Gadgets Blog

Okay, let’s say that you are the Big Boss of a huge corporation. The bigger your company gets, the harder it is to keep track of your employees. Unless you call DSS Co. Ltd. and go from Big Boss to Big Brother.

Yes, this Japanese company will give your company an intense tracking system that includes a tiny video camera that can be attached to the chest pockets of your minions, I mean, workers.

Also included in the surveillance package are ankle sensors, just like the kinds used in house arrests! These ankle bracelets have “milestone” sensor points that can track how long a worker has been in a certain area. For some reason, DSS gets a high amount of readings around the coffee machine, copier, and the water cooler.

So, after two days, you can watch hours and hours worth of footage of your employees and their wasteful behavior. Actually, if the employees are smart, they will give you, the Boss, the best show ever! That is, if they don’t quit because of some issue about rights and invasion and privacy.

This two-day collection program can be yours for just 980,000 yen ($10,434). Man, you better have some efficiency plan in order to spend this kind of money for this.

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I have already come across R2-D2 USB hub, which is extremely similar to this one.  However, if you’re looking for a slightly less obvious Star Wars accessory, then you might enjoy this one.  It’s the R2-Q5 USB Hub.  It’s pretty much the same as R2-D2, only it has a slightly darker paint job added to it.  Which could make it appeal to those that are tired of all of the bright white gadgets out there.  Plus you can only own so many R2-D2 products before you need to branch out to other droids.

The hub has a total of 4 different ports directly on the front of his little body.  He then has a cord that sticks out the back to make it possible to plug it into your computer.  Sadly, just like the original R2-D2 USB hub, the R2-Q5 is only being sold in Japan.  Hopefully someday all of the Star Wars themed hubs will make their way towards the rest of the world.  Until then though, you’d have to find a way to have it shipped outside of Japan.  You can purchase the hub for about $76.

Source: GeekyGadgets

That last time we reported on Seura, they were working on putting custom LED lighting on mirrors, and they have advanced to LCD TVs.

The television is a 19-inch 1080p with a 16:9 widescren ratio. With this TV is a ATSC/NTSC tuner, an HDMI input, a PC input, plus a waterproof remote control in case you decide to hang this in the bathroom.

I’m sure you are quite aware that this isn’t the first time that we have reported on mirrors with LCDs. The Fendi Casa Mirror comes in varying sizes, and Majestic Mirrored TVs could easily make their mark on hotel rooms.

I believe that it was Dr. Seuss who said that “nobody can resist a mirror”. Nobody, especially Seura, can resist putting an LCD TV on a mirror, apparently. Are we looking at a future that looks back at us with a television?

Yeah, I just had to say that, but are we a society so addicted to TV that we need to be constantly watching it while in the bathroom? If so, why stop there? We’ve already seen the Maitre Mirror, a touchscreen mirror with a built-in radio, clock, MP3 player, and even a barometer.

As it is the Seura mirror can be purchased at the HGTV site for a price of about $3,500. If we are looking for a future of mirrored LCDs, then they had better be less expensive.

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This Climbstation isn’t a video-game accessory to an outdoor version of PlayStation, but it is definitely one of the most technological ways to train for the grueling sport of rock climbing.

The climbing platform itself is 150 centimeters wide with about 90 holds that can be placed wherever the user wants. It can also tilt with an angle that adjusts from +15 to -30 degrees for an added challenge.

From what I can tell, the ClimbStation is like a vertical treadmill that revolves at a top speed of 17 meters per minute. In fact, the Climbstation can automatically adjust the scrolling speed to match the user’s climbing speed, or lack thereof. I’m guessing that the padding is placed underneath in case the climber cannot keep up.

I’m also guessing that those padded mats are probably sold separately. Also not included is a trailer hitch, which the user definitely needs to transport the ClimbStation. So, with the mats, trailer, and climbing gear, you’re probably looking at one expensive toy. The Climbstation alone costs about $42,000, so feel free to figure in the other required accessories in your budget.

