Picking out a new countertop can be a bit more stressful than deciding what color to put on the walls since you can’t just paint over it again if you’re not happy with the results. But DuPont’s new mySurface app for the iPhone and iPod Touch lets users browse the company’s entire collection of surface finishes including all 130 colors of Corian and 60 colors of Zodiaq quartz by hue, making it easy to match an existing color palette. It also provides a full screen swatch and color sample for seeing how it looks in the actual space, and surprise, surprise there’s even a shortcut to connect to DuPont’s 1-800 number when you’re ready to contact your local rep and make a purchase.
mySurface is available for free from the iTunes App Store right now, though it’s limited to U.S. residents at this time.
A few months ago we brought you the Notepod which was a clever mashup between the iPhone and a traditional notepad. It also seemed like a handy tool for brainstorming or sketching iPhone app ideas, but this App Sketchbook looks even better. While it’s not as compact as the Notepod, each page in the coiled book has 3 “real-size” iPhone templates with 20px high ruler lines, title bar markings for proper planning and a ruled section under the templates for jotting development notes. And it’s just $12.95 for a 50 page double-sided book.
It was originally created back in 2008, but Benedict Radcliffe is now hoping to sell his wireframe Lamborghini Koenig Countach sculpture for a mere £40,000, or about US $65,000. The 6ft wide, 14ft long Lambo is made from 160ft of 10mm steel rod which was painstakingly bent and welded to produce a rather striking piece that looks like it’s waiting for a pass through Pixar’s RenderMan to be complete. It’s unfortunately completely undriveable given it lacks a wireframe engine, and is painted a rather, um, striking tint of fluorescent orange, but finding a way to make the Countach look kind of cool again is an impressive feat.
Well you know the drill by now. Even though it’s obviously not even close to being as big as the real thing, you throw one of these Uzi-shaped USB flash drives in your suitcase before hitting the airport and you can pretty much guarantee your vacation or business trip is over before it even begins. So I’ll let you decide if the $22 price tag for 4GB of novelty storage is worth getting your name thrown on every watch list around the world.
Hooking your PC up to your living room TV isn’t too much of a challenge these days, unless the two are across the room from each other. Whether you think your computer would look out of place below your wall-mounted LCD TV or you have it setup with a monitor somewhere else (for use as a regular desktop), you’ll need something else to help you get the two talking to each other. Thankfully Warpia has a simple solution.
Their new Wireless USB Display Adapter Set contains everything you need to wirelessly connect your PC to your TV. The base station contains both VGA (with a 3.5mm audio jack) and HDMI connections for your TV, while the other end plugs into a USB port on your computer. The device has a 30-foot range and supports resolutions up to 720p. The set is currently selling for $120 through Warpia.
The ZOMM is apparently the “world’s first wireless leash” for cell phones. It’s a little disky thing that you attach to your keychain, and it tethers itself to your cell phone via Bluetooth. If it gets separated from your phone by more than a preset distance, it beeps at you, which is its primary feature. It also works as a wireless speaker phone, and if you push the single button on the front, it will start shrieking and auto-dial emergency services.
In general, the ZOMM seems like a handy thing to carry around. It’s reasonably small (about the size of a poker chip) and offers a few handy features (although it really should have come with a flashlight button). The biggest problem is obvious: you have to remember to plug it in every few days (it charges via microUSB) or it won’t do you any good. This isn’t really a flaw in the device itself, unless you think it should be somehow solar powered, but when you’ve got a whole bunch of things to charge, the one that has a primarily passive function is going to inevitably get neglected. Also, the reason you’d get one of these (the anti phone loss leash bit) depends on your phone and your keys being very near each other all the time… This could be a problem unless it uses a class 3 receiver with a 100m range or something.
There are probably a bunch of details on this that aren’t apparent from the press release, but we should get a hands-on look at the ZOMM at CES which is OMG this week. The ZOMM is rumored to be priced at about $80.
If cars never stopped moving it would probably be a lot easier for people to get their driver’s license, but that’s not the case, and when you get behind the wheel you’re eventually going to have to park that vehicle. However there is help for those of you not skilled in the art of reverse. The Parking Pilot uses 4 ultrasonic sensors attached to the back of your car to measure the distance between your vehicle and any objects behind it.
An LCD display that attaches to your dashboard provides a somewhat cryptic image of what lies behind your car, but it also includes a measurement in meters in the corner that’s thankfully a bit easier to understand. Now I’m not sure why the kit doesn’t include sensors for the front of your car, when pulling into a parking spot can be just as tricky, but to make up for it the Parking Pilot also includes a breathalyzer function in case you’re as bad at knowing your limit as you are at parking. ~$60 from Chinavasion.
Instead of wasting precious minutes of your life untangling unsightly cables you should replace all the cords in your home with these MIDORI AC adapters. Their faux-vine design actually looks better when the cable is all tangled up, though the fake foliage does make it a bit inconvenient to travel with. And while a part of me thinks this is just a concept design, the cable does seem to be listed for sale on the MicroWorks website for 1,365 yen, or about $15. However I have no idea if the business end will work with your phone or not.
You’ll be hard pressed to convince your friends you’re not an Apple fanboy with a set of these iPod Touch themed duvet covers and pillow cases on your bed. But who cares since I’m pretty sure these are being sold without Steve’s blessing, and they could end up being a hard-to-find collectors item if and when Apple’s legal team catches wind of them. So get them now from ellos for just 349 Krona, or about $49.
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