Sega Toys of Japan have come up with a pretty interesting toy which consists of a family of robots. Known as the Hako Robo (Robots in a Cube), these robots make the perfect desktop accessories, featuring a facial feature and different colors that distinguishes one from another. The Hako Robo offers an alternative dimension in toys as they are able to simulate real-life relationships by moving in relation to one another. I’m not sure what technology makes this possible, but the idea of one cube following another is rather cute and worth exploring.

Just like real families, the Hako Robo robots will start running towards each other when they’re taken out from their respective boxes. Should they spend too much time with one another, they will start to get stressed out and exhausted, prompting you to return them to their own personal space (box) before they pass out. There are different relationship dynamics to explore with each purchase.

Product Page via Tokyo Mango

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Ah, leather. This material is synonymous with luxury. Take a look around if you don’t believe me - how many of your favorite handbags from Prada and Gucci are made out of cow hide? Even prestige vehicles such as BMW, Audi, and Mercedez Benz use leather in their interior to convey a message to the rest of the world that the car’s occupants have already arrived on the world stage. If you can’t afford all of the above mentioned, I’m pretty sure you can fork out some dough for Earth Trek’s leather clad mouse and 4-port USB hub.

This 2-button pointing peripheral comes clad in leather, complete with a plastic scroll wheel for easy navigation. While it looks pleasing to the eye, I am rather suspicious of the form factor as being ergonomic is definitely not on the list of Earth Trek’s designer when they came up with this mouse. As for the USB hub, it comes in the same shape as the mouse sans scroll wheel and buttons. They both look like a Korean exclusive at the moment, so keep your fingers crossed an import shop will carry these if you want either.

Source: Akihabara News

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Gamer girls, if you want to go crazy on your already sweet looking Nintendo DS Lite without taking the easy way out by plastering some stickers all over it, there is but one path to follow - that of modding it. All you need is some intermediate technical know how (or grab your boyfriend to learn this modding stuff up) and decent soldering skills and you’re good to go for most mod jobs. This DS Light mod (no, its not a typo) by AcidMod member Rocky certainly rocks the joint, featuring LEDs that light up while you’re playing games, lending a more surreal look especially when you play in the dark.

The LED strobes are triggered by the loudness in volume, so the louder the in-game sounds are, the brighter these LEDs will flash. Of course, I believe playing Elite Beat Agents in the dark with this mod will probably require a pair of sunglasses as the LEDs could end up damaging your eyes with its constant flashing while you master those beats. Too bad there is no option to turn the lights off when you don’t want to use them.

Source: Slashgear

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The advent of VoIP technology in our offices has led a communications revolution, where we can keep in touch with one another for very little or even free without sacrificing visual and audio cues during a conversation thanks to the many VoIP programs available today that enable video calls as well. LightSnake has launched the STICHAT USB Headphone and Microphone that enables you to carry out your conversations in style as it lights up whenever connected, while flashing crazily as audio signals travel through it.

Definitely not the most discreet of devices to have in the office, especially when you’re trying to hold a decent lovey dovey conversation with your other half over Skype with the darn cable acting as a lighthouse for the entire office. One good point about the LightSnake STICHAT USB Headphone and Microphone would be the ability for you to hook up your own headphones or speakers instead of using the bundled ones. Features include soft touch volume control, but unfortunately there’s no option to turn the lights off. The LightSnake STICHAT USB Headphone and Microphone retails for $19.99 a pop.

Product Page via SlashGear

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Plan to spruce up your desktop but have no idea on how to go about it? The USB Fairy Lights will be able to do just that, offering a unique method of decorating your computer or notebook. It kinda reminds me of those long, tangled Christmas lights that make the entire home look warmer even during the coldest of winters. The USB Fairy Lights feature a string of stars that emit a soft, blue glow to light up its environment. Unfortunately, it looks as though blue is the only color available at the moment, with no mention on the product page of having other choices.

Do you think this USB-powered accessory is a little over the top for your taste? I would recommend using this on a desktop only, as attaching one to a notebook can be quite impractical, considering how you tote the notebook everywhere with you. Each string of USB Fairy Lights retail for £8.90.

