Gadgets Blog

How many of you turn on your TV the moment you wake up (never mind about seeing the light of day), just to get a gist of what’s going on around the world at that moment in time? Don’t think too many would do that just to check out what the weather for today would be like, but here’s a bedside device that caters for that particular niche - the Wake To Weather Alarm Clock.

This is the alarm clock that informs you of the weather the moment you awaken. The unit receives a radio signal with AccuWeather data for 152 U.S. locations over the same network used by medical pagers, with no internet connection, computer, or subscription fee required. At a glance its large, adjustable backlit display shows the time, dual alarm settings, current weather conditions icons, and the forecast for the next two days, including high and low temperatures. The clock’s intuitive controls are simple to use and its time is synchronized over the network so it never needs adjusting. You can wake to its alarm or to its radio, which features digital tuning and RDS for station and song information. It features a large snooze button and unique pop-up buttons that show each alarm’s status. With five presets. Plugs into AC with included adapter. Requires one AA battery for memory backup.

Well, most importantly, this comes with the snooze button that works great to help you catch that extra few minutes of shuteye. We’re not too sure whether the $179.95 price point is worth it since most of our cellphones these days can connect to the internet and pull off the day’s weather forecast for free.

Ah, handheld gaming sure has gotten a whole lot more complicated with releases from Sony like the PSPgo and the Nintendo DSi, so why not hark back to the good old days where the notion of handheld gaming did not mean the presence of some high resolution LCD display? Here’s the Thumb Stadium Electronic Game Kit
to get you started, and there are four different built-in games to choose from as described below.

Game 1 - ThumbWar
The object of ThumbWar is simple: press while the other player is pressing. If you do, you get a point.

Game 2 - SlapJack
During SlapJack, Thumb Stadium randomly flashes the center LED red or green. Be the first to press when center is green and get a point. Don’t press if it isn’t green or the other player gets a point.

Game 3 - Jai Alai
Center lights up ~ quickly press to “catch” your color. Press again to “throw” to the other player who has to catch on time and throw back. The time to catch gets shorter each throw.

Game 4 - Reflexy
Reflexy is a one-player game. The object is to quickly press the button that matches the color in the center LED. You go until you miss or are too late. The time to react gets shorter each turn. After the game, your score is flashed ~ Center = x10, Red LED = x1. Press the Red Side Button three times to restart.

The Thumb Stadium Electronic Game Kit can be yours for $19.99.