By Andrew Liszewski

I doubt they’ll ever come up with an innovation like the iPhone, but I’m kind of happy to see IKEA slowly moving into the appliance and electronics market. Their Patrull Air Purifier doesn’t really do anything innovative or groundbreaking, but it does look a heck of a lot better than the models you’ll find at your local Home Depot. And if that’s important to you you probably won’t mind spending ~$180 on it. (1,295 kr since it doesn’t appear to be available from North American IKEAs just yet.)

[ IKEA Patrull Air Purifier ] VIA [ PSFK ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I couldn’t perform a triple salchow to save my life, or even ice skate for that matter, but I just know the judges would be so impressed if I were to step out on the ice wearing this illuminated figure skating costume, they would have no choice but to award me a medal of some sort. Even if it was just the medal for costume awesomeness I just made up.

Of course I don’t know how figure skater Isabella Moro, pictured here at the Crystalline Figure Skating Competition 2010 in Santa Rosa, California did, but I do know her costume, created by ShowOfLight, was probably the most original on the ice that day. At times the light-up panel on the front featured animated sequences reflecting the lyrics in the song she was skating to, and at other times it simply showed random animations which reacted to the sounds and movements of her routine.

Unfortunately the application of this technology seems to have just missed the recent Olympic games, but here’s to hoping that every athlete at the 2014 Sochi games has to wear a light-up costume of some sort. In fact I’m sure their corporate sponsors have a few ideas on what to display.

[ Show Of Light - Light Animated Figure Skating ] VIA [ talk2myShirt ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Sure, it’s the source of countless skin burns and has been guilty of melting many a delicious ice cream cone, but did you know the sun can actually be used for good too? A company known as the Sunflower Corporation has created the Sundolier which is a combination of a 2-axis reflector that automatically tracks the sun, and a specially designed chandelier which distributes the light inside a building.

We offer the only competitive predominantly indirect natural lighting system capable of meeting your needs for general lighting of up to 2,500 square feet of space with less than 0.4% roof penetration. Our solution eliminates many of the challenges you face with the design and construction of alternatives that can work in low bay (eight to twenty feet ceilings). We offer a solution for large open space that demonstrates the highest quality natural light lighting 2,500 square feet, possibly more depending on your needs.

As I look outside at a rainy, overcast morning, I can’t help but wonder how effective the system is when the sun isn’t shining. But I guess it’s not designed to be a building’s sole source of light, instead providing an eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to electrical lighting on those days when the sun is shining and you’re stuck indoors.

[ Sundolier Daylighting System ] VIA [ Inhabitat ]

By Evan Ackerman

I’ll be honest… I usually carry around three (yes, three) different mobile charging apparatuses when I know I’m going to be out with my gadgets all day: one of these, one of these, and this. Is it overkill? Probably. But being a ::cough:: professional journalist, running out of batteries is simply not an option. Even I, however, would not wear a universal wrist charger. It’s just too dorky, and I’m really more of a geek. Or I like to think so, anyway.

If you just look at the numbers, this universal wrist charger is actually pretty decent: it has a 1500 mAh battery, weighs 82 grams, and will charge anything that only needs 5 volts (same as a USB port). Since most of your gadgets are probably hand-held, it’s a convenient way to be using something and charging it at the same time. Problem is, there’s really no getting around the utter dorkiness of this thing. If it also had a little LCD on it or something, you could at least pretend that it was some kind of ridiculously fancy watch, but as it is, it just has 4 little lights to indicate what level of charge it has. Wait a sec… Random lights? Weird design? I’ve got it! Just tell everyone that you’re sporting the latest and greatest from Tokyo Flash, and wear the universal wrist charger in anonymous pride. Problem solved!

The universal wrist charger is available now from ThinkGeek for $35.

[ ThinkGeek ] VIA [ Craziest Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

22 inches might not seem that big for an LCD display when it’s being used in the living room or even on a desk, but when mounted inside a car or van like this one is supposed to be, it’s going to take up a lot of room. In fact, if mounted in the center of the vehicle I’m pretty sure this LCD is going to make your rear-view mirror unusable. But for $263.99 you do get a 1440×900 pixel resolution display with 2 video inputs and 1 audio, as well as the ability to toggle between PAL or NTSC signals, a “high sense” IR remote and even an extra set of built-in dome lights. Just make sure the kids don’t start watching a DVD until you successfully back out of the driveway.

[ 22-inch Flip Down Car Monitor Player ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Chris Scott Barr

When I first started working at an electronics store, we only had two choices when it came to monitor sizes. Most of them were 17-inches, though we did have a pair of the larger 19-inch screens that I would drool over. Now you can walk into a store and find half a dozen different sizes. It seems that right now anything from 21 to 24-inches seems to be in the sweet spot in terms of pricing. However, there are plenty of larger ones out there. Today we’ll take a look at one of the larger ones. Specifically, the 270W-1080P 27-inch monitor from Sceptre.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Liszewski

There’s an endless supply of lustworthy concept gadgets on the web that will never come to fruition, but this is the first concept hoodie I’ve come across. deviantART member ‘bmansnuggles‘, aka Brendon Phillips, originally submitted his awesome and totally doable Mega Man hoodie concept to Fashionably Geek in the hopes of one day seeing it become a reality, so here’s another endorsement Brendon, hopefully one day you can put me down for a medium. (P.S. ThinkGeek, are you reading this?)

[ deviantART - mega hoodie ] VIA [ Fashionably Geek ]

By Chris Scott Barr

There seems to be something in our blood that makes a guy want his own room full of man stuff. We affectionately refer to this room as the Man Cave. Be it in the den, a basement or your garage, any guy is happy to have one of these he can retreat to. Now it’s important to decorate the room with the appropriate furniture to set the mood. If you’re idea of a man cave is a place to drink and watch the game, then I’ve got the perfect stools for you.

Actually, I’ve got the perfect kit to make your own awesome stools. This kit will take any empty keg and transform it into a bar stool. It’ll only take a few minutes of your time, and you’ll have extra seats for all of your buddies. If you don’t have a spare keg lying around, you can always purchase one from the company for an extra $100. The kit by itself is pretty salty though, ringing in at $99.99.

[ KegStool ] VIA [ CoolestGadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If the conversation at your next dinner party doesn’t turn out to be as scintillating as you had hoped, your guests can always entertain themselves with these Origami Napkins. Each napkin comes printed with directions on how to fold one of 4 origami creations, and each design has a different difficulty rating for those who are noobs at the art of paper folding, or seasoned pros. A 40-pack that includes 10 of each design is available from SpinningHat.com for ~$8, and don’t forget about the origami toilet paper we brought you earlier, which should come in handy after the meal too.

[ Origami Napkins ] VIA [ bookofjoe ]