From the monthly archives:
According to themensgiftguide and probably many other places too, Lego is now 75 years old. My first Lego set was from the 80s and I thought it was quite new back then. Anyway, this Lego key rack is a simple design and just snaps together to hold your keys safe on the keyring. Cool and simple idea.
Via: Themensgiftguide
The Minty Boost is a USB charger that is built inside an Altoid chewing gum tin. Inside the tin are 2 AA batteries and a USB connector. If your device can charge via USB then this can give the device a little bit of extra juice should the batteries run low.
Product Page Via: 7Gadgets
These Pewter Glass Crusade Chess Pieces are built in wine glass style to make your table look that little bit different. The King Chess Piece measures 5-1/2 inches and they are designed to portray early century crusaders. On the stem of each glass you can notice the chess pieces which are embedded in to it. Kind of cool in a weird way!
The IOGEAR gadget charger is capable of charging mobile devices when they they run out. It comes with a built in Lithium Polymer battery and comes supplied with 6 adapters allowing for different devices to be plugged in. It costs $40 and is good for about 500 charges which should last you a few years as it is only intended to be used when your phone dies and you do not have a charger with you. On the front of the device there is a charge level indicator.
As much as I like my hand winding charger this makes life far more easier when the batteries die.
Via: MysticGadgets
I thought I had a fair few mobile phones because I have never thrown any away after using them. I started off with a Nokia 7110 back in 1999 and have kept each phone each year I upgraded. This guy takes mobile phone collections to the extreme though with a reported collection of 101 phones in 2005. I do not know how many phones he actually has, but I can tell its way more then the 7 or so I have.
Via: About-Nokia
Have you ever found yourself out and about with your mobile phone and just cannot quite get the signal you need? I am lucky where I live in that I am in a busy area with full 3G and video coverage, but go back a week… while visiting family it was a real pain having next to no signal in the home. Every call dropped, most calls went to voicemail with out even ringing my phone. I basically had to step out to the garden to make my calls. This kind of situation is where a zBoost could come in handy. The zBoost is a portable device which boosts mobile phone signals in a small area. The zBoost ZPersonal measures about 4 x 5 inches in size and fastens on to a window with 2 suction cups. You then attach the long cable which has an antenna on the end which measures about 6 inches long. The long cable allows you to move the antenna close to where you make the majority of calls from and the mobile signal gets boosted from where the box is to where the antenna is which creates your own personal cell phone area.
The concept is a cool idea and comes in handy for situations like I mentioned earlier. There are a few downsides though. This device must have a signal to work which is kind of obvious as it wont boost nothing. If you have a faint signal then it does occasionally do what it is supposed to. Al over at CIO.com gave the zBoost a full review and found that the device was a little inconsistent. Sometimes the signal was boosted and other times it was not. Another down side is that it only plugs in to an outlet on a wall and cannot be powered by USB or from your car lighter. Other then that, if you have a power outlet and need a signal boost then this could work well for you if you get it set up right.
For the full review of the item check out CIO.
This Sat Nav device from Provia looks amazing. The images are displayed on an 800 x 400 7 inch display. As well as having a great looking screen, the GPS will have 3D models of landmark buildings to add a more realistic view to the navigation system. Also the Provia is capable of showing a picture in picture set up allowing DVDs to be watched while navigating although hopefully that wont pose a risk to drivers as it seems odd to mix the two together. The processor powering the Provia A1 is a 520MHz Intel PXa270 and the device has 128 Meg of RAM with an expansion slot too which allows for an SD card up to 2GB to be used.
This particular GPS device only seems to becoming available on the other side of the world in Korea. I think its time they send one over here for trial.
Via: SlipperyBrick
If you get fed up of apples being bruised when on your desk then a fruit stack should sort it out. You are able to stack up about 5 apples for safe keeping which prevents them from smacking in to each other like when in a bowl. I am not too convinced it will prevent bruises, but it is a different way of storing fruit I guess. According to Chiasso it allows the fruit to breath better too.
The Fruit Stack costs $28 and is available from Chiasso.
Via: PCNews
This concept idea from Yanko design uses a touchpad which slides out from the phone. It uses handwriting recognition and allows for a finger or stylus to write direct on to it. Its not something I see ever really going in to production as it seems like a touch screen would save far more space and be a lot cooler to have.
Via: UberGizmo
Cockroaches are horrible. Luckily I havent had any close encounters with them that I know of. This robotic cockroach is made by Bandai and has a translucent body and 6 legs. It also had a number of sensors to that it can hear and touch things. The sensors come in to play when a loud noise is made, or if the cockroach bumps in to something. If you want something to walk around your desk then go pick one up. They arent as scary as the real thing.
Via: Techchee
These salt and pepper shakers are quite cool because they are Lego. They can be detached from each other and the white can be filled with salt and the black filled with pepper (or the other way around if you so wish). They measure 45mm x 25mm and cost just $9. Of course it is made out of plastic too. I think I need to get a couple of these to give away as prizes 
Via: GeekAlerts
When you start to get old and want to keep your age private at the birthday party then some Youre Old candles would be ideal. Yes, we all know you are old, but we dont know how old. Perfect!
Product Page Via: NerdApproved
This waffle maker doesnt make the usual shaped waffles, but instead it makes Texas shaped waffles. The texas shape waffle maker has an 800 watt grill which creates the waffles. The non stick great measures 8-1/4 inches.
Available from Amazon it is a cool gift idea for those who love the state they are from. Hopefully they do a UK version
For personal security a pepper spray ring could be ideal for you. They are created in silver or gold playing and use a replaceable spray canister so that you are protected while out and about. The ring uses pepper spray rated at 2 million SHU and is effective for 2 – 3 seconds at a range of 12 inches. When the spray comes in to contact with a person the attacker will get inflammation of the eye capillaries and other mucous membranes. It is ideal for you to make your escape.
As always, it is a ring that you hope you never need to use. But on the off chance it does come in handy it could help you get away.
Product Page Via: 7Gadgets
The guys over at Yankodesign bring us another cool concept idea. This time it is the Brix phone in which the whole surface acts as a screen. To make it even better, the brix phones are capable of being connected together to make larger screens as pictured above. When connecting them together, one of them acts as the media hub for all devices. According to the designers there will be no limit to how many can be connected together and the restriction is only based on how many people you actually know who have them. Seems like a good idea although I think flexible displays will move quicker then this.
Via: Yankodesign
