that doesn't even need to be attached to the phone to know that you've got a call coming in, although you do have to be within three feet of the phone for the pen to work.

14. Garter Belt Cell Phone Strap

Cell phone straps are a conversation all their own with strange ones coming out all the time but here’s one that’s designed to be more sexy than strange. That’s because it doubles as a garter belt. Folks that think garter belts just aren’t functional might be more turned on by this cell phone strap that carries a pouch which holds your re-usable chopsticks.

15. Phone Tattoos

People put tattoos on their bodies in order to tell the world something about who they are. Since your cell phone is practically an extension of your right hand, maybe you should think about tattooing it with the message or image that you want the world to be impressed by. You can buy stock photos for these tattoos but the creative person will design their own image on their computers and print it out onto blank tattoos. These are basically just stickers that then get put on to your phone. It’s a way to personalize your cell phone and share a little bit more of yourself with the world.

Buck the talking stag sings “sweet home alabama”. my head hurts.

2009-07-26T04:54:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I worry that the day would come when there’d be nothing weird to write about anymore. And sometimes I come across #### like this, a (fake) deer head mounted on a wooden plaque that can be ordered to “sing” Sweet Home Alabama whenever it senses movement. Good for scaring the hell out of visitors and would-be thieves, Buck the stag doesn’t sing a capella; the song bursts forth from his mouth complete with the house band and backing vocals.
Actually this could still be a lot weirder, like if Buck the stag sang Chinese death metal songs. Or if he randomly quoted Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. If you’re willing to pay for 5 minutes of stupid fun, go buy this at I Want One of Those for £30 ($50 USD).
[via Chip Chick]

Motifo fridge magnets: pop art in pixels

2009-07-26T04:51:00.000-07:00

Why just put a couple of magnets on the front of your refrigerator when you can cover the entire thing with ‘em?

These mosaic magnets from Australia’s Motifo let you build complicated pixel art creations all over the front of your fridge.

Each pack of Motifo magnets ($79 to $99 USD) comes with nearly 1300 1-inch square magnets, along with diagrams to create numerous images on the face of your fridge. Motifo has put together pixel maps for a variety of celebrities, pop culture icons, and other patterns you can create on your refrigerator door. Each set can make any of the designs shown on their website, but the color scheme will depend on the kit you buy.

At the moment, both GNR8 and Motifo are sold out of these pixel magnets, but hopefully they’ll restock soon. If you poke around a little bit, you might be able to find a set at Australia’s Pulp Creative Paper.

Steampunk ps3, more expensive than a regular ps3

2009-07-26T04:49:00.000-07:00

ony’s PlayStation 3 has certainly had its ups and downs since its debut, but even the hatiest of haters must have a hard time denying that the console looks pretty good. That sleek black finish complements any gaming setup. So is it necessary to take a PS3 and make it even prettier? Nope, not at all, but it sure looks like it could be fun.

And to think, all this effort for a game that’s gotten, at best, middling reviews.Damnation, a steampunk-styled shooter, was released last month, and while it isn’t racking up critical acclaim, if this is what the game’s fanbase is up to, then it must havesomething going for it.

Beautiful and detailed, this modded PS3 would receive a 10 from me!

[Brass Goggles via Walyou]

Mdi air-powered car gets priced and dated: air not included

2009-07-26T04:47:00.000-07:00

What would you say if I told you that your next car could run on air instead of gasoline, and that it would produce zero pollution? The MDI AIRpod might just bring that promise to reality when it hits the streets later this year.

The subcompact AIRpod runs on compressed air instead of traditional automotive fuels. A set of carbon-fiber tanks sit underneath the passenger compartment, loaded up with 2900psi of compressed air. The tanks power a tiny engine capable of cranking out a whopping 5.4 horsepower and 11-foot-pounds of torque. Woo-hoo!

It takes 2 minutes to fill up the tanks, and a single occupant should be able to go somewhere around 90 to 125 miles on a full set of tanks. And with air costing just €1 (appx. $1.40 USD) for a fill-up, fuel costs are pretty much a non-issue. Of course, that all assumes you can find a place to fill up the tanks.

MDI says the production version will transport up to 3 adults and 1 child, with a single front-facing driver’s seat, and a rear-facing bench for the other occupants. This tiny green car looks awfully cramped – not to mention a bit dangerous for the passengers, but maybe that’s just me.

