Coolest Gadgets

mac-skype   So, you think that your Mac is the next best thing since sliced bread, at least where the world of computing is concerned? Good news then, with the latest word on the Skype 5.8 for Mac’s release, as this new version of Skype will help send your contact list to the fat house to lose some weight, while making video calls with other mobile users in addition to Group Screen Sharing have just gotten an experience upgrade. Skype 5.8 for Mac was launched recently, and with this particular update, it is said that the overall usability of the Skype for Mac client has been increased, in addition to the folks over at Skype rolling out a bunch of new features that we will look at in closer detail after the jump.

You know the saying, “piss drunk”? I guess with all that booze that goes down your throat during the next party, surely your liver and bladder would work overtime, helping to flush out whatever toxins that are in your body, not to mention making room for more of that poisonous (but intoxicating) stuff. Well, if knocking back pints is your favorite hobby, and you have a close knit group of friends who share the same sentiment, perhaps you can approach the management of your favorite watering hole in install a hands-free gaming cistern system, as what the gents section in the Exhibit Bar located in south London has done? I know, this sounds rather silly, but hear me out for a while. Imagine building up all that liquid in your bladder, and you know for sure this is going to be a high pressure release the next time you unzip your fly, so why not make the most of it? What makes it more challenging is the fact that your motor skills would most probably be shot or affected alre...

At last, has scooters taken on the same kind of life as that of a car? After all, your four wheeler does have snow tires when the situation calls for it, so if you want to burn a little bit of extra energy, why not bring the scooter out for a ride – even if it is snowing heavily outside? This converted wheeled street model will feature skis, making it more than ready to meet whatever slopes you decide to ride downwards. The $99.95 Street And Snow Scooter will also comprise of a kit which will replace its two polyurethane in-line skate wheels with a couple of patented HDPE skis, depending on the season at that moment. Seems to be a 2-in-1 purchase, don’t you think so? A wrench and hex key are required if you want to make the wheel change, so make sure you know how to do so (it is not that hard, really) before you head outdoors and have your fair share of fun.

Yes, the bitter chill of winter will soon be upon us for folks living in the northern hemisphere, and while there are many ways to keep yourself warm, how about getting a little bit of love and warmth from a gadget instead of burning up more logs? The £29.99 Hot-Rox Electronic Hand Warmer is said to be able to do the job well – where it can heat up to medium or high heat levels, taking around 15 seconds to hit 44°. Sure beats those heat packs that you need to place in a microwave, or one that depends on a chemical interaction within, no? Turn it off and it will cool down in the same amount of time, how convenient is that? Perfect for warming up cold mitts when you’re gardening, or even to have it follow you on a chilly winter walk. Each purchase will be equipped with a USB charger, mains adapter and carry bag. The built-in battery is able to last up to 6 hours with the heat turned on in medium mode, but if you decide to have it go full blast in high mode, then expect aro...

I don’t know about you, but if you are one of the gazillions who have a great love for the boy wonder wizard and his cohort, following his adventures in both the books and movie formats, then surely you would also want to collect anything and everything associated with him? Enter the Harry Potter 3D Experience Movie Pack PS3 bundle from Sony, and as the name suggests, you can be sure that there will be plenty of Harry Potter goodies connected with it, right from the moment you unbox your brand new console. Now, Sony does not take the road that Nintendo travels so often, by offering the console itself with Harry Potter decals or design on it, but rather, you will get a plain, black 160GB PS3 console inside. What makes this bundle qualify to be called the Harry Potter 3D experience? Well, you will need to read on after the jump to find out then. In order to coincide with the recent launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 on Blu-ray, the Harry Potter 3D Exp...

