Gadgets Blog

What a great idea. This is a sofa which as a pool table built into it hideabed style. Okay, actually, it’s a snooker table, but still. What an ideal addition to an apartment/mancave. According to Craziest Gadgets the couch is about 6 foot long and apparently, it’s quite popular in the UK where they’re fairly cheap.

Made as a joint venture from Pierce Upholsterers and Accrington and Riley - makers of fine British pool tables, and was produced in the 70’s. It’s made of a neutral brown dralon fabric and when opens it flips into a pool table with adjustable leveling feet to make it level. What a fantastic idea which was decades ahead of it’s time. It probably didn’t do too well because manufacturing it would’ve been costly without a computer/motion controlled assembly line. But with the advent of not only computers for design and manufacture, this piece could easily make a resurgence. And why stop there? Imagine a sofa with built in ping pong table, air hockey table, poker table!

As I said, this bad boy has “man cave” written all over it. Currently for bid at eBay.UK at about $200 US but it’s sure to go well north of that.

Hat Tip - Gizmodo via Craziest Gadgets

Not all USB hubs need to be geek inspired or a mega hub with 20 different ports.  Instead it’s alright to have the occasional overly feminine hub for those that prefer their technology to appear bright and chipper.  This hub is exactly that and would be great for women of all ages (as long as they prefer things of this style).  It would look especially good in a young girl’s room, not that a young girl would necessarily need a USB hub.  However, if your daughter does need one, this pastel heart is definitely an affordable way to go.

It only has 4 different ports, but that would be enough for a great deal of people.  Most people don’t really need a ton of extras, but merely a few more ports.  Being a hub, it’s compatible with either Mac or PC, obviously.  It comes in the three different colors you see here.  The pale pink, blue and then bright yellow.  So if you don’t want a pastel color, the yellow is a bit more bold.  Brando has these up for sale, and for cheap too.  You can purchase one for all of $10.

Source: GeekyGadgets

Have you ever had something in your place that you wanted levitated? Me neither. In all honesty, I would prefer having the ability to levitate things at will using The Force, but hey, I live in a real world.

However, I suppose I could have the next best thing with the Levitron Revolution. All I would have to do is place my favorite object on this platform that represents “years of development and breakthroughs in maglev technology”, and my item will be spinning with an illuminated base for as long as I have power.

Yeah, that could be a problem when the power goes out, and whatever is on the Levitron Revolution will levitate like a rock. You might not want to put anything made of glass on this.

Of course, the object has to weigh less than four ounces in order for it to work, so that is another limitation. I suppose the model shuttle from the photo is much lighter than it looks. I suppose you could use a globe or something very light.

Well, I guess you can see the value of this item, but I don’t see any word on the price or availability. What exactly is the price for floating, spinning goodness? Leave me a comment if you know for sure.

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Computex 2009 has displayed a lot of new technologies recently, and one of them is one by Aibelive (pronounced I believe?) called AITALK. This AITALK allows the user to interact with their iPod with nothing but speech.

This is perfect for those times when you are listening to your iPod while driving or jogging. Instead of awkwardly fumbling with the controls for changing tracks while your eyes should be on the road, you can just say: “skip track” and it will go on to the next song.

Aibelive’s Press Release has also stated that a user can do more than just control an iPod with vocal commands, but he or she can search for a song, artist, or album. I don’t have much information on how it does that. I would imagine it is something like: “Find (song name)” or something like that.

So how does this work? It looks like you have to plug-in something to your iPod in order to make it vocally accessible, but that really is no surprise. You didn’t expect something wireless, did you?

Considering that we live in an age where we need to be hands-free, the AITALK is definitely a technology whose time has come. In fact, Apple should take a hint and put these vocal controls on their new models of iPods.

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I realize that this headline might trigger surveillance society fears in some of our readers, but this article isn’t about putting GPS trackers in everyone’s footwear. No, putting a GPS in someone’s shoes is only a way to keep tabs on those who need it.

GTX Corporation and the shoe company Aetrex originally developed this technology to track elderly patients who have Alzheimer’s.

For those who do not know about Alzheimer’s, it is a condition (not a disease, even though it is often referred to as one) that involves both short and long term memory loss. Sometimes the victim is really lost in his or her own world of the past, and doesn’t realize he or she is very much in the present. In short, a victim can be as helpless as a wandering infant. I’m sure some of you have older relatives who have been afflicted with this.

With these GPS shoes, doctors and relatives can track the patient before he or she wanders too far, and get them back home before something bad happens.

The plan is to release these GPS shoes sometime before 2010, and it should retail somewhere in between $200 and $300. An additional $20 monthly fee will be tacked on for those who want to receive alerts should their Alzheimer’s patient leave his or her designated area.

