Previously, on Coolest Gadgets, we covered the Lexmark’s new line of all-in-one printers. I had a chance to work with one of these new eight printers, the Interact S605.
The Interact has a 4 x 3 touchscreen on the front, and is really easy to set up. It practically held my hand through the set up of the cartridges and papers. I did have some trouble with part of the set up, but Lexmark’s technical support really helped me out.
The reason why the Interact S605 is an all-in-one printer is because a computer is not required for certain print jobs. For example, if you have an SD card or thumb drive, you can just plug it in, and print out your photos or other documents.
The printer is quite fast as it can do 33 pages in black ink in one minute. As for 4 x 6 photos, they are pretty quick at 24 seconds each.
The printer is also wireless, covered by WiFi n for three times the coverage and faster transfer speeds.
The Lexmark Interact S605 is available now on the Lexmark site for about $199. If you want to learn more information about it, head on over here. That, or you can watch this little video that I made about it below.
Yeah, this is going to be one of those reviews. I hate to say bad words about an Adesso product, a company who also makes the 19-key USB Numeric Keypad and Optical Mouse, but I don’t blame it on shotty workmanship.
No, I usually only give bad reviews of products that don’t work on principle. That is, a product that doesn’t work even if it was functioning at top capacity. In the case of the Adesso AKB-210, I found that I could not type very well on it.
Simply put, the keys had to be hit dead center, and hard, or it would not register. The spacebar failed more times that I would count, and the Shift Key on the right side was in the same place as the “up” arrow on my laptop. In short, I was unable to type without typos.
Now, I realize that I just bad-mouthed this product more than I ever have any product in the past, but I will say that it is waterproof and durable. If you are looking to work in an environment where you need a keyboard that can stand rigourous conditions, then the AKB-210 is for you. However, you will have to learn how to type again. I’ve heard that human beings can adapt to anything, so it probably won’t take long to get used to this keyboard.
If you want to try it for yourself, head over to the Adesso site and pay $29.99. If you want to see a sample of typing on the Flexible keyboard, click here. You can also check out my review video below.
If you are into arts and crafts, then you probably have at least one hot glue gun around the house. I never really thought about using a hot glue gun to make fake spiderwebs before, but it would appear that some company has re-packaged their hot glue guns for just such a purpose.
Obviously, this type of marketing is designed for Halloween, and if you need realistic webbing for your spooky party on October 31st, the Electronic Webcaster Gun is for you.
The package of twenty gluesticks can cover about 350 square feet, or one 12 x 15 foot room. The webs come in three types. You can choose Clear, which glows blue under black light. Neon Yellow, which glows yellow under black light, or simply choose Glow in the Dark.
Now, I’m not certain whether you can shoot your webs like Spider-man, but why would you want to? Unless you want to swing through New York City. With a name like Electric Webcaster Gun, it ought to shoot like the webslinger.
This is just one reason why I think the Electronic Webcaster Gun is not well named. The second reason is because it sounds like a product that can make you a professional podcaster.
This Webcaster Gun with six sticks costs $50, and replacement sticks are in packs of twenty for $6.
I’m officially ranking this as the most interesting and obnoxious concept designs I’ve seen lately. The little piece of carpet is hooked up to a radio. It then uses the person standing on the carpet to find a station and uses that person as the antenna as well. You can even check out a video demonstrating someone using it. So this isn’t just something someone drew up in photo shop, It’s actually something that they got up and running.
Despite that it is up and running, it’s not something that’s being sold. I doubt I’ll ever see it being sold. Especially since the second you have two or more people standing on the rug, it’s going to probably confuse the tuner a bit. However, were it to ever become real, it’d be fun to put in front of your front door. The second an uninvited guest walks in, you’ll know about it. It’s a very strange and backwards way to have a security system in your home, but it could work.
Apparently no gadget is complete anymore without it having a built-in iPod dock. Soon vacuum cleaners and clothing dryers will be next! That is if they haven’t been hit up already, it is entirely possible that it’s happened and I missed that. Well now you can own the ultimate gadget for garage parties. Not only can you get your music playing through your refrigerator, but it’s also a kegerator. Giving you beer fresh from the tap, even though you’re sitting at home.
