Gadgets Blog

In certain countries, you aren’t allowed to keep dogs if you’re living in an apartment. One of the reasons is the apartment is not exactly the most conducive place for a pooch to roam around, and if the dog doesn’t learn to stop its barking, it could end up as a source of irritation to your neighbors. Why not train your four-legged friend to stay quiet unless commanded otherwise with the Indoor Barking Dog Deterrent?

This patented device quickly and humanely restores peace and quiet to a home vexed by a dog’s excessive barking. No special collar is required; when a dog barks within 25′ of the unit, it emits a harmless ultrasonic tone, inaudible to humans, that startles the animal into silence. The dog quickly associates its bark with the unpleasant sound, which conditions him to curb this undesirable behavior. The unit can also be activated manually to help you correct a dog’s other bad habits, such as lying on furniture or foraging through the trash. One 9-volt battery (not included) provides power for about two months, and an LED indicates battery life.

Meant for indoor use only, you can pick this useful tool up for $49.95 from Hammacher.

Technology moves so quickly that many gadgets get tossed out and forgotten.  However, gamers aren’t always so quick to toss aside old gear.  After spending so much time bonding with and getting used to an old controller, using a new one is just never as good.  There is the Classic Controller that was created for the Wii, but it’s still just not the same.  So for those that still have their old Nintendo controllers, now you can put them to good use on your Wii.

This 3-in-1 adapter will allow for you to hook up the original NES, Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo controllers to your Wii.  For those of you that tossed out your old controller, you might want to be on the lookout for replacements.  Komodo and Innex are supposed to be officially announcing the adapter at this year’s E3.  It’s supposed to be priced right around $19.99 once it does come out.  Of course, that won’t be until mid-June, which isn’t all that far off.

Source: OhGizmo

If one of your faithful traveling companions is your laptop, then we’re pretty sure you’ve experienced moments when you felt as though your family jewels were on fire due to the laptop being placed on your lap for far too long? Well, the Nexus TDD-9000 liquid cooling solution is the perfect fodder for such situations, featuring a gel-like liquid substance that boasts unique heat dissipating characteristics and works completely passive and noiseless.

The TDD-9000 liquid laptop cooling pad is a true portable solution. The cooling pad can be folded and easily carried with the laptop without the danger of scratching the laptop. It can be used anytime anywhere: in a train, in a plane, at home on the sofa… you will never have an uncomfortable warm lap due to your annoying hot laptop.

Interested parties will be able to pick up the Nexus TDD-9000 liquid cooling pad when it arrives at mass markets later next month, retailing for $23.

Product Page via Press Release

Just when you thought that analog digital cameras were dead and buried due to the proliferation of digital cameras all over the world, along comes the Vivitar V3800N from Sakar International that aims to make a splash in the non-digital camera world by offering a noteworthy device without breaking the bank in the process. The Vivitar V3800N is a formidable piece of hardware, where the manual 35mm single lens reflex model will come in varying prices between $169 and $199, depending on what you want to include in the package. It will go totally old school, utilizing the classic focal plane shutter that inspired the term ’shutterbug’ all those years ago.

Before we delve a little further about this manual camera, here is a little history lesson. The V3800N had been all but discontinued before Sakar purchased the Vivitar brand last year, and only resumed volume manufacturing of the camera due to overwhelming response on both retailer and consumer sides. After all, the retail market has had a dearth of a comparable camera for many a year already, making in all but impossible for folks who want to pick up core photography skills including setting aperture and mechanical shutter controls to pursue their interests further. Hence, the dusting off of the 3800N’s production lines to keep it going when everyone else prefers the digital format.

The re-release of the Vivitar V3800N is also part of Sakar’s “big picture” strategy to leverage the reputation of the 71-year-old Vivitar brand to expand its footprint in the camera business. After all, Vivitar was founded before World War II in 1938, and has an extremely strong brand name to leverage upon, making great cameras on both the digital and film fronts. Currently, their digital camera line includes entry-level VGA cameras to 12-megapixel monsters with zoom optics that works for both the amateur and serious digital photographer. Each Vivitar V3800N you pick up will come with either a 50mm lens or a 28-70mm zoom lens, depth-of-field preview, bright viewfinder with split-image focusing, multi-exposure capability, 10-second self-timer, and X Contact hot shoe for add-on flash. It features shutter speeds of 1 to 1/2000 sec, accepts ISO 25-3200 film speeds. You will be able to pick it up in three different configurations - with a 50mm lens, with a 28-70mm zoom lens, and with a 50mm lens bundled with a flash, UV protective filter, roll of black and white film, and a rugged gadget bag.

Press Release

Going wireless is the big thing for many of us - how far have we come since the good old days where cables were a necessity? As it stands, we have wireless keyboards, wireless mice, wireless hotspots, wireless charging stations (say hello, Palm Touchstone!), wireless projectors (High Definition ones at that), wireless routers and more importantly, wireless headphones. Bluetooth technology has played a pretty important role in the last segment, and today we shall look at the Digital Opera S2 and ‘Made for iPod’ Digital Opera S5 wireless earbuds, courtesy of DigiFi and Kleer. The announcement of both earbuds will definitely cause you to sit up and take notice - after all, who doesn’t want to enjoy their favorite tunes without having to get stuck in a tangled mess?