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There are a lot of reasons I typically cringe at the thought of having to vacuum.  First of all they’re just big and clunky, plus you have to move all of the furniture out of the way.  Then to top things off, you have to somehow manage to keep the cord both out of the way of the vacuum, as well as out from in front of you.  That way you’re not tripping over it the entire time you’re vacuuming.  This Black & Decker vacuum has all three of those very typical problems covered.

It has a pivoting action that makes it possible to sweep under all kinds of furniture.  Making it so that you won’t have to keep moving things out of the way.  It’s also cordless, which takes care of the cord issue.  Then it’s a lightweight bagless vacuum, so there is no issue with it being overly awkward.  It also features side-suction vents that allow for the vacuum to clean along walls and baseboards.  Which is good, since this vacuum has no hoses of any kind.  When you need to store it, you just fold it up and put it away on the charging stand.  You can purchase it for $99.99 from Amazon.

Source: GadgetGrid

If you have sore muscles on a regular basis, then you’ve likely found ways to cope throughout the day.  One thing that might help push you over the edge and keep you feeling good is this mouse.  A mouse is not usually something that you would use to keep your muscles from being sore all the time.  However, that’s exactly what this little Japanese mouse is used for.  The EMS mouse allows for you to hook yourself up and get a bit of relaxation on the exact spot that is giving you troubles.

I have used EMS pads before myself, and it turned out that for my particular type of pain, they didn’t really work.  So it would be better if you knew specifically already that this method does help out your issue.  The EMS pads, if they work on you, not only relieve pain, but can promote healing as well.  The mouse works as a regular mouse, but also controls the pads when you have them hooked to the mouse.  As of now this is just in Japan, so it’ll be hard to get your hands on the mouse.  If you were to, it’d cost you 5,696 Yen or about $58.

Source: CraziestGadgets

More and more states around the US and countries all over the world have already banned the use of cellphones while driving unless you’re using a hands-free kit of sorts. Of course, wireless versions are preferred in this day and age since there are no wires for you to get tangled with whenever you negotiate a treacherous mountain pass, making the Steering Wheel Bluetooth Speakerphone a suitable candidate for your hands-free woes.

This is the Bluetooth speakerphone that attaches to your steering wheel, placing the microphone and speakers closer to you for easier conversations without taking your hands off the wheel. The device uses two 2-watt speakers coupled with noise reduction and echo cancellation technologies for clear transmission and reception. Inbound calls appear on the device’s 9/16″ display as either numbers or names (depending upon how your cell phone is set up), allowing you to accept or reject calls with a press of a button. Volume, mute, and phone book buttons allow further control right from the steering wheel. The device can be paired with up to eight different cell phones and you can transfer up to 600 phone numbers to its 256MB memory. Its rechargeable battery provides five hours of continuous talk time from a three-hour charge using the included DC car adapter.

Sounds like $99.95 well spent, apart from the fact that you won’t be able to use it once you get out of your vehicle. Guess the standard Bluetooth headset still beats them all…

It is nice to see the technology and wonders miniaturization of a device can do for us humans - check out the Muvi Micro Camcorder that is able to do more than what a high end analog camcorder is capable of more than a decade ago. Being super small, it measures a mere 5.5cm x 2cm x 2cm, making the manufacturers tout it as “the smallest camcorder in the world” - heck, you can even wear it around your neck and let it function like a webcam if you want to. All recorded images and videos are stored on a microSD memory card, where it is expandable up to 8GB. Features include VGA resolution recording quality and the ability to record using voice commands. Heck, you can even let it be sound-activated, recording whenever it detects a sound of 65 decibels and above. Interested parties can pick up the delectable Muvi Micro Camcorder for £79.95.

The winner of last week’s coolest gadget competition is the NEC CRV43 43 Inch Curved Monitor.

NEC has launched their new 43 inch curved LCD monitor the NEC CRV43, and from the looks of the photos this would be great for gaming.

The NEC CRV43 features a resolution of 2880 x 900, a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, USB 2.0 connectivity, a DVI-D and HDMI 1.3 connections, and it provides a 32:10 aspect ratio.

Congrats again to Geeky Gadgets.

In second place we have the Xbox 360 - Project Natal.

Project Natal is Microsoft’s next generation control system. Similar to the Wii, this new system requires a sensor bar, but unlike the Wii, the bar incorporates a camera, motion sensors and a microphone that can detect full body motion. This new system will allow for a whole new level of game play and interactivity without the need for game controllers.

Finally in third place comes the Alienware M17x Gaming Laptop.

Alienware are back with a new re-designed and updated gaming laptop in the form of the Alienware M17x - this “beast” of a gaming laptop features top of the range components to provide high performance gaming in a new anodised aluminium case design and also has a rather cool illuminated keyboard - if you do a lot of your gaming on the move, then this stylishly beats carrying a huge desktop PC around with you!

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

Emily (emilysarah…@), 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.

