By Chris Scott Barr

I’ve heard a lot of talk about pico projectors and such, and how they would be a great addition to cell phones. The thought of one showing up in a digital camera never really crossed my mind. The people over at Nikon have obviously been mulling it over, since they have just announced their new Coolpiz S1000pj with a built-in projector.

I’m really not sure what I think of this thing, after all, it seems like a projector would be wasted on a camera. Sure, you can show off the pictures that you’ve just taken, but who really gets that excited about looking at pictures that they just got done taking?

The LCOS projector is rated at 10 lumens and has a 30:1 contrast ratio. It can be set anywhere from 10 inches to 6.5 feet away from the wall you’re projecting upon. This will create a picture that is between 5 and 40 inches high. Aside from the included projector, you’ve got your standard 12MP point-and-shoot camera with a 5x optical zoom. It does have a neat feature that detects motion, and adjusts the shutter speed and ISO to compensate. Look for this out in mid-November for $429.

[ Nikon ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Chris Scott Barr

When it comes to solid state drives, there are two main complaints. One being that they are still limited in size, and the other being the high prices. Thankfully as time goes on, we’re seeing bigger drives and lower prices. OCZ is definitely doing its part to keep things moving, as they’ve officially announced the first 1TB SSD.

That’s right, we’ve finally broken the terabyte barrier with SSD drives. The increase in storage space calls for a larger physical drive, which won’t likely upset too many people. The new drive uses the 3.5-inch format, which is rather convenient. Most SSD’s these days are 2.5-inch, and thus don’t fit into desktop PC’s without an extra bit of work, or some type of converter.

So how much is this monster of an SSD going to set you back? Just a small fee of $2,500 is all it takes when the Colossus hit’s store later this month. If you’re too much of a cheapskate to throw down that much cash, then there will also be a 500GB Colossus drive for a lower (and currently undisclosed) price.

[ OCZ ] VIA [ Ubergizmo ]

By Andrew Liszewski

For a mere $44,900 you can order yourself a full-size Formula1 replica car complete with paint scheme and graphics of your choosing as well as authentic F1 tires, racing seat and harness, steering wheel and pedal system all mounted on a pneumatically powered motion platform. But here’s what I don’t get. The actual rFactor racing simulator software is displayed on a 19-inch LCD. 19-inches!! If I was already spending close to $45K on a simulator ride I would be more than willing to shell out an extra $5K for a set of wrap-around displays, or at the least something considerably larger than 19-inches.

[ F1Showcar Motion Simulator ] VIA [ Born Rich ]

By Andrew Liszewski

When you’re hacking away at your face with a sharp razor I’d suggest staying focused on the task at hand, but if you’d prefer to multitask and be more productive in the mornings, this shower mirror with a built-in weather station will kill a few birds. The 7-inch mirror has a special fog-free coating so it won’t ever steam up, and it’s accompanied by a high-contrast LCD display which provides updated weather info like current temp, humidity and the day’s forecast thanks to a wireless sensor that can be located up to 100 meters away. $49.98 from Taylor Gifts.

[ Weather Station Shower Mirror ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I completely agree with the thinking behind this combination bedside fire alarm and alarm clock. If there’s ever a fire in my home, I don’t want to have to rely on hearing a smoke detector that’s located somewhere else in the house. So this device actually listens for your existing smoke alarm, and when it goes off it starts blaring its own 90 decibel alarm which is sure to wake even the heaviest of sleepers.

And if that doesn’t work, the included vibrating bed shaker can be placed under your mattress pad or your pillow and will be activated whenever the unit’s audible alarm sounds. At $179 from Frontgate it’s a bit steep for an alarm clock, but it’s another one of those ‘how can you put a price tag on peace of mind?’ devices.

[ Bedside Fire Alarm And Clock ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Have you been pining over that USB 3.0-equipped Asus motherboard that we showed you last week? Sure, there aren’t any peripherals that actually take advantage of the new standard, but at least you’d be prepared. At the time Asus hadn’t provided us with any pricing or availability on the board, however, now we know exactly when this baby will be shipping. That would be never.

Apparently Asus has decided to scrap the board, without really giving any reason. The only thing they mentioned was that they were working on other things. I guess maybe it is a little early to get excited about USB 3.0, but you can’t use peripherals without ports. Then again, what good are ports without peripherals? Now we’re back to the old chicken and the egg thing.

[ Tom's Hardware ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Chris Scott Barr

The three posters hanging in my living room are evidence enough that I’m definitely a Star Wars fan. I can appreciate Star Trek, but I’m not exactly a huge fan. Knowing how much I would give for a perfect replica of a lightsaber, I’m sure that fans of the Trek might be interested in this spiffy Type-I Phaser Kit, which lets you build a prop worth of the original show.

It’s a little strange that this is only being offered in kit-form. I guess assembling your own phaser will give you a bit more geek cred at the next con. All you need is $200 and a a free afternoon to be the envy of all your geeky friends.

[ ThinkGeek ] VIA [ Dvice ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While it probably won’t appeal to kids, this radio controlled feed boat looks like just the thing to make an early morning fishing expedition actually seem fun! The boat is designed to get into places that might be difficult for larger watercraft, and at the push of a button the tipper can be used to dump up to 4 1/2 pounds of chum or feed into the water to attract the fish. It can also be used to deliver a baited hook with floater up to 950 feet away which is pretty much impossible with even the best casting techniques.

And if that’s not enough, the boat includes a sonar sensor allowing it to double as fish finder, wirelessly transmitting the information back to the remote control which includes a backlit LCD display. Unfortunately though, unless you’re fishing in a tournament for a hefty cash prize, the boat’s $726 price tag puts it out of reach for most Bob Izumi wannabes.

[ Radio-Controlled Feed Boat ]

By Andrew Liszewski

As a kid I remember getting a LEGO fire truck and police truck that had working LED lights and an electronic siren. But oddly enough they were both trucks and not smaller cars because the design had to accommodate a rather hefty battery compartment. So it’s nice to see that LEGO has embraced the advancements in electronics over the years to create this keychain-tethered minifig that features a white LED light in each foot. He’s posable just like your standard minifig, but unlike the rest he can be used as a flashlight at night, and with some custom body work, could even serve as a pretty great start for a flying LEGO Iron Man figure. About $9.15 from Play.com available in mid to late September.

[ LEGO: Mini Torch ]