Want to know how it drives? The guys over at Edmunds Inside Line have actually gotten a chance to test drive the prototype and it through its paces.

While the current prototype car can only hit 30mph, the production model should hit 50mph when it hits at the end of 2009. The 2010 AIRpod is expected to be released by the end of 2009 in France for €6,000 (appx $8380 USD). MDI plans on offering additional compressed-air cars in the not-too-distant-future.

Elgato eyetv sat: watch 1080p satellite tv on your computer… if you have a satellite dish

2009-07-26T04:43:00.000-07:00

Elgato’s EyeTV Sat captures DVB-S and DVB-S2 satellite transmissions and enables playback on a computer, allowing you to record, export and even share recorded broadcasts over a network of computers. As long as you have a satellite dish. Aside from receiving free satellite transmissions, the EyeTV Sat also has a CI card slot for Pay TV subscribers and can also be used with Pay TV smartcards that support third-party CI receivers. If none of this makes sense to you, well we’re on the same boat; I think the EyeTV Sat is primarily for European customers.

The EyeTV Sat records in lossless MPEG-2/H.264, regardless if the original broadcast was in HD or in standard definition. Recorded broadcasts can be exported to iTunes and then loaded into iPods.

The EyeTV has both Mac and Windows versions and is available at Elgato’s website for £180 ($300 USD). Weirdly enough, the price of the EyeTV Sat in euros is €200, which is a bit cheaper when converted to dollars – $282. Either that or Google is wrong.

Rocking horse cell phone holder

2009-07-26T04:25:00.000-07:00

I don’t think I really need a holder for my cell phone, but if I did, I’d want mine to look just like this.

These charming handmade leather rocking horses come to us from the creative minds of Taiwan’s 25TOGO Design.

Each horsey is handcrafted from genuine Brazilian leather, and has a cutout in the saddle to hold a cell phone or media player. They’re available in either brown or black leather, and look great rockin’ along on any desktop. They sell for 980 Taiwan Dollars (appx. $29 USD), a whole lot less than a real horse, and no stable fees either.

I’m not sure if you can get these shipped outside of Taiwan, but if you want to give it a shot, gallup on over to the 25TOGO Store and see if you can rein one in for yourself.

Usb cell turns your computer into a charger

2009-07-24T03:17:00.000-07:00

Although they’re nearly twice as expensive as traditional rechargeable batteries, the USBCell from Moixa Energy can be recharged via USB, so if you keep your computer on most of the day, might as well use those extra USB ports to charge the batteries instead of spending extra for a battery charger.

Currently, the only USBCell available is the AA size, but Moixa also plans to sell AAA, 9-volt, and phone/PDA battery versions in the near future. You can buy a pair of AA USBCells at Amazon for about $19 (USD).

World’s first portable hd radio

2009-07-24T03:16:00.000-07:00

Best Buy’s Insignia is the world’s first portable HD radio, allowing users to enjoy high quality digital FM radio on the go.

Meh. Who am I kidding? Best Buy is selling it for $50 (USD)! You can buy an mp3 player with a built-in FM tuner for that price. I also think that it’s too big for a radio player. Wait a couple of years and HD radios will be smaller and cheaper.

Besides, the Zune HD will have a built-in HD radio receiver, so if you’re going to buy a portable HD radio player, I think you’ll get more bang for your buck with that.

Flailing around with project natal not limited to xbox: it’s coming to windows

2009-07-24T03:15:00.000-07:00

Fans of Minority Report, the interfaces in Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age, and other future tech freaks take note: in an interview with CNET, Bill Gates says Microsoft hopes to incorporate Project Natal, revealed at this year’s E3 Expo, into Windows. Dedicated Technabob readers and people who’ve seen Microsoft operate over the past, well, forever shouldn’t be surprised.

As someone with a love-hate relationship with the mouse, this could be really exciting to me. I might even switch back to Windows! It might be worth it to be able to really flip through my music and photos when I flip through my music and photos, though the whole idea of manipulating nothingness would probably take some getting used to.

