For the person that is extremely committed to their grilling, I’m sure top of the line accessories are the absolute only option. However, if you’re fairly casual about your grilling, but would still like some grilling accessories to make your life easier, this affordable gadget could be a big help. It will allow for you to grill without being tied right next to it. There have been other remote BBQ thermometers, but this is by far the most affordable one I’ve come across.
There was a talking thermometer posted here on Coolest Gadgets, but it will cost you $70. Whereas this much more simple version of the gadget will only cost you $19.95. It’s a big price difference, especially when both gadgets still do the same thing. One just happens to have a lot more tricks and other fancy extras. This Remote BBQ Thermometer also includes a timer and will monitor your food up to 100 feet away.
Usually I prefer for my flash drives to be small, but not so small that I’m constantly worrying that I’m going to lose it. You know the kind I’m talking about, the ones that are so small you have to attach something to it to make sure that it stays with your keys, otherwise it wouldn’t last a day. Well this one goes for the opposite end of things, it’s a touch larger than your average USB drive. Which is alright, since it looks great doing it.
This drive comes from Russia, which seems to be where all the good mods come from. Sadly, as with all the best mods, you can’t purchase this. However, the person that created this drive was kind enough to give a few details and extra pictures on how it was done. It’s nothing quite as in depth as a step by step guide, but if you’re good at DIY projects it should be enough to get you started at the very least.
Here’s a high tech cooler to help you finish out what’s left of the summer. Not only will it be great for the warm weather, but it’s completely collapsible. Which makes it ideal for those that have zero storage space. Instead of trying to find a spot for some clunky plastic cooler, you can just fold this up and store it away until the warm weather comes back again. Then once it does you have someplace to store your drinks and you have music no matter where you go.
Probably the most disturbing part of this cooler is that it makes no mention of whether or not the music end of this will be damaged by water. Unfortunately, that means you’re going to have to be careful with this cooler. As far as the music goes the audio device features a zip closure as well as an AM/FM radio and a spot to plug in your MP3 player. Inside the cooler you can store up to 16 cans. Overall the cooler measures 30†x 12†x 12â€. You can purchase the Accordian Expandable Music Cooler for $24.99 from Overstock.
Staying connected no matter where you are is something that most of us take for granted these days, and Sprint aims to enable you to stay in touch with anyone online from anywhere thanks to their new range of Mobile Broadband Router products. These new devices not only allow one, but multiple folks to stay connected at 3G or 4G mobile broadband speeds as long as there are Sprint 3G and 4G networks around. The two new 3G/4G Mobile Broadband Routers are known as the Sprint Personal Hotspot PHS300S and Cradlepoint MBR-1000 Broadband Router, where each of them boast 3G and 4G connectivity and can be used in conjunction with any Sprint 3G or 4G data plan which will set you back anywhere from $39.99 to $79.99 monthly, depending on your choice.
First off is the Sprint Personal Hotspot PHS300S which allows one to connect up to a quartet of simultaneous Wi-Fi connections, while the Cradlepoint MBR-1000 Broadband Router will target businesses and small organizations, where up to 32 simultaneous Wi-Fi connections are supported. Either device is able to handle the entire range of Sprint 3G and Sprint 4G mobile broadband USB devices, so no worries for those who have backwards compatibility in their minds. These devices allow one to connect Wi-Fi-enabled smartphones, notebooks, portable media players, digital cameras, gaming devices and other Wi-Fi-enabled devices simultaneously to the Sprint 3G and 4G networks.
If you want to bring home the Sprint Personal Hot Spot PHS300S, it will cost you $159.99 outright without including any monthly plan charges yet, while those who opt for the Cradlepoint MBR1000 broadband router will have to fork out an initial amount of $249.99. Bear in mind that not all territories are able to support Sprint’s 4G networks just yet, so you might have to make do with 3G connectivity for the moment until an upgraded service is introduced in your area. Image from BGR.