About six years ago, I was at Disney’s EPCOT center and rode on Spaceship Earth so I can see the “world of the future”. In the exhibit, they showed a family gathered around a television, communicating with a video image on the other side. I scoffed at that, and thought that EPCOT needs to update the ride, as that was a demonstration of present-day webcam technology. Now Biscotti’s TV Phone promises to be “the next generation of home video calling”. Biscotti is so named because it is shaped like the popular dunking snack sold at Starbucks. You can place it atop your flatscreen, and it has a remote for popping up onscreen menus. Biscotti allows the user to make free calls to other Biscotti and other devices that support Google voice and video. The user can set the Biscotti to answer calls from select contacts and turn on the TV when receiving a call from the TV. So, is this the beginning of an age of TV communications, like we all have seen on the Jetsons? Biscotti certa...

It seems like there are a lot of external batteries that you can get for your iPod/iPhone, and mophie certainly has some good ones out. This one from Kensington, the PowerLift, is unique as it is a back-up battery, dock, as well as a stand. The 1200 mAh battery pack comes with an attached USB cord so it can be charged with anything with a USB port. As you can see in the image, the PowerLift has a kickstand that allows for putting the iPhone or iPod as a display, perfect for watching videos or using FaceTime. If you want to use your iPhone for calls while you are charging it, no problem! All that is required is that you tack it on to the bottom of the iPhone and make your phone calls as usual. Just think of it as a longer iPhone. Best of all, the PowerLift can fold up into a compact square that fits well in a jeans back pocket. It is good enough to add 20 hours of music, 5 hours of video, 3.5 hours of talk time, and 1.5 hours of FaceTime. All in all, the Kensington Powe...

We live in an extremely competitive world, and parents these days want their kids to get ahead of the rest even from the womb itself, hence you see many of these “baby aids” that intend to help the development of the foetus in the market. ThinkGeek does not want to get left behind as well, hence their $59.99 Lullabelly Maternity Musical Device, which is actually a pre-natal music belt which allows you to play tracks of your choice so that your future geek-to-be will also be able to rock on to today’s grooviest tunes without missing a beat. Not only is it super soft to make sure it does not mess up mummy’s tummy, it is also adjustable, lightweight and comfortable. The volume for baby’s speakers are capped at a safe level, so you need not worry about breeding a headbanger right from the get go. There is a splitter thrown into the mix for you to listen to the same music, and hopefully you won’t introduce him/her to Justin Bieber, but rather, more solid stuff like Smashing P...

The holiday season is upon us yet again – my, my, how fast time flies! Well, if you have been scratching your head for the longest time, wondering just how else are you going to decorate your home since the last few years have been nothing short of boring, along comes ThinkGeek with the $19.99 8-Bit LED Holiday Wreath. This is not only an old school and reusable piece of holiday decor, it also merges the old with the digital age – where flickering LEDs come in the form of golden coins to deliver your favorite 8-bit memories to the masses. Definitely Mario fans will fall in love with this faster than those of Sonic, because there is no “golden rings” version of this puppy. Made from durable, EVA foam, it is powered by a trio of AAA batteries if you’re interested. No idea on how long the batteries will last though, but we’re thinking that rechargeables ought to make more of an impact in the long run.

I first encountered the Trioviz Inficolor 3D glasses when I was at E3 in Los Angeles last summer. I recently had some sent to me, and so now I can say that I have tried it in non-ideal circumstances. According to a comment from David Susilo on my original posting about the Trioviz, it requires a “special DVD / Blu-ray that have been processed using TriOviz anaglyph processor”. You can see the website to see what games are compatible, and they include Batman: Arkham Asylum , Batman: Arkham City , Assassin’s Creed: Revelations , Green Lantern , Enslaved , Captain America: The First Avenger, and Thor movie game. According to the website, the Inficolor 3D glasses work with most 2D HDTVs. I tried it on mine, and I was able to view a 3D DVD pretty well. The problem is that the background of the 3D movie I was watching looked rather blurry. The further away I stepped back, the better the 3D got. Perhaps if I did some interesting adjustments on color, it would work. If you want...

