Since everything is funner when it’s a competition, you can now get a Hacky Sack with a built-in counter to keep track of how many times it’s been kicked into the air. Except that since the term Hacky Sack appears to be a trademark currently owned by Wham-O, you’ll have to settle for referring to this as a ‘Football Keepy Uppy.’ Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
And besides keeping track of the number of kicks, there’s also a timer to keep track of how long it’s been in motion I assume, and a high score function in case you ever forget who’s the king of the ‘Football Keepy Uppy.’ (I’ll never get used to saying/typing that.) ~$20 from The Random Shop.
I can understand that these digital slot cars are trying to make racing more challenging, but at the same time they seem to take a bit of the fun out of it. Instead of just squeezing the trigger and watching your car tear around the track, you have to manage and be aware of your vehicle’s fuel and make the proper pit stops in order to win.
Each of the cars, which includes a fairly detailed Ferrari 360 GTC, Chevrolet Corvette C6R, and an Aston Martin DBR9, have a chip that allows you to change lanes in order to pull into pit row and track how much fuel you take on. So for example, if you decide to ‘fill it up’ in order to minimize the number of pit stops you have to make, your car will actually go slower because of the extra weight of that fuel. And if you instead choose to make pit stops more often, you’ll have to watch your speed when pulling into pit row lest you be penalized a lap for speeding. A clever idea for sure, but too much thinkin’ for me. $499.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer.
What started out as a boring Power Wheels 2001 G3740 Street Scene Silverado has ended up as an awesome miniature version of the Warthog from the Halo games, complete with a chain winch on the front and of course the triple-barreled machine gun mounted on the back. Surprisingly though it wasn’t created by Master Chief for his little Spartans, but by a modder known as flux83 who posted a ‘making of’ to the Modified Power Wheels forum.
Just a heads up if you were thinking about picking up one of these new Air Hogs RC toys for your kids and happened to be the target of multiple would-be assassins. Their new Zero Gravity Laser is controlled by shining a laser dot in front of the vehicle which will automatically follow it, whether it’s racing around on the floor or defying gravity by driving on the walls. So if your home is constantly bombarded with red laser dots from distant sniper rifles, there could be issues, I’m just saying. $49.99 from Toys”R”Us Canada.
The Rubik’s TouchCube first surfaced back in February earlier this year, and the “available sometime in the Fall” release date that was given translates to very soon, if not already. The official Rubik’s TouchCube website claims the cube is already available at Best Buy, though a quick search of their online store returned no results, while The New York Times Gadgetwise blog claims it will be in stores on October 18, just a few weeks away.
For those who haven’t seen it before, the Rubik’s TouchCube is essentially the same sliding puzzle toy you had as a kid, except the moving parts and colored stickers have been replaced with illuminated panels and touch sensors that allow you to turn or twist a series of squares simply by swiping your finger across them. And for nostalgia’s sake there’s even an option to turn on an accompanying sound effect that’s an actual recording of the original cube’s twisting sound.
The best part is that thanks to a “powerful processor” inside, the TouchCube always knows the exact number of moves needed to solve it, though I imagine you could get all the sides back to a uniform color by simply resetting it. It definitely looks a lot cooler than the original, but is it $150 worth of cool?
If you’re a big fan of the LEGO Star Wars game for the Nintendo DS (the good second version, not the crappy first) or just happen to be a LEGO maniac (like Zack, RIP) you might be interested in this protective case for your DS Lite. Not only does it protect your hardware while still letting you open and play it, but it also features a LEGO base plate on the top and bottom that you can decorate with an included LEGO Star Wars tile mosaic, or any LEGO creation for that matter. $14.99 available from StarWarsShop.com sometime in November.
Wow, check out what Etsy seller 123smile is now selling! We’ve covered their LEGO flash drive creations before, but these new Minifig USB drives are a must-have. They’re available in 2GB ($59.95), 4GB ($69.95) and what looks like 4GB high-speed ($79.95) capacities and come in a variety of characters including Star Wars figures which I’m sure will be their best seller. Now I’m not saying LEGO should copy what 123smile is doing, but come on! When you see things like this you have to wonder why the company can’t think of anything more creative than another flashlight?
At this point even I’m a little sick of the recent flood of LEGO themed electronics and gadgets, but how can anyone resist taking this minifig LED lantern on their next camping trip? The oversized minifig swings from the “easy carry handle” and his white shirt provides 360 degrees of lighting thanks to a set of 4 white LEDs inside. It’s powered by 4 x AA batteries which are included, and is available from Perpetual Kid for just $19.99.
It might not be quite as complicated as the Petaminx dodecahedral puzzle we brought you back in March, but if you don’t have the plastic casting skills of Jason Smith to make your own, this twelve sided IQ Pentagon puzzle from Brando is probably your best alternative. It’s just $49.90 and if you do order one I suggest snapping a few photos when it arrives because once you mess it up I’m pretty sure you’re never going to get it back to its original state.
By Andrew Liszewski
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