When camping with the whole family, it can present some slight lighting issues. There are of course always ways around that, but it usually means packing four different kinds of lights and plenty of flashlights as well as batteries. Well Coleman, being one of the better brand names for camping, has come up with a different solution. It offers one giant lantern that will give light in all directions for when you’re all sitting together, but an extra perk for when you go off in different directions.
The side panels, of which there are four, all snap off. They can work individually or all together once put back on the lantern. Each individual panel has a recharageable NiMH battery, those charge off of the eight D-cell batteries that are located within the base of the lantern. Those batteries can run the lantern all together for 72 hours, a full charge of the panel will give an hour of light per panel. Due to the frosted lens and wide-angle LED lights, it will give off light over a large area. You can purchase it on the Sears website for $69.99.
Every once in a while, some new concept comes out that is actually a good idea. We have been seeing a lot of wrist watches that can act as mobile phones lately, but I think we are just creating those to fulfill some vintage Dick Tracy fantasy. This is one concept wrist phone device that won’t require you to talk to your wrist.
The On Time Headset System is a bracelet that comes with a pop-out wireless headset. I suppose that is a better place to put your Bluetooth headset than your pocket.
The bracelet has a secondary display, so if your headset rings, you can just look down and see who is calling. I would imagine that the bracelet display can show the time, making it a very fancy wristwatch.
By the way, did I mention that the displays are both touchscreens? Well, they are, and they would hopefully not require tiny fingertips in order to use.
My source referred to the OnTime Headset System as the “future of blingâ€, and I can’t help but feel that it is about time that tech and bling combined to create something like this. Well, as I mentioned before, this is only a concept, but I already want it on my wrist.
The Solomobi Cool8800C handset is available in China, but it is cooler than most mobile phones that I have seen in the West. Notice that the design looks like an iPhone with a screen and keypad that folds in on it.
Right now, it appears that you can only play old-school NES games on this mobile gaming system/phone, and it comes with three games preloaded. If you want to play other games, then you will need to load these ROMS into a trans-flash memory card.
The Cool8800C supports dual-SIM cards that can work at the same time, so you got game, times two. Yeah, that was a really stupid thing to say, but I love the look of this phone.
Another feature of the Cool8800C is that it has an ebook reader, FM radio, and can play some MP3/MP4 support. It also has an analog TV tuner, which might not work well in the Digital TV age.
Another limiting feature is that it only supports GSM 900/1800 frequencies. Still, you have to admire the fold-out gaming controllers, and this should be the model for portable gaming consoles for the future. If you want to get it in the present, then it costs about $140.
I’ve never understood why people get a fascination with cows. Frankly, I’ve seen the real thing quite a bit and they aren’t that interesting. There is no need to decorate your kitchen or in this case, your desk, after cows. They really aren’t that pretty. Plus, it seems wrong to cook up a nice steak with your cow cookie jar watching. Well now even your desk can have cow themed gadgetry with this USB hub.
I’m not sure if it’s the fact that this cow has no legs or the giant nose piercing (which I realize has functional use on a real cow), but the whole thing just makes it look like one big bondage cow. Poor guy can’t even run away anymore. It comes in four different colors, blue, white, yellow and brown. When you plug it into your USB port the cow will then sound 3 “cow callsâ€. You can pick up the CowCow USB 4-Port Hub for $12 on Gadget4all.
A while ago, we reported on Lego Speakers for the iPod. I suppose that it only makes sense that someone would develop a Lego iPod dock.
The Block Speaker Dock works like most other iPod docks. That is, you put the iPod in the proper slot at that conventional angle and let it charge. This particular dock has a speaker so you can listen to your favorite tunes while you do your usual activities in your home.
Of course, all iPod docks are capable of that. I think we all know what is really selling us here. The chance to channel our love of Lego into something useful!
Yeah, building Lego models is easily the best channeling of creativity that I know, even though it may not serve a utilitarian purpose. I would love to build around this iPod dock and make some big spaceship with a big iPod on the front. Why? Because I can, I guess.
By the way, this is not official Lego gear, but you have to admire the packaging. I remember when Lego used to package its goods with similar boxes that you see in the picture. If you’re liking this as much as I do, then you should be able to get the Block Speaker Dock in either black or white for a price of about £39.99.
This is probably the only iPod dock I’ve ever seen that I swear was modeled after an ancient chariot. I keep thinking there’s supposed to be a horse hooked up to the back of the dock. This cool dock would look great tucked in the corner of any room that you think could use a little more music. The sleek black look makes it even suitable enough to blend in with your dining room, if you chose to place it there.
The dock comes included with six different docking inserts to make sure that it will work with any of the iPods that you happen to own. Of course if you have a black sheep in the family that still carries something besides an iPod, those can be hooked up as well, it just can’t sit in the dock itself. The dock also is magnetically shielded against High Frequency interference, so your phone won’t cause any issues with it. The other features include Docking Station for data synchronization via USB, enhanced 2x 10W RMS full range drivers (3â€) for optimal clarity. They are available in both pink and the black shown above. You can pick it up for € 64,97 or about $81.
Think your life is a little bit boring, and you want to introduce some zest so that you will have something to talk about with friends the next time the whole bunch meets up? Well, perhaps you might want to consider something more extreme in terms of sports with the Xcite Bike. This model looks totally out of this world, capable of reaching a maximum speed of 45km/h with its 49cc engine. The 14″ wheels come with 10″ rims, and is able to pull a maximum load of 120 kg. It seems as though the Xcite Bike will be available only in limited quantities (albeit in different colors, of course), and will cost you $999.99 to bring one home, much to the chagrin of your other half who obviously thinks the money could be put to better use.
