Audio cassette tapes may be nearly extinct, but they’re definitely not forgotten. Or for at least as long as ‘retro’ remains in style. These EOS Mixtape watches pay homage to the golden days of album piracy with a dial composed of two movable discs that look like the movement of a real cassette tape. The right dial also includes the requisite hour and minute hands for telling time, and since the faux spindle of tape will never make it over to the other side, you don’t ever have to worry about flipping it over. They’re available from ShopAdorn in a black on black, gold on black and blue on white finish (not pictured) for $135 each.
I understand the convenience of having an en suite washer and dryer, but is this Mini Tumble Dryer really a worthwhile compromise? Designed for those with extremely limited space, the dryer’s only 20x8x5 inches in size according to Buy as you fly, and has a capacity of just 2lbs! So it might come in handy if you’ve got half a towel to dry, or like to re-use Kleenex’s, but not if they’re wet. Most surprisingly though is the dryer’s $149(£99.99) price tag, though I guess since it doesn’t come with any ventilation hookups, buying one is like getting a room humidifier for free!
Currently on display at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, Homage 1 is a fully poseable Transformer created by Dustin Wallace as a unique artistic toy. But what’s unique about it you ask? Well for starters it’s entirely made from machined aluminum, so not only does it look way cooler than the plastic versions you’ll find in the toy aisle, but the pointy bits also give you a reason to never let it fall into little peanut-butter covered hands. It transforms from a loose interpretation of a jet to a 17-inch tall robot, and while the ‘commercial’ I’ve included below showing it being transformed isn’t as exciting as the ones I grew up with in the 80′s, it doesn’t make me want one any less.
And there’s good news if you do want one and have an extra $800 laying around! Homage 1 is available for purchase, and will be custom made once ordered taking about 3 to 4 weeks to complete. But once 100 of them are produced, that’s it.
It’s pretty obvious what this FlingPC remote is designed to do, but if you’re sitting there furrowing your brow in a vain attempt to remember where you’ve seen the likes of it before, let me save you the headache. It’s basically a Wiimote for your PC. It connects to your Windows-based system via Bluetooth and pretty much includes everything Nintendo’s own motion remote has such as vibration feedback, a gyro sensor, a trigger button and it even borrows the Nunchuck’s analog control stick. Unfortunately the vast array of motion-based games shown in the product shot aren’t included with the controller, so in addition to the $109 for the FlingPC remote, you’ll have to pony up some extra funds for games that support it. In other words, just buy a Wii if you’re one of the 24 people who already haven’t.
Remember late last year when we told you about AT&T’s iPhone app that let you report poor network coverage? It seemed like a great idea, if the company actually put the information gathered to good use. There was some debate as to whether they were rally going to ramp up coverage in the areas reported, or if the app was simply a way to make us feel a little better about the company who was dropping our calls.
This week AT&T has started sending out text messages to some users, letting them know that they are indeed increasing network capacity in some areas. The texts are direct responses to the feedback that some people reported with their iPhone app. It’s great to see that they are listening, even if they are slow to act.
Violight, the company best known for their bacteria and germ killing UV toothbrush sanitizers, have decided that people should be just as worried, if not moreso, about the microscopic stowaways on their personal electronics. So they’ve created a new sanitizer large enough to accommodate smartphones and MP3 players, though they also recommend it using it on your headphones and bluetooth earpieces. Like Violight’s other products, the cellphone sanitizer uses UV light to kill 99% of germs and bacteria in mere minutes, without harming your electronics with chemicals or liquid cleaners. It’s targeted for launch in October for $49.95, and I guess in the meantime we should just keep all of our toys hermetically sealed in plastic bags, just in case.
We’ve all stared in awe at Ben Heck’s stunning portable console mods, and then looked longingly at our own systems, wishing we even knew where to begin making our own. But while none of Ben’s creations have gone into mass production, a company called Gaming and Entertainment Mobile Systems, or GAEMS(yes, hilarious), have created a solution that makes it easy to turn your Xbox 360 into fun on-the-go, and eventually other consoles as well.
In essence it’s a suitcase that features a 15 inch, 720P LCD display in the lid, a collection of speakers and a place for your 360 console which is protected with a layer of dense polyurethane foam. GadgetReview had a chance to check out the GAEMS suitcase at E3 this year, and while the design isn’t finalized (apparently the power cords were still getting pinched whenever it was closed up) the company is hoping to have it perfected and available to the public by the end of the year for about $250.
Your immediate reaction to the iBallz might be to just shake your head like I did, but after giving them the benefit of the doubt and checking out their site (which includes an amazing corporate ‘rap’ about the product) I think there’s some merit to this truly unique iPad ‘case.’ It definitely looks like it will protect your tablet, keeping it up off of any hard surface, but at the same time it doesn’t block any of the ports or buttons either. The rubber balls are held in place with a cord which can be tightened to secure them, or loosened to take them off, and you can even place one of the balls underneath the iPad to prop it up to a better viewing angle. And at just $19.99 it’s one of the cheapest ways to protect your iPad short of it never taking it out of the box.
Sony continues with their ‘me too!’ mentality with last week’s announcement of their new Portable USB Power Supply Adapter. It’s apparently available now, though a 20-minute search of Sony’s various sites around the world returned no indication of its existence besides this vague press release on the Sony Europe site. But from what I can tell, it features a modular design with one half serving as a charger/ac adapter, while the other features a rechargeable Li-Ion battery and a USB port for topping off any gadgets that can charge over USB. Unfortunately I’ve no idea what the battery’s capacity is or just how many devices it can recharge, or even how much it will set you back.
Related Tags: Design, Retro, Watches
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