Gadgets Blog

Every time I glance at this lamp it reminds me of Runaway Bride.  In that movie the main character creates lighting out of hardware typically meant for other tasks, such as pipes and that sort of thing.  I thought it was a brilliant idea when I saw the movie and I still think it’s a great idea.  I’m glad to see someone making something like this in reality, instead of just in Hollywood.

Although it’s not entirely reality, since these are in the design stages still.  The designer David Benatan works for a design company in Tel Aviv.  Which is where he makes these interesting lamps made out of pipes.  The best part of the whole lamp is that it can be turned on and off by turning the faucet handle.  Part of the fun of the design is also that many of the lamps don’t appear to be stable, they look as if they might tip over.  They are thankfully perfectly secure though and won’t go tipping over.  The pipes are left completely authentic, they still have rust on the joints and marks from hand tools that were used to assemble them.  Hopefully these will make it to stores sometime soon.

Source: bbgadgets

Anyone who has become addicted to Rock Band knows the woes of dealing with the controllers.  For some it’s just left out and ignored, then others have closet space to store it within.  However, none of the solutions are ideal.  Especially the one where they’re left out, for those that prefer to be respected as an adult it could cause issues.  Something about plastic controllers cluttering up your living room makes people see you in a slightly different light.  Well now you can store them away and in a highly convenient way.

This ottoman could stay out in your living room, giving easy and convenient access to the controllers.  Inside the ottoman you can store a microphone, a foot pedal, two guitars and the drums.  The drum storage solution is probably the best part of the whole ottoman.  Due to the way they have it set up the drums never entirely come out of the ottoman.  They just lift up and you play them while they’re still attached to it.  You can purchase the 38” long by 22” wide and 17” tall ottoman for $199 on Amazon.

Source: Gamerfront

If you’re one of those people that needs to have little notes left around to remind you of what you need to remember, you might want to switch to a different method.  Otherwise you might end up killing off all the trees with all that note taking.  If you pick up this gadget it has a built-in area where you can write messages and then erase them again.  That way you wouldn’t have to toss away so many tiny notes, instead you could just erase them when you don’t need them anymore.

In addition to the memo pad, there are also 3 different ports for your USB hubs and USB gadgets.  For the memo pad, it comes with a marker that has an eraser built directly into the top of the marker.  Making it easier to erase things quickly.  It claims to be environmentally friendly, but that’s purely based on the fact that it’s better than using post-it notes.  It also has a colorful “moody light” giving you mood lighting at your desk in both red and blue.  You can purchase it for $14 from Gadget4all.

Source: GeekyGadgets

It’s been about two years since we reported on any Lexmark printer products, and I think it is about time that we reported on its newest product. I had a chance to try out the Lexmark X7675 Professional model, and I am quite satisfied with it.

The X7675 is completely wireless, and it was easy to set up. In fact, the printer came with a CD-Rom that told me how to set it up, including the paper, the cartridges, as well as the wireless.

Just to let you know, I had to use a USB cord to set it up. My computer then recognized it wirelessly from then on, and now the USB cord is just a decoration.

The X7675 is a 25-page auto document feeder, and can be set up for two-sided printing. Since it is a Professional model, it can also be set up for a fax as well.

One of my favorite features is the multiple card reader with USB port, which is perfect for reading photos with PictBridge software. You can view the photos on the 2.4 color display, and then use the print lab for quality borderless photos for a 4800 x 2400 dpi resolution.

The Lexmark X7675 Professional can be purchased online at the Lexmark site for about $199.95.

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You have to admire the people who make laptops. Every time you use one, you prominently display the logo of the laptop maker every time you use it. So every time I am using my laptop at a coffee shop or library, I am a sitting advertisement for Toshiba!

MacBooks may not have the word “Apple” written on them, but that picture of the fruit with a bite taken out of it is probably better than any company name. In today’s society, images are more powerful than words.

Designer Eddie Zarick has found a way to put that Apple logo on the front of a MacBook to good use by figuring out how to make the logo into an LCD screen. This is a total DIY project, but he has posted instructions for any DIYer on his Ed’s Junk site.

You should probably ask yourself what you want to put on your LCD screen. I mean, do you want people to stare at it? If you are looking for business, you could put a little video ad for yourself, sans audio. Anyone at the coffee shop might see it and hire you for an assignment.

That’s probably what I would do with it. Personally, I think that this DIY feature is so cool that Apple should contact Eddie Zarick and pay him for his good idea, and then make it a standard feature for all MacBooks.

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After a one week break it’s time for another coolest gadget competition, simply vote for your favourite gadget and leave a comment for a chance to win a $50 Amazon voucher.

Pop-up Garage Stows Your Car Safely Underground

The Cardok garage is an interesting parking solution that is starting to be seen around more affluent London locales. The owner’s car is raised and lowered by means of a hydraulic lift. At present there are eight in action around London, four under construction and another ten that have been ordered,

The full post can be found on We Interrupt.