Yeah, as much as I would like one of these, I can’t afford it either. I’m thinking that only very rich celebrities could, really. Perhaps Sylvester Stallone will purchase one to train for a long-awaited sequel to Cliffhanger.

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There’s now a new light bulb out there that gives you the energy efficiency you love, along with a slightly more traditional light bulb look.  I’ve heard of several people that aren’t very fond of the look of spiral bulbs, yet they still use them since it does cut back on their power bill.  Well this small LED bulb keeps things energy efficient in a very different way that allows for it to be shaped this way.  It actually uses liquid-cooling technology.

It’s said to be the world’s first to use that type of technology.  This 4W bulb will put out as much light as a 25W bulb.  Which makes it more ideal for something like a desk lamp or a sconce.  It contains no hazardous substances, so if it does break, you won’t have to worry about harsh chemicals.  The bulb comes with a 2 year warranty and a 30 day money back guarantee.  Which is good since one of these bulbs is going to cost you $35.  Then again it is said that it will end up saving you $157 over the lifetime of the bulb.  It also saves $13.96 on average per year and it will last for 35,000 hours total.

Source: Techfresh

Earlier this week, you may have seen the inflatable flash diffuser.  Well that’ll work great for the extremely casual photographer who just wants a little more edge.  However, if you’re looking to step things up quite a bit more, you might want to look into this kit from Brando.  It’s nothing that a professional photographer would be interested in.  However, an amateur who really just wants to work on the quality of their photos would be just fine with a kit like this.

The kit includes a soft diffuser with 6 color masks, Honey Comb, Conical Snoot, Barndoor, Mini Reflector, Globe Diffuser and a Flash Adaptor.  As I said, this isn’t something for professionals, but not everyone can afford top of the line accessories for their camera.  From Brando you’ll get this entire kit for $88.  If you were to get the top of the line stuff, you would have to pay far more than that to acquire all of these different accessories.

Source: CrunchGear

The winner of last week’s coolest gadget competition is the World’s Fastest Remote Control Car.

Designed by 46 year old Nic Case, this RC vehicle is currently the world’s fastest remote control car, capable of achieving speeds of up to 161 miles per hour. The RC car has an 11 horsepower engine and uses a 12 cell battery pack as a fuel supply. Nic is already drawing up plans to improve the top speed to break the 200 mile per hour speed barrier.

Congrats again to Coated.

In second place we have the WiFi Hotspot Finder.

Want to find a WiFi signal quickly and simply? Grab a WiFi Hotspot Finder Keyring. With a range of 60 meters and the ability to detect 802.11b, 802.11b and 802.11g at a press of a button, there’d be no need to either sign spot or pull out your laptop and wander the streets aimlessly (lets face it, that’ll get you mugged). Four green LEDs indicate the strength of the signal, and there’s also a red LED to indicate no signal (I bet no lights would make you think the batteries had run out). The whole search apparently takes just two seconds of your time, which is much faster than booting up your laptop and praying.

Finally in third place comes the Randy the Rude Gnome.

Garden gnomes are supposed to be nice, gentle and sweet, but here’s Randy the Rude Gnome who turns things upside down. He is motion-activated, while greeting you with the finger at first glance, will also speak a rude phrase.

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

Helard (helard.mir…@…), 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.

Don’t ask us why the USB Crunching Elmo is in existence, and whether he is an officially sanctioned Sesame Street product remains to be seen (well, he is available at J-List so chances are pretty good it ain’t a ripoff). All we know is regardless of how many crunches this little critter does, he doesn’t seem to be able to gain ripped abs - pretty much the same way how some people throw themselves headlong into numerous crunching exercises each day onto to discover a few months down the road that their paunch around the waist is not getting any smaller. Guess this is more of a tribute to the original USB Humping Dog (followed by the USB Crunching Dog), where you can choose from yellow, blue or white colors for $22 when it ships later this July.

