Even if you’re not an investigative reporter, private eye or just plain creepy, there are a lot of times when being able to record a telephone conversation could save your butt. In the past, wires and microphones were an essential part of documenting a call, but now all you need is this compact Mynah handset. Named after a bird that’s capable of mimicking humans, the handset connects to your cellphone via Bluetooth and has enough storage to record 340+ hours of calls on its lengthiest setting. Obviously if you want higher quality, you’ll be able to record less.
It has a host of features for documenting the date, time, number and duration of a call, and you can set it to record everything carte blanche, or only when you specifically tell it to. And like with a TiVo if you get halfway through a call and realize you probably should have recorded it, the Mynah actually records it all along and will simply save the entire call when you tell it to. The recordings can then be uploaded to your PC via a miniUSB connection, and on a single charge the handset is good for about 8 hours of record time. The Mynah won’t be officially shipping until December 28, but you can order one now from their site for $249.
Depending on who you ask, the Galaxy Tab from Samsung is either a solid contender to the iPad throne or a misguided attempt to bridge the gap between cellphones and tablets. Its 7 inches of screen real estate and an Android operating system are put together in an attractive and very functional manner, the crux of the argument being whether this size device even deserves existence. RIM’s co-CEO Jim Balsilie would say “7 inches is enough”; we think the customers will decide. And to help you make that decision, today we’re letting you know about this deal from the Home Shopping Network. Basically, you buy the Tab (on Sprint’s network) full price ($699) and get a $300 Visa debit card in the mail. That’s a 43% saving. The Tab features:
a 7″ touchscreen, 2GB internal memory, 3G capability via Sprint (data plan required), 802.11n wireless, 1.3-megapixel front camera, 3MP rear camera, Android 2.2 OS (Froyo), microSD card slot with 16GB card, and more.
If you’ve got kids, you’ve got crayons. And if you’ve got crayons, you’ve probably got a big container of tiny crayon nubs that are even too small for kid fingers. But Crayola themselves now have a way for you to recycle all those worn down bits into new crayons, mixing and mashing whatever colors you like together.
If you’re a stickler for color purity there’s nothing stopping you from making boring single-colored crayons again. But the truly adventurous out there will be cooking up tie-dye inspired creations, thinking outside the limits of the crayon box. Amazon’s got it for just $19.95 right now, but I suspect you’ll easily be able to find one at your local toy store once the Christmas rush is over.
Before today I would have assumed that LEGO’s Creationary mashup was the most asked for game this Christmas season, but now I’m not so sure. What kid would want to race the clock building random shapes and objects out of LEGOs when they can be shoving clay into a plastic daschund’s nose and then running around the living room trying to catch it while the dog defecates? And if my attempts to sell you on this game have been unfruitful (as far as I’m concerned the concept sells itself) here’s a commercial from Germany that’s sure to win over young and old alike.
It looks like Amazon UK still has the game in stock (shocking, I know!) for ~$46 (£29.66). Too late to get it under the tree for Christmas morning, but you can still be the gifting hero for the upcoming year of birthdays and other special events. I don’t say this enough, but thank-you Germany.
It’s almost Christmas, and you know what that means. Well yes, there are festive family get-togethers, spiritual rejoicing and gift exchanges. But I’m talking about that thing that comes right after Christmas. That’s right, taking down all of the lights you hung outside. Oh the joys of dragging out a ladder, and unhooking strand after strand of lights. At least when you’re hanging them, you can stand back and admire your work. After taking them down, all you get to see is the pile of cords you have to somehow wind up in an orderly fashion.
If you’ve got some cash to burn and are tired of dealing with the hassle of hanging Christmas lights, you might want to take a gander at the LiteLocker. It’s a system that hangs below your guttering (or anywhere, really) and houses a strand of lights. When it comes time to light up the house, you just open up the LightLocker boxes (broken into 4-foot pieces to accommodate most areas of your house) using a special tool. You don’t even have to climb a ladder, the tool reaches up and opens them. Closing it is just as simple.
Your neighbors will never know that you only spend a few minutes decorating your house each winter. Heck, you can order some of these and wait until it’s nice and warm outside to install them. A 24-foot set is going to run $70.
Besides mentally breaking down even the strongest of people, Christmas shopping is no cakewalk on your body either. So next year consider having this electronic compress ready and waiting when you get home from a trip to the mall. It’s got an aluminum head that can be heated to 110ºF, or cooled to 40ºF, in just 45 seconds, providing almost instant relief. And it looks like it’s no where near as messy as creams or chemical-based solutions, and I’m almost certain there’s no fear of it melting like an ice pack. The catch? It’s powered by 4xAA batteries which I’m sure it gobbles up in no time flat, and it’s $130.
Next to the kitchen and living room, the bathroom is probably the most frequented room in your house during the holidays. And with guests coming and going all day long are you willing to risk using a shoddy plastic toilet seat? I didn’t think so. If you want something that will stand up to the rigors and abuse of post-holiday feasting then carbon fiber is the only way to go. Some might say that $279 is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a toilet seat, but I suspect they’ve never experienced a seat failure firsthand. Trust me when I say that this carbon fiber alternative is money well spent.
It was just yesterday we brought you the CardSharp pocket knife which folded up into a credit card-sized package that was easy to stash in your wallet. But it looks like Iain Sinclair’s design shop has turned its shrink ray on more than just knives. Their Poco Pro digital camera also shares the same dimensions as a credit card, though a bit thicker, but manages to cram a host of impressive digicam features into its thin body.
It’s got a 14MP sensor that’s also able to capture 1080P video, I’m assuming at 30fps, to a microSD card up to 32GB in size. And in lieu of an optical viewfinder you’ll have to rely on its 2.4″ AMOLED display which features touch screen controls around the bezel. You also get auto focus, super macro capabilities, image stabilization, face recognition and limited DSLR-like manual controls like a mechanical shutter and continuously variable aperture. It even manages to squeeze in a set of mics with noise cancellation, a speaker and a 3.5mm headphone jack. All in a package that weighs just 65 grams thanks to a magnesium housing. Like the CardSharp though the Poco Pro won’t be available until next year, June to be specific, for north of $300 (£200) though you’re welcome to reserve one now for ~$150 (£100).
We all love to doodle on an iPad with our fingers as it brings back memories of the simple times of finger painting and building blocks. However, a stylus can come in super handy when you want a bit more control whilst writing on your fancy tablet. A cumbersome problem upon purchasing said stylus is that you have no way of attaching it to your iPad to keep track of it. This can be a very expensive pencil to lose, as they usually run for about $15 apiece. Ten One’s handy dandy product called the Particle Case solves just such a problem for those of you that want to use a stylus, but fear you might lose it a little too easily.
This rubbery black rectangle keeps the most exposed areas of your iPad safe, and has a little grippy thing for your stylus as well. The open back keeps your iPad nice and cool, and doesn’t add much weight to it. There are four little rubber feet on the bottom to provide some distance from whatever surface you may have it on. It is a bit awkward to store if it’s not in use as it’s not paper-thin and made of rubber, but it’s not as though it takes up much space.
Related Tags: Cellphones, Security, Spygear
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