By Andrew Liszewski

A few gamers have managed to parlay their skills with rhythm games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band into actual skills with a musical instrument. And that’s one of the goals of the You Rock Guitar from Inspired Instruments. It’s a digital/MIDI guitar that provides a fairly realistic playing experience thanks to an actual set of ‘strings’ with adjustable tension, and a rubber touch-sensitive fret board. A set of interface buttons and a small LCD display on the side allow you to choose from one of 50 different string tunings and sounds, and there’s various playing modes including one for learning that will mute the guitar if you accidentally play the wrong note, so you don’t get discouraged by your crappy performance.

For professional guitar players who are looking for a MIDI alternative, the You Rock Guitar is supposedly the first MIDI solution with no perceptible delay or latency, which is apparently a big issue with existing models on the market. The neck is also detachable making the guitar particularly easy to transport, and eventually there will be a set of optional heads you can attach for players who use them for positional reference.

Now for the Guitar Hero and Rock Band fans, the You Rock Guitar can also be used as a controller for those games thanks to a set of swappable cartridges that provide the wireless interface for consoles like the Wii. The fretboard is also labeled with a color coded guide on the side so players will know where to place their fingers. According to the product specialist I spoke to, the company is also working on an iPad app for the You Rock making it an even more portable experience, and it’s expected to be available in the next couple of months (I was told about 75 days) for $199.99.

[ You Rock Guitar ]

By Andrew Liszewski

This iCushion is the most faithful plush reproduction of the iPhone 3GS I’ve seen yet. Though it’s not perfect. They’ve definitely got the scale all wrong, as I understand it you may never see full bars when on AT&T and the battery reads 42% while my 3GS usually sits around ‘almost dead.’ But the silkscreen graphics appear to be a pretty accurate rip-off of the iPhone’s icons, so it definitely looks the part. And it’s got a price tag of around just $17. (19,800 KRW) FYI: To get a real iPhone for that much you’d have to sign up for a 35-year contract.

[ iCushion ] VIA [ Freshome ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While I’m sure LG will happily dispute Chinavasion’s claim that this Penthouse watch phone is the world’s smallest, I really don’t think they’re actually fooling anyone. Technically it’s compact enough to be strapped to your wrist, but terms like sleek and svelte don’t really come to mind when you see it being worn in the product shots.

As cellphones go it seems aptly capable with quad band GSM support, dual-sim card slots and Bluetooth since you’ll probably want to use a BT headset instead of holding this thing up to your ear ala Dick Tracy. It’s also got a 1.5 inch touchscreen display, though I question how well it works given the manufacturer has included a keypad and a 4-way directional controller. As a smartphone though, I’m afraid the Penthouse’s multimedia capabilities are rather lacking. Photos are captured at just 640×480, and the included 506kb of built-in memory means the included 1GB microSD card is a must-have accessory. Videos are even worse, maxing out at 176×144 AVI files with a 5fps framerate. Needless to say interested buyers will probably only be picking this thing up for its admittedly compact size, and its relatively cheap $113 price tag.

[ Penthouse Cell Phone Watch ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Well I can’t say I ever expected to wake up to news about a new cassette player again, let alone one from Sony, but that’s exactly what happened this morning. But it turns out their CFD-A110 isn’t exactly new, but was actually released 7 years ago, and is only getting a refresh so that it will be compatible with digital radio as the country will be ceasing analog broadcasts next year. So, um, for the 5 of you that might still care, the CFD-A110 hasn’t really gained much other functionality over the past 7 years. It’s still your basic radio/CD/cassette player with rudimentary Karaoke functions (no lyrics or anything, just a mic input) though somehow when this updated version becomes available in June it will retail for around $210!

[ Sony CFD-A110 ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Have you ever had one of those friends that always seemed to be texting the entire time they’re hanging out with you? Wouldn’t it be great if you could simply block their cell phone signal, forcing them to put down their phone for a bit? Or what about killing the phone signal in a theater, so you don’t have to hear someone’s Rick Astley ringtone halfway through your movie? All you need is this fancy Painting Cell Phone Jammer.