Anyone who loves gadgets will definitely find that toting around their beloved devices would also mean having to pack respective chargers as well, and if you tend to have a slew of devices to handle, then the bulk in your luggage will add up pretty quickly. Fancy the magic of wireless charging then in order to avoid all the hassle of carrying multiple chargers for different devices? That’s what WildCharge Inc. aims to do, being the leader in wire-free power technology. The company has just announced that the new WildCharge PowerDisc is touted to be the most cost-effective and versatile solution to date where wire-free charging is concerned, working with hundreds of different portable electronic devices. The PowerDisc will play nice with the WildCharger pad and other WildCharge-enabled surfaces, letting you juice up multiple categories of devices that include cellphones, Bluetooth headsets, e-book readers and GPS units among others. In addition, it is also the first WildCharge accessory that is compatible with LG and Samsung handsets.
Each PowerDisc purchase will be equipped with seven interchangeable PowerLinks in order to offer charging compatibility with the aforementioned LG and Samsung cellphones, in addition to handling handsets from other major manufacturers including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, RIM and Palm among others. There is no hassle of going through an installation process, making it all the much easier to use. All the user needs to do is choose the right PowerLink, plug the appropriate end into the disc while the other end is inserted into the device. Whenever you place the disc on a WildCharger Pad or other WildCharge-enabled surface, the device will automatically start to recharge itself. The advantage of the PowerDisc’s small size allows one to place several of these on a WildCharger pad simultaneously.
Interested in wire-free charging? The PowerDisc and accompanying PowerLinks can be picked up for $19.99, while those who are looking for a bundle that consists of the WildCharger Pad, PowerDisc and accompanying PowerLinks will cost $64.99.
If you love recording shows from your TV, then you might want to reconsider upgrading your current DVD recorder into something else, where this upgrade will comprise of a new TV as well in the form of the Sharp Aquos DX2 series. This is the first HDTV line in the world that will feature a built-in Blu-ray recorder, where other specifications include a variety of displays ranging from 26″ all the way to 52″, 15,000:1 contrast ratio, the ability to store up to 30 hours of high definition video on a dual-layer Blu-ray disc, where it will transcode and compress to MPEG-4 format without the need for external boxes or wires. Depending on the screen size, you will have to fork out anything from $1,740 upwards.
Want to be a Care Bear? The Rainbow projector clock is absolutely awesome then if you loved that 1980s cartoon, where it will project a beautiful rainbow across your wall, or even in your room’s ceiling. You can choose from three different modes - Variation, Slow and Vivid. The three cycles will involve the rainbow fading in from red to purple, color by color gradually, before it fades out from red to purple once again. In addition, it will appear in order so that your little ones can learn the right order as well visually. You can pick this puppy up for $23 a pop.
Now that it’s August students will be making their way into dorms and sneaking in ways of making a quick bite to eat as well. Be it a toaster oven or a hot plate, desperate college students always find a way. Well this 3-in-1 Breakfast Center will work out great to cook up something really fast between classes. Whether you need something to eat or some coffee to keep awake, this gadget has plenty.
The Breakfast Center has a 4-cup coffee maker with a permanent filter, along with an 8 x 10 ½†griddle and a 4-slice toaster oven. It has a 30 minute timer with an auto shut off, which makes it slightly more safe. The glass carafe itself is dishwasher safe. The entire thing measure 16 x 14 x 13†H and is 1300W. It used to be that this would cost you $79.99, but JCPenney has it marked down to $39.99. Which is enough of a price cut that it might be reasonable for a broke college student.
This is one of those gadgets, were it more than a concept design, would definitely be making its way into college frat houses everywhere. During your average day it’s nothing more than an oversized clock. It’s not something I’d call stylish, but it can either be set on a table top or hung on the wall. In addition to working as a clock, it calculates what type of party is going on in your house.
It does this based on the noise level, it reads how many decibels the noise level is and then chooses the category. For example 0 to 10 means no party, 21 to 50 is a talking party, 101 to 120 is a club party and anything above 161 is an “atom partyâ€.  If nothing else it’ll definitely give guests a goal to knock the party into a higher gear. Of course, the Party Timer is just a concept design so there is no purchasing it.
If you can’t manage to part with your iPhone while you’re around a lot of water, you might want to make sure that you protect your iPhone. This case seals all of the water out and still gives you the use of your iPhone while it’s at it. It even still allows for you to listen to your music and use the camera. Which means you get cute pictures of your kids while you’re at the pool without having to worry about them drowning your iPhone.