Panasonic is back in the limelight yet again with the release of a couple of High Definition camcorders which are touted to be the lightest in the world. While we don’t doubt the authenticity of that claim, these days such titles are often traded among rival manufacturers in a matter of weeks or months, due to constant advancement in technology. Well, the two HD camcorders in question are the HDC-SD10 and the HDC-TM10, where the former will rely on the SDHC/SD memory card format as the recording media of choice, while the latter takes on a more versatile Twin Memory format, saving your recorded memories onto its 8GB internal flash memory or using an SDHC/SD memory card as well. Either model will tip the scales at a mere 0.5lbs, although the relatively small body is able to pack in 16x optical zoom capability and advanced features to produce beautiful 1920 x 1080 Full-HD videos.

The 16x optical zoom found in the HDC-SD10 and HDC-TM10 will be supported by the Advanced O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) function, one of the main tools in helping both camcorders achieve clear zooming while minimizing hand-shakes and jitters that often accompany lesser models. Panasonic’s Advanced O.I.S. is sensitive enough to detect and correct hand-shake of around 4,000 times per second, and allows the high-powered optical zoom to produce clear, stable zoom shots. In addition, the Active mode also extends the hand-shake correction range to allow the shooting of clear, crisp images while walking or moving.

Other features found on staple Panasonic camcorders include the iA (Intelligent Auto) function that is able to choose the most suitable scene mode for those who have no idea how to use this, thanks to its chip that is able to pick out the right shooting conditions, in addition to Face Detection for easy portrait shooting, Intelligent Contrast Control for proper contrast in videos and AF/AE Tracking (Auto Focus/Auto Exposure Tracking) that helps you track a moving subject automatically. The Panasonic HDC-SD10 and HDC-TM10 will retail for $549.95 and $599.95, respectively.

Press Release

Toshiba is quick to the draw this time round by shipping its new line of premium REGZA HDTV series that originally debuted at CES 2009 earlier this year, making good on their January promise concerning a summer shipping date. Among these new TVs that are set to grace living rooms of discerning movie buffs worldwide are the highly acclaimed ZV650 LCD TV as well as the state-of-the-art SV670 LED TV. These two series will bring together the most advanced picture technology with stunning designs that results in a highly immersive viewing experience which aims to bring home entertainment to a whole new level.

What sets apart these
REGZA models from the rest would be a plethora of cutting-edge picture technology including the new FocaLight LED Backlight with Local Dimming for superlative picture contrast, ClearScan 240 motion enhancement with Backlight Scanning for amazing picture clarity with fast-motion video, and the enhanced REGZA Engine with PixelPure 5G 14-bit video processing, Resolution+ super resolution technology, and AutoView histogram controlled automatic picture adjustment. Basically, you get smoother images no matter how fast the video is at extremely high resolutions for the clearest detail possible. Not only does image quality matter to Toshiba, but they company is adamant on throwing in the latest connectivity solutions including a USB port 2.0, an SD memory card Slot, a quartet of HDMI inputs with InstaPort and REGZA-LINK, IR Pass-Through Port, and high-resolution PC input.

Toshiba also wants you to enjoy the best possible audio from a TV set without having to invest in a dedicated home theater system for those who aren’t too particular about having the best audio around, thanks to Dolby Volume sound leveling and Audyssey EQ. The former works great by using human psycho-acoustic algorithms to ensure a consistent volume level, so you won’t jump out of your skin when commercials cut in the middle of your show with what is normally a tad higher than the show’s volume.

The REGZA XV648 Cinema Series LCD TV Series will come in 40″, 46″ and 52″ models that will retail for $1,099.99, $1,499.99 and $1,999.99, respectively as they arrive this August. Arriving this month would be the REGZA ZV650 LCD TV Series that will be available in 42″, 47″ and 55″ versions that will retail for $1,299.99, $1,699.99 and $2,399.99, respectively. Last but not least is the REGZA SV670 Cinema Series LED TV Series which will also be out this month in 46″ and 55″ configurations, retailing for $2,299.99 and $2,999.99, respectively.

Press Release

Sure, we loved the iPhone with its complete touchscreen interface, so you can imagine the excitement when a holographic interface finally comes out. Yes, I am fully aware that a holographic interface sounds too good to be true, and the Trou Hologram phone isn’t, at least, not yet.

I’m sure we all love the basic concept photo behind this, with the 3-D hologram of the car sitting on the screen. Just imagine how cool it will be when you turn your mobile around and can see the car at nearly every angle.

Still, holographic projectors have been known to eat up lots of power, so that is definitely one obstacle for the small projectors on the surface of the display. I’m sure there are many other things that prevent our science-fiction visions of a holographic future from becoming reality.

So until Princess Leia can send “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi” as a text message, keep your fingers crossed on this one.

Now it is the time on Coolest Gadgets where you comment. How long will it take before holograms on our cellular phones become reality? Are we looking at 10 years? How about 20 years? Chime in and let me know what you think.

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