Sat nav shoes

Just enter a postcode on your heal and away you go. The LED bubble on the front of your right shoe will show you which direction to walk in and beep at you if you go the wrong way. You can also listen to spoken directions through a Bluetooth headset. No maps, no questions to strangers and no arguments over directions.

The full post can be found on Decide What to Buy.

Garmin Forerunner 405CX - New Calorie Counting Fitness GPS

Garmin announced the new Forerunner 405CX also today as a top of the line intelligent fitness device that uses a complex algorithm to help you accurately count calories burned while working out. The unit not only features the same great, attractive GPS-based capabilities, but also a new calorie counting feature that uses an algorithm that detects changes in your heart rate during aerobic activity to better calculate the end result. The Forerunner 405CX still keeps the thin profile and a touch bezel to control the system that is so popular with the very watch-like high tech device.

The Forerunner 405CX should be available tis summer, and will be on display at the Boston Marathon in a couple of weeks.

The full post can be found on GPS Lodge.

The Only Self Propelled Suitcase

The first of its kind, this is the self-propelled luggage that automatically provides power assistance when you encounter inclines or are straining to roll the luggage. Sensors in the handle monitor how much force you are using to pull the suitcase and signal to electric motors in the wheels to engage when you are struggling, propelling the suitcase up to 3 MPH.

The full post can be found on RGS.

Extreme Base Jumping with the Firebird-R Wingsuit

The Firebird-R is a high performance wingsuit. Designed for base jumpers or skydivers looking for the ultimate thrill, suit up in one of these and you’ll be pulling some G’s in no time.

The full post can be found on Coated.

Asus Eee PC Keyboard: No Monitor Required

In the interest of minimalism, Asus have created quite a stir with their lastest Eee PC Keyboard that comes complete with its own 5 inch touch screen. So you don’t have to crank your neck up to look at a monitor, the Asus Eee PC Keyboard comes complete with 1.6 GHz Atom Processor, 1GB of RAM, and either 16 or 32 GB SSD for internal storage. There are also USB, VGA and HDMI ports to hook up the keyboard to a monitor or TV so you’re not restricted to watching Fast and Furious on something the size of a beer coaster.

The full post can be found on Gaj-it.

Optoma Pico Transforms iPhone Into Projector

The Optoma Pico can turn your iPod or iPhone into a projector. The 4.1″ PK-101 can work as close as 8″ or up to 8′ away and still display sharp images. Shine it on a wall, a piece of furniture, a car seat or your cat (if he/she is dozing) and the image will still be true. The Pico only weighs 4 oz. and has a rechargeable battery life of 1.5 hours. Included in the $399.00 price are two batteries. Time liked it so well they made it one of their top ten gadgets of 2008.

The full post can be found on Networking Audio Video.

Remote Security Sentry

When you’re away, fire-up this remote security robot to ‘roam’ the house
beaming back a live image of your home to an Internet enabled device. The
bot automatically finds its charging base for a power up, so you can leave
this running longer - such as when away on holiday.

The full post can be found on EggHeaven.

Thanks again to all the sites for their submissions now over to you guys for voting (don’t forget to leave a comment with your reason for a chance to win a $50 Amazon voucher).

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If you write for a gadget themed blog and wish to be included in next weeks contest check out the CGOTW instructions page.

On April Fools Day, I saw many tech blogs report on a Tauntaun Sleeping Bag from the ThinkGeek store. I had my doubts on whether or not it was legit, and so I didn’t report on it. I wanted to, because I always like reporting on Star Wars gadgets. We at Coolest Gadgets have reported on so many Star Wars gadgets here that it should be a category.

A lot of people apparently wanted this Tauntaun Sleeping Bag, and ThinkGeek has responded to this “tsunami of requests” by trying to bring this product to reality. They have no idea if Lucasfilm will approve of this idea, but considering all the money that could be made here, why not?

Also, there have been dumber Star Wars products to surface. One of my favorites was the Jar Jar Binks candy dispenser that was like a Pez Dispenser, but the candy was Jar Jar’s tongue. Yes, you could French kiss Jar Jar, and it was a sweet experience. Yes, that is very disgusting.

The Tauntaun Sleeping Bag has a pretty disgusting premise too. Remember the scene from The Empire Strikes Back where Han cuts open the Tauntaun with a lightsaber, and puts Luke inside the smelly carcass to keep our hero warm? This sleeping bag, with its Tauntuan skin exterior, “guts” interior pattern, and lightsaber zipper is intended to re-create this scene.

Man, I remember playing this scene out when I was a kid, and we just used a regular sleeping bag. If you want your kids to a more authentic experience when they play Star Wars, then you should sign up here to be notified if and when the Tauntaun sleeping bag becomes a reality. There is no word on a price as yet.

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