Battery chargers are just that, right? Wrong! ThinkGeek has brought us the La Crosse Battery Charger with LCD Display, and judging by its name, you will be able to have more fun compared to watching paint dry as your exhausted batteries are being juiced up by the device.
This charger works with all NiCd and NiMH “AA” and “AAA” rechargeable batteries and can charge AA & AAA simultaneously. The LCD display shows capacity for each battery when charging is complete. This charger will not charge defective batteries and has overheat detection to protect over-charging. The battery charger can also be put in one of four different modes: Charge, Discharge, Refresh and Test mode. The Refresh mode can help to restore old re-chargeable batteries to their optimum condition. The LCD display provides an individual readout for each of the four compartments and can show charging current (in mA), time elapsed (in hh:mm), terminal voltage (in V) and accumulated capacities (in mAh or Ah).
We’re pretty sure you’re not going to charge for admission for folks who want to view the LCD display as their bunch of batteries are being charged, but at least it offers something different compared to stock chargers we see in the market today. The La Crosse Battery Charger with LCD Display is currently going for $39.99.
Do you think that you lack the magical green thumb, considering even a cactus is able to die under your watch? For folks who do not give up that easily, here’s another remedy to help you maintain a lush, green garden - the Roll N’ Grow Miracle Garden. Like its namesake, all you need to do is roll this over a patch of soil, give it some water and let nature take its course. Being 100% biodegradable, you don’t have to worry about removing it after a certain period of time, and best of all is its ability to be cut into various shapes and sizes so that it can fit just about anywhere, be it pots, flower boxes or edging. The Roll N’ Grow Miracle Garden will retail for $19.98.
Gardening can be quite hard work, especially when you have to till the land, make sure the plants and trees are well taken care off, remove pests while keeping your entire botanical extended family happy with spray-on vitamins and supplements. Unfortunately for many, a really large garden that requires plenty of spraying will often lead to painful muscle groups, as the repeated action of pumping a sprayer is no joke. Enter the Battery Powered Sprayer to help you out.
Lawn and garden spraying just got a lot easier. This battery-powered sprayer does the job without tiresome reaching, stooping, or pumping the unit. Just flick the switch and it automatically starts to spray. Spraying wand telescopes from 12″ up to 26″ and stores in a side holder. Nozzle tip adjusts from a steady stream to a fine mist. Comfortable carrying handle and shoulder strap. Holds 1 gallon of liquid insecticides, pest-icides, or other chemicals. Uses 4 D batteries (not included). Durable ABS plastic will last for years.
$39.99 sounds like a decent bargain since you won’t have to break out too much of a sweat the next time you decide to coat your plants with a layer of chemical goodness.
This YouTube video that you see here reminds me why I love the tech and gadget business. It shows what the world could look like in 2019, and it has been made better with technology.
As you can see, ten years has given us much progress including giant touch-screen displays for communication, tickets on e-paper that guide us to our next location, and completely interactive newspapers.
So who has provided us with this vision of the future? Would you believe Microsoft? This clip was given by Microsoft’s Business Division president Stephen Elop at the Wharton Business Technology Conference.
Even though this video uses a lot of special effects, you have to ask yourself if it paints a realistic depiction of where technology is headed. If you ask me, then I would say “yesâ€. Most of this technology demonstrated in the video clip is just an amplification of technologies that we already have now, such as the Surface and e-paper.
Let us all hope that ten years from now, the future will look like this. Then all those dreary science fiction writers will be wrong, and the future won’t be dystopian like 1984. Hopefully Microsoft will not be Big Brother.
So what do you think? Is this video clip another cog in the Microsoft propaganda machine, or is really what the future will be like? Drop me a comment with your answer.
I still have fond memories of the early 80’s, when the Rubik’s Cube was everyone’s favorite puzzle. Its success was seen by its number of imitators at the time, including the bar-shaped Missing Link and the Pyramid-shaped Pyramix. It appears that these puzzle toys have survived many incarnations since then, the most recent being the TouchCube.
Even though the fad of Rubik’s Cube and its other puzzle variations ended decades ago, the Petaminx Dodecahedral Puzzle could have been the challenge that Rubik’s Cubists could have used back in the day. Remember the “cube-offs†they had back then? These geniuses would frantically twist and turn to complete their cubes in under a minute. Something tells me that the Petaminx Dodecahedral Puzzle would take a lot longer.
As you can see, the Petaminx is a twelve-sided figure, which is twice the sides of the Cube. As I recall, the Rubik’s Cube had about 54 individual colored squares, but the Dodecahedral puzzle has about 1,212 individual spots that are various shapes and sizes.
The puzzle was created by Andrew Cornier, and assembled by Jason Smith of PuzzleForge.com. It takes about 75 hours to complete the molding process, and there are 975 individual parts.
So far, there is no word on releasing the Petaminx Dodecahedral Puzzle to the general public, but here is a YouTube video if you want to see it in action.
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Battery chargers are just that, right? Wrong! ThinkGeek has brought us the 
Do you think that you lack the magical green thumb, considering even a cactus is able to die under your watch? For folks who do not give up that easily, here’s another remedy to help you maintain a lush, green garden - the Roll N’ Grow Miracle Garden. Like its namesake, all you need to do is roll this over a patch of soil, give it some water and let nature take its course. Being 100% biodegradable, you don’t have to worry about removing it after a certain period of time, and best of all is its ability to be cut into various shapes and sizes so that it can fit just about anywhere, be it pots, flower boxes or edging. The Roll N’ Grow Miracle Garden will retail for 
Gardening can be quite hard work, especially when you have to till the land, make sure the plants and trees are well taken care off, remove pests while keeping your entire botanical extended family happy with spray-on