Just as with everything else Project Natal-related, there’s nothing concrete here, just an interview, a remark, and a dream, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

Quantum touchscreen dual sim media phone wants to be an iphone

2009-07-24T03:12:00.000-07:00

The Quantum CVFD-M46 crams in all the features you’d expect in a multimedia mobile phone, and it sells for under $100, fully unlocked.

The Quantum offers a 3-inch touchscreen display, and is loaded up with a variety of mobile applications, including a calculator, contact manager, clock, FM radio, games, MP4 video player and voice recorder among other things. The quad-band phone works on all GSM networks worldwide, and has dual SIM slots so you can switch between two mobile accounts with the flip of a switch. The phone also supports Bluetooth connectivity, including A2DP and AVRCP so you can play music or even operate remote-controlled devices over Bluetooth.

There’s also a built-in video/still video camera, but it maxes out at a paltry 640×480 resolution. And just like the iPhone that it so desperately wishes it were, it even has a motion sensor which detects when you switch from landscape to portrait modes. And unlike the iPhone, it already has MMS support out of the box. Did I happen to mention that it has a built-in TV too? Too bad it’s analog, so it probably doesn’t receive anything in the US now that analog broadcasts are done. For those of you in other countries where analog TV still works, you can tell us how well it works.

You can find the Quantum CVFD-M46 over at Chinavasion for just $94 (USD). The price drops to just $90 bucks if you buy 3 or more.

No App Store, though

Wooden Iphone

2009-07-24T03:10:00.000-07:00

Just because your electronic gadget is constructed from metal, glass and plastic doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t get along with something more natural.

These wooden iPod/iPhone docks let you charge or connect your media player to your computer. Handmade from real cedar and other woods by the guys over at Woodtec, these docks definitely stand out from the typical white plastic jobbers that you see sitting on most desks. Each one features unique lumps, bumps, woodgrain, and that fragrant woody aroma – all courtesy of good old mother nature.

Prices for the wooden docks range from $58 to $82 (USD) and you can check out the complete collection over on Woodtec’s Etsy shop.

Wood and brass ipod mini: the druid’s music player

2009-07-21T03:59:00.000-07:00

Nature lover/not quite hip iPod owner Josh D shows us what Dremel and good taste can do. Josh D sent his iPod mini to a time way way way before retro by equipping it with a cedar wood case with brass screws and plates. .

We already featured wooden cases for iPods before, but Josh went way beyond that and made a wooden clickwheel – although he did admit that the clickwheel is only held in place by double-sided tape.

And then Josh went beyond the beyond, dressing up his iTrip and his iPod mini’s dock with their own wooden cases as well:

Check out Josh D’s Flickr page for more lovely pics of his extremely well-made mods.

Usb octopus hub: a long time coming

2009-07-21T03:58:00.000-07:00

While everyone (mostly Brando) was going crazy making all sorts of gadget designs likepanda paper shredders and white bread wrist rests, the obvious connection between the multi-tentacled octopus and anything that has to do with wires or cords remained untapped. So I think I speak for everyone when I say: USB Octopus Hub, we’ve been expecting you. You’re actually a sensible mash-up.

The hub is available at Gadget 4 all for only $10 USD; the only colors available as of now are white and black. As if it matters.

F-4 and b-52 ejector seat office chairs: best seats ever

2009-07-21T03:57:00.000-07:00

These office chairs are crafted from old military aircraft ejector seats – and they are awesome.

The guys over at Motoart took this seat from an authentic Vietnam-era F-4 fighter jet, and turned it into a cushy, padded desk chair. The seat has been upgraded with a sturdy aluminum base, durable double-wheel casters and upholstered with clean new fabric. Plus, those armrest look like they could be a little uncomfortable.

Are you a bomber, not a fighter? Do you just need a little extra upper-back support? Then you might like this disproportionately tall B-52 ejector seat instead:

Of course, the big flaw in the design of these things is the fact that they’re meant to be desk chairs. Really, why would you need to eject yourself from your own workspace? I’d much rather have a pair of visitors’ chairs that I could use to eject annoying co-workers from my office. I could use that today – and yesterday – and tomorrow.

To check out the complete collection of these airplane office seating and other cool furniture crafted from antique aviation parts, fly on over to Motoart.