Somehow, even though you can hook up your headphones to your iPhone it will still keep all of the water out. It also still makes it possible to use the touchscreen on the iPhone. This useful case has a serious geek side though, it comes with a lanyard so that you can wear it around your neck. Which with this around your neck you’re probably not going to win any ‘Best Dressed’ awards. You can purchase the case for $32 from Sanwa, but you’ll have to find a way to get it shipped out of Japan.
I realize that normally we devote our articles to products you can actually buy, but the story behind this man’s helicopter is flat-out amazing and inspirational to us all.
Wu Zhongyuan is a 20 year old farmer who, ever since he was a child, dreamed of not needing to climb mountains anymore. It would appear that he found his remedy by creating his own flying machine. Wu used principles that he learned in middle-school physics and other relevant knowledge by surfing the Internet on a mobile phone to create this helicopter.
The blades are made from Elm tree wood, and a motorcycle engine provides the power. The frame is reinforced with steel pipes, and he claims that his single-seat copter can fly up to 2,600 feet! Believe it or not, he assembled this DIY helicopter for just $1,600.
This is one of those stories that I really hope is not made up. After all, who hasn’t had a dream and desired that it take flight? Mr. Zhongyuan doesn’t sound like he had a major corporate sponsor, just vision and ingenuity.
Sadly, the Chinese government won’t let Wu fly. I’m pretty certain that the FAA probably wouldn’t let an American inventor fly their own helicopter either, but the fact that someone could do so much with so little just inspires me, really. Kind of makes you wonder what you are doing with your life, doesn’t it?
Lately, my family and I have been playing a lot of RockBand, and my wife and I have been discussing whether playing RockBand can help you play a real instrument.
In the case of the OpenChord V1 guitar, the answer is yes. You can watch the video of the player in action after the jump if you don’t believe me.
It appears that the guy in the video has just attached a normal Wii to a normal guitar, but I am certain that it is much more. It also looks like playing his guitar is a bit more complicated than hitting some multi-colored frets. This guy is doing some real guitar chords here.
So if you’re good at Guitar Hero or RockBand, don’t expect to be good at this. At least not on the first try, at least. It is about time that video games taught us how to play instruments in real life, and I’m not certain the Maestro is good enough. The PC music tutor from US Music and Disney looks like about the closets I’ve seen to the OpenChord V1 so far.
If you are interested in purchasing one of these guitars for yourself, feel free to try it out for about $190. However, the source code is available for download, and if you know what you are doing, you can build one of these things yourself.
When I first saw that Mircosoft was endorsing a pressure sensitive keyboard, I couldn’t help but wonder why I would even need a pressure sensitive keyboard.
But leave it to Microsoft to show me that I practically can’t live without it. And this video after the jump shows exactly why I would need a keyboard that can detect 256 levels of sensitivity.
First of all, it would help on instant messaging. So if I wanted to say “I LOVE you”, no switching to boldface before or after is required. Any word or words that I want emphasized could be done so in realtime by simply banging on the keys harder.
Second, a pressure sensitive keyboard would allow me to detect errors in a word processing document. Most typos occur as the typist is working without even thinking, so keys that aren’t meant to be typed will show up as “less pressured” font. I suppose the user could sync all the fonts when he or she has completely edited the document.
The third case can also be used for editing. Imagine if you could hit your Backspace key a little harder, then the last word would be eliminated instead of the the last character. That would speed things up a bit, wouldn’t it?
There are also plans to involve pressure-sensitive typing in the gaming world too. Just press harder to make the player run, and lighter to make player walk.
Perhaps you are sold on the pressure-sensitive keyboard now. Right now, this keyboard is part of a contest sponsored by SIGGRAPH, but it is gaining a lot of buzz from gadget blogs everywhere. I would imagine you will probably see this one get manufactured, and become a new keyboard standard.
It is commonplace to have a bunch of hard drives waiting for us at home these days, considering the amount of information there is available for download online. In addition, those hard drives more often than not need to be upgraded after a couple of years or so in favor of larger capacities and higher performance, but what do you do with older ones? Why, get the USB to SATA/IDE Combo Kit and you ought to be just fine.