Both the Digital Opera S2 and the Digital Opera S5 wireless earbuds will come with volume and track control buttons that are conveniently located on the wireless earbuds. This is perfect for folks who enjoy listening to high-fidelity music without having any wires to get in the way, especially when you’re working out in the gym, pounding the treadmill with your multimedia playback capable-cellphone providing the musical tracks of your choice. Both models are able to stream uncompressed, lossless, CD quality (16-bit, 44.1KHz-sampled) digital stereo audio for maximum enjoyment, working in a range of 32 feet at best. Anything more than that is out of a Bluetooth connection’s reach. Each pair will also have a listening time of 10 hours, where you can stream audio to a maximum of four people who are using Kleer-based wireless earbuds for a more communal experience.

Folks who interact more with a range of portable and stationary media players will find the Opera S2 to be suitable courtesy of its 3.5mm-compatible transmitter which works great with most media players, be they MP3 players, PMPs, computers, cell phones, TVs or iPod docks among others. As for folks who enjoy their portable music on nothing other than the iPod, then the Opera S5 would be more ideal since it allows you to play, pause, advance, previous, fast forward and rewind a song using the track control buttons on the wireless earbuds. There is no word on pricing, but both the Opera S2 and iPod-compatible Opera S5 will be released worldwide on June 20th this year.

Press Release

I truly hate lanterns and for one simple reason.  They take about six different D batteries to stay powered.  Who honestly keeps D batteries around?  I don’t think I even own any gadgets anymore that require that particular type of batteries.  Well if you really don’t want to have to stock pile batteries, this small lantern uses other forms of power to make sure that your activities stay well lit.

It not only has solar power to charge it while the sun is up, but you can also use the hand crank.  You can either have it shine 6 LED lights at once or go for the more dim option of 3 at once.  The lantern is 18.5cm x 8.3cm, so it’s not the largest lantern out there.  It also has a mobile phone charger for emergency situations.  Even if it’s not the greatest lantern for camping, it’d be great to keep around in your car or basement as a part of an emergency kit.  You can purchase it for $34.99 from GizFever.

Source: GeekAlerts

Typically the search for a souvenir lands you a shot glass, t-shirt or even a goofy spoon that could never actually be used.  However, San Francisco is taking a slightly more hi-tech approach to the usual boring souvenirs.  Instead of picking up a post card that will only get tossed in a desk drawer and forgotten, you could pick up their novelty USB drive.  Don’t worry, it’s not some 50MB drive that could never be used on a regular basis.

No, these Cable Car USB Drives go up to 16GB, giving you plenty of room to toss files onto.  It’d also mean instead of having a useless souvenir, you’d have something quite useful.  The only downside is that a shot glass is never outdated, however, someday a flash drive will.  So although it would be useful now, you might find it silly to hang onto it later.  The drives come in blue/red and green/red.  Then to top things off, they come with 30+ pictures of San Francisco already on the drive.  It retails for $36.99 (for the 16GB drive) on Amazon, or it can be picked up at the Cable Car Museum.

Source: ChipChick

It’s that time of week again to browse round a few new sites and vote for what YOU think is the coolest gadget. (as usual leave a comment for a chance to win a $50 Amazon voucher).

Waterproof LCD for Your Bath

A 22-inch bathroom TV with mirror screen is out from `Waterproof LCD TVs’. A spa, sauna, swimming pool or even outdoors, the TV gives you a great relaxing experience.

The full post can be found on EliteChoice.

AccuVein AV3000 Helps Doctors Locate Veins

The AccuVein AV3000 is a device which requires no contact with the patient and the device illuminates veins so that they can be observed.

The full post can be found on Trends Updates.

Tetris Soap

Its time for some more geeky soap, just like the Space Invaders soap, these fun Tetris soaps are inspired by a classic video game.

Now you will be able to play Tetris in the bath with these geeky soaps, they come in a set with all different Tetris pieces, and they are made from a blend of glycerin and olive oil soaps.

The full post can be found on Geeky Gadgets.

Samsung LED TV

“That’s not a gadget” we hear you sigh, but when a TV is as clever as this, it most definitely is. For starters it looks sexier than a strip club to a monk and is thinner than a supermodels lunchbox (1.2″). It also posseses a multitude of connection possibilities. These stack up to an impressive 4 x HDMI ports, 2 x USB ports, a DTV Tuner, wireless LAN and internet TV. Yup, we did say wireless Lan and internet TV.

The full post can be found on Gadgets-For-Men.co.uk.

Self-charging phone

This phone takes top-of-the-range watch technology and teams it up with a touchscreen to create a stylish hybrid handset. Its built-in battery is charged by the kinetic energy generated by the moving rotor so that your phone charges without you even noticing, while it’s working.

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

Dog-o-matic Dog Washing Machine

Some dogs absolutely hate getting washed and it can be a major chore to get them cleaned, so while the idea of throwing them into a dog washing machine might sound cruel, it seems like a pretty good idea. You just stick them in the machine, press “start,” and smugly watch with the knowledge that opposable thumbs make you the boss. According to the manufacturer, the animals don’t suffer.