Sleek, compact portable snes mod

2009-07-21T03:54:00.000-07:00

The Super Nintendo has been the target of some really sweet mods in its time, and this latest portable fits right into that pantheon of excellent mods. Marshall’s Supertendo looks so good that you’d swear it was professionally made.

To get a good idea of the size of this custom handheld, check out this picture from the point of view of the top of the portable, where the cartridge fits. The design works really well around the SNES game cartridge.

And you can even follow along with the entire creation process on Marshall’s website. Even the wiring is beautifully done. It’s enough to make me want to build one myself, except I would probably manage to electrocute myself and then set the house on fire.

Mnemosyne: $10,000 aluminum usb drive

2009-07-19T01:02:00.001-07:00

A Japanese company called solidalliance has come up with Mnemosyne, an aluminum cube that holds an otherwise ordinary 16GB flash drive inside. But it’s not that simple: the cube is actually a puzzle.

It’s made of smaller pieces that you have to slide apart before you can get to the flash drive. That’s the flash drive right there, the one one that looks like a domino piece. Here’s what solidalliance has to say about their product: “As we wanted our USB flash drive to be used with care and attention, we chose a precious, expensive, bulky and heavy material that would be difficult to use.”

WOW. So if you want people to use your product with “care and attention”, you screw them over by giving them a needlessly complicated piece of crap? Why don’t you just give us flash drive parts in a brown paper bag scribbled with assembly instructions written in hieroglyphics?

And there’s another catch: the Mnemosyne is priced at a whopping $10,410 (USD). Wow. Apparently to solidalliance, rich people are stupid. I hope that’s not true.

Cheapest blu-ray player ($100)

2009-07-19T00:56:00.000-07:00

Been waiting for the price to drop before taking the plunge and upgrading from DVD to a Blu-Ray player? This is easily the cheapest Blu-Ray deal I’ve ever seen.

According to the guys over at FormatWarCentral, the Magnavox NB530MGX Blu-Ray player has been spotted at at least one Wal-Mart store with a price Rollback to just $98 (USD). Despite the crazy low price, this model supports full 1080p resolution video, over an HDMI 1.3 connection, and true 24fps playback to boot.

It’s not currently available on the Wal-Mart website, but with a price like that, it’s worth heading out to your local big box shop to see if they’ve also cut the price. I’m hopeful that these kinds of price cuts are just a taste of what’s to come for the 2009 holiday shopping season.

Calvin klein usb sunglasses

2009-07-19T00:55:00.000-07:00

Want to look chic while keeping your personal data safe and sound? These new sunglasses from Calvin Klein have a USB drive hidden in the arm, letting you store info and protect your eyes from UV rays at the same time.

These new shades from the house of Calvin Klein sport a 4GB USB flash drive, neatly concealed inside the right arm. Unfortunately, this design means you can’t wear the sunglasses while accessing your data, but how often do you really need to do that. And I’ve got to ask, why couldn’t they double the storage by putting another drive on the left side too?

Calvin Klein’s USB sunglasses should hit stores this October for $199 (USD).

Zgrip iphone 3gs handgrip to help steady video shoots – for a price

2009-07-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

Yep, I’ve got an iPhone 3GS, but I have to say that as much as I love that it can shoot video, I still have a tough time keeping the picture steady while shooting. There’s nothing quite like a little shakycam action to make you lose your lunch when you play back your home movies on the big screen. So I was stoked when I saw this awesome looking iPhone 3GS handgrip was coming out – until I saw the price tag, that is.

The Zgrip iPhone PRO from Zacuto is a serious stabilizing mount for your 3GS, letting you shoot professional-quality video instead of accidentally getting your fingertips in the shot – or worse yet, dropping your JesusPhone on the ground while you’re trying to get the perfect shot.

Simply snap your iPhone 3GS into the form-fitting grips, and start shooting. The mount can be adjusted to just about any angle you want, and provides a rock-solid mount for capturing your first Spielberg moment.

So what’s not to like? The big problem is that the ZGrip PRO sells for a whopping $295 (USD), making it just $4 bucks less than a 32GB iPhone 3GS. Yeouch. I suppose if you want to get serious about shooting video on your 3GS, it’s worth a look. But for most of us, the price tag is a non-starter. On the plus side, Zacuto is working on a simpler consumer model that loses some of the adjustability, but should cut the price significantly. Stay tuned.