Product Page via Uberreview

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What’s a party if there aren’t enough people making noise to bring the whole house down? Other than causing the cops to bear down on your home to inform you that the entire cohort is making too much noise for the entire neighborhood to handle, you can always hang up the Party Timer and see it get to work almost immediately. The secret behind the Party Timer is its integrated sound sensor that detects the current noise level and displaying a corresponding image.

There are a grand total of 9 different party types up for display complete with pictures that help reinforce the message visually in a humorous manner. These nine comprise of "No Party", "Romantic Party", "Talking Party", "Lite Party", "Music Party", "Dance Party", "Club Party", "Mega Party", and "Atom Party" in an ascending order. Once all the drunken mayhem is over, the Party Timer will revert to a more laid back mode by displaying the time digitally.

Source: Ubergizmo

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You know how stubborn men are when it comes to stopping by and asking for instructions whenever they get lost? It seems as though their "tough" male ego prevents them from opening their mouths, preferring instead to rely on road maps that are as unreadable as the theory of relativity to a bunch of monkeys. Thankfully, technology has progressed to a point where a compromised is reach - you no longer need to ask for directions as they are read out turn-by-turn as you drive. Mio has just made available its DigiWalker C520 GPS navigation device that comes with a widescreen display, featuring an SD/MMC memory card slot, text-to-speech driving instructions and a split screen view that displays both the map and instructions simultaneously.

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Most cellphones these days alert you of an incoming call by utilizing MP3 ringtones or vibration when in Silent Mode, but what about this concept handset from Nokia that employs customizable scent specifications that lets you smell the person calling. This isn’t the only futuristic idea that ships with the Scentsory cellphone, as it comes in an origami-like design that seems to be made out of translucent material.

I seriously doubt I would want to "smell" my contacts as they call as there is nothing more effective than an irritating ring tone to startle me. It’s perfectly fine if your other half smells as though he just stepped out from the shower, but what happens when you prefer a musky scent that others find unappealing? Hopefully Nokia will have the scents..er, sense to offer only universally appealing smells. I wonder how much longer will it take technology to catch up with this idea. Should it ever be released, will you be counting your pennies to purchase one?

Source: SCI FI Tech

Popularity: 1% [?]

With Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End just days away from a worldwide premiere, pirate fever is back to hit the masses. While the older folks chug down their rum as if it were the end of days, we younger folk prefer to keep ourselves occupied by squeezing in a fair bit of gaming into our busy schedules. While a desktop or home console set up offers a compelling gaming experience, nothing quite kills the boredom on a long train commute than a Nintendo DS Lite and its great library of games (a riveting book comes in a close second though). While the DS Lite already comes in a host of many colors and different limited edition sets, there are still owners who are not content and prefer to work on a case modification job as evident by this Julius the Monkey version.

YYJoy forum member Pikapika has decorated his handheld with this simian character, fully decked out in pirate regalia, eye patch and all. While the base model is an Onyx DS Lite, I suspect he did nothing more than slap on a transparent sticker across the surface. Nothing impressive, but it does lend a certain buccaneering spirit to the entire gaming experience.

Source: DS Fanboy

Popularity: 1% [?]

Business cards often pile up at the end of every convention, let alone a social meeting. While you might not be able to place a face to all the names you see on the cards, at the very least keep these cards somewhere safe for future reference as you never know when you might need them. While some people prefer to store their cards in a business card album, others prefer to do so in a holder. Why not show off your gaming pride with this one-of-a-kind NES Controller Perler Bead Business Card Holder? Fused together with sturdy contact cement, this unique business card holder measures 5" x 2.5" and 1" across, enabling it to hold a respectable amount of cards and other miscellaneous items.

Alternatively, you could always scan each business card received for storage on a digital archive, but if you do so, remember to make regular backups as digital data is extremely sensitive and gets corrupted faster than a growing child. The NES Controller business card holder retails for $10.00 but it is currently sold out, so keep your fingers crossed that more of these will be created in the near future.

Product Page via Gizmodo

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