The CarCapsule

CarCapsule
If you have a precious car that you do not want scratching, damaging or to have any effects from the weather around then the CarCapsule is a crazy but kind of cool idea. The CarCapsule is a large bubble in which you park your car in. It is made from 10 mil thick PVC and inflates around your car. A fan circulates are around the bubble to keep the air fresh. What the CarCapsule does is keeps out dirt, dust and moisture so that the car inside is kept in mint condiction.

A bunch of sizes are available to choose from 8 foot up to 22 foot long costing from $269 – $419.

Via: AutoSportCatalog

8Ft Lego R2D2

LEGO-r2d2
Standing a massive 8 feet tall is the all new R2D2 Lego model which was built by Dan Steinenger and a bunch of children who also chipped in. The R2D2 model has functioning red and blue LED lights as well as sound effects. It is currently standing at the Lego store in Disney (Orlando) and was built as part of the festival of masters event. Video after the jump.

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SwoofTronic Pi – Light Controlled Sound

SwoofTronic Pi
SwoofTronic Pi is a light controlled sound/audio device which you control with your hands. Light sensors on each controller vary the pitch and tone length according to how much light is let in. Let more light in on the right box and the pitch (frequency) will be increased. On the left if you let more light in then the length of the note played is increased.

SwoofTronic Pi 1
Mixing the movements of blocking light together you get some unique soothing sounds coming from the SwoofTronic Pi.

SwoofTronic Pi 2
The light sensors have 3 ways of working. The first is to use the ambient light in the room. However, if it’s dark then you can use the LED’s on the side of each box to light up the other boxes sensor. The other option is to use a small LED key ring to change the sound.

I can kind of see the SwoofTronic Pi being addictive but possibly annoying for those around you. The good news is that there is a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can keep others happy while you mellow away in random soundness. For a full “Sinclair Spectrum style” demo, check out the video after the jump.

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SIM CARD Audio Surveillance Spy Ear Bug

ZRAD Audio Surveillance
This device is an audio surveillance spying device which uses a SIM card allowing you to call and snoop on those in the room. It has a magnetic core allowing it to be attached to metal objects which ideally should be hidden. The microphone is built in to the device and is activated when you call a phone number. It can pick up audio from around 10 meters away. The system works silently so that it doesn’t get found. The battery will power the device for 2 to 3 hours and if an external battery is used it can get about 6 to 7 hours of usage. The GSM parts of the device work on 900, 1800 or 1900MHz (tri-band).

The ZRAD costs $149 and is available from Vavolo.

Shinhan USB Credit Card

USB Credit Card
A new credit card was revealed a few days ago. However, it’s not your average sort of credit card. It is a USB credit card which works as a contactless card in stores. When shopping online the card has to be inserted in to your USB port to authorise the transaction. By having the device (which is encrypted) enter all your details, there is no chance that a keylogger could capture what you are typing. It uses an IC chip to function and all programs needed to securely communicate with authorisation devices are included in there too. You currently cannot write to the memory to keep it secure.

Via: Slipperybrick

SmartGlobe V2

smartglobe
SmartGlobe V2 is a great way to learn facts about our planet. It comes packaged with a SmartPen which allows the user to interact with the globe. Two years worth of downloads are included in the product which allow various age ranges to listen to facts about Earth. Age ranges are 5-8, 9-14 or 15 years and older.

Features:

* Features 30 exciting activities and quiz games about countries, capitals, major cities, populations, languages, history, current events and more
* Includes an interactive guide to flags from around the world and corresponding national anthems
* Download customized information for three age groups: 5-8, 9-14 or 15 years and older great fun for all ages
* Download up to 6 languages: Spanish, French, Chinese, German, Italian and Portuguese
* Features 30 English and 6 Spanish activities
* SmartPen can be used wirelessly, plugged in using the audio cable (included) or using headphones (not included)
* 2 years of free downloads for current events and world facts
* Includes a pull-out United States map for more detailed activity, Oregon Scientific SmartUpdate content to update facts and news, and an AC adapter
* For 1 to 4 players

SmartGlobe V2 costs $130 and is available from Discovery Store.

Via: GeekAlerts

USB Mix Tapes

USB Mix Tape
Many of you will remember the good old cassette tape. It allowed many people to create their own little mixes of either 60 or 90 minutes to play in their walkman or in a car. The USB Mix Tape is a mixture of the old fashioned cassette with it’s paper cover but inside it sports a small USB flash drive which contains your music. The USB flash drive inside can store 64MB of music on to it. To record on to it, stick the USB flash drive in to your PC, drag and drop all your tunes on to it, and then put the flash memory back in to it’s case. You can even write all your track listings on to the paper insert to remind you of the early 90’s.

USB Mix Tape Collection

USB Mix Tape Open

The USB Mix Tape costs £19.95 and there are 6 different styles to choose from (or collect).

Product Page

45 Billion Maglev Track

45-billion-maglev-train
By 2025, Japan could expect to use the worlds fastest trains due to a new 45 billion dollar track being built between Tokyo and Central Japan. The MagLev (Magnetically Levitated) train is expected to reach speeds of 500KPH (about 310MPH) which is crazy. The track distance is about 290K which would make journey times a little over 30 minutes if top speed it held for most of the journey.

Via: AFP Google

TC2 Mobile Phone Emergency Battery Charger

tc2
The TC2 is a new charging device which uses 2 AA batteries to provide emergency charging for your mobile phone. Adapters for various mobile phones are optional when purchasing the device with about 9 or so available to choose from. Tests done over at Geek show that the TC2 connected to a completely dead phone for 5 minutes can give it enough juice to be switched on and make a brief call. On the TC2 unit are 3 LEDs which act as a power gauge. Also two high powered LEDs are found on the TC2 allowing it to be used as a light in emergency’s. Over on the product page (linked below) it indicates that 2 AA batteries can charge a phone up to 3 times which is quite impressive considering you can get a couple of 2000mAh rechargeable batteries for a reasonable price.

Prices range from $24.95 upwards depending on how many adapters you choose.

Product Page Via: Geek

FBI Digital Billboards

fbibillboard
The FBI will be using the latest screen technology to roll out 150 or so digital billboards across various cities in the US. The digital billboards will be used to display those people who are currently wanted and will show next to them a large contact number which aims to capture a lot of attention from people driving around the 20 cities that will initially see the boards installed. Tests have been successful in the US when the board was first used recently.

Cities to use the FBI Billboard

* Akron
* Albuquerque
* Atlanta
* Chicago
* Cleveland
* Columbus
* Des Moines
* El Paso
* Indianapolis
* Las Vegas
* Los Angeles
* Memphis
* Miami
* Milwaukee
* Minneapolis
* Newark
* Orlando
* Philadelphia
* Tampa
* Wichita

Via: Engadget

Concept Circle Phone

circle phone
As gadgets around the world continue to get more complex there will be a cry out for simple ideas to come back. One of these ideas will be the old fashioned circle type phone. Yankodesign now bring us the Circle Phone concept which has just 3 buttons and a rotary type dialling pad. I am baffled on how you actually hold this thing to your head, but simplicity is always good.

circle_phone2

circle_phone3

Via: Yankodesign

eBay Watch – Nokia E90 vs Shotgun

Nokia_E90_2
A recent auction on eBay shows a Nokia E90 communicator which had a small accident with a 12 gauge shotgun. The phone fetched just $20.50 in the auction which ended 27 Dec (yesterday). The right side of the phone was blasted through and had both of it’s screens damaged as well as the keyboard and circuit boards. More pictures below.

Nokia_E90_1

Nokia_E90_3

Nokia_E90_4

Nokia_E90_5

Nokia_E90_6

Auction