I guess I’ll have to stick with the shakycam for now.

Blaze 3-in-1 selector lets you switch nintendo ds lite games on the go

2009-07-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

Want to quickly flip between your favorite games on your Nintendo DS Lite? Check out this handy accessory that lets you choose from 3 different games with just the flick of a switch.

The BLAZE 3-in-1 game selector has triple cartridge bays, and a single ribbon connector that plugs into your DS’ cartridge slot. Sure, it adds a little bulk to your once svelte DS Lite, but it sure is nice being able to choose from multiple games without having to carry around an additional case. Once snapped onto the case of your DS Lite, you can flip between games by moving the switch on the top of the case. One of 3 green LEDs lights up to indicate which game is currently active.

It’s not clear if the 3-in-1 selector will work on the DSi too, but it’s definitely says it’s designed for the DS Lite. You can grab one over at SuperUFO for about $13 (USD). Now if only they made one that held 50 games, I’d be set. Of course, my DS Lite would end about as thick as the latest Harry Potter book – in hardcover.

Mvix ultio 1080p linux hd media player happy to play torrents and just about any other digital video you can throw at it

2009-07-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

This nifty little media player claims it can play just about any video format you can throw at it. The Mvix Ultio 1080p Media Center not only can play a ton of codecs, but can stream video from many web-based video services as well.

The compact box can play full high-def (1920 x 1080) files in popular formats such as MP4, H.264, DivX HD, MOV, VC-1, FLV, VOB, WMV and AVI as well as less common formats like MKV, AVC-HD, RMVB and Minus VR. Of course, it can also play a variety of audio formats like AAC, WMA, OGG, MP3, and M4A with aplomb.There’s even support for subtitle formats including Advance Substation Alpha – which has the best file extension ever – .ASS . (There’s a full list of supported formats and codecs here).

In addition, the Ultio can connect to the Internet via a built-in Ethernet port or through a Wi-Fi network (if you plug in an optional USB networking dongle). Once connected, you can download media files using the system’s built-in BitTorrent client. Since it has an integrated Samba server and UPnP, you can use services like PlayOn orTversity to stream video from Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and other web-based video services.

The Ultio has a nice array of video outputs, including HDMI 1.3, component video, optical audio, analog audio (yuck) and composite video (double yuck).

Keep in mind that the Ultio doesn’t come with any built-in storage. For best performance, you’ll need to drop in a 3.5-inch SATA hard drive (up to 1.5 TB). Otherwise, you can play files from a USB 2.0 hard drive or a flash drive. You can also stream media stored on your PC if you’d rather store files there. And the guys over at Mvix are even encouraging users to download all of the system’s open source and GPL sourcecode to see what else they can do with this little box.

You can find the Mvix Ultio over at ThinkGeek for just $169.99 (USD). The 802.11N Wi-fi dongle will set you back another $39.99. BYO hard drive.

Usb monitor from samsung liberates macbook users from apple’s stupid ports & adapters

2009-07-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Samsung unveiled the LD220 USB monitor at the recent World IT Show in Korea. I’m pretty sure that the monitor has its own power supply, but still, you won’t have to worry about video cards or adapters with this bad boy thanks to its USB DisplayLink connection.

AVING didn’t mention the size of LD220’s screen, but judging from the pictures I’d say it’s about 22″. Or am I mistaken?

Would it be possible to have a multi-monitor setup using a USB hub and a bunch of LD220’s? If so, that would be dead easy to do. God bless (South) Korea.

Truth detector wristband gauges your truthiness

2009-07-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Perfect for interviewing prospective job candidates, this truth-detecting wristband is a must have for human resources managers.

The wearable TRUTH wristband uses a set of red and blue LEDs, tied to a circuit that measures GSR (galvanic skin response). GSR is often used in lie detector tests – a questionable practice in and of itself. As the wearer’s galvanic “emotional arousal” increases, the lights turn red, and as it decreases, the lights turn a cool blue. As you can see from the video clip below, it’s seems to do a much better job detecting excitement than anything else. Especially nipple stimulation.

The TRUTH kit includes everything you need, to make your own TRUTH wristband, but does require experience assembling electronics and soldering. It’s available over at theMakerSHED for $44.95 (USD).