It’s not really a pencil and it’s not really a pen. The Beta Inkless Pen designed by Axel Weinbrecht, is a writing tool with a tiny metal tip made of lead that unlike regular lead pencils, will not wear down with use. It lays down a grey line that doesn’t smudge or erase and can be used in any temperature or weather. You can get one of your own for $27.95 at Jac Zagoory.
Comes next year your sworn enemies, as in your coworkers, will be seeking cover as you lay a foam dart assaut to their face with the iLaunch Thunder.
It’s been a while since Brando has flexed their gadget muscles, at least in our direction, but this cubicle toy, which is sure to be deemed “useless” by your boss, has all the excitement we look for in a gadget. First off, you can control it using your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Just connect to it over Bluetooth and you’ll be able to lay down fire from up to 30 meters aways. That said, it can fire up to 25 feet in almost any direction thanks to the 270 degree rotating turret and has a vertical variability of 40 degrees. As a result Brando says it can cover 1400 square feet – we’re not about to run the math so we’ll take their word for it. If its range seems limiting, you’ll be pleased as punch to hear that it has a built-in battery that can be recharged time and time again, allowing you to place it any where your card carrying (as in gun) heart desires. Controls sound dead simple as well, allowing you to turn and tilt using your iPhone’s g-sensor, though there are the traditional touchscreen buttons in case you’re not into moving. But who wouldn’t want to “shake to fire?”
5 foam missiles are included, but we suggest you buy a few more since they’ll probably get lost, or should we say stolen. Shipment of the iLaunch Thunder will commence in mid to late December, so don’t plan on this being your one and only gift to that someone special.
When the market remains flooded with Bluetooth technology, it was only obvious that speakers are a part of the offerings as well. We have seen some hi-tech designs such as the Bluetooth Boom Bench and the Jabra Bluetooth headphone set, but taking a more minimalistic approach to designing, is the newly created Hidden Radio speakers. Appearing to be the simplest of Bluetooth speakers, the designing of the speakers appeal to laggards of the tech world consumers, as well as the industrial designers, in search of technology and designing combined.
Designed by the industrial designing duo of John Van Den and Vitor Santa Maria, the hidden radio speakers will capitalize on the concept of intuitive technology to help operate them. With a single turn of the outer cap, one turns on the radio and with each higher lift of the cap, the volume increases along with. This would be the primary step towards making something user-friendly for just about everyone to use. Next is the flexibility of Bluetooth, which helps in integrating one’s iPod, or any other Bluetooth storage device to the speakers, wirelessly and listen to content without a messy setup.
What we are later told is that these speakers are not just individual units. They generally will be in numbers, which means one can place them throughout the house or music room, to get a better play of sound output. So if you wish to setup your Bluetooth network for a personal movie theater, or address a small gathering, then using these units could be a fair idea, as they are also equipped to handle 30 hours of usage before recharge, thus allowing more freedom. As for the pricing, a single speaker would cost $119, but on taking a set of 2 units, then $229 would the cost. Likewise, for $449 you’ll get 5 units in your choice of color, including one individually numbered limited edition unit, and for $659, you’ll be the first to receive 7 units in your choice of colors, including a special high gloss white edition.
Also there are color options such as graphite black and metallic silver to choose from, but customers also can get them made in shades of their personal choice, to suit their tastes better. The introductory offer has free global shipping included.
The company behind the Prank Pack is called 30 Watt and it has three new designs that you might want to pick up for gift giving. The new boxes include one for the iDrive that looks like some sort of steering wheel mount for the iPad. The other is the ToeTunes showing speakers for your MP3 player on slippers.
My favorite is the Bathe & Brew. This shows a shower head/coffee maker that mounts in your shower and dispenses your soap too. That is really cool and I bet you can prank more than a few people. If your family is anything like mine these boxes will be floating around the holidays for years to come.
Key parties are as passe as water beds and unkempt nether regions. Who needs those sorts of cheap thrills when you’ve got an adult-sized bouncy room to go wild in?
The Block Party is a 15-foot cubed inflatable vinyl dome. It weighs only 235 pounds—for portability—and is completely waterproof—to ease in cleanup. There’s no word on how many people it can safely support but I’m guessing more than two.
In addition, The Block Party comes with a Little Chroma vibrator, four interchangeable heads, and a sixty-pack of Sir Richard’s condoms. You just need to supply an air compressor, a few willing participants, $4,000, and snacks. Seriously, what sort of host doesn’t put out at least some finger sandwiches with company coming over? The Block Party is available at JimmyJane.
You may want to reconsider using your friend’s cell phone to make a call or send a text. According to KeepingItKleen.com, 16% of all cell phones have poop on them. And when you use a computer keyboard at the office or in the school’s computer lab you may want to bring a disinfecting wipe with you as they are some 60% dirtier than your average toilet seat. There are some products on the market that can help you keep your tech clean, including ultraviolet lights and disinfecting wipes for tech, but in the end simply following good hygiene and washing your hands is the simplest and most cost effective way of avoiding contaminating your tech.
I’d imagine this is the sort of hose Snooki would own—were I to also imagine Snooki capable of fathoming the whole “watering plants” concept. The “Hose Clothes” cover slips onto hoses up to 5/8-inches in diameter and costs $24 for 25 feet or $34 for 50 feet at Dirt Couture.
Let’s be honest: your fish probably doesn’t care what his surroundings look like, just so long as his water is clean and he’s well fed. But you have to look at his bowl/tank every day, so you might as well make it stylish. The Umbra Fish Hotel ($35) certainly qualifies, featuring the clean, boxy lines of a modern home, a glass bowl, an ABS pastic facade, and a stackable design that lets you build an entire condo full of fishy friends.
How did the world look back in 1985? While Marty McFly was trying to get Back to the Future, I was probably longing after the kinds of gadgets found in the Argos catalog, a UK store which sells pretty much everything — including gadgets.
And now you, too, can take a look at the state of the consumer tech art from 26 years ago, thanks to an epic project by Anthony Voz. Voz took the 1985 edition of the Argos catalog, scanned every page and posted the results to Flickr. In amongst the lawn chairs and leather goods are the gizmos of yesteryear.
Argos — still going today — is a weird kind of store. The small showroom uses paper catalogs. You browse, write down the number of the item you like and hand the slip to a cashier. You pay, and they give you a number. Then, somewhere in the bowels of the building, somebody grabs your item and sends it up to the showroom, whereupon it is delivered to you at an in-store counter.
The magic of this setup is that a small, city-center store can carry a huge range of goods. And back in 1985, these goods were Commodore 64s, electric typewriters and cheap-o Sony Walkman knock-offs.
If you were a kid during the 80s, you’re going to waste an afternoon looking at the nostalgia-fest. And if you’re younger, take a look at what we used to spend out money on before iPods and cellphones. Amazing.
Proper rotisserie cooking generally requires a large setup — which is a problem when you’re wanting some perfectly-cooked skewers at your next tailgate. Enter the Carson Portable Rotisserie Grill ($720). This suitcase-sized setup can hold up to seven rotating skewers — powered by an internal rechargeable battery or plug-in wall adapter — and offering a high-heat porcelain-coated charcoal tray, rugged, lightweight aluminum construction, 4,000 cubic inches of cooking volume, and the ability to turn 10-12 people into best buds with just a couple bites.