Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re a heavy Skype user this travel mouse will slightly reduce the number of laptop accessories you have to carry while away from home. It’s a pretty basic 800dpi optical mouse, with two buttons and a scroll wheel but it’s the Skype features that set it apart.

First off there’s a 128×64 pixel LCD display on top which can display caller ID and other info. The mouse also slides open to reveal a standard numeric keypad, allowing you to answer a call or dial a number without having to use the computer it’s connected to. Of course if you feel stupid holding the mouse to your head to answer a call, it also has a hands free speakerphone option. And besides not looking stupid, it also allows you to use the computer while talking to someone.

You can find the Skype Travel Mouse at Gadget-usb.com for $42.50.

[ Portable Skype Travel Mouse ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The Noisy Phone is designed for people who are hard of hearing, or are living in a college dorm where it’s a 24/7 party since its adjustable ringer can be set as loud as 83dB. For comparison, that’s about as loud as traffic at a busy intersection, but inside your home. And even if you don’t hear the ringer, the phone has a super bright red flasher that also indicates when there’s an incoming call.

What makes me curious though is that when you scroll down on the NoisyPhones.com website you’ll see the phone actually comes with a free copy of Jack Cagney’s Sentimental Journey Super 10 Track CD. Not only that, but to protect your privacy the phone will appear on your credit card statement as ‘Sentimental Records.’ Personally I would be more embarrassed about ordering that CD, than a phone that was a little on the loud side.

The Noisy Phone is available for about $144 but when you consider you’re also getting the musical stylings of “Gentleman” Jack Cagney, you’ll realize that’s a steal.

[ Noisy Phone ] VIA [ Tech Digest ]

By Luke Anderson

I can barely remember a time in my life when the Simpsons weren’t on the air. That’s not at all uncommon to hear, as the show has been running for nearly two decades. If you’ve been a dedicated fan all these years, why not check out this cool Homer Simpson Phone?

The phone features Homer napping in a rather comfortable-looking chair. However, once a call comes in, he instantly wakes up and begins spouting off one of six memorable catch phrases. With only six different phrases, it might get old fast. You can pick one up for $44.

[ Go Goods ] VIA [ Uber Review ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It’s no secret that I’m the type of person who takes very good care of their gadgets and while at times it might border on paranoia in the end it usually pays off when I get bored with the device and want to sell it for a decent return. It’s also no secret that while the iPhone was one of the most anticipated gadgets to come along since the invention of gadget blogs it’s also turned out to be one of the most fingerprint prone devices I’ve ever touched.

So even before I asked the salesperson at the Apple store if they had any iPhones in stock I first made sure they had screen protectors available since I had no intentions of even touching the phone until it was properly protected. While at the Apple Store I was also tempted to buy a protective case for the phone but being a fan of WaterField Designs I figured I would wait and see what they were cooking up instead.

Thankfully after only a brief wait the company released their iPhone Smart Case and iPhone Suede Jacket Case which I had the opportunity to take a look at. If you’ve been in the market for a case for your iPhone and haven’t been that impressed with what’s available at the Apple stores you can check out my full review of WaterField Designs’ offerings after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Liszewski

If the security of your home or office is your second biggest concern right behind being cheap then this motion sensing phone could be an affordable alternative to an expensive security system. When activated the phone uses a built-in infrared sensor with a range of about 20-30 feet that can detect changes in the room’s temperature made by someone moving about. If someone is detected the Telespy will dial a preset phone number allowing you to listen in on the activities in the room thanks to a second condensor mic strategically located on the exterior of the phone. (In addition to the one in the handset.)

While you’re only limited to about 30 seconds of spying on the room that should be more than enough time to determine if something nefarious is going down. And in case you were wondering the Telespy also functions just like a normal phone so if the intruder decides to make a call they won’t be tipped off as to the device’s real purpose.

The Telespy is currently available from Smarthome for $84.99.

[ Telespy Security Phone ] VIA [ productdose ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I actually upgraded my trusty Nokia E61 to the HTC S710 over a month ago and while I really wanted to write a full review of the phone I haven’t had the time thanks to my ‘day job.’ Thankfully Thomas De Maesschalck over at DV Hardware did have the time to write one and overall he gives the phone an 8.5/10. For the specifics you can read his full review but here are my own impressions of the S710 after playing with it for a month now.

While the E61 was one of the best phones I’ve ever used I decided I wanted something a bit smaller and more importantly a phone with more 3rd party applications. Even after being out for over a year the list of apps available for the E61 was pretty dismal. At the same time I still wanted a dedicated keyboard so when I saw the S710 with its nifty slideout keyboard I knew it was the perfect fit.

So far the phone has been pretty good. Having been away from mobile versions of Windows for many years I can’t comment much on the upgrades made to Windows Mobile 6 but like most MS operating systems there have been a few hiccups here and there. Definitely more than the E61 ever had. On the plus side though there’s a mountain of 3rd party applications available which I really like. As for form factor for what the S710 is capable of it’s still remarkably small and pocketable. It is a bit on the heavy side but at the same time it tends to make the phone feel more solid than anything. And I have to say I’m especially impressed with what HTC has been able to pull off in only a few short years. The company entered an already crowded cellphone market and as far as I’m concerned are now producing some of the best Windows Mobile phones available.

For the complete specs on the S710 you can check out the product page on the HTC website.

[ DV Hardware reviews the HTC S710 ] VIA [ Krunker ]