Archives for March 2007

USB Grilling Device

March 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment

USB Grill
We continue to see some cool and some crazy USB devices. This one is king of crazy though… If you have a spare 30 USB ports laying around and need to grill something up then mix the 2 together and you get a fully working USB grill. The photo above of the system uses a motherboard with a 500W PSU, it uses 6 x 5 port USB cards which are USB 1.1. Only 1.1 was needed because although USB 2.0 is quicker, that doesnt mean your burgers will cook any quicker 😉

For a full look in to this crazy project, check out the translated page with instructions on how to make it. Videos are also included at the bottom of the linked page.

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets, USB Gadgets

HTW S116 Solar Mobile Phone

March 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment

HTW S116 Solar Mobile Phone
The HTW S116 is a solar charged mobile phone. Having one of these around could get you out of trouble. All you need to do is sit it in daylight for 40 minutes and you are good for 20 – 25 minutes of talk time. According to one source, the phone can even get a small bit of power from regular lights if it is dark outside.

The main problem with solar energy is that the phone will not charge while in a pocket or bag and its a bit of a pain having to carry it around facing the light source. However, the idea kind of works. I still think a seperate solar charging unit is the better option although you could argue that you probably will not end up carring that around with you. It’s really up to personal choice in the end.

As well as having solar charging capabilities the phone has a 1.3 megapixel camera, external memory card slot and a QVGA screen which measures at 320 x 240 pixels.

Via: Unwiredview

Filed Under: Cell Phones, Cool Gadgets

TV Volume Regulator

March 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment

TV Volume Regulator
Hands up those who get annoyed that the volume jumps up quite a lot when it is time for adverts to show? The TV volume regulator has been created to tackle this frustrating problem. If you havent noticed this happen before when a commercial break is happening, then I am sure you will now that I have mentioned it 🙂

The TV Volume Regulator is available for $49.95 and solves this problem. It automatically regulates the volume between the commercials and actual program. It is available from FirstStreet. Now if they could make one that completly switched off the volume at commercial breaks then that would be good too.

Via: Gadgets-Weblog

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Sony PSP Steering Wheel Mod

March 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment

PSP Steering Wheel
The Sony PSP Steering Wheel mod is one of those mods you just have to take a look at, but at the same time you wonder why it was thought of. It’s not the most practical of mods to have been created and it isnt a portable mod (from what I can tell in the video below). However, it kind of is cool to think you can burn around the track on Ridge Racer or smash people up on Burnout.

Via: Engadget

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets, Hacked Gadgets

Imation Flash Wristbands

March 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment

imation_flash_wristband
The Imation Flash Wristband is a flash device which you can wear on your wrist. It stores information on it just like any other USB flash drive would, but is just bendy instead of being a rigid block of plastic. The idea of this device is that you can wear your storage rather then have it hanging on a keychain or loosely in your pocket. The flash wristband is made out of rubber which protects the flash drive from knocks etc… The memory capacity of the device currently goes up to 256Mb and colours available are black and blue.

Using the device is as simple as any USB flash drive. You just plug it in to your XP, ME or 2000 based PC and away it goes. It is compatible with older OS versions like Windows 98, but a driver needs to be installed to get it working. Compatibility with Mac is also available.

Via: Imation

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Military-grade Password Protection

March 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Mandylion_Manager
Passwords for most are a serious matter. We all have some kind of password to protect something. With hackers getting more advanced we often find the need to run more complicated passwords and change them each month. With this in mind the Mandylion Manager has been released which promises military-grade password protection. The device costs just $49.99 and can store up to 50 login passwords, combinations, codes and what ever else is needed. The device also has the ability to generate passwords on specific criterea set by systems. The password length can be up to 14 charachters long. Each password is stored in permanent memory that is tamperproof. Should the battery also die then the passwords are still safely stored.

If you manage a number of servers like me, or have a ton of passwords that are just too complicated to remember then this device is for you. The question needs to be asked…. what protects the password from being accessed? There are 5 buttons on the device and a sequence of these buttons needs to be pressed to access your passwords. As long as you remember that 1 sequence of button presses then you are good to go.

Features
* Manages up to 50 login records simultaneously
* Generates cryptographically strong passwords
* Complies with all DoD, Govt. & Industry Password Security Policies
* Multiple tamper-resistant features and lockout alarms
* Manages Root and Group passwords
* Cradle connection via USB
* Kit containing: token, a configuration cradle, Policy Master Configuration Software
* Dimensions: Approx. 2.5″ x 1.5″ x .375″ (65mm x 45mm x 10mm)
* One-year warranty

Buy it now from ThinkGeek

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets, Hacked Gadgets

Philips DCD778 Kitchen System – iPod Compatible

March 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Philips DCD778
The Philips DCD778 is a kitchen entertainment system with a built in flip down LCD display. As well as being an entertainment system, it is also a docking station for your iPod. Basically hook up your iPod to the DCD778 and choose what you want to watch. Not only does is it compatible with an iPod, it also works with DVD, VCD, MP3 and CDs. With it being built for the kitchen it also has functions that are useful in a kitchen such as timers and a clock so you can make sure you never burn those Yorkshire Puddings.

