Oh! Gizmo

By Luke Anderson

How many remotes do you have in your living room? Personally, I have three: one for the TV/cable box, one for my home theater system and one for my Xbox 360. At any given time, at least two of these are missing. Generally I’ve found that either I wandered off into another room and set one down, or the couch at it. Still, I spend more time searching for them than I’d like. That’s why something like this Remote Buddy Stylish could come in handy.

First, I would like to point out that despite its name, this thing doesn’t actually look all that stylish. It is useful in the respect that it not only provides a good place to set your remotes, but it will also locate them for you at the push of a button. It also provides a drink holder, so you don’t lose that too. You can get yours for right around $60.

[ Taylor Gifts ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Andrew Liszewski

You might already have a mountain of remotes sitting on your coffee table, but are any of them modeled after a classic 1950’s science fiction ray gun? I didn’t think so. While the Channel Changer Ray Gun can only be used to advance one channel at a time everytime you pull the trigger, it apparently also makes a cool sound effect each time. And if that’s not enough to sell you on the idea, I doubt there’s anything more I can say that will convince you to get one.

It’s available from Play.com for about $18.

[ Channel Changer Ray Gun ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]

By Luke Anderson

Living in the Midwest means that we usually have a decent amount of rain. Sure, there are times when the farmers complain that their crops are a bit dry, but you rarely see people watering their lawns due to dry weather. In other parts of the country that isn’t always the case. If you happen to live in one of those areas and don’t want to take the time to go outside and turn on and off the sprinklers, you might enjoy this Remote Rain Water Control.

Just hook this little gadget up to your water line and attach the hose. Then just keep the remote somewhere handy and press the button when you want to turn on or off the water. This is also good for playing pranks on people walking through your yard. After all, that “Do not walk on grass” sign is there for a reason.

[ ImprovementsCatalog ] VIA [ UberGizmo ]

By Luke Anderson

Remember last year when we told you that those crazy Japanese pet feeders that you could control from anywhere? It seemed like just another one of those gadgets that only the Japanese would probably use, and thus would never be available over here. Well, I was wrong, someone has developed a similar feeder just for us here in the US.

Like the iSeePet360 you’ll have a decent-sized container for dry food, and a webcam for viewing your pet. You can choose to feed your pet on a timer, or do it manually. You can tune into the webcam to watch your pet eat (if that’s your thing) or simply have it automatically email pictures of your pet at each feeding. The best part? It only costs $298, which is almost $150 cheaper than the Japanese product.

[ SmartHome ] VIA [ Red Ferret ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Even though a lot of people were convinced the world would come to an end after Gizmodo’s TV-B-Gone stunt at CES, it seems the only real fallout will be security guards at future trade shows specifically keeping an eye out for the little device. So if you were hoping to be completely unoriginal and pull the exact same stunt at another show, you’re going to need something a bit less obvious.

Enter the World Time Zone TV Remote Watch that looks like your typical Ironman-esque sports model, but also includes an IR emitter for controlling a wide range of TVs, VCRs and DVD players. (I think it tells time too.) The emitter only has a range of about 10 to 16 feet, so you’re going to have to be really subtle and preferably hide in a large crowd in order to use it. But on the plus side, if you’re successful you’ll get to star in one of thousands of me-too! videos on YouTube. (Please note: OhGizmo! does not endorse the use of this device for shutting off displays during presentations we happen to be attending.)

The watch is available from Vavolo for just $12.50.

[ World Time Zone TV Remote Control Watch ] VIA [ Gear Live ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Oh look! Another device that’s designed to help people find the stuff they keep losing, instead of maybe teaching them a little responsibility so they don’t lose it in the first place. The Find One, Find All or ‘FOFA’ comes in both a keyfob version and a flat wallet style version and are designed to be attached or inserted into whatever items you tend to misplace.

Each FOFA has a set of 6 buttons that can be used to trigger the alarm on another, as long as it’s within a 30 foot range. So if you’ve managed to find at least one FOFA equipped device, you can use it to find all the others. The system is also expandable, allowing you to use up to 36 FOFA finders, though I imagine it would get pretty hard to remember what number you assigned to each device. And if you’re constantly losing up to 36 devices, it might be time to hire a personal assistant.

A set of 2 Keyfob FOFAs are available on the Melbourne Designs website (based in Texas of course) for $24.95. Additional Flat Style FOFAs are $12.47 each.

[ Find One, Find All Key Finder ] VIA [ Mobilewhack ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It’s impossible to imagine life without the TV remote (if you can even call that living) but there are plenty of times when you don’t necessarily need such a complex device in your hand. One For All, who is well known in the universal remote business, has created the Zapper range for people looking for an extremely simple way to control their TV.

The remote comes in a black or pink finish and only has 7 buttons for controlling power, adjusting the volume and changing the channel. It will work with most TVs and can be setup without the original remote, just in case it mysteriously disappeared years ago. It also uses a single and slightly harder to find AAAA battery, but I imagine one should last a very long time.

The Zapper remotes will be available in the very near future for about $15.

[ One For All Zappers ] VIA [ Shiny Shiny ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While complaining about how often you lose the TV remote or keys makes you sound like a hack stand-up comic I still can’t help but feel there’s some cosmic force working to make these items disappear so often. So the ‘Find It’ Remote from GE is yet another attempt to make relocating these lost items a bit easier.

Pushing the find button on either the keychain or the remote will cause the other unit to make a beeping noise allowing you to hunt it down. Of course since the remote and keys are the most commonly lost items there’s nothing stopping both of them from going missing at the same time. So each ‘Find It’ unit can find up to 5 other items allowing you to use (translate > buy) multiple sets. And of course since the ‘Find It’ remote is designed to replace the ones that came with your home theater equipment it’s able to control pretty much any piece of hardware on the market including TVs, DVD players, VCRs and cable boxes.

The ‘Find It’ Remote is currently available from SkyMall for $44.95.

[ GE 'Find It' Remote ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you live in one of those fancy-schmancy homes with an indoor swimming pool, hot tub or even toilets then you might appreciate this new universal remote from Remote Technologies Inc. While there are other waterproof remotes on the market they’re usually pretty basic in design and don’t give you all the bells and whistles you might need to control your entertainment center while relaxing in the sauna or bathtub.

So in addition to being completely waterproof the U2 remote as it’s known (I won’t hold that against them) also has all the buttons necessary for accessing your electronics and even an LCD display that can be used for programming custom commands or macros. The remote also uses RF instead of IR with a 100 foot range which basically means you don’t actually need to have a line of sight to your equipment in order to operate it.

The downside though is the U2 remote’s expected pricepoint of around $500. For that kind of money I would just seal up a Philips Pronto remote in a couple of ziploc bags. Now that’s classy!

[ RTI Intros Smokin’ LCD Waterproof Remote Control ] VIA [ Newlaunches ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I’ve often been tempted to upgrade my TV remotes to something more worthy of a guy who writes about gadgets all day but unfortunately they’re the rare devices in my home that don’t get a lot of TLC. And every few months when they inevitably need to be replaced I choose a cheap Sony universal remote which is why I’m particularly excited to see these new low-end models being released.

The RM-PZ1FD, RM-PZ1SD and RM-PZ1D come in 3 distinct styles and besides being water resistant the remotes also use a three infrared LED system allowing them to be used in a wider angle around your TV. I’m particularly fond of the wide layout used on the RM-PZ1FD model but unfortunately it seems like these new remotes are only destined for the Japanese market at the moment.

[ Sony to launch its three infrared ray remote controls ] VIA [ Ubergizmo ]