Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
Mr Potato Head is cool and has been around for years. I came across a bunch of new Mr Potato heads today in the form of Optimash Prime who is taken from the leader of the Autobots Optimus Prime. Other Mr Potato heads include a starwars series of Arto – Potatoo, a Spud Trooper as well as various other random Mr Potato Heads. I had heard of a Darth Tata before this but these others are just cool!
Available from Amazon for between $5 and $30.
Optimash Prime
Artoo – Potatoo
Spud Trooper
The R622AG is built by Amigo and is a wireless router. It does look like an Xbox 360 though and the more I look at it the more it convinces me that they just used the same case and made space for new holes on the back. The wireless router is an 802.11 a/b/g and has 4 Ethernet ports and 2 USB ports which can be used to connect a variety of peripherals such as a hard drive or web cam.
You may have noticed that the folks over in Japan release some seriously strange devices. I came across a bunch today which I thought were dead funny.
The first on the list is the Face Slimmer.
The face slimmer mask is worn on your face and squashes your face by pressure. Also it acts as a sauna which makes you sweat more and loose weight from your cheeks.
The next in line is the Nap Helmet.
The Nap Helmet is designed for those who travel on the underground in cities. You sit down, put the helmet on and stick the plunger to the window behind. When you fall asleep it stops your head from bobbing around.
If you think you are the master of Rubiks cube and can solve it quicker then anyone else, then you need to move up to the next level and get a Touch and Play Rubiks Cube. The idea of this rubiks cube is that you play it blindfolded and use your touch senses to solve the puzzle. Six different textures are found on this (1 on each face) which are Metal, wood, textile, rubber, plastic and stone. I wish it was real, but right now it seems to be just concept for now. But, I struggle with the original and have only solved it a couple of times so my chances of solving a puzzle like this are zero.
Via: Yankodesign
Gizmo is a beta application available for download on the Nokia website. It allows you to use Instant Messaging and make internet calls. To get the software to work you just need to download it from the link at the end of this article, create an account with Gizmo (or use your current account if you have one) and then connect with your WLAN connection if your Series 60 phone will support it. If not then you can also use Gizmo over 2G or 3G networks, but I recommend you check pricing through your provider before you do that. Currently the software is fully compatible for the N80 and N95 Nokia S60 phones and works on other phones such as the N73 Music Edition, E61 and E65.
If you have ever backed in to a small post and seen the damage it does to your car then you might want to get your self one of these cars built by Lexus. On the rear of it there is a flexible bumper which can bend right back in to shape if you hit something you shouldnt. Looking at the video it appears that you can back in to something at quite a speed with out damaging the car.
Lexus Flexible Bumper – video powered by Metacafe
Via: TechEBlog
Sony have introduced a 70 inch rear projection TV which is 40% slimmer then a version launched last year. I am impressed with how thin this is for being rear projection and it certainly is a nice competitor to the LCD screens that we see around. The reason it will do well against LCD screens is because it is priced at $6000 which is a lot less then an equivalent LCD screen.
It weighs 200 pounds, so it quite a beast in weight, but they have created this one to look good too. Sony calls it floating glass and as can be seen in the picture above it certainly does look nice.
The Amtek U560 is a UMPC which was first seen at Computex in Taipei which is currently running now. Amtek are saying that this device will be mass produced towards the end of this year and already have OEM partners in the US. The U560 looks similar to a Sidekick with the flip up screen. When the device is opened a QWERTY keyboard is hidden underneath. It runs an Intel McCaslin A110/A100 600MHz/800Mhz processor(s) and has a battery pack with 2 cells capable of 3600mAh. The device also has a built in 1.3 Megapixel camera.
Crunchgear managed to get their hands on a HTC Touch and give a quick overview of what it is all about. The quick review shows that the HTC touch is not an iPhone killer from first impressions. The video playback can be choppy and slow occasionaly. Also they didnt like that it had no QWERTY keyboard appart from an onscreen keyboard. I do like the look of the HTC though and the interface does look quite nice. It will be interesting to see how the touch screen reacts though as dropping the keyboard for the touchscreen only could make or break the HTC. Hopefully it works out well in their review which will be online later.
If you are out and about and need to buy some fast food, but hate using your hands then you need to carry around some credit card cutlery with you. The cutlery is made of Polypropylene and measures 3.75 x 2.75 inches. The cutlery costs $10 and is available from Cooper Hewitt. If you are a member there then you can buy the cutlery for $9.
If you are not too keen on those Bluetooth headsets then you could build your self a bluetooth banana phone. You need to buy your self a fake banana from a craft store as well as a few other bits and pieces. You then cut up the banana to squeeze a microphone and speaker in there along with some other bits and pieces and you have your self a fully working banana Bluetooth handset. If anyone wants to make one of these then follow the instructions linked after the jump and feel free to post your efforts and I will link back to you. Heck, I might even give away a prize if you do that.
TomTom is a cool sat nav. I have been using TomTom for a few years now and impressed with the quality of maps and how easy it allows you to navigate right to a particular address. In effort to increase the ease of use the latest TomTom GO 720 and 520 are to offer speech recognition. I am a bit worried about how well this will actually work though. From first hearing about this I wonder if it will be like Transcriber on the PocketPC which works… kind of. Another feature of TomTom GO 720 and 520 which looks to be very useful is the TomTom Map Share feature which allows updates to be made to maps by users. If a new road is built then it can be added to the map and then shared with everyone else so that no new maps are needed. POI can also be shared through this system.
Bluetooth is built in allowing you to use it as a hands free kit for your mobile phone allowing you to safely take calls while driving.
