By Andrew Liszewski

It may not recline like a La-Z-Boy, but the Athena sofa from Switzerland-based Artanova makes up for it with an integrated multimedia PC controlled by a couple of LCD displays that pop out of each armrest. It’s also got an iPod/iPhone dock (but what sofa doesn’t these days?) and will play your music over a set of hidden speakers which includes an 8-inch subwoofer. The best feature though is that the Athena as a sofa actually features a rather nice design, and I don’t think most people would mind having one in their living room. Except that most people probably aren’t willing to drop $15,436 on what essentially becomes a Doritos crumb receptacle.

[ Artanova ] VIA [ Freshome ]

By Chris Scott Barr

One of the biggest features of the iPhone is also its biggest issue (to some people). I’m talking of course about the touchscreen. The screen is beautiful, and it gives you the ability to do so many things that just aren’t possible on your average non-touchscreen phone. Of course when it comes to typing, there is absolutely no form of tactile feedback, making things a little more difficult, even impossible if you’re not staring directly at it. So what’s the solution? A crack-pot accessory that gives you real buttons on your iPhone!

I’m really not sure what to think about this iTwinge. Mostly I can’t figure out if it’s stupid or just plain retarded. The accessory makes you sacrifice almost half of your screen to get a keyboard. Yeah, you might type a little faster, but whenever you want to use your phone for any other function, you’re going to have to remove the iTwinge and put it somewhere. Seriously, if you’re that concerned about tactile feedback, just go get a Blackberry or something. This hunk of junk will set you back $30, plus your dignity.

[ MobileMeChattronics ]VIA [ CoolestGadgets ]

By Chris Scott Barr

There are many tricks one can use to try and get a better night’s rest. Some people prefer warm milk before bed, other people might put on a CD with soothing sounds. Another new option is to use toothpaste. Sure, most people tend to brush their teeth before bed, and rarely does it seem to actually help one sleep. However, if you’re using a very special kind of toothpaste, you might find yourself drifting off with a little more ease.

Pearly Dreams toothpaste contains a variety of ingredients such as Melatonin, Balm Mint, Valerian and Passionflower which together promise a great night’s sleep. I don’t know enough about such things to know how those will help you drift off at night, but the product is endorsed by Brad Whitford of Aerosmith, so you know you’ll get your Dream On. $20 gets you a 60-day supply.

[ PearlyDreams ] VIA [ GearFuse ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I’m not entirely sure why Mobile Mechatronics decided to name their iPhone tripod adapter the Blur, when that’s exactly what it’s designed to eliminate. It’s kind of like naming an anti-nausea medication Vomit, or a fire-extinguisher the Raging Inferno. But nevertheless, I like the idea. It basically gives the iPhone a standard tripod mount allowing it to be attached to everything from a monopod to a Steadicam in theory. (Though there’ll probably be balance issues.)

For just $14.99 you get the adapter which attaches to the bottom of the iPhone (presumably using the dock connector) a pocket-friendly though somewhat useless mini tripod and the Blur Tripod iPhone app which gives you a shutter timer, what sounds like an intervalometer and even a level. The app can also be purchased on its own for just $0.99.

[ Blur Tripod Adapter ] VIA [ Gear Diary ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I absolutely love Logitech’s VX Nano cordless laser mouse for day-to-day work and travel, and recommend it to anyone who asks, but it is a bit on the expensive side and whose to say everyone will find it as comfortable to use as I do. So I also dig this cheaper alternative from Verbatim. The Easy Riser’s most obvious feature is the adjustable height which can be raised for a more comfortable hand posture, or flattened for easy transport. But it also comes with a classy silver and black finish and a programmable scroll wheel.

Best of all it comes in 3 different cost-effective flavors for any budget. A 2.4GHz wireless model with a tiny USB receiver (as tiny as the VX Nano’s) for $39.99, a wireless Bluetooth model for $34.99 and a retractable corded version for just $19.99. Available from Verbatim sometime in October.

