There’s not a lot of details on this new line of hooded fleeces from Rusty since they’re not launching until the Fall, but apparently the drawstring will incorporate a set of machine washable earbuds (or HB3 technology as they call it) so that you’re never without a pair of headphones when you’re out doing extreme acts of extremeness. So for now you’ll just have to settle for occasional glimpses of the hoodies hidden throughout this promotional video.
Think of the POSTCN01 as a hardware version of Google’s Gmail notifier app. But instead of letting you know when there’s a new email in your Gmail account to check, it lets you know when someone has left an actual letter in your mailbox. A sensor attached to the mailbox counts the number of times the door has been opened, and an LCD display located inside your home keeps you appraised of the possible number of letters or packages that have been delivered. At around $55(￥4,980) it’s not terribly expensive, but I can only see it appealing to those with a long walk to their mailbox, or the super lazy.
There’s a certain social stigma against eating an entire batch of cupcakes at once. But that’s not the case with mini cupcakes! This counter-top maker can cook up 7 bite-size cupcakes in just 5 minutes, and while that’s 5 minutes too long in my opinion, at least you never have to fire up the oven. At just $32.99 I’m tempted to call this a must-have gadget, except when you realize you’ll have to frost the cupcakes yourself. Dealbreaker?
Wallets are for storing your cash and credit cards and USB keys and stuff, and such a simple and straightforward use implies a simple and straightforward design. Apparently, some of you have expressed enough of a desire to also use your wallet for other things, like, I don’t know, killing people, that TMT Wallets felt that they could introduce a “tactical wallet” that would be commercially viable.
The TMT Tactical wallet assumes that if you buy it, you are professional super spy who is likely to be captured by the enemy on one of your top secret missions. Therefore, it has been specifically designed to assist you in the following scenarios: enduring water torture (o-rings make it waterproof), keeping your secrets secret (it has two hidden compartments and is impervious to RFID), beating your guards senseless (it’s made of 6061-T6 aluminum), breaking out of prison (it has a carbide glass breaking point), removing shards of broken glass from your flesh (it has tweezers), finding your way back to the good guys (it has a compass), and then enjoying a nice meal when you get home (it’s got a toothpick). Oh, and if course it has a built-in pen that you can use to write a screenplay about your adventures. When you consider all of these advantages, who cares that it’s gigantic and heavy and uncomfortable and $125? As a professional super spy, you need one.
While at CES I collected a vast number business cards from the different people I met with. Most are your average white cards with boring text and a logo, which don’t really stand out. There are two that I’ll remember, because the company decided to go a different direction and spice up their cards. One person’s was actually a USB drive shaped like a business card (the USB connector flipped out from inside the card) and the other was transparent. But here’s one that will stand out even more than those, along with providing you with a bit of fun.
The card is a bit thicker than your average business card, and is wrapped with a pair of rubber bands. As you can see from the video, a piece pops up to hold 10 pennies, which can be fired up to 15 feet away. The best part is that there are instructions for crafting your own penny-shooting cards. I can guarantee that anyone who receives one of these will remember you.
While it was created to “encourage the reuse of already consumed items by forming a new functional product” the Rethink hanger also turns out to be a clever travel accessory. For whatever reason hotels seem to think their patrons only need 4 or 5 hangers in a closet that can easily store 10x that amount, so the Rethink allows you to easily carry extras in your suitcase without taking up too much space.
The downside is that you’ll need to buy & drink 2 bottles of water for each hanger you intend to use, but when assembled it seems like it would be far sturdier than the blow up travel hangers I brought you a few years ago. $7.99 each (eek!) from Rethink Concepts available in your choice of green or yellow.
I like the design of this felted mat that looks exactly like a small pile of stones sitting next to your bed. It was created by Ronel Jordaan and is made from 100% merino wool, but sadly the $498 price tag is keeping me from pressing the ‘Add To Cart’ button at VivaTerra. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to go back to using real rocks, at least stepping onto those each morning builds character.
I can’t imagine there are too many people out there who are working with an ancient laptop that lacks built-in wifi, but PCs are a different story. And while this ultra compact USB wireless adapter from Brando is ideal for a portable device like a laptop, there’s no reason it can’t be used with a tower PC instead. It’s compatible with 802.11b/g networks, and the Brando website claims it has an effective working distance of 200 meters indoors or a whopping 830 meters outdoors, depending on the environment of course. Those numbers seem a bit dubious at best, and even if it doesn’t live up to its claims, it probably still works well enough to warrant its $23 price tag.
Why should grown-ups with cars (and license plates) have all the fun when it comes to scrolling LED messages? Kids can now join in too with these BamZ Interactive Insoles which have a small, single character LED display that hangs off the back of the shoe. A custom message up to 49 characters in length can be programmed, and as I understand it, that message will be scrolled as the kid walks, runs or does some manner of physical activity while wearing the shoes. A single BamZ insole runs about $8(I believe the package includes an additional insole without the display) while a double set is around $13, available in tangerine or hot pink.
Related Tags: Clothing, headphones
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