The full post can be found on UberReview.

Lazy Boy Cool Chair

I think the Lazy Boy Cool Chair is the gadget of all gadgets. I can’t think of anything much better than sitting back relaxing while watching your favourite Movie or TV show in this chair. Actually maybe I can, why not throw in some added gadgets such as a fridge to keep your drinks cool and a massager for after those long hard days at work. The Lazy Boy has been around for a long time now but I think you will agree it will always be a cool gadget.

The full post can be found on Tech Styling.

HomeSeer In-Wall Customizable Touchscreen Unit

HomeSeer Technologies has released the HST-IW07 7″ In-wall Touchscreen Unit. IP-enabled, it features a 7″ color TFT LCD Display with a 800 x 480 dpi resolution, customizable screens, easy mounting and an LED backlit display. The display is meant to work with HomeSeer’s HSTouch interface design system, so before you invest the $995.00, check out the rest of their line.

The full post can be found on Networking Audio Video.

Bike Moto Horn

Did you ever wish that your piddly little bicycle was a fearsomely noisy motorbike? Course you did. It’s why you stuck spoke-bothering lollipop sticks in your forks and bent your mudguards inside out. ‘Phturrrrrppplll!’ But if you were really cool you bought one of those rev-able vroom-vrooming soundboxes.

The full post can be found on RGS.

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).

Want to hear about future contests first? Subscribe to our daily digest via email or RSS.

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

It has been a while since we heard from Creative and their Zen series of MP3 Players. The Zen Krystal came out a year ago with the Zen Mozaic, and they have recently unveiled two more in the Zen line.

The Zen Mozaic EZ300 comes in 4 to 8 gigabyte models that feature a 1.8 inch TFT color display, an FM radio, a built-in speaker, a voice recorder, as well as an alarm clock. It has a mosaic keypad that is a “one-of-a-kind” design, and uses a plug and play system for dragging and dropping your songs.

The Zen MX is a credit-card shaped player with 8 to 16 gigabtye models that feature a 2.5 inch screen with 320 x 240 resolution. It also includes an SD/SDHC slot, an FM radio,a voice recorder, as well as an alarm clock.

The Zen Mozaic EZ300 is available for pre-order now. The 4GB is available for $59.99, and the 8GB version for $79.99. The Zen MX is also available for pre-order, with the 8GB for $99.99 and the 16GB for $129.99.

Perhaps this would be better time for Creative to make a move to kill Apple’s semi-Monopoly on MP3 players. I’ve said this before: Creative’s Zen Stones are cheaper and better than iPod Shuffles. There, I said it. Deal with it, Apple.

Source

The winner of last week’s coolest gadget competition is the Amazon Kindle DX.

What do you do when you’ve made the leading product in the market, you’re onto your second version and you’ve sold an estimated 500,000 units? Make it bigger of course! And throw in a host of extra features including being able to view PDF files - surely you’ve now got the perfect electronic reader to replace newspapers and textbooks?

Congrats again to Zath.

In second place we have the Lightsaber Umbrella.

What better way to make you smile while out walking on a rainy day than to get your Lightsaber Umbrella out, flick its switch and voila… Not only are you now smiling and dry, but you are also instantly a bad ass, mofo…Jedi person.

Finally in third place comes the Starry Night Bed.

Are you having trouble getting that good nights sleep that you’re needing? Well not anymore why not take a look at the Starry Night Bed. The Starry Night Bed is a great new invention which will revolutionize the way in which you sleep. Not only is this bed stylish and comfy but it’s also a gadget heaven. With this bed you get many added gadgets including anti snore technology, movie projector with speakers, temperature control and many more.

Thank you to everybody who voted, submitted, commented or told a friend. The randomly drawn winner of the $50 Amazon vouchers is:

Ben (Benr@…), congratulations.

Thanks again everybody and good luck with the next CGOTW contest on Friday.

Want to hear about future contests first? Subscribe to our daily digest via email or RSS.

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

If you enjoy being under water, then I suppose you should have a way to capture those memories.  Especially if you’re out in the ocean and have managed to find a spot with lots of brightly colored fish.  Thankfully, the infamous Thanko has you covered.  They’ve created a camera to go underwater that won’t have to be held.  This tube camera will take your underwater pictures and give the view from the side of your head.  Which might be difficult if you want a very precise shot, but would be great for general pretty underwater pictures.

The Thanko camera also can record video and has 2GB of internal memory to store it on.  The video records in 320×240 resolution at 25fps.  The camera will withstand the water up to 20m down.  To keep it powered, you’ll need to charge it for 2 hours in order to get 2-3 hours of use.  You can attach this to your goggles or Thanko provides a headband.  Although the headband works, somehow it looks even more dorky than wearing the camera on a set of goggles.  To purchase the camera as of now, you’ll have to be in Japan and pay up $130.  Although it’s possible that it’ll make its way onto the Thanko store branch that allows for the rest of the world to pick it up.

Source: Crunchgear