Gadgets Blog

I remember reading Brave New World in high school, and the mode of transportation in the future was helicopters. I remember thinking that the writer Aldous Huxley had a pretty unenlightened point of the world of tomorrow, because most modern science fiction writers picture the future skies full of rotorless flying cars.

It would appear that the “Muecke” single seater lightweight sport helicopter concept could prove Mr. Huxley right, especially since he was right on many other things. Read the book if you don’t believe me.

As you can see, this helicopter has no tail rotor, but has two rotating blades. Apparently, the blades rotating in opposite directions are enough to give the mini-copter lift and balance.

You might notice how easily portable the Muecke is. All the user needs to do is grab one end and lift, then push it like it was on a wheelbarrow. Hopefully you have some ramps to wheel it into the back of a pickup. Or, if you are really daring, just land it in the bed.

Of course, an age of flying transportation raises a lot of questions. For example, how will people receive their pilots/drivers licenses? Is it possible for every person to get the hours of flight time required? Time will tell if the future will be full of these, I suppose.

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Sometimes the most ingenious technological advances are really the most obvious. Case in point, the LG HB954TBW Blu-ray 5.1 Home Theater Combo.

I am assuming that it is called a Combo because this Blu-Ray player has a unique feature of a slide-out iPod dock. This feature really is obvious, really. Does anyone know if this is the first Blu-Ray player to offer such a painfully obvious feature? I would have thought that an iPod dock would have been a standard in all DVD players by now.

Unfortunately, my sources don’t have much information about the HB954TBW other than that. Most of them have said that it accepts all iPod models, but it is sketchy about whether or not it will accept the iPhone.

However, the real question is whether or not this will play video content from the iPod on the player. The next question would be what quality the video would be?

According to my source, the LG HB954TBW was on display at CES. However, I remember visiting the LG booth, and I don’t remember seeing it there at all. Well, it did take up a lot of conference space.

We do know one thing: the price. It should be about $1,000, and it will only be sold in Korea.

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Concentrating on work isn’t always easy, but for a student that would rather be out socializing, it’s close to impossible.  Some students are committed enough that they can manage to concentrate on school work and ignore the nagging urge to slam the text book closed and go out.  Well this Study Ball which is made to look humorously like a ball and chain can help the not so dedicated students stick to their studying goals.

This isn’t just a timer, it actually shackles to your leg until the set time is up.  On the shackle itself it lists how much time you have left, so you can count the minutes down until you’re finally free again.  The ball weighs 20.95 pounds, which is possible to move, but still a bit on the difficult side.  So if there’s an emergency, you can still pick it up and run.  It can’t be set for over 4 hours at a time and they suggest that minors not use this without adult supervision.  It runs on 3 AAA batteries and will cost you 85,45€ or about $115.

Source: Likecool

Just when you thought that you can’t update something technologically, here comes the Blue Ember iQue. This grill has “an integrated computer for precision control” for cooking your meat “on the barbie”.

The user has the option of setting the time and temperature for cooking. He or she even has the option of selecting the meat, and whether it will be well done, medium rare, or whatever setting that he or she prefers. The iQue also has an integrated temperature probe, and the computer will automatically lower the heat level based on its desired settings.

In case you are wondering how the user can control these features, it isn’t with a remote. No, it is all about a touch-control computer. I hope the touch-controls can work with barbeque sauce on your fingertips. However, for those who aren’t into tech while they are grilling, the iQue can work without any computerized help.

However, I believe at least one of the technological features on the iQue will really come in handy. You see, a sonar-based system will keep track of the propane usage and display the results of the remaining time.

The iQue comes with an infrared rotisserie burner, a built-in smoker box, and a side burner. It also comes with a bottle opener and ice bucket. All this is available for about $900.

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If you’re extremely committed to being as healthy as you possibly can be, merely weighing yourself is never going to be enough.  It just tells you the overall weight and although it might be slightly heavy, you may have less fat to lose than you think you do.  After all, muscle does weigh a bit more than fat.  To get a more accurate reading, you normally want to check out how much actual body fat you have.  Of course those type things are something you’d only think to find at the gym.  However, this Body Check Ball checks that and more, and it is stored in the comfort of your home.

It’s just a small palm-sized silver ball, so it won’t be one more fitness item that you’re stuck finding storage for.  It reads body fat, bone density and muscle percentages.  It then posts this info in big numbers on the LCD screen.  These numbers won’t vary quite as often as your weight, so it’ll give you a better idea of your overall health.  It claims to be accurate and comes from Japan.  It runs on 4 AAA batteries and also has clock and alarm functions.  You can purchase it through the Japan Trend Shop for $39.

Source: OhGizmo

The winner of last week’s coolest gadget competition is the Tap with face recognition.

The SmartFaucet is a touchscreen tap with face recognition. Stand in front of it and it will automatically remember your preferred water temperature and pressure and run you your perfect bath or shower. You can also use it to catch up on a few emails or find out how your calendar’s shaping up for the weekend.

Congrats again to Decide What to Buy.

In second place we have the Necktie Spy Camera.

Here is a fun spy gadget for all the James Bond fans, the Necktie Spy Camera.

The Necktie Spy Camera is the ideal accessory for your latest spy mission, you are bound to go undetected with this covert necktie, apart from the fact that everyone will realise you don’t normally wear one.

Finally in third place comes the Truecall: Stops Nuisance Phone Calls.

trueCall will filter out nuisance phone calls from telemarketers and (better still) debt collectors.When someone calls, trueCall checks the number against a stored list of friends. If the number checks out, the call goes through. If not, it will ask the caller for their name and put them on hold while trueCall calls your phone. When you pick up, you can decide if you want to take the call, but by this stage most telemarketers hang-up. Reclaim your phone again!

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

Maxxx (maxxx@aa…), congratulations.

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

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