Source: Craziest Gadgets

It does make us wonder whether kids are being thrust into an extremely competitive environment at such a young age these days, where parents have already introduced them to Mozart while they’re still in the womb. Well, you know that parents are partial to giving their little ones the very best, and a solid educational foundation is more often than not one of the criteria. The Lamaze Octotunes help your young charges stay ahead of the “competition”, by using Dr. Lamaze’s tried and tested methods to bring out the singer/songwriter hidden within. Each of the eight tentacles will play a different note when squeezed, and it comes with a song book for easy learning. Apart from that, it will come in many colors to stimulate your child’s mind, while soft fabrics used turns it into an extremely huggable toy. $29.99 is the asking price for this puppy.

Some companies just seem to have the Midas touch when it comes to creating products that might not have the full works when it comes to functionality, but they definitely don’t lack in design, that’s for sure. Among such notable names include Apple and Bang & Olufsen, where the latter is whom we’ll concentrate on today. They’re famous for their range of beautiful home theater and audio devices, although they’ve taken a rather unorthodox route this time round with the new BeoTime alarm clock that is not only stylish but functional (hopefully more so than some of their home theater sets). It works best in homes that already have existing Bang & Olufsen systems in order to maximize its potential, since it is able to masquerade as a control in certain situations apart from helping you get out of bed. Can’t really fault the design as this is the first alarm clock I’ve seen that makes me actually want to wake up so that I can admire its beauty, although that novelty ought to wear out in a couple of days.

BeoTime will come with an integrated sleep timer that can turn all Bang & Olufsen equipment in the room to standby mode after a selected time interval of up to two hours, making it the perfect, complementary device to own especially for folks who tend to fall alseep at the couch due to an extremely boring movie or just a bad habit. Functions include an alarm and sleep timer, alongside the ability to perform basic operations for the bedroom television, loudspeakers, or light controls. It does pretty well for itself as a unique desk clock, making it ideal for one’s work or home office.

The BeoTime was also designed to be extremely convenient and a snap to figure out, boasting easy operation that requires just one’s thumb. You get a built-in tilt sensor within that shows information and button functions change orientation in accordance with how BeoTime is position, regardless of whether it is being held, left on the nightstand, or placed in its wall bracket. As with other Bang & Olufsen products, the BeoTime won’t come cheap, retailing for $375 when it hits showrooms later this August.

Press Release

Navman Wireless has recently rolled out an announcement concerning the M-Nav 750 commercial-grade GPS/dispatch/messaging device which was specially designed for in-vehicle use. It will function as an upgrade to the first-generation M-Nav 650, bringing all-new ruggedized hardware for long life, an exclusive five-year warranty, vehicle class-based routing, and other industry-first that ultimately aims to keep operating costs at a minimum while increasing driver productivity. As with its predecessor, the new and improved M-Nav 750 allows fleet drivers to receive dispatch instructions, view maps to their next stop, and send messages back to the office on a mobile unit which rests atop the vehicle dashboard or windshield. Whenever the driver accepts a job, relevant maps and turn-by-turn directions will show up automatically for added convenience, further reducing drive time, decreasing fuel costs, minimizing paperwork and improving customer service by providing accurate ETAs.

Some of the new and improved features found on the M-Nav 750 include :-

• A completely new ruggedized housing and 4.3″ anti-glare ruggedized touchscreen engineered to withstand heavy use, eliminating replacement during the contract period. The touchscreen is built for significantly more touches than consumer GPS devices used by other fleet management vendors
• Routing based on truck attributes such as length and weight, helping to prevent fines for non-compliance with road regulations
• Driver ID functionality enabling automated reporting of drivers’ hours as well as analysis of speed, mileage and other attributes by driver
• A five-year warranty - five times longer than consumer navigation systems adapted for fleet use - enabled by Navman-controlled manufacturing
• A unique smart cradle that eliminates ports, wires and points of failure, instead allowing drivers to simply drop the M-Nav 750 into the cradle to connect
• SirfStar III GPS chipset
• RoHS/WEE compliance
• Operating temperatures from -10C to +60C

It even boasts pre-built connectivity to other components of the Navman platform, where you can hook up to the OnlineAVL2 desktop-based real-time vehicle tracking and reporting software and the Qube vehicle-mounted tracking device. Interested? Monthly fees start from as low as $18 per device.

Press Release