Tired of not being able to charge your iPad on non-Apple computers or even older Apple hardware? Well with this $4.95 iXP1-500 USB adapter from XP1-Power you’ll never see that annoying ‘Not Charging’ message ever again. It sits between the iPad’s sync cable and the USB port on any PC and does some kind of hokus-pokus allowing the iPad to charge no matter the hardware. The website is completely vague and useless when it comes to how it works, but for just $5 this could be a case of who cares, as long as it does.
Have you ever been playing an FPS online and found yourself in the midst of a gruesome shootout, only to lose that last kill for the killstreak because your thumbs slide off of your analog sticks? Personally, I would love to throw the controller out the window at that point. To most of us, gaming is a lifestyle – one that takes blood, sweat, and tears. Well, this week we received one of the newest additions to the “lets prevent that from ever costing me that match again” line of accessories.
Introducing Grip-iTs from CompuExpert! Grip-iTs are small rubber covers for the analog sticks of your 360 or PS3 controller. They come in a package of four (two for your 360, and two for your PS3), and the packaging is eco-friendly! These covers are lightweight, and surprisingly comfortable. They fit right over the top of each analog stick for your controller. Not only do they almost completely eliminate the sweat from your battle-focused gaming thumbs, but they also seem to help increase precision. I personally tested these out while playing Modern Warfare 2, and it felt like I was able to get to a hiding spot, snap behind a corner, then snap right out to get a couple shots off for an easy kill. The Grip-iTs fit comfortably on the 360 controller, and become a part of the controller itself, making for a better gaming experience.
Remember Clocky? It was the alarm clock with a set of rubber tires that allowed it to drive off when the alarm sounded, forcing you out of bed in order to hunt it down and silence it. Well Tocky here is billed as its “tech savvy” younger brother, and instead of driving away on a set of tires, Tocky is able to simply roll away on its own once again forcing you to find where its ended up before you can silence the alarm.
Annoying for sure, though it’s probably a very effective way to wake up in the morning. But Tocky isn’t just a one-trick pony. Besides its built-in escape mechanism it also has a touch sensitive interface which makes setting the clock and alarms as easy as spinning your finger around the dial. It’s also got a voice recorder if you prefer to wake up to the sound of your own voice and can be connected to a PC in order to upload MP3s if you prefer to wake up to music. Tocky is available in bright, playful colors like orange, white, aqua and kiwi and were it not for its $79 price tag I’d say it was a must-have for those of us who have to fight our way out of bed each morn.
This will be the second time in less than a week that I’ve written about a writing utensil. Perhaps it’s just because I’ve been in a more artistic mood lately, though it could be a coincidence. When we think about the substances used for writing, it’s usually either graphite or ink. Last week we showed you a new pencil that uses something that is a hybrid of the two. Today I’ve found a pencil that uses lead.
You might think that a pencil using lead isn’t a radical concept, as we use lead in them all the time. However, pencils have always contained graphite, not lead. It was actually a misconception back in the 1500′s when a large deposit of graphite was discovered in England. It was mistakenly thought to be a form of lead, and thus labeled as such. The name stuck, and despite being factually inaccurate, we still refer to the graphite in pencils as lead.
A lot of accessories for handheld devices like smartphones are designed to work with a specific model, and even if you’re a die-hard iPhone or Android loyalist, you’re not going to be using the same handset your entire life. And that’s part of the reason we like this iCarpus stand so much.
In essence it’s just a big spring loaded clamp that can grab onto any device small enough to fit into its grip. The edges are coated with a non-slip rubber to protect your gear and prevent it from sliding around on a table, and when not in use it folds down flat and is easy to stash in a pocket. The other reason we like it? It’s just $12 currently being sold through Amazon.
While there’s not a lot of details about the inner workings of this new Volare hair dryer from Conair’s BaByliss Pro line, it’s apparently powered by a Ferrari designed 2,200W V12 electric motor and will run for an impressive 2,000 hours. The Nano Titanium Volare V1, which comes in either black or traditional Ferrari red (and compact versions of each) produces a blast of air that’s just over 80mph, and a turbo button increases airflow pressure an additional 15%. So it’s no surprise that it runs somewhere in the neighborhood of $400, and is only available to professionals. Word is an exclusive FXX version of the Volare is also available, though buyers never actually take ownership and can only use the hair dryer at Ferrari’s official salon in Maranello.
I think most of us can agree that R2-D2 is one of the coolest droids out there. So it’s only natural that the new Verizon Droid 2 is going to have a special limited edition R2-D2 version. This is likely being done to celebrate the anniversary of The Empire Strikes back, which is this year. There aren’t a lot of details floating around just yet, but we should hear more when the device is officially unveiled at this weekend’s Star Wars Celebration V.
From Oregon Scientific comes this pretty standard heart rate monitoring watch with a few extra tricks up its sleeve. Besides monitoring and displaying your current, average and maximum heart rate, the Tap On Elite also keeps track of your calories burned, fitness level and your body mass index. And it’s called the ‘Tap On’ because while it does have buttons on the side, in order to change modes you just simply tap on the watch’s face.
It’s also got a dehydration warning, though it doesn’t seem to have any means to actually measure your body’s hyrdation level but instead tries to intelligently predict your fluid loss and prompt you to rehydrate at certain intervals. Presumably correctly selecting one of its 3 exercise profiles; jogging, running or cycling, will provide more timely and accurate prompts. The stopwatch and timer is also pretty standard fare for a fitness-oriented watch, as is the 50 meter water resistance, and it’s available directly from Oregon Scientific for $99.99.
Yeah, I know. While we try to avoid concepts here as much as possible, every once in a while I come across a fairly convincing rendered product shot that gives faux credibility to an idea that will probably never come to fruition. Such is the Vertrax treaded skateboard. It looks incredibly cool, I’ll give designer Bryson Lovett credit there, but I see a host of issues that will ensure this probably never replaces the traditional skateboard. From anything and everything getting caught up in the rear-wheel mechanism, to the inability to grind on any surface. It also appeals to reduce cube gleaming by about 35%. According to the ‘specs’ it would be electric powered and whisper quiet though, but since it’s just a concept, the designer can really claim it could do anything.
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