I’ve used the iPad for a couple of press events now and while it’s adequate as long as you don’t need to process any photography, bringing along a wireless keyboard is a must for any kind of serious note-taking. And if you’ve sprung for an iPad and need a wireless keyboard, there’s a good chance you’ve also ponied up for Apple’s own aluminum Bluetooth model. There’s also a good chance you’re still looking for a case, and WaterField Design’s new iPad Wallet could be just the thing if you need to carry your entire iPad ‘kit’.
It’s got padded scratch-free pockets for holding your iPad and charging/sync cables, and an offset pocket for your wireless keyboard so that the battery compartment sticking out of the bottom slides alongside the iPad, not on top of it. Of course you’re welcome to use the case with any wireless keyboard as long as it fits, but like I already said, Apple’s own offerings already go well together so there are probably a lot of users with the same combo. The iPad Wallet is available in 6 colors with distressed leather trim for $79, plus optional accessories like straps and d-rings so you can also use it as an over-the-shoulder bag.
It’s not uncommon for an Ulitmate Frisbee team to have discs printed with custom graphics like their logo, but a custom 3D design in the frisbee itself? Forget about it. But seriously, it’s probably best to forget you ever saw this since while these 3D printed FrisMes are incredibly cool, the basic model that includes a stock texture and your initials is $230 including shipping. And the price goes up from there, all the way to $1,300 if you fancy incorporating a 3D scan of your hand into the design, not including the cost of a trip to i.materialise’s HQ in Belgium to get the scan done.
Odds are if you’re really a stickler about having a matching interior in your car you’ve already got a built-in GPS unit in the dashboard, but TomTom’s new My Custom option is a handy way to have your navigation unit match the rest of your car if you’ve opted for an after-market unit. There’s a pretty large selection of pre-made designs to choose from on their website(depending on the model you choose) or you can upload your own images and add custom text all from their website. The printing itself is done by CafePress who have some experience with this kind of thing, and from what I can tell the added graphics add about $10 to the cost of the unit.
You’ll probably be seeing this on every gadget blog from here to Alpha Centauri this morning, but it’s too cool to pass up. LEGO has been responsible for some questionable electronics in the past, but this Wiimote looks like it has some potential. It features exposed studs on the top allowing you to decorate it however you want with the included 31 smooth-topped tiles, though there’s nothing stopping you from building onwards and upwards with your own collection of bricks instead. The underside is also LEGO-enhanced allowing you to build a custom docking station, or just let your imagination run wild with whatever Wiimote accessory you can think of and build. $39.99 available for pre-order now from Toys “R” Us.
Traveling via plane is great, as it lets you get to faraway locations in a fraction of the time it would take in a car. Unfortunately airlines are trying to find new ways to increase the cost of flying. One of their favorite ways to stick you it by charging you extra for multiple pieces of luggage, and overweight bags. The latter is especially tricky because people don’t often remember to weigh their bag when packing. Heck, I don’t even have a scale in my house, so I just hope that I’ve not packed my suitcase with too much stuff.
If you do much flying, you may want to check out the Balanzza Mini, a travel scale. This tiny scale will take up very little space in your bag (and only adds 1/3lb to your overall weight), and could save you a bundle. You need only attach it to the handle of your suitcase, and lift. The device has a 100lb capacity, which should be more than enough to deal with your luggage. The $25 price tag assures that it will pay for itself in no time.
The HP TouchSmart tm2t is a tablet. Not just any tablet, but a darn nice evolution over the previous generation TX2. Even the base configuration comes with a Core i3 processor, 6GB of ram and 500GB HDD. But today we’re looking at a slightly more muscly configuration, which after $350 in rebates ($150 off plus a $200 web-only stackable coupon) comes out to $884. For this price you get:
Core i5-430UM 1.2GHz processor, 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450 switchable graphics card, an external Blu-ray DVD+/-RW combo drive and 6GB DDR3 ram.
One online reviewer had this to say about the tm2:
The build quality is excellent, it’s got an aluminum casing, high-quality looks and one of the nicest touch-active digitizer displays we’ve seen as long as you don’t mind the gloss. The HP runs cool and quiet and battery life with the standard battery is very, very good.
Dyson’s vacuums, particularly their animal-specific models, do a great job at picking up pet hair, but they’re all really a passive solution to the problem. In Japan however, the company now sells this new Groom Brush accessory that can be used to pro-actively remove hair from your pet before it’s shed. It works just like your standard wire pet brush, but the teeth can retract when you’re finished causing any hair that has collected on them to be sucked into the vacuum. As a result it looks like it can be used when the vacuum is off in case you happen to have a pet who’s not so keen on them, though it probably works best when the Dyson is running while you’re brushing. ~$90(¥7,350) when purchased as an accessory, but I’m going to assume they offer it bundled with their animal-specific vacs as well.
We usually shy away from writing about devices that won’t be available for purchase in the near future, but we have to admit we’re intrigued by Hawking Technology’s wireless keyboard/touchpad combo that just made its way through the FCC. The company is better known for its networking gear, but based on this keyboard design we’d like to encourage them to branch out even more. Instead of individual keys the device has a large multi-touch capable surface that works as a keyboard or as a touchpad supporting up to 2 finger gestures. At 3.7 inches on its longest side it’s also conveniently compact and thin from the looks of it, though it forgoes Bluetooth for a 2.4GHz wireless connection to your PC via a USB dongle making this version unfortunately not compatible with keyboard-lacking smartphones.
Half the fun of building a custom LEGO creation is sharing it with others, and while most people settle for photographing their models on a homebrew white sweep, Peer Kreuger’s creations are often most impressive when moving and driving so filming them in motion is a must. As a result he’s created some brilliant miniature dollies from LEGO Technic allowing him to follow and track his vehicles while they’re being remotely driven. It might seem crazy and a little excessive at first, but once you see the videos I bet you’ll get just as excited about filming your LEGO models as you might be about building them.
Related Tags: 
Permalink | 
No Comments