It costs $400, has a remote control and will be available next week.

Via: UberGizmo

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets, Displays

Olympus all-weather 780

March 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment

780 Olympus
The Olympus μ780 will be on display at the PIE (Photo Imagine Expo) in Japan tomorrow. The 780 is a weatherproof 7.1 megapixel digital camera with 5x optical zoom and mechanical image stabilizer. This is Olympus’ newest compact digital camera to hit the market and looks like another camera with great potential.

The body of the camera is metal and comes in silver, black or blue. The weatherproofing is made to IEC 529 IPX4 standards which means it can have water splashed from any direction due to rubber seals around doors and a compartment inside which seals off the electronics. This for some is an excellent way of getting pictures you might normally be afraid of taking your shiny new camera in to.

Among the standard features listed above, the camera has other cool features which as optimisation of images with dark, shadowed areas.

For more details and a full breakdown of details about this camera, click here.

Via: Akihabaranews

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Samsung USB Monitors – Syncmaster 940UX

March 19, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Samsung USB Monitors
The Samsung Syncmaster 940UX is an LCD panel which connects to your PC and gets it’s signal via USB. The monitor does not have any VGA or DVI connectors on it. The 940UX can be used as any regular screen but it does have a catch. It seems like the processing is done by the CPU of the PC and not any dedicated hardware. According to Engadget up to 6 screens can be daisy chained to each other and make use of just 1 USB port on the computer. Unfortunatly doing this does not allow for much video to be processed and a beefy PC is needed.

This is a good step forwards in technology though as many devices these days connect via USB and it makes sense that a screen should also connect via USB. We will need to watch how this all pans out over the next few months and see if performance is reported as an issue, or if additional hardware is best being used to get the quality you really need on the screen.

Via: Fosfor and Engadget

Filed Under: Computer Gadgets, Cool Gadgets, Displays

FlyBook VM – V33i Video Preview

March 19, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Flybook VM
The video below shows a couple of laptops at CeBIT which caught my attention today. The Flybook VM is a laptop with an interesting screen attached. Instead of having just the regular hinge that allows you to flip it open, it has a second hinge which allows the screen to be taken away from the main hinge bringing it more to eye level and still allowing access to the keyboard below it This brings it more in to line with a regular flat panel in the office. The VM has built in Bluetooth 2.0, Wifi 802.11 a / b / g, an Intel Core Duo low voltage 1.66Ghz processor, 1Gb of DDR2 memory (upgradable to 2Gb), a 12.1 inch wideview LTPS TFT LCD which runs at 1280 x 768 and a 1.8 inch 30Gb drive which is upgradable to 60Gb and 80Gb. These are the basic features of the VM. It also supports fingerprint scanning, higher resolution output on an external monitor, DVD-CD-R, PCI Express and more. Full specs can be found at FlyBook.

The V33i is a table PC with the regular rotating type screen. It has impressive features and is small measuring at 235 x 155 x 31 (mm). Connectivity on this tablet is provided by EDGE / GPRS and GSM as well as Bluetooth 1.2 and Wifi. The processor is a 1.1Ghz Intel Pentium M. Memory is 512Mb DDR1 standard and can be upgraded up to 2Gb. This is DDR1 memory and not DDR2 like the flybook above. The screen is an 8.9 inch wide view LTPS TFT LCD which runs at a resolution of 1024 x 600 and it powered by an ATI Radeon Xpress 200M card with 64Mb memory.

Looking at the specs above and video below it appears that both devices show potential due to a very small form factor VS power.

Via: TechEBlog

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets, Displays, Laptops

Sanyo 42LM4WPR-E Weatherproof TV

March 19, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Sanyo Weatherproof TV
Sanyo have created a waterproof TV which was on display at CeBIT in Hanover. The TV is 42″ in size and is HD ready. The resolution provided is 1366 x 768. Other then that the TV is fairly regular 🙂 It’s ideal for those who want a TV in the garden or shower I guess.

Via: UberGizmo

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

EleeNo Kion Elite – Nice Watch

March 19, 2007 by Leave a Comment

EleeNo Kion Elite
EleeNo have created the Kion Elite watch. This is another excellent watch on sale from the famous Tokyo Flash. The watch is 100% custom built out of Stainless Steel and has resin inlays. Time can be calculated looking at where the chevrons point to behind the minute arm. The minute arm then works as any regular watch would.

The wrist strap features an interesting butterfly clasp which connects underneath making the wrist strap look seemless also. The watch is also powered by a battery that will see it run for the next 4 years.
EleeNo Kion Elite Strap
Features
* Time only
* Resin Inlay
* English & Japanese Instructions
* Butterfly Clasp
* Super 2035 movement
* 4 year battery life
* Water Resistant
* Currently only sold at Tokyoflash

Via: TokyoFlash

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets