Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
A simple toy for Christmas is a pack of 2 LED gyroscopes. There isn’t anything complicated inside as it just spins and the LED’s light up to make a pattern. However, no batteries are required as it uses the spinning motion to generate power to power the LED’s. The package of 2 will set you back just $3.39.
According to belt-buckles.net, the LED belt buckle is the hottest thing in that industry right now. To be honest, I never realised that LED belt buckles were all the rage. Ive never seen one in real life. Anyway, choosing one needs a lot of care and attention so that you get exactly what you need. Belt-buckles came up with a list of things to look out for.
* The ability to store multiple messages
* The length of the message in characters (good ones allow up to 256 characters or more)
* The number of speed levels (speed your message displays)
* The number of brightness levels
* An accessible ON/OFF button
* Is is easily programmable and can you switch between messages easily
* There should be an instruction manual
* Batteries should be included
This bike sports some shiny solar panels on the wheels which are responsible for powering this beauty. The solar panels can power a 500 watt motor as well as charge the batteries. It seems like you need to let the bike stand for a bit before using the power so that the batteries can get a good charge and get this thing running at 19MPH. One downside is that it weighs a hefty 75 pounds which cannot be good if you are working your way up a hill and need more sunlight to get you to the top.
Another problem I see if the wheels. No doubt a hefty side wind is going to whip you right off this thing if you are not careful. Just take care as it will cost you $1295 to buy a new one should you damage it. The alternative option is the conversion kit for $800.
Via: EcoGeek
The Scimitar is created with Foam and has LEDs embedded in to it. This allows some cool light effects to be created when throwing the boomerang around. The image above is of Eric Darnell who has been building boomerangs for a long time.
Via: Popular Mechanics
Here is another short video showing Sonys OLED screen which measures just 0.3mm thick and is very flexible. In this clip you will see the screen bending while video is being displayed. Also an announcement that OLED displays will be available this year in Japan.
The LED flashlight is to be used more for security. The Department of Homeland Security are funding LED flashlights to be created which are very high power and are to be used to disorient those causing trouble. It is actually more then a standard LED torch though. It uses a device to measure the range between the torch and eyes and then uses flashes that continually change in colour which throw the person off. The device will not hurt anyone, but will provide a great help to the police when trying to stop someone as it means no force or weapons are needed.
It sounds like an interesting device. Hopefully it wont cause temporary blindness to the innocent bystanders, although as long as the bad guy goes down it would be safer for those around even if they are also caught by this LED light.
Via: Wired
LED lights have been around a while now. They can replace a number of lights around the house. The next to receive LED treatment is the fluorescent tube. EverLED have created a replacement for the tube which allows you to plug it in and not many any changes to the light fitting. Each tube is 4 feet long and they have 5 different colour temperatures. Life span of these tubes is around 10 years and they give a 20% energy reduction to the regular fluorescent tubes you normally use.
This fan is a step to the side from your regular fan that you buy to cool you down when its warm. This one features 42 LEDs which are mounted on the blades. When the fan is switched on, images can be made from the LEDs (POV). The fan has 5Mb of memory in which you can store 128 images for your little animations. It certainly does add a new look to your relatively boring desk fan. What makes this good is the ability to hook it up to your PC via a serial port and you can transmit via Infra Red to the fan and put your images on to its blades. To see how it looks when working check out the You tube video after the jump.
The Video Watch has an OLED screen which is 1.5 inches in size. The OLED screen is colour and has a resolution of 128×128 pixels. Due to how slim the OLED screen is, it allows for the watch not to be too bulky.
The watch can play video in full colour which can be created by using the software at ThinkGeek. As well as being video capable the watch can also play MP3 and WMA audio. A microphone is also built in allowing you to record on to it’s built in 2GB storage capacity. The watch battery lasts 7 hours and charges when connecting to the computer via USB.
Remote control toys have entertained for years, from cars to more recently the Picoz helicopter. Now firebox has bought forward a new concept in the race to evolve RC toys – an RC dinosaur. Named the Pterosaur, it has a range of 100ft and can be used indoors and outdoors. This prehistoric reptile flies by flapping its wings and is ready to fly straight from the box. Once the original charge has depleted, it is simple to recharge – it just uses the portable quick charger. (the hand-held control) If you are afraid that a small crash may have catastrophic consequences – possible extinction – then be put at ease, the Pterosaur has a durable foam body that should withstand day to day impacts.
A few days ago I wrote about a new Sony OLED screen which had been announced on the Sony JP site. I had a question at the time about the response time of the screen and what video would look like. This morning I came across a nice video over at youtube which demonstrates the OLED screen being flexed around while playing video. The results are quite amazing. Just a quick reminder of what this screen actually is and then the video follows after the jump. The OLED screen is sealed in plastic rather then glass like other OLED displays. This allows for it to be flexible. The main reason glass was used was to prevent moisture getting inside and damaging the components that make OLED screens work. The screen on the video has a resolution of 120 x 160 pixels with a pitch of .318mm. The diagonal on the screen is 2.5 inches.
Video after the jump.
Sony have unveiled an OLED screen that is flexible. OLED displays tend to be made out of a sealed glass which protects the materials inside from getting moisture on them which can basically kill them. Sony managed to create the screen on to a plastic which allows it to be thinner, lighter and bendable as seen in the image above. The screen is a full colour display also. The prototype is has a resolution of 120 x 169 with a .318 mm pixel pitch. I do not have details on how quick the screen can update (refresh rate) but this is certainly interesting to see this kind of technology appearing.