Do you think the world has had enough of iPod and iPad docks? I guess not, otherwise why would the JBL OnBeat Xtreme be introduced? This is a visually stunning iPad dock that is touted to do more than just offer good looks – it also delivers dynamic, room-filling sound that comes in the form of a table-top stereo system. Specially optimized to work with both versions of Apple’s hugely popular tablet, the JBL OnBeat Xtreme will also come with an innovative rotating dock connector that will play nice with the iPhone and iPod touch – smart move, considering how nearly everyone out there who loves Apple products have more than just one of their devices. Thanks to the wonders of Bluetooth connectivity, the JBL OnBeat Xtreme will hook up to the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch to play when detached from the dock, where it will also “talk” to Android-powered smartphones as well as tablets, not to mention wireless MP3 players, although those are pretty rare when you think about it. ...

I know that time can be measured, where for the most of us, it is displayed on the watch that we wear on our wrists. While analog watches did once lose out in popularity to digital models in the past, they have sort of made a comeback over the years. Old is gold, I guess, and this saying holds true for watches. Cadence intends to engage the more cerebral purchasers out there with their latest timepiece after hiring Chris Thompson, the Math Clock designer, as the company’s Creative Director. One of Thompson’s most famous feats would be his design of the Math Clock, where each numeral that denotes the hour is replaced with equivalent mathematical notations for that added bit of fun. Who says science and art cannot get along together? It is Thompson’s love of mathematics and which actually sparked off his inspiration for the first design that he has conjured for Cadence. Similar in some ways to the Math Clock, Chris intends to design a watch which will resonate with mathem...

Two days ago, my Amazon Kindle Fire arrived in the mail. I had a pretty exciting time with the Kindle Fire, and I will give you a hands-on review of that if you leave enough comments demanding one. Fortunately, I was prepared for the Kindle Fire with the Verve Folio Stand by Belkin. It definitely gives my Kindle Fire some protection, and since it is a leather portfolio, it makes the newest e-book reader/tablet feel like an old book. Of course, an old book can’t prop itself up so I can read like a display at many angles. An old book can’t show all the video that the Kindle Fire can show. All right, this is beginning to sound like a review of the Amazon Kindle Fire, but this is about the Verve Folio Stand. I like that the Verve Folio Stand has an elastic strap that can keep it shut. This makes me feel better about carrying the Kindle Fire around in a bag, and protect it from scuff marks. I recommend the Verve Folio Stand if you got yourself a Kindle Fire. By the way, I h...

If you haven’t heard of Zumba Fitness, then you are missing out on an interactive video game workout that has three million players and counting. I never played the original, but I got a chance to try out the sequel. Zumba Fitness 2 is a music/dancing game where one of the celebrity Zumba Fitness instructors (Tanya Beardsley, Gina Grant, or Beto), dances before you, and you have to mirror their actions. Unlike regular Wii games, this one comes in a bigger box for an included fitness belt. The belt holds the Wiimote on the right hip, and from this input, the game judges your dance moves. The game has over 32 new routines, and the user learns 20 different dance styles for Merengue, Samba, Cubmia, Axe, Bollywood, Latin Pop, Bellydance, and Pasodoble. There are five different game modes that include a single song dance routine, a class that works out a block of routines in extend time formats, as well as a party for up to 4 players. I have to admit, I had a hard time play...

I remember having a Casio keyboard when I was ninth grade, and it was about the size of my forearm with about 8 rhythms and instruments. That tiny white keyboard would like like a wimp compared to the Casio WK-6500 Workstation Keyboard. The WK-6500 has a 76-key full size with 670 tones and programs. It has a song sequencer, tone editor, multiple digital effects, mixer, performance registration memory, USB MIDI interface, SD card storage, as well as hundreds of editable tones. The specs are pretty impressive. It has a rhythm editor that can turn individual instrumental portions on or off and adjust volume, pan reverb and other parameters for personal rhythms, storing up to 10 original rhythms at a time. It also has a 16 track song sequencer plus 1 system to support recording of up to 5 songs or 30,000 notes, with a chance of editing all of them in between. Also included are a wide range of built-in effects like 10 reverbs, 5 choruses, 100 DSP types. All this plus a high-...