This somewhat generic piece of art does much more than sit on your wall and look mildly interesting. It can block the signals on several different cell phone frequencies. You can choose specific ones to block, and whether you want to block it for a moment, or until you decide to turn it off. All of this is controlled from a remote, allowing you to be rather inconspicuous about things. At a price of $150 for a device that can block signals in an 80 meter radius, I can think of a lot of people (mostly businesses) that would love to get their hands on one.

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By Andrew Liszewski

I won’t get into another rant about why I think simple standalone calculators are pointless these days, because I like everything about this one from Lexon’s new Safe Bamboo Renewable Energy line. I like the bamboo wood and white plastic (biodegradable) finish, I like the fact that the individual keys are also made from bamboo, and I love the font used on the 8-character LCD display. In fact their entire Bamboo line, which you can browse here, looks fantastic, including stylish clock radios, flash lights, travel clocks and even pens.

[ Lexon LC 69 Safe Calculator ] VIA [ Apartment Therapy Re-Nest ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While the iPad features the same 30-pin dock connector used by the iPhone and many of the iPod models, it’s larger size means it can’t be used with the docks featured on a plethora of iPod accessories, from stereos to alarm clocks. But that’s no longer a problem thanks to the CERULEAN Bluetooth receiver from iSkin. It’s a simple wireless adapter that’s small enough to sit in any iPod dock and streams music over A2DP from the iPhone, or any Bluetooth source.

It doesn’t require batteries since it draws power from the dock connector, and if you happen to be using it with a phone it will pause the music so you can answer a call, and resume playing once you hang up. Unfortunately though I think it’s a bit on the pricey side at $89.99 given it’s limited to only being used with Apple-specific accessories.

[ CERULEAN RX Stereo Bluetooth Receiver ] VIA [ GadgetReview ]

By Andrew Liszewski

At first glance I thought this Roller Buggy concept, which combines all the safety aspects of a baby seat and stroller with the reckless abandon of a scooter, was just a terrible idea. Particularly when used in a busy urban environment like seen in some of the product shots. But according to designer Valentin Vodev, a lot of care and safety concerns were taken into consideration when it was designed. In addition to an extra safety belt on the child seat, the Roller Buggy also features a set of hydraulic disc brakes on the front two wheels allowing the speed to be easily reduced at any time. Though taking it down a hill or riding it off a sweet plywood ramp in your driveway is probably still a terrible idea with a baby on board.

The Roller Buggy can also be transformed into a standard push stroller for use in places where scooting is frowned upon, and while I’m sure there will be plenty of uproar over child safety if this somehow ever becomes available for sale, with a little common sense it seems like a faster and generally more entertaining alternative way to get around with your little one.

[ Roller Buggy ] VIA [ Babyology ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I have little to no faith that the upcoming A-Team remake is going to be anything but terrible, but enduring the trailers has at least given me one glimmer of hope. It seems the classic A-Team van, easily one of the best characters from the original series, hasn’t suffered the same hideous Hollywood facelift as Optimus Prime and his cohorts received. Better yet, as the movie’s release date gets closer, the official tie-in toys are now available for pre-order, including this awesome 15-inch version of B.A. Baracus’ ride.

Apparently the electronically-enhanced van will play sounds and quotes from the movie based on which of the 4-inch figures are placed in the driver’s seat, but since no one will care about the new versions of our favorite A-Team characters, I highly recommend just picking up this van to serve as a replacement for Solo’s Millenium Falcon, or even Vader’s Tie Fighter. In fact Darth would have easily defeated those rebels were he tooling around the galaxy in this thing. $30.99 available from Entertainment Earth sometime in June.

[ A-Team 15-Inch Classic Van with Electronic Lights and Sounds ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]

P.S. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, then I highly recommend picking up the original episodes of the A-Team on DVD.