These Craigerators are made by one guy, who takes old refrigerators and completely tears them apart and then restores them. Ht gives them a very different flare than they used to have. If this particular fridge isn’t your thing, you can check out the creator’s other fridges that he’s made over. He has everything listed from jobs that are ready to go, on up to concept ones that he’s still working on. With all of the refrigerators, he was nice enough to show the before pictures. In order to pick one up, you’ll have to contact him to find out the pricing.
If you have yet to find that perfect spot for your Wii Sensor Bar, perhaps you just don’t have the right thing holding it secure. Instead of just sticking it to the top or bottom of your TV like every other person on this earth, you can have Darth Vader hold it steady for you. Having Darth Vader to hold it steady will definitely improve your game. How could it not?!
This little statue is said to be sculpture quality and cast in high-density resin. I’m surprised it took this long for something like this to come out. Especially as often as there seems to be very random Star Wars themed accessories. This of course won’t include a Wii Sensor Bar, you’ll have to provide that portion yourself. Right now this isn’t ready just yet, you’ll have to wait until this coming November. You can pre-order the Darth Vader Nintendo Wii Sensor Bar Holder now though, for $49.99 at the Star Wars Shop.
Owning a pet can be therapeutic for many, especially if you happen to own a loving dog. Still, there is plenty of work on your part if you want to keep your pooch happy and healthy, and buying it the Riddex pet collar will definitely help. How so, you ask? Well, it will come with a built-in voice recording capability that allows you to speak your phone number, address and other personal details into it so that whoever finds it will be able to send it back to the rightful owner – you. Apart from that, it will also feature safe ultrasonic pulses that helps repel fleas, making your daily walk all the more fun. Picket Fence is carrying this unique dog collar for $24.99 a pop.
Nintendo follows the footsteps of Sony and Microsoft by slashing the price of its Wii system, where you can now pick it up for $199.99. Of course, taking a look around at online deals might help you save more as selected stores do offer some sort of further rebate or throw in a free game of your choice at that price point. This $50 price cut might not be effective enough to stem the tide of rejuvenated PS3 Slim sales (moving more than a million units within a week of its availability worldwide), but it does help make casual gaming all the more affordable in time for the upcoming holiday season that will see the world start loosening their wallets a little bit more. Each $199.99 purchase of the Nintendo Wii will come with the Wii Remote, Nunchuk and a copy of Wii Sports to get you started right out of the box. Any converts?
TomTom has just unveiled its latest GPS navigation system, the TomTom XL 340S LIVE. This model comes after seeing the huge success of TomTom’s LIVE Services on the premium TomTom GO range, where the same LIVE service will also be implemented into the TomTom XL 340S LIVE. Being connected to the LIVE service, it will make sure your XL 340S LIVE will offer you the very best that the industry has to offer in terms of routing, helping drivers take control of their daily drive through the automatic delivery of helpful features such as Local Search powered by Google, real-time traffic information, TomTom Fuel Price Service, TomTom Weather and QuickGPSfix.
It is interesting to note that the Local Search will be powered by Google, where it will allow you to search with better pomp and vigor. Apart from that, the TomTom XL 340S LIVE will be able to take advantage of millions of Points of Interest which have already been pre-loaded onto the machine itself, where you can also access numerous shops and businesses via TomTom’s LIVE Services regardless of where you are, navigating there in the most optimal way possible. With TomTom’s exclusive IQ Routes technology, you can be sure to get to your destination in the greenest way possible, where routes are calculated based on historical speed measurements for every time of day and for every road segment, ranging from large highways to small local roads.
You will find the TomTom XL 340S LIVE to wirelessly receive real-time traffic speed and incident reports automatically within intervals of two to five minutes. All traffic delays can be heard audibly and shown on the screen as well so that your co-driver can also have a look at it just in case you are pre-occupied in other more important matters. Knowing just how high fuel prices have gone up during the last couple of years, it would also be nice to know just where the best buys are where fuel prices are concerned within your immediate area. The new TomTom XL 340S will retail for $299.95 and comes with three months of LIVE Services.
VTech Communications has just announced that their latest cordless phone system, the DS6321-3, will hit the market. This is touted to be the first cordless phone system of its kind that will be able to download your cellphone contacts directory entries via Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to make and receive both cellphone and landline calls on a cordless handset. Retailing for $99.95 a pop, it shouldn’t be too expensive for most households, and even better is the fact that it has enough storage to hold up to 6,000 numbers – that ought to be more than enough for the average Joe. Heck, I don’t even have a thousand names in my addressbook, and out of the few hundred I only keep in touch with a handful of them.
