I know in the past I’ve lamented at some of the Star Wars merchandise that Lucasfilm has approved, but sometimes Star Wars + (insert random item here) just seems like a match made in heaven. And these lightsaber themed replacement styli for the Nintendo DS definitely fall into that latter category. While I’ve already replaced my stock DS stylus with a longer one from my old Handspring Visor, you better believe it’s about to get upgraded again.
The lightsaber styli appear to be officially licensed by both Lucasfilm and Nintendo, and come in either a 3-pack that includes Luke, Obi-Wan and Vader’s lightsabers, or a 2-pack with just Luke and Vader’s sabers that actually light up! Amazon.com claims that both sets will be released on July 31 but you can pre-order them right now. The 3-pack costs $7.99 while the light-up 2-pack costs more than twice that at $16.99.
When you consider how much desktop real estate these Star Wars themed USB hubs take up, and the fact that they only provide 4 extra USB ports, I’m pretty sure they’re only going to appeal to the Star Wars crowd. But since that crowd has made Lucas quite a bit of coin over the years, I’m also pretty sure that Lucasfilm isn’t that concerned. When plugged into your PC they both make various Star Wars related sound effects and while the Darth Vader bust also has glowing red eyes (I’m sorry, which movie featured that?) R2D2 has blinking lights and will actually turn his head back and forth. In fact you can see him in action here:
Thankfully you can switch off the sounds and other effects which will probably become pretty annoying after about 10 minutes. And both USB hubs will be available in Japan in July for about $66.
I know in the past I may have complained about Lucasfilm’s over-licensing of the Star Wars franchise, but occasionally you come across an item that’s actually pretty cool. The AT-AT first seen in The Empire Strikes Back is pretty iconic, and while I’ve finally come to accept the fact that I’ll probably never own one in my lifetime, at least I can have them decorating a set of skateboard wheels. These Imperial Rollers from Kontrol feature a pattern of tiny AT-AT silhouettes, but I’m not really sure if they’re officially licensed or not. (I’m leaning towards not.) Your friends will have to get in really, really close to actually recognize the pattern of AT-ATs, but at just $27.99 from ActionVillage.com for a set of 4, it’s a cheap and subtle way to show your Star Wars pride.
How do you prove you’re truly a hardcore Star Wars fan? I would say that spending $5,950 for a life-size C-3PO figure, and $5,450 for his astromech sidekick R2-D2 would be more than adequate. Sideshow Collectibles now has both of these droids available for pre-order and they’ll actually ship sometime in the third quarter of this year.
Besides being incredibly accurate reproductions, both figures are made from fiberglass and feature lights and sounds powered by a set of AA batteries. They each come with their own display base as well as a magnetically attached restraining bolt to keep them in check. I can only assume that both droids will be available in limited quantities, so if you’d like to pre-order either one you’ll need to cough up a $950, non-refundable deposit.
How many times have you been hanging out waiting for the bus minding your own business, only to be jumped by some half-crazed Sith Lord? Since there are only ever two, it’s probably pretty rare, however, if you’re unarmed, things aren’t likely going to go well.
This has to be the coolest ad for Star Wars that I’ve ever seen. Apparently Spike is going to be airing the movies beginning April 4th, and they really want to stir up some buzz. Apparently it’s working because not only am I writing about it, but you’re reading this.
Every day I see a handful of new flash drives that claim to look “new and exciting.” Unfortunately that seems to be marketing-speak for either “same as everything else” or “really strange”. However, the Mimobot line of drives always have something cool to look at.
One of the fastest-selling sets of Mimobots were the Star Wars set. In light of the quick sales, they have decided to launch “Series 2”. You’ll have your pick of Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia or Han Solo. The drives are limited, so you’ll have to act fast if you want one. You’ll be able to pick from sizes ranging from 1GB to 4GB with prices starting at $50.
If you have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning what you need is a bit of the Force and Darth Vader himself to wake you up. This clock projects the time in red numerals as well as putting the Vader name onto your ceiling.
The large, red glowing snooze button doubles as a night light and a Darth Vader figure with lighsaber adorns the side of the clock. This clock will set you back $29.99 and is available now for pre-order. Guys just be warned, this thing virtually guarantees you a life of chastity if you are old enough to date. The clock is set to ship in October of 2007.
This just goes to prove that Star Wars toys can be used to promote anything. Witness this new, and oh so cool toy that combines two of my childhood loves, robot toys that transform into stuff and giant planet blasting space stations.
More than meets the eye for sure here. The name of this toy is the Hasbro Star Wars Transformer Deluxe Death Star. That is a long name for what boils down to a Transformer that looks like the Death Star on the outside and transforms into Darth Vader complete with his light saber. In Death Star mode the toy has a launching projectile and electronic lights. A blaster is also included that makes sound effects.
Additional items included are a Darth Vader mini figure, two TIE Fighter mini vehicles and three Stormtrooper mini figures. The Death Star Transformer is priced at $49.99 and is currently out of stock at Amazon. I don’t know about you but in a brawl between Darth Vader and Megatron, my money is on Darth Vader.
The R2-D2 Home Theater System isn’t completely new to the market, but this updated version from Hammacher is. R2 now sports a DLP projector in his little droid noggin that has a 1024 x 768 resolution and 1500:1 contrast ratio.
R2 can throw an image 80” in size from up to 16.5 feet away. If you feel like watching a movie on the ceiling, the projector can rotate 65 degrees making that possible. One of the arm housings has a DVD/CD player and R2’s vents hide an iPod dock, which I’m sure Luke always felt R2 was missing.
The iPod dock will fit most iPod’s including the iPod Video and allows you to play your videos back through the projector and hear the sound through the twin 20mm speakers built-in. Next to the docking station are a memory card reader and a USB port. Connections on the back allow you to hook up headphones, speakers and your game system as well. The only thing R2 lacks now is HD output and a price that geeks into Star Wars can afford. At $2799.95 I don’t see many Star Wars fans scrambling for their wallets. The Millennium Falcon statue holds the remote that controls R2-D2’s functions.
Related Tags: Gaming, Novelty, Star-Wars
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