You can dock just about any of those old drives into this simple device. Sick a USB transfer cable into one end along with the power-cable, and in one of the other ends, you can connect a 3.5″ IDE hard drive, or a laptop 2.5″ IDE drive, or even a miniscule 1.8″ IDE hard drive! But, why stop there? You can connect a SATA drive, too! How about an optical disk drive? We’ve got it covered. Blu-Ray, DVD, CD, writeable, rewriteable… it doesn’t matter! We’re drive agnostic with our USB to SATA/IDE Combo Kit. Now your old drives have a brand new life. Or, if you’re the handy type, you can keep this one device handy to recover data from a drive in a dead computer. You won’t have to haul several different devices - just this one!
Audio plays a very important role when gaming, especially when it comes to FPS titles where it will give the position of your opponent away since footsteps were introduced in titles like Quake II and Half-Life. Logitech ensures you get the best audio gaming experience possible with its lightweight G330 that also fights fatigue thanks to its adjustable, behind-the-head design. This design is the first of its kind for gaming headsets, as it can slide over for a personalized fit. A soft silicone-lined headband and pivoting ear pads further relieves common pressure points on your head. Features include a noise-canceling microphone that reduces background noise when you speak to your team mates, and it can rotate out of the way whenever you don’t need it. In-line audio controls allow you to adjust the volume or mute the microphone on-the-fly, while a USB adapter allows you to connect digitally to a free USB port for enhanced audio. Logitech will make the Gaming Headset G330 available in the US and Europe later this month for $49.99.
Gamers do take the challenges that come with their territory seriously, and it can end up as a pretty expensive hobby in the long run with the non-stop upgrades when it comes to video cards alongside bigger monitors, better keyboards, superior soundcards (and network cards to boot), headphones, and more importantly, the mouse. The gaming mouse is highly essential to any self-respecting gamer, since it functions as an extension of the said gamer’s hands and reflexes, doing its master’s bidding with each flick of the hand or press of a button. There is a handful of hardware manufacturers out there in the market today that have decent gaming mice offerings, and Logitech is among one of the pack to come up with pretty impressive models in the past, and they ain’t stopping with their latest addition â€" the Logitech Gaming Mouse G500.
Meant to be the successor to the classic Logitech G5 Laser Mouse, the Logitech Gaming Mouse G500 will bring game-changing precision despite your current hand speed. Thanks to its gaming-grade laser engine, you are able to perform at the highest intensity levels without worrying about your hardware giving up on you, being capable of achieving a maximum hand speed of 165 inches per second (ips) and a maximum acceleration force of 30 gs. Another feature that we tend to take for granted these days where gaming mice are concerned would be its on-the-fly adjustable-dpi that provides you with the right dpi level at all times, ranging from 200 dpi all the way to 5700 dpi for those who “twitch” when they fire. This won’t hook up wirelessly since Logitech believes that a USB cable is still the most reliable method of going around it. The G500 comes with onboard memory that allows you to save various settings for different games, while giving you the opportunity to play with 27 grams of weight for a more personalized feel and control. What is most striking would be its rugged finish in a battle-worn accent that is totally different from its competitors in the market. Logitech has priced the Gaming Mouse G500 at $69.99 when it arrives in the US and Europe later this September.
Logitech is one Swiss company who are famous for their line of computer peripherals that not only ooze with quality, they also offer a decent to above average performance when the situation calls for it, be it speakers, mice, remote controls and even presenters for folks who thrive on PowerPoint slides whenever they’re at a business meeting. This time round we have a couple of devices that will certainly make corporate bigwigs and lecturers smile, as they can opt to be armed by either the Logitech Professional Presenter R800 or the Logitech Wireless Presenter R400 whenever they have an audience to watch over. These new presenters offer the confidence to move about freely in order to focus better on deliver a more effective and powerful demonstration.
First off we have the high end Logitech Professional Presenter R800. This model gives you complete control of the presentation as it allows you to address te crowd with your full focus instead of dividing it with the clock, thanks to an easy-to-set timer with silent, vibrating alerts. The timer can be viewed through its 1″ x 0.5″ LCD display, making it just nice to capture just how many more minutes you have left with a quick glance. In addition, it will vibrate whenever you have 5, 2 and no more minutes left. Once you’ve past the zero mark, it will begin to count upwards to let you know just how many minutes you have surpassed the allotted time. The Logitech Professional Presenter R800 has a working radius of 30 meters alongside a reception-level indicator so that you won’t stray beyond the preset boundaries.