[ Verbatim Easy Risers ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Oregon Scientific’s new +ECO Clima Control weather station will report the effects of global warming, without contributing to them. It’s the company’s first model to feature a solar panel that’s used to charge the device’s 600mAH rechargeable battery. So leaving it out in the sun for just 8 hours will soak up enough juice to keep it running for up to 3 months.

As for its weather reports, it uses a set of easy-to-understand icons like sunny, partly cloudy, rainy, snowy etc. to indicate the current conditions, and it can display the temperature and humidity for up to three different remote locations. (Possibly by wirelessly communicating with other units, or with remote sensors, I’m not entirely sure.) $119.99 from Oregon Scientific.

[ +ECO Clima Control ] VIA [ Popgadget ]

Remember Pogoplug? That brilliant little gadget that networks any USB hard drive and makes it internet accessible in practically zero steps? We’re not the only ones who thought it was an especially good idea, and Seagate has licensed the technology and incorporated it into a dock for portable hard drives. The Seagate FreeAgent DockStar is essentially a Pogoplug in a different case, offering the same networked and internetted (?) functionality plus some extra USB ports and a special dock for Seagate FreeAgent hard drives… In a nutshell, this technology lets you seamlessly access any and all USB drive(s) you plug into it over your home network and the internet, and even from your iPhone.

At $99, the Seagate FreeAgent DockStar seems like an obvious choice over a $99 Pogoplug, except that the Seagate version apparently comes with a $30 subscription fee after the first year, whereas purchasing a Pogoplug includes lifetime online access to your files. So, if you were just born and you live to be 150 years old, that’s like $4,500 in access fees. I’m not sure whether this implies that Seagate (as opposed to Pogoplug) is taking care of the actual internet service part of things themselves, but either way, I really really hate subscription fees for hardware.

Pogoplug makes a point of saying that they’re just licensing their technology, and they’ve still got all kinds of exciting things planned… Seagate is being welcomed into the Pogoplug family as opposed to vice versa. To that end, today Pogoplug is announcing a bunch of new social networking features for their online drive interface, which makes it easy to share files and folders on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Basically, the service lets you share content from your hard drive via a web link that users can click on to access your drive directly. A variety of privacy options should keep the rest of your stuff safe, and it’s certainly way faster than uploading (and conveniently bypasses any kind of space limitations), but the whole concept still makes me vaguely uncomfortable. Like, I don’t want those dirty Facebook/MySpace people accessing my drives! …Even if they are all (hypothetically) my friends.

Incidentally, we’ve been sent a Pogoplug for review, so we’ll have a write-up for you (including another look at those social networking features) in the next few weeks.

[ Seagate FreeAgent ]
[ Seagate DockStar ]
[ Pogoplug ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Windows IceBox might seem like a strange name for a flash drive, but this USB stick isn’t for storing files, it’s actually used for freezing your hard drive. Well to be more specific, when connected to a computer it can be used to protect a designated partition from harmful or unwanted changes. The PC will function as normal, and will happily allow you to download viruses, malware, or delete important files, but when you shut it down with the IceBox still connected, your system will be restored to its previous healthy state. Anyone who’s ever had to fix a PC after a young’n has used it will appreciate the idea.

But you can also specify certain folders as being ‘open’ which allows you to make changes to them that will be preserved when the system is shut down, even though the partition is frozen. Like a documents folder, or your browser bookmarks where you might not want to lose new additions. Just $18.99 from USBFever.com.

[ USB Windows IceBox ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Sony is known for making some unusual decisions at times, but not when it comes to design in my opinion. Take these relatively new USM-L Micro Vault flash drives. They’re clean, compact and feature a BIC-inspired ‘click to open’ mechanism that hides and protects the USB connector when not in use. The drives are color-coded based on their capacity (they range in size from 1GB up to 32GB) and a “prism” LED flashes and glows to indicate when the drive is in use. The USM-L Micro Vaults also support Windows Readyboost, and include Sony’s Virtual Expander software which will automatically compress or decompress files as they’re copied to or from the drive, roughly tripling their capacity.

[ Sony Micro Vault USM-L ] VIA [ Fareastgizmos ]