Most coffee tables are just meant to complement the mood and overall decor of your living room, right? But the Multimedia Coffee Table changes everything, being designed by One & Co , is actually a digital jukebox that has been built right into a coffee table. Guests to your home no longer need to flip through outdated magazines while waiting for you to prepare them some drinks as they can keep themselves entertained by browsing through your music libraries and select their favorite tracks. It can even be connected to portable media players so that music can be downloaded directly onto it. There is no further word on its specifications, but I would say that this will be one of your costlier purchases for the home if you plan to own one.
I know that times are hard with oil surpassing the $120 mark per barrel, and that the economy back home is in tatters, so people everywhere will find just about any excuse that they can in order to save money. For those who tend to be rather clumsy around the work station will definitely have experienced a spill over a notebook keyboard before, and that experience is definitely one to be forgotten. This waterproof “Ziploc”-like bag is a cheap alternative compared to those expensive ToughBooks from Panasonic, and it will be available in either A4 or B5 sizes depending on the size of your budget notebook. I’m making a fair bit of assumptions in this post, but you can pick this up for €13 in Japan.
Want to do your bit in the fight against breast cancer? The solution is simple - just spare $14.99 and pick up this pair of Susan G. Komen StereoBudz Earbuds from Koss. Since they’re pink in color, you can actually get these as a present for mom this coming weekend. Of course, you can also choose the white color version if that suits your fancy, but whatever the outcome you can be sure that you have done your bit at the very least. Each purchase will come with a carrying case, and a portion of the sales will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Disney partnered with Thinkway Toys to develop WALL·E robotic toys. The Ultimate WALL·E is a very advanced robot that has 10 motors, sonics ears, and sensors to detect obstacles and guide him so he doesn’t bum into things around the house. The remote control is also very different as it has as touch pad that makes it easy for kids control the robot. You can program WALL·E to exectute thousands of combinations, has life-like emotions, and is voice activated so he can follow the sound of a person’s voice. The Ultimate WALL·E will be released this summer and will cost $190. Here’s a first look at WALL·E at the Maker Faire.
Now isn’t this one of the weirder cell phones you have come across? The Buddha cell phone definitely does away with Buddha’s Middle Path where design and appearance is concerned, but it somehow managed to incorporate Buddhist aesthetics ranging from the startup screen to ringtones, making this handset rather ironical to use. Some folks might find this to be vaguely familiar, and they are right as this is actually a highly customized Nokia N70 which features a steel base and 24-carat gold plating, a jade button for video and a jewel encrusted camera. Other more standard features comprise of Bluetooth connectivity, video and audio playback, and handwriting recognition to cater to folks from the East. No idea how much this costs, but I think Buddha himself will frown on such opulence for a handset, what more one that is released with connotations of the Enlightened One himself.
Love that Guitar Hero? How about a Guitar Hero III widget for your website? Activition released an embeddable GH widget users can plya by hitting the number 1-5, so no guitar controller is needed. Gamers can choose to play the easy, medium, and hard mode, but I can tell you know, you’ll have a hard time getting past the easy mode without failing in less than 3 seconds. I tried playing the game, but it just sucks playing on your keyboard. The songs include “Cult of Personality”, “Schools Out” and “Metal Heavy Lady.” Give the game a try, and tell us if you find it easy or difficult to play. Continue Reading
Designer Jörg Schieber has come up with these LED lights for German company Chameledeon. They are pretty much minimalist in nature, featuring a remote switch and cycle capability that goes through 16 different colors, allowing you to relax in your couch without having to get up and change its settings. I don’t know about you, but I still prefer to have traditional soft lighting in my home compared to all these snazzy new releases. After all, cycling lights don’t really make for conducive reading, but more of a party mood. For those who think like me, there is a single color white model. The Chameledeon lights will come in 71cm, 102cm and 139.5cm heights, depending on just how big your rabbit hole is.
Energy costs are slowly but surely rising, no thanks to demands from growing populations in India and China while the rest of the industrialized world continue to clamor for more. Alternative power is still far away from being mainstream, but it is heartening to see companies like Devotec come up with the Solar Charger kit that can store ample energy to juice up your cell phone twice over before a recharge is required. Tipping the scales at less than 80 grams, the Solar Charger’s solar panel will be able to charge its integrated 1800mAh battery whenever it has access to sunlight, or can draw power from a power outlet or USB connection during the night. Each £19.99 purchase comes with tips for older and current Nokia phones, Sony Ericsson, Motorola/Blackberry/mini USB and Samsung models in addition to a DC 5V tip for PSPs and a plethora of digital cameras. iPods are also not left out of the picture with the Solar Charger. Continue Reading
I’m pretty sure everyone who grew up in the 1980s will have fond memories of the MacGyver TV show, where the main protagonist was a genius in getting himself out of tricky situations, often with nothing much but everyday items such as a piece of dental floss and a paper-clip. His watch was also pretty worthy to square up against James Bond’s, although the former clearly lacks the class of the latter. The MacGyver watch can now be purchased for $199, featuring a 5-mode audio equalizer, MP3 playback, 3D stereo sound, a voice recorder, integrated USB and flash drive capability for you to tote your data around. Too bad USB 1.1 is in action here, which is painfully slow compared to USB 2.0 which we’ve been pampered with for quite some time already.
Since January is the National Birth Defects Prevention Month, it makes perfect sense to gift your wife the KickTrak device.
Designed by an obstetrician, kickTrak simplifies kick counting to potentially reduce the risk of stillbirth. Visualization of changes in your baby’s movement pattern helps you promptly alert your doctor of possible problems and allows early intervention. Starting at 24 weeks, use kickTrak to record and store the time it takes for your baby to complete 10 movements including kicks, rolls, jabs, and turns - once a day, at the same time, when your baby is usually most active.
After all, since she will be celebrating Mother’s Day pretty soon, an early present never hurt anyone. Surely $39.95 is not too much for you to pony up, even though that might have to come from your 3G iPhone fund? Continue Reading