Whenever you use the DS6321-3 handset to receive a cellphone call, you will be able to enjoy clearer, more comfortable conversations, alongside superior reception and talk range throughout the home or small office. This provides you with more peace-of-mind, since the chances of missing a call whenever you’re in another room won’t happen. Capable of registering up to a quartet of Bluetooth-enabled devices, the DS6321-3 allows up to a couple of cellphones to be connected to it simultaneously. Operating as a virtual two-line system, the DS6321-3 makes sure you can hold a conversation on a landline on one handset, while the other handset could be used to talk to another person on a cellphone simultaneously. With DECT 6.0 technology, you can more or less be guaranteed of superior sound quality, range and interference-free calls.
You will get a trio of handsets in the initial package, although with more dough you can expand the operation to hit a dozen handsets using but a solitary phone jack. It will work fine as long as the cellphone remains within 30 feet (standard Bluetooth range), and boasts the ability to transfer calls or conference calls between handsets.
For those who have notebooks or netbooks, you may have noticed a lack of numeric keypad with your particular model. You could probably get a USB numeric keypad if you really wanted one of those, but you are probably going to also have to purchase a mouse.
Why not combine those purchases with the Adesso 19 Key USB Numeric Keypad? In addition to having the number pad, the mouse has 1000 dpi resolution. When I tried it out, it was a lot smoother than my usual mouse.
The keypad has a transparent cover that flips up when in use, and closes conveniently when not needed. The keypad is perfect for quick calculations on the Calculator program, or for more complex accounting calculations for Quicken or Microsoft Money. There is a video of it after the jump if you want to see it in action.
As an added bonus, it has a glowing scroll wheel. The Adesso Keypad mouse is completely driver-free, so it plugs right in, and it is easily recognized.
My only complaint is that I’m not certain why Adesso has a “000″ button on the keypad, as I would have put a “00″ button there. I used to work at a bank, and if you can hit “00″ instead of one zero, it saves time. However, I rarely had to input three zeroes. Clearly, this keypad is made for some big money makers.
The Adesso 19 Key USB Numeric Keypad can be purchased from the Adesso site for about $27.99. More information about it can be obtained here.
There are plenty of Wii games around that require you to swing, well for those baseball themed ones, now you can really swing something. This Louisville Slugger will give a far more realistic aspect to the game when you need to be swinging. Of course this also means among kids that there’s more likely to be some minor injuries. Then again, you don’t really have to buy something like this for the younger ones if you have them. You’re obviously a worthy recipient of such an accessory.
The bat is pretty self explanatory. You just pop in the remote and away it goes. Don’t worry, if you do happen to actually swing and connect with someone’s head, it won’t really hurt them. They might be a touch angry, but the bat is actually made out of foam. That foam will make it much more safe to use with kids around. It’s a pretty cheap addition to go in with your other Wii accessories. You can purchase it for $14.99 from Toys R Us.
Of course, I was completely mesmerized when I saw this particular item of interest: a robot that obeys your thoughts.
Stop right there. Is this serious? Apparently so. Inventor Taku Ichikawa of the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo is creating this robot for the Robo-One contest in Toyama, Japan.
The Robo-One is sort of a battlebots style competition, and I suppose that thoughts really are the best interface for that. Unfortunately, this is about all the information my sources have about this.
In other words, I have no idea if the user has to “think real hard” in order to get this robot to move, or if thinking about other things will distract the robot as well as the user.
A thought based interface is probably the best choice for any type of robot manipulation. It’s a lot better than that keyboard that the bad guy used to control Deadpool in at the end of that Wolverine movie. I mean, he has to type in “DECAPITATE” for crying out loud.
However, robots that are controlled by our thoughts? That seems a little too science fiction for me. And if there is one thing that science fiction has taught us is that mind and robots don’t mix.
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VTech Communications has just announced that their latest cordless phone system, the DS6321-3, will hit the market. This is touted to be the first cordless phone system of its kind that will be able to download your cellphone contacts directory entries via Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to make and receive both cellphone and landline calls on a cordless handset. Retailing for $99.95 a pop, it shouldn’t be too expensive for most households, and even better is the fact that it has enough storage to hold up to 6,000 numbers – that ought to be more than enough for the average Joe. Heck, I don’t even have a thousand names in my addressbook, and out of the few hundred I only keep in touch with a handful of them.