Eton has a lot of solar-powered products such as emergency gadgets like the Raptor and the Scorpion. Their most recent product, the Mobius, takes a page from the Mophie Juice Pack playbook as it is a portable charger specifically designed for the iPhone 4. The Juice Pack is a battery that doubles as an iPhone case, and the Mobius is essentially the same thing, but solar-powered. According to the official Press Release, one hour of sun on the solar cells is sufficient enough for 25 minutes of talk time, 20 minutes of internet use, 35 minutes of video playback, and two hours of audio playback. In addition the 1800 mAh rechargeable lithium ion battery pack, this extra battery power will be held until the user needs it. All it takes is a flip of a switch, and some extra juice gets squeezed to an iPhone 4. The unit also has a micro USB port which can also charge the unit with the included micro-USB cable, and it will even sync with iTunes. I am not certain how durable th...

Most dogs don’t take to a leash too kindly the first time you slip it onto them – the secret is to let them know that you’re the pack leader, and they’re supposed to follow a step behind you whenever the both of you take a walk. Any tugging or pulling is a no-no, but what happens when you think that you’ve exhausted all avenues, including those pronged collars that might seem a tad painful to some, and nothing has worked so far? Perhaps this $39.95 Tug-Preventing Dog Trainer might be able to help. This ultrasonic device is meant to help you train your four legged friend walk without tugging your arm off, especially if it is a large and active breed. You will attach the Tug-Preventing Dog Trainer between the leash and collar, and whenever Fido decides to tug, the built-in speaker will emit a harmless ultrasonic tone which irritates your furball without being audible to you. That’ll teach him to walk in step! The more the dog tugs, the louder the ultrasonic tone becomes, ...

Hmmm, I would have thought that with summer blockbusters well behind us now, no one would want to continue flogging the Transformers movie franchise with tie-in products. Apparently I’m wrong, or someone over at Razer must have gotten their calendars all mixed up. Razer has teamed up with Hasbro to commemorate the release of the third instalment of the Transformers movie on DVD and Blu-ray releases by offering a collector’s edition peripheral line. Folks who have been eyeing a mouse from Razer all this while but never really got to it might be pleased to know that the Razer DeathAdder mouse will now come in four special versions that feature Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron, and Shockwave, where all four legends are crafted and transmuted to deliver unparalleled gaming performance with a Transformers slant. What’s the whole point of a mouse if there is no proper surface for it to glide across? This is where Razer’s got your back as well, with the dual-sided Razer Ve...

It is difficult to review the iKurv from Speakal without comparing it to the PURE Contour iPod/iPhone dock that I reviewed the other day. The iKurv certainly has the most odd of shapes. The arch with the speakers on each side can create 20 watts of great sound, and the sight of the blue light makes it look very beautiful. In addition to the iPod/iPhone, you can connect your TV, Gaming Console, or MP3 to it as well. I will have to say that when I put my iPhone in the dock, the sound was very loud, and that was at the lowest level. I used the included 3.5mm headphone jack and plugged in my Droid X phone, and I found the sound was quite lower. I guess it is truly optimized for the iPod/iPhone. I was not surprised that it comes with a wireless remote. Not only does it control the play/pause and other track related to audio, but the user can adjust the ambient light as well. If you are interested in the iKurv, you can get it on the Speakal web site for an introductor...

We have smart TVs, smart fridges, smartphones, and now in the world of athletics, smart boots. Football boots to be specific, as adidas, the sponsor of some of the more illustrious names in world football like Lionel Messi, has rolled out the miCoach-powered adizero f50 intelligent football boot. The 2011 model will deliver smart technology to the field of play, where it transforms the boot into the the supreme digital training tool. How does it do that? Well, you are able to track and upload performance data such as speed, maximum speed, number of sprints, distance, distance at high intensity levels and time, where all these details will be able to be analyzed by a computer software. Data transfer is done wirelessly where it is made possible thanks to the f50′s cavity in the outsole unit that holds the revolutionary miCoach SPEED_CELL as well as enough on-board memory to stash away all the important performance data for future analysis. I wonder how this is going to aff...