Join Conceptual Gadgets, Electronic Gadgets
WiTricity offers clean cut power
Take a look behind your computer or home entertainment system – what is it that you see? Cables – lots and lots of cables. Of course, while those cables are a necessary evil at this point in time today, hopefully they won’t be in the near future. Researchers in the U.S. have successfully tested an experimental system that manages to deliver power to devices sans wires. In fact, this theory was tested to great success when a 60W light bulb managed to glow from a distance of 7 feet. Dubbed WiTricity, this apparent ‘miracle’ takes advantage of simple physics laws and could potentially be modified to accomodate different devices such as MP3 players, notebooks, and computers.
Electronic Gadgets
Animated LED Fan
This is cool in two ways, firstly it’s a fan to keep you cool and secondly you can use it to display animated pictures.
The LED Art fan uses 42 LEDs mounted on the blades to create a moving picture. It comes with an IR transmitter so that you can program it from your PC (serial port required). The resolution of the fan is 85 pixels (diameter) and the 5MB of storage is enough for 128 images.
I must admit it seems a bit strange to describe a desk fan by means of resolution and storage capacity but then again watching a home made cartoon on the office fan isn’t exactly an everyday thing.
No video click here
The LED Art Fan is available at Think Geek for $389.99.
Audio/Video Gadgets, Electronic Gadgets
Mickey’s ears control tunes
Disney’s most famous character, Mickey Mouse, will make yet another appearance in the world of MP3 players, and this time it comes in the form of the iRiver Mplayer. This MP3 player actually has the form factor of Mickey’s head in 3D, and looks as though a trio of balloons have been tacked on top of each other. The unmistakable Disney logo is located behind, while the volume control is located on one ear with track changing buttons situated on the other ear.
If you have always wanted to pinch Mickey’s ears, getting this iRiver Mplayer would give you that opportunity. There is no word on its pricing, although we do know that it will see action in Asia later this month. I must say the design is rather unwieldy, and you would have a pretty hard time trying to stuff this down your pockets.
Source: DAPreview
Drinking Gadgets, Electronic Gadgets, Robot Gadgets, Wacky Gadgets
Talk about specialised: the Asahi Beerbot aka the Robocco
Looking like a mix between good ol’ R2D2, a lamp and a golf ball, here comes the Robocco from Asahi.
As you might have guessed from the title, this robot’s only task is related to beer: it should take one out of its belly, open it, and pour it in a mug. And this is what it does.
Initially only available as a prize for a contest, it is now on sale at CScout Japan.
It can hold a sixpack (of standard cans) in its refrigerating belly.
At the press of a button, a can will be lifted, opened and poured into the mug.
The whole operation will be accompanied by incessant nagging and lots of text on its display.
Click on for some more data and for a video of it in action.
Conceptual Gadgets, Electronic Gadgets
LCDs to get brighter and more efficient?
While LCDs offer a much better viewing experience when compared to phat CRT monitors, they certainly don’t come up tops if there ever was an award for efficiency. Clairvoyante aims to change that notion by thinking of a fix, and the result of the company’s brainstorming is the PenTile RGBW display. According to Clairvoyante, this new display will be able to help both notebook and cellphone batteries last up to 50% longer, giving devices the ability to last the distance. Here’s a little trivia – the “W” in the PenTile RGBW stands for white, which means you not only get red, green, and blue subpixels in each pixel, there is also a white subpixel within.
Conceptual Gadgets, Electronic Gadgets, Gaming Gadgets
Neural Impulse Actuator responds to thought
The power of thought is truly one of the Holy Grails of the 21st century as scientists and researchers all over the world work to come up with a computer interface that responds to thought, making it possible for virtually everyone and anyone to make use of a computer. Imagine the bed-ridden and homebound updating their blogs and websites without the need to even lift a finger. While that premise is truly interesting and would be beneficial to most people, a seamless working model have yet to be introduced. This does not mean we are further from the goal though – on the contrary, big steps have been taken in this rapidly evolving field, with the Neural Impulse Actuator being the latest prototype in line that responds to the power of thought. While it remains a gaming peripheral at the moment, translating it into a working environment would be pretty simple in principle. The Neural Impulse Actuator is currently being showcased at Computex Taipei 2007.
Audio/Video Gadgets, Electronic Gadgets, Home Gadgets
Give your flat HDTV display some royal treatment
If you’re a proud owner of a flat screen high definition display, getting this Robotic LCD/Plasma Mount would be a prudent course of action. After all, it ain’t a joke aligning the HDTV to suit your viewing angle that changes every time you plant your backside down on a different spot. For too long have you been a slave to the stationary TV, it is now time to turn the tables. This Robotic LCD/Plasma mount can extend, tilt, and swivel to cater for the most optimal viewing spot in a room.
Electronic Gadgets, Gadget Gift Ideas, USB Gadgets
Ben Heckendorn comes up with Audio FX Pro 5+1 headset
Ben Heckendorn has long kept the gaming world entertained with his many modifications of video game systems, and expectations have been building up for quite some time now concerning his commercial project. Is it a new handheld, or could it be a modification to turn the Wii into a portable system? Unfortunately, the answer is none of the above. Benheck’s (as he is affectionately known) latest foray is a gaming headset known as the Audio FX Pro 5+1. This USB headset might look old school, but it comes jam packed with interesting features.
