Oh! Gizmo

By Luke Anderson

I’m a geek and proud of it. I have Star Wars posters hanging in my office, and I carry at least three gadgets with me everywhere I go (more if I bring my laptop bag). I would not, however, even consider for a moment wearing these pants which feature a built-in keyboard, mouse and speakers.

Some guy decided that he was tired of carrying around a keyboard and mouse all the time, so he actually stitched them into a pair of pants, along with a pair of speakers. I’m not quite sure how they transmit to your PC, or just where the batteries are kept, but I can’t imagine these being comfortable to wear or use. Plus I can’t imagine the kind of ridicule one would receive for wearing them out in public.

VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Evan Ackerman

You might remember that I wrote about Logitech’s MX Air last July, under the headline “Logitech’s MX Air Mouse Is Real, Spectacular.” I think spectacular might be an understatement now that I was finally able to wrangle myself a review unit to try out for a little while. The idea behind the MX Air is that you can use it as a normal wireless laser mouse, or you can pick it up and a gyroscopic sensor will kick in, letting you use it just as effectively in mid air. It’s hands down one of the sexiest peripherals I’ve ever had the pleasure of fondling, and unlike a lot of things that look this good, it’s intelligent and functional. But is it worth the $150 asking price? I think I can probably convince you… Read my full review, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

By Evan Ackerman

I’m not kidding, take a look:

Although you can hold the Swiftpoint Slider like a pen, it’s primarily designed to work like a normal mouse, except on top of your keyboard: you put your thumb in the groove on the mouse, and you can mouse around without needing an additional surface for a mousepad, or having to deal with the limited area of a touchpad. Pinching the mouse with your finger allows access to the click buttons. If that doesn’t make sense, I completely understand, and there’s a video of how it works after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

By Luke Anderson

Two-in-one (or more) convergence devices are always hit-or-miss. Some things just don’t need to be combined into a single product. I mean, you wouldn’t want your toaster to also work as a measuring cup, would you? Here’s a flash drive from Asus that also functions as a wireless mouse. While it’s not nearly as bad as my toaster idea (patent pending) I just don’t see this as being something I would want to use for even a short amount of time.

As a flash drive, it looks bulkier than most, and I likely wouldn’t want to carry it in my pocket. As a mouse, my hand starts cramping up at the mere though of using something that tiny. I think I’ll have to pass on this one. If you’re interested, you’ll be sad to hear that pricing and availability aren’t currently known.

[ Asus ] VIA [ EverythingUSB ]

By Luke Anderson

I’ve worked in a couple of different places where everyone seems to think that we work better when we’re freezing. Perhaps they think that merely by typing faster that we can warm our hands up, which would increase productivity. Thankfully these days I’m the one that controls the thermostat, so I keep it as warm as I like. However, for those of you that need a little something extra to keep you warm, you might look into this USB Infrared Warmer Mouse.

This mouse will keep your hand plenty warm, just plug it into your USB port and switch it on. The device will heat up to between 40-45°C (104-113°F), which should be enough to keep you warm. Just grab a cup of warm coffee with the other hand and you’re good to go.

[ USBFever ] VIA [ GeekAlerts ]

By Luke Anderson

I’m fortunate to work in an environment where I don’t have anyone looking over my shoulder, making sure that I’m staying on-task. I’ve had those jobs in the past, and I’ve discovered that I am less productive when my work is constantly monitored. In those days I would have loved for a mouse such as this one, which will bring up a specific program with the click of a button.

This of course would be useful in a situation when one is surfing the net or brushing up on their solitaire skills. Just click the side button and it’ll pull up Excel or whatever important-looking program you choose. You can pick one up for just $19.99.

[ USBFever ] VIA [ RedFerret ]

By Andrew Liszewski

You know I’m not sure if so-called ‘inventors’ will ever run out of things that can be crammed into a computer mouse. This time a simple 800dpi laser mouse with scroll wheel has been augmented with a miniature vacuum cleaner. There’s a power switch on the side for turning the vacuum function on and off, and the mouse needs to be tethered to a USB port in order to draw sufficient power to run the motor.

You can open up the back-end and access a miniature dust/crumb reservoir, but given its size it will probably need to be emptied after every muffin or bag of chips. But if cleanliness sits higher on your list of priorities than ergonomics, this looks like the right mouse for the job.

[ USB Vacuum Mouse ] VIA [ Everything USB ]

By Luke Anderson

Do you ever have issues fitting all of your gear into your gadget bag? I tend to carry more than I probably should, so I’m constantly searching for smaller gadgets to take with me. This inflateable mouse has to be one of the most bizarre devices made to keep your travel bag light.

The idea is that you can still have a full sized mouse when you need it, but have it only take up minimal space. When it’s deflated, you can just stick it under the lid of your laptop and you’re good to go. Of course on the flip side, you’ll be the butt of jokes everywhere as you blow up your mouse. I’m sure there are some people out there that would find this interesting to use, but I’d certainly pass.

VIA [ Yanko ]

By Luke Anderson

I used to work for a grade school as computer tech. This has to have been the smallest grade school in the state, as there were barely over a hundred students in the entire school. With a low attendance, there weren’t many computers to worry about, and thus I had a lot of free time on my hands. What I found really strange is that the teachers and principal always thought I was extremely busy. My boss said that so long as the principal thought I was busy, I was pretty much free to do as I pleased, which was a pretty sweet gig (even if the pay wasn’t great). I just had to make sure I looked busy when she walked in, which meant some fast window-swapping. I would have gladly paid $24 (plus shipping from Japan) for one of these Phantom mice.

I’ve seen several devices that will make a specific window jump to the front, but none so cleverly hidden as the small button above the scroll wheel on this mouse. Just a quick click and it would look as though I were hard at work updating the lunch menu on the school website. The included software lets you pick what program you’d like to jump to the front, which should be quite handy.

[ Thanko ] VIA [ Newlaunches ]

How many of you own HTPCs? I’ve owned one in the past, but since I can now watch DivX movies on my Xbox 360, I’ve since decided to decommission it. When I did use a PC in my living room, there was always the hassle of having a keyboard and mouse lying around. It wasn’t too awful, as I had a Gyration set that was small, wireless and easy to use. However, Logitech’s new diNovo Mini looks like the perfect keyboard/mouse solution.

The mini-keyboard has all of the essentials that you’ll need. The full QWERTY keyboard reminds me of the one on on my old Cingular 8125 (and likely that of my HTC Mogul that should be showing up on my doorstep any time) which should be comfortable enough for what little typing is necessary. The best part has to be the small integrated ClickPad which serves as both a trackpad and directional pad. It communicates with your PC via Bluetooth and will run for around a month on Li-ion batteries. Look for it to hit stores later this month for around $150.

[ Logitech ] VIA [ PCLaunches ]