As for the Logitech Wireless Presenter R400, this basic model will target those who delivers presentations in a much smaller meeting room, as it comes with a red laser pointer, a battery power indicator and a working range that is half that of the Logitech Professional Presenter R800. Expect to pick up the R800 for $99.99 later this month, while the Logitech Wireless Presenter R400 is tipped to arrive from next month onwards for $49.99.
It is always nice to see two of your favourite things come together in one beautiful gadget. Like salt and pepper, the Lego Millennium Falcon is a perfect partnership between Lego and Star Wars, culminating in hours of nostalgic fun.
Don’t rely on your mobile phone capturing those special moments with friends and family in low quality fuzziness that’s barely watchable - get yourself a 720p high definition pocket video camera in the form of the Flip HD Ultra and enjoy those moments on your HD displays for years to come! It’s simple to use - press the big red button to start recording. You can upload your video clips to YouTube from the device directly! This video camera is just easy to use and now doubles the previous recording storage from 1 to 2hrs. Easy, simple, sorted!
Thank you to everybody who voted, submitted, commented or told a friend. The randomly drawn winner of the $50 Amazon vouchers is:
Tyler (nissanmy…@…), 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.
I swear the Nanos get the strangest cases, I suppose since they are so thin, it’s easier to create odd cases for them. Well someone has taken old cassette tapes and turned them into little iPod cases for your Nano. Of course these will only work for the 4th generation iPod Nanos, so as it turns out there is a perk to not rushing off to upgrade your technology. These cases are all handmade and each one will vary as far as coloring goes.
The way it’s set up, if you wanted to you could always write your own label on the front. In order to create these, the cassette tapes were “gutted, routered and rebuilt”. Which means for those that aren’t too fond of the price tag, you could always try your hand and creating your own. If nothing else, you could find someone crafty in your family to see if they can pull the job off. You can purchase the tapes for $49 CAD from Contexture Design.
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If you love recording shows from your TV, then you might want to reconsider upgrading your current DVD recorder into something else, where this upgrade will comprise of a new TV as well in the form of the Sharp Aquos DX2 series. This is the first HDTV line in the world that will feature a built-in Blu-ray recorder, where other specifications include a variety of displays ranging from 26″ all the way to 52″, 15,000:1 contrast ratio, the ability to store up to 30 hours of high definition video on a dual-layer Blu-ray disc, where it will transcode and compress to MPEG-4 format without the need for external boxes or wires. Depending on the screen size, you will have to fork out anything from $1,740 upwards.
Want to be a Care Bear? The Rainbow projector clock is absolutely awesome then if you loved that 1980s cartoon, where it will project a beautiful rainbow across your wall, or even in your room’s ceiling. You can choose from three different modes - Variation, Slow and Vivid. The three cycles will involve the rainbow fading in from red to purple, color by color gradually, before it fades out from red to purple once again. In addition, it will appear in order so that your little ones can learn the right order as well visually. You can pick this puppy up for 
I realize that normally we devote our articles to products you can actually buy, but the story behind this man’s helicopter is flat-out amazing and inspirational to us all. 
Lately, my family and I have been playing a lot of RockBand, and my wife and I have been discussing whether playing RockBand can help you play a real instrument. 
When I first saw that Mircosoft was endorsing a pressure sensitive keyboard, I couldn’t help but wonder why I would even need a pressure sensitive keyboard. 
It is commonplace to have a bunch of hard drives waiting for us at home these days, considering the amount of information there is available for download online. In addition, those hard drives more often than not need to be upgraded after a couple of years or so in favor of larger capacities and higher performance, but what do you do with older ones? Why, get the 
Gamers do take the challenges that come with their territory seriously, and it can end up as a pretty expensive hobby in the long run with the non-stop upgrades when it comes to video cards alongside bigger monitors, better keyboards, superior soundcards (and network cards to boot), headphones, and more importantly, the mouse. The gaming mouse is highly essential to any self-respecting gamer, since it functions as an extension of the said gamer’s hands and reflexes, doing its master’s bidding with each flick of the hand or press of a button. There is a handful of hardware manufacturers out there in the market today that have decent gaming mice offerings, and Logitech is among one of the pack to come up with pretty impressive models in the past, and they ain’t stopping with their latest addition â€" the Logitech Gaming Mouse G500.
