By Andrew Liszewski

It probably won’t appeal to everyone, but if you’re a card-carrying, mini-button wearing hipster who’s desperate to let everyone know what small indie band you’re currently forcing yourself to listen to in order to seem trendy, this is right up your alley. Designed and manufactured by a New York-based company, the Playbutton comes pre-loaded with music or audio that can’t be changed or actually even shuffled oddly enough.

A simple set of play controls on the back let you skip tracks though, and the headphone jack also doubles as the charging port for the built-in lithium battery. The front of the button can obviously be used to display album art or more likely your favorite photo from Hipstamatic, and according to their website the Playbutton should be available sometime this month.

[ Playbutton ] VIA [ Josh Spear ]

By Ian Chiu

In certain situations and environments, physical security is going to be paramount in your data backup and recovery plan. Maybe you are a SOHO business, or just have a lot of precious data that you want to be sure will survive no matter what natural disaster hits your home! For situations like this, nothing beats offsite storage. Sadly, this is not an option for everyone, and as strange as it may seem some services offer barely above the “dial-up connection” transfer speed levels. So, an alternative is fire and water proof storage solutions.

One such example, which is not only durable (and yes we tried our best to kill the darn thing!) but is also fast is the ioSafe SoloPRO USB 3.0 hard drive. This bad boy not only boasts fire protection of 1550ºF for 30 minutes (meeting the ASTM E119 specifications) and is waterproof (though only the hard drive as the unit WILL be dead after water immersion), it also boasts a USB 3.0 interface. This combination makes it as fast as an internal hard drive would be while still being much more durable in case of bad things happening to your environment. As a nice little bonus ioSafe even includes free data recovery service if their device does fail (first year only, with extensions of up to 4 more years available). On paper, it sounds awfully tempting as peace of mind is priceless.

How does it fare in real life? The 1TB Hitachi hard drive is not exactly going to win any speed contests but was found to be more than “good enough”. The only real down side is its price of $249 for only 1TB of space, which makes this solution a tad pricey for some people’s budgets. Everything USB has the full review.

[ ioSafe SoloPRO USB 3.0 Hard Drive Review @ Everything USB ]

By Andrew Liszewski

There are practical reasons why the production version of the Chevy Volt doesn’t look anything like the original concept they unveiled, and while I’m sure it will still sell well, there’s no doubt people would have preferred something that looks as futuristic as this eco-friendly toy car does, even if it’s completely and utterly impractical.

The charging station, which looks like it’s also involved in the SETI project, features an 11-inch parabolic mirror which reflects sunlight onto a Stirling engine where expanding and contracting air forces a piston to move up and down, which in turn powers a small generator. That generator can then be used to recharge the car’s AAA NiMH battery, giving it about five minutes of run-time on a 3-hour charge. Your kids might not be thrilled about having to wait 3 whole hours just to watch this thing race across the floor for 5 minutes, but at least they’re learning why the Stirling engine never caught on. (That’s the lesson here right?) $200 from Hammacher Schlemmer.

[ Solar Stirling Engine Racer ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Now you can finally bring home those laser-based animations that blew your mind at DisneyWorld or that last concert you went to with this laser projector from Chinavasion (~$110). It features a 70mw greeen laser that’s pre-programmed to draw one of several animated cartoons including such classics as the non-descript royalty-free version of Frosty the Snowman, a dinosaur fleeing extinction, a first year animation student’s headless walk cycle and the legless dancing girl. It can also project random patterns of squares, circles and lines if you just want to get trippy, and if you place it near a speaker the laser pattern can even react to sounds or music thanks to the projector’s built-in microphone.

[ Animated Laser Projector ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Have unreasonable deadlines, unpaid overtime and gossipy co-workers sucked the love out of your office? Well SUCK UK has just the cure. They’ve taken your standard metal hole punch and replaced the cold, sterile circle-shaped dies with heart shaped versions that turn every document into a symbol of the love you have for your job and those you work with. The fact that it’s only a 2-hole punch instead of a 3-hole is a little annoying, but if anyone complains you can just sprinkle them with heart-shaped confetti, I’m sure that will cheer them right back up! ~$16 (£10.00) available directly from SUCK UK.

[ Heart Hole Punch ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Those tiny indoor RC helicopters have remained popular for a few years now, and while being able to fly one around your living room is what makes them fun, apparently some pilots don’t want to put in the effort. So the TRex, available from Brando for a mere $37.90, includes a hands-free mode. Using the included IR remote you hit a ‘record’ button and then pilot the helicopter through a series of maneuvers. After that the helicopter will replay the same flight over and over without requiring you to do so much as look up from the TV. Fun!

Like with any of the miniature RC vehicles on the market the TRex can be charged from the remote, or plugged into a computer’s USB port which should conserve the 6xAAs inside the controller. It also seems to provide more bang for your buck than the choppers you’ll find at most toy stores with a metal housing, full forward, back left and right steering and even a turbo speed mode when you don’t feel like delaying the inevitable collision.

[ TRex Indoor RC Helicopter ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Caitlyn Muncy

Here is a case worth looking at! I’ve seen a lot of cases for the iPhone 4; some are extremely heavy duty, some being flimsy and utterly useless.  The Vandelay Case by AGF is a wonderful middle ground between almost non-existent and big and bulky.

Coming in a micro-patterned red or black microfiber backing, these cases look good and do their job simultaneously. Two layers or polycarbonate protect your phone from harm, and fit onto a swivel holster with a locking feature that can turn it into a mini stand. The holster was also designed to hold the phone either facing in or out, depending on your preference.

Read the rest of this entry »

By David Ponce

We end the week with VIZIO. The E421VA is a 42-inch full 1080p HDTV, which can be yours for the ridiculously low price of $528, after a $182 rebate. This is the lowest price the LogicBuy team has found; this set usually sells for $669. But nevermind the special for a moment. I’d like for you to ponder: for this price, five years ago… what could you get? A large CRT, maybe? And how much could a 42-inch HDTV have set you back a mere 2 year ago? I say: $200 70-inch local-dimming LED 4k HDTVs within 5 years! Who’s with me?

In any case, the E421VA has “Full HD 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, Ambient Lighting, 50000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio, two built-in 10W speakers, 4 HDMI inputs and more.”

[ $182 Off VIZIO E421VA 42-inch LCD HDTV ] VIA [ LogicBuy ]

By Andrew Liszewski

18 years of schooling taught me that watching the clock makes time run about half as fast as normal, but this 5-to-9 clock actually uses that to its advantage. Created by Lamplabs, a new design company with an emphasis on lighting, the 5-to-9 is your basic circular analog clock, but with the sections from 9pm to 5pm removed. That way it only emphasizes the hours when you’re not at work or not sleeping. And if you spend that precious amount of time staring at this clock, it will make it seem like a lot longer than just 4 hours.

The clock’s also got a lead weight on a chain hanging off it that “symbolically represents the counterbalance required to achieve a measured life.” So yeah, that part is a little unnecessary and kinda preachy, but I still think the clock has a clever design. And if you agree you’ll want to head over to Kickstarter where you can pledge/pre-order one in white for $85, or your choice of cherry veneer, bamboo or maple plywood finish for $100. Just keep in mind it’s one of those sites that requires a minimal amount of promised funds before it goes into production, and with just $195 of this project’s $2,500 goal pledged, I have a feeling it might not ever see the light of day.

[ Kickstarter - 5 to 9 clock ] VIA [ Freshome ]