Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
For those business type people who want to look… weird??? then grab your self a USB tie so you can keep connected with the world. The tie is a regular tie which has a USB connector on the end allowing you to carry around your neck all the latest minutes from those lengthy meetings.
If you fund your doorbell ding dong chime a tad boring then this USB doorbell looks kind of cool although it will probably be cool for a few days and then still be annoying. The USB doorbell connects to your PC and allows you to transfer up to thirty seconds of a WAV file or MP3 file which can then be played each time the doorbell rings.
The doorbell requires some installation as it is not wireless. Also a stepdown transformer is needed but not included. This will step down the voltage to 4 – 24V allowing it to work. Just make sure you look up what to do before you buy it just incase you cannot use it.
A video of the doorbell in use can be seen after the jump.
USB drives are very popular devices which allow you to store large amounts of documents, image, video and other files. As devices shrink down in size they tend to have more ability to get lost. The USB credit card flash drive aims to tackle that as it can be stored in your wallet along with other credit cards which you have a habit of keeping hold of.
When you purchase this drive you have the choice of pre loading it with security software designed to work with the Windows Vista operating system. The cards can transfer files at 480Mbps and sizes from 128Mb to 2Gb are available. If you choose to get the software then 160Mb of space on the flash drive is used but can be deleted once copied to your PC.
Lego has been around for years. I would be surprised if I came across anybody who had not heard of it and used Lego when a child (or now if you are like me). The latest USB flash drive is made from a Lego brick with USB put inside it. It appears that if you have several you could build a wall of flash drives with them. They are available in a large range of colours and cost about $48 + shipping which seems a little steep. The novelty factor is what will win people over with this though as I still wouldnt mind owning one of these.
Mimobots are designer USB flash drives which are shaped in to tiny characters from popular films. The latest are a set of Star wars USB Flash Drives which come in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB capacities and look GREAT! 4 characters are available for the Star wars series which are Storm trooper, R2-D2, Darth Vader and Chewbacca. As well as being cool looking flash drives, they also come bundled with some bonus images, wallpaper, avatars, icons and trailers. Pic of Darth Vader after the jump.
The USB Mini Fridge is a cool idea. I come across many USB devices such as a USB grill and many others. Most are funny to mention and do not really have a use, but this one is different. I think it would actually be handy to use next to your desk in the office. It is a mini fridge which is powered by USB. Just put in a can of juice and let it cool it down to 8.5 degrees C which is a fairly nice chilled (ish) temperature and way better then room temperature. The 5V that is required from the USB ports takes about 5 minutes to cool the fridge down. I am not sure how long a drink would take in there though. Left in there daily would surely keep it at the perfect temperature though.
The USB Crystal Clip Cam looks rather interesting. Instead of having the regular type stand, this cam is mounted in a large clip that can attach to the top of a monitor. Due to the way it is mounted in the clip, it allows the camera to be rotated around to face or face away from you. The camera isnt too spectacular. It runs a 480K sensor capable of VGA resolutions of 640 x 480. The camera at that resolution can record at 15 frames per second, and if you half the resolution it will get up to 30 fps. One extra feature of the camera is the LED lights which allow the camera to be used in the dark.
If you want a slightly different USB flash drive then check out these Nike branded USB flash drives. The sneaker, or trainer if you are in the UK is made of rubber and splits in half revealing the USB connector to plug in to your PC. The flash drive can store 1GB of data on it and comes with a key chain attachment for carrying it around.
Phidgets USB sensors are used for monitoring environmental factors such as temperature, light, motion, magnetic field and vibration to name a few. When buying the product you need to choose the phidgets you want to use. According to the Phidgets website you do not need any technical knowledge, no programming skills and you do not need to know anything about communication protocols. In fact, they only recommend that you have an imagination. This opens up Phidgets to be used in any number of ways you could possibly think of. One project someone made is Tetris Weightlifting. This game is a highly modified version of the game in which lifting weights actually controls the pieces. You can imagine the pain on even the strongest mans face when he gets to level 9.
You can get hold of a lot of USB devices these days. The next in line is the USB Money Clip. It is basically a clip that you hold money together but in this case the clip is a USB flash drive. I guess the idea behind this is that you either carry money everywhere you go and therefore always have your USB flash drive, or the other alternative way is that you always loose your USB flash drive, but when you have a couple of G attached to it you will never forget that.
The Cruzer Contour from SanDisk is an 8GB USB Flash Drive which recently became available. The design of this flash drive is quite sleek. The design also features a unique slider USB connector which means that you do not ever loose the cap off the end. As can be expected it works at USB 2.0 speeds allowing for quicker transfers. Also another cool feature is its ReadyBoost compatability which allows it to improve system performance on Windows Vista by acting as extra RAM if specified.
The USB Digital Microscope allows you to capture images in high quality and very close up. With it being USB, it connects to your PC and then shows the images on screen. The software which comes supplied with the USB Microscope allows you to zoom in up to 200X and create screen shots of those objects. As well as taking still pictures, you can also use time lapse movies for items that change over time. The Microscope part is detachable from its stand which allows you to get up close to items.
