By Andrew Liszewski

I’ve never had the… um… fortune of playing one, but apparently rolling a 20 on those incredibly multi-sided die is a really good thing during a role-playing game. So much so that ThinkGeek has gone to the trouble of creating this ‘Critical Hit’ die ($9.99) that flashes when a player rolls a 20. Now they make every assurance that the die remains evenly weighted even though it’s now chock full of electronicy bits and LEDs, but I suspect it would still end up providing an excuse for your fellow players to cry foul if things don’t go their way! So buyer beware I guess.

[ Critical Hit LED D20 Die ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The iPhone’s built-in speaker has never been one of its strong points, nor has its battery life. So taking both of those issues into consideration Griffin has created yet another non-powered ‘speaker’ for the iPhone 4 with their AirCurve Play. But instead of using electromagnetism and paper cones, the AirCurve features an “internal engineered waveguide” made of polycarbonate plastic that promises to boost the volume of the iPhone 4′s own speaker by +10dB. The iPhone is held securely in place via a rubber gasket with the side buttons and dock port still accessible, and thanks to a built-in kickstand the acoustic amplifying ‘dock’ is able to sit in either a portrait or landscape hands-free orientation. $19.99 available directly from Griffin.

[ Griffin AirCurve Play ] VIA [ Gearlog ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Tea is apparently the most popular beverage on the planet, which boggles my mind since it also happens to be the most disgusting in my opinion. And lately, like with coffee, making tea has become more than just boiling a pot of water and tossing in some leaves. Different varieties call for different brewing techniques for optimal flavor. Many years ago Nestle made it a lot easier for the average coffee drinker to whip up the perfect cup at home with their Nespresso machine, and now they’re hoping to do the same for tea fans with their Special.T machine.

Like with the coffee grounds for the Nespresso, the tea for the Special.T machine comes in pre-portioned aluminum capsules in 25 different varieties so every tea fan should find a flavor they enjoy. And the Special.T machine automatically calculates the optimal brewing time and temperature to release the full flavors of the tea being steeped. Now at the moment the Special.T system is being exclusively trialed in France, which turns out to be the largest market for capsule-based coffee makers in the world, and following that it will be made more widely available throughout Europe and presumably the rest of the world eventually. The machine sells for ~$180 (€129) while 10-packs of tea capsules run ~$4.80 (€3.50).

[ Nestle Special.T ] VIA [ Gizmag ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you find your desk severely lacking in the adorable department, this novelty tractor trailer-themed USB hub + flash card reader will remedy that. Always ready to deliver extra connectivity or photos from your digital camera, the cab includes three USB ports while the trailer includes slots for pretty much all the important flash card formats from SD & CF to MemoryStick. The trailer is also removable if you just need a few extra USB ports, and when the cab’s USB cable is connected to your PC the truck’s headlights turn on letting you know it’s ready to roll. Available from Sanwa Direct for just over $18 (¥1,480).

[ USB Hub/Flash Card Readin' Tractor Trailer ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Andrew Liszewski

When the iPad honeymoon is over, and you realize that it’s great the 3% of the time when you just want to surf or read, but nearly useless the other 97% of the time when you want to do something productive, you can either throw it up on Craigslist and replace it with the laptop you probably should have bought in the first place, or find some way to fix its shortcomings.

If you decide to go the latter route, for just another $149 you can turn the iPad into a pseudo-notebook with this Crux360 clamshell case which includes a Bluetooth connected keyboard. The case can also be contorted around allowing you to still use your iPad as an even heavier tablet, or propped up on its own for watching movies. And when completely closed the case protects your iPad’s display from accidental wear and tear while traveling. It’s not slated to ship until next month, but you’re welcome to pre-order one now if you’re so inclined.

[ Crux360 iPad Clamshell Keyboard Case ] VIA [ TechFresh ]

By Caitlyn Muncy

Have you ever dropped your phone and that moment of absolute panic, thinking the worst may have happened? Here is a case that will cure clumsiness with a phone and make sure you don’t have to worry if your phone takes a fall.

The Ballistic HC series case has four layers of drop-proof protection. If you just bought a new iPhone 4, you need this case to keep your phone in tip-top shape. With about ¾ of an inch of protection, there’s more casing than phone, and that means you could throw your phone at a wall, and it will survive with zero damage.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Liszewski

Available starting November 18 for ~$30 (¥2,500) this MUJI bathroom deodorizer is designed to look like your standard roll of toilet paper, allowing it to hide in plain sight in your bathroom where it can be most effective. And unlike sprays, which can often be worse than the smell they’re trying to hide, this uses a fragrance-free deodorant gel which evaporates and is blown into the room via a fan, neutralizing other smells. The deodorant is good for about 2 months at which point you’ll have to shell out ~$5 for a replacement, and a set of 4xAA batteries should keep the fan running for just as long.

[ Impress Watch - MUJI, Deodorant-Type Toilet Unit ] VIA [ InventorSpot ]

By Andrew Liszewski

So this one’s a little hard to wrap your head around, but you can think of the Golf Mobile Boomerang as a kind of cross between golf and tether ball. It’s designed to be a portable aid that lets golfers practice and improve their swing without requiring access to an entire course. You won’t be able to use it in your home or office, but in a relatively spacious backyard you should be able to swing away without worrying about your balls rocketing their way through your neighbor’s windows.

The Golf Mobile Boomerang device includes a set of special balls which are all actually tethered to the main unit via a thin filament. So you can not only program the device to limit how far the ball travels, no matter how hard you swing, but they’re also automatically retrieved when the filament is wound back in. And based on how quickly the filament is unraveled when the ball is hit, the GMB can also calculate how far and fast the ball would have traveled were it not tethered, providing golfers with some quantitative data as to how they’re improving their game. Of course golf is most enjoyable when you have a healthy budget because the Golf Mobile Boomerang will set you back $1,242!

[ Golf Mobile Boomerang ] VIA [ Luxury Housing Trends ]

By David Ponce

Think about this for a minute. You can now get 55 inches of glorious 1080p high definition television for less than $1,000. Much less in fact, since with today’s $502 rebate, you can get the VIZIO E550VA 55-inch set for $897.99. Yeah, 900 bucks. For that price you get 1080p Full HD, 120Hz refresh rate, SRS TruSurround HD audio, Ambient Light Sensor, 50000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio, 4 HDMI inputs, two 15W built-in speakers, and more.

VIZIO is a brand that built a name for itself by offering reasonably priced TV sets with competitive quality. This is reflected in their impressive growth that went from $600,000 in revenues and three employees in 2002 to an estimated $2Billion+ in 2007, according to Wikipedia.

[ $502 Off VIZIO 55-Inch LCD ] VIA [ LogicBuy ]