By Andrew Liszewski

For the longest time it was only a theory, but now I’m convinced that toy makers these days are just plain lazy, particularly when it comes to movie tie-ins. Now I “”"missed”"” (notice the gratuitous use of quotes) Terminator Salvation but I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that Skynet’s army didn’t include flying disembodied terminator heads.

So why on earth did a toymaker at Bladez think it would be cool to slap a terminator skull on an RC helicopter? I don’t care if it can be used to dogfight other helicopters with realistic battle sound effects or that it has folding blades to minimize the damage during crashes, this thing is just lame! And it’s almost $50 from IdealWorld.

[ Bladez Terminator Micro Combat Skull ] VIA [ Toyology ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Normally I wouldn’t consider a hose reel to be OhGizmo! fodder, but this one has a clever trick up its sleeve that easily passes the “hey that’s nifty!” test. The NO-CRANK reel uses a patented water piston engine and the water pressure from your outdoor tap to automatically rewind your garden hose by simply flicking a lever to the ‘rewind’ position. And while I have my doubts that rewinding a hose is actually “one of the most stressful parts of maintaining your lawn and garden” like their PR material claims, I still think it’s a clever idea. And it’s just $39.99 from Buy.com, though I have my doubts it will arrive in time for Father’s Day.

[ NO CRANK Hose Reel ] VIA [ GadgetGrid ]

By Evan Ackerman

Last weekend BotJunkie was at RoboGames, the world’s largest robot competition, here in San Francisco. We posted one highlight video over the weekend, but after the break, we’ve got a photo gallery plus three more videos featuring Saturday and Sunday highlights and feature on the new Mech Warfare competition. Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Liszewski

If you were ever curious what was going on inside your Nintendo DSi while you were playing it, this crystal clear replacement shell from XCM will reveal the device’s inner workings. Now granted, seeing the insides of a piece of electronics isn’t as exciting as something chock full of gears and moving parts, but I think there’s still enough eye candy in there to make it worthwhile. Just keep in mind this will require you to completely disassemble and re-assemble your DSi, so make sure you’re comfortable with that idea first. And I have no clue about pricing, though it should be available sometime this month.

[ XCM Eye-Candy Crystal Clear Shell ] VIA [ MAXCONSOLE ]

By Andrew Liszewski

On one hand this triple gooseneck mount looks like a pretty handy way to have easy access to your phone, GPS device and MP3 player while driving, but on the other hand, how can having this thing suction cupped to your dashboard or windshield NOT be distracting? Each of the device mounts can rotate 180 degrees, facilitating landscape or portrait views of the displays, and the flexible arms can be adjusted and positioned as needed. $29.99 from USBFever.com.

[ Super Universal Car Mount for Phone, GPS, iPhone, iPod... ] VIA [ Gear Diary ]

By Shane McGlaun

Getting in shape isn’t always a chore. Well for me it’s pretty much a chore, but at least we can use some of our gadgets to help get the job done. One of the best gadgets for getting fit is the iPhone; there are tons of apps that you can use for all sorts of health needs.

The latest get fit app for the iPhone comes from Men’s Health. The app is called Men’s Health Workouts and it sells for $1.99 with 18 exclusive workouts included and over 125 different exercises. The exercises are compiled from some of the world’s top strength and fitness coaches, athletes, and fitness experts.

Each workout offered in the app provides step-by-step instructions, photos, and logging functions along with a one of a kind circuit-training interface. The program is also OS 3.0 compatible and offers new groups of workouts that can be purchased directly from within the app itself.

[ Men's Health ]

By Shane McGlaun

A few weeks back I bought a new car. I figured my kids were old enough that they only need booster seats, so I would go ahead and get the convertible Mustang GT with a 5-speed. The problem is that you can’t drive the car and talk on the phone in traffic and most of the Bluetooth headsets I have tried don’t work with the top down at highway speeds.

Motorola has announced a new Bluetooth headset called the Endeavor HX1 that promises to allow the user to talk and be heard in even the most extreme environment. I think the top down at 70mph on the highway is pretty extreme as far as wind noise goes.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Chris Scott Barr

Back at E3 I had a chance to chat with the folks over at Logitech. If you’ll remember they were kind enough to let me have some hands-on time with their G940 Flight System. However, the moment I walked in the door they saw me eying a different piece of hardware. It was under embargo, so I haven’t been allowed to talk about it. Well today that has been lifted and I’ve been given the go-ahead to tell you guys about it.

It’s no small secret that I’ve been a Guitar Hero nut since the game came out. My close circle of friends know just how picky I am about the controllers I use. (Seriously, I modded an original SG controller from the first game to work with my 360 because I hated the X-plorer so much.) Well let me say right now that I’ve found a new favorite, Logitech’s Wireless Guitar Controller. You might stop me and say “Chris, this is old news, they’ve had one of these out for a little while.” You’d be right, but I don’t play on a PS3, this one is for the 360.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Chris Scott Barr

When you take your laptop out of its sleeve or case, what do you do with said holder? I generally set it down next to me and ignore it until I either need something out of it, or am ready to put my laptop away again. Well one company is trying to make their laptop sleeves a little more useful while you’re on your computer.

The Artmu laptop sleeves unzips into a flat surface. You set your laptop on one side, while the other can be used as a mouse pad. Granted, in most cases you don’t really need a mouse pad, but on the occasion that you’re working on a reflective surface it will really come in handy. The sleeves come in a variety of sizes and colors, starting at around $15.

[ Artmu ] VIA [ Aving ]