Technabob » droid

R/C Inflatable R2-D2 Announced After Epic Space-Licensing Battle

Jack Kieffer — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:00:39 +0000

Bladez Toyz, that British retailer where you can meet all of your R/C helicopter needs, recently decided that it wanted to add Star Wars themed remote control items to its Pump and Play sets. LucasArts, as always, was reluctant to give licensing rights, but after a difficult series of negotiations, Bladez secured the ability to produce these toys. At the 2012 London Toy Fair, they unveiled their new R/C Jumbo Inflatable R2-D2, which will be coming some time late summer / early fall of this year.

The toy will retail for appx. $63(USD), and is a 26 inch-tall inflatable R2-D2 on wheels. A foot pump is included so that you don’t need to beat your lungs to death to satisfy your child (or yourself.) The Jumbo R2-D2 model is the first of the new Star Wars Pump and Play series – more will be coming later if the droid unit turns out to be a big hit. Now, this is all wonderful, but I need to ask – has anyone already called dibs on the Princess Leia demonstrating the toy? “I did.” *Sulking*

Pump and Play is a term that reminds me of my old days, when I used to shoot hoops with my boys. We’d pump up the ball, go out to the court, and then I would help them play by giving them water when they felt that they were thirsty. Those were good times – hey, if you think you’re falling in love with the Jumbo RC Inflatable R2-D2, you’re going to want to have a look at the R2-D2 Garbage Can and the R2-D2 Apron.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Contributor Jack Kieffer owns Cool Gizmo Toys, a blog that rants about random geeky products.

R2-D2 Apron: There’s a Droid in the Kitchen

Technabob — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:30:44 +0000

R2-D2 was a very versatile droid, but throughout all the Star Wars saga, I don’t ever remember seeing him cooking. Even though the little droid has his own BBQ meat smoker, soy sauce dispenser and pepper mill, he’s still never in the kitchen. But that doesn’t mean that cooking wasn’t among his many talents – it’s just that everyone was too busy fighting the Empire and the Sith to stop and chow down. You, on the other hand, occasionally need to stop to cook something, and what better way to do it than wearing this spectacular R2-D2 apron.

It’s made by Etsy contributor HauteMessThreads, and perfectly captures R2′s key attributes, while still being completely serviceable as an apron. While I’d say that either a guy or girl could wear this, I think the little bows, cinched waist and v-neck make it more appropriate for girly geeks than the boys. I think it’d take a really confident man – I’m talking Boba Fett confident – to pull this thing off.

Each apron is handmade to order, and is crafted from 100% cotton, with blue and black accents. The R2-D2 apron sells for $70 (USD), but if you want an XL, you’ll need to chip in an extra 5 bucks. It’s available for order over on Etsy. C-3PO is also available, but I’d say he’s not quite as awesome as R2, which is too bad, because I always envisioned 3-PO as some sort of robot butler who would do my bidding and cook me up a nice wampa steak.

[via Geek Crafts]

Amazon Offers Droid Bionic Smartphone for a Steal

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:00:44 +0000

If the mobile phone or smartphone you have right now really sucks and you want a new device, AmazonWireless has a killer deal you need to check out. The smartphone is the Motorola Droid Bionic, which is one of the latest offerings from Motorola. The phone is 4G LTE capable and works on the Verizon network.

The phone has only been out for a few weeks now and when it landed, the price was about $180. As of today, Amazon has discounted the smartphone significantly. The phone sells for $149.99 and then you get a $50 gift card as well. That makes the total cost under $100 for one of the coolest Android smartphones around. Of course, you’ll need to activate a service contract with Verizon to get the deal.

If you aren’t familiar the Droid Bionic runs Android 2.3, has 4G connectivity, a 4.3-inch qHD screen, GPS, WiFi and a lot more. The phone rocks a 1GHz dual-core processor and can be used as a hotspot on the go. Internal storage is 16GB and the phone has a 16GB microSD card too.

R2-D2 Soy Sauce Dispenser Helps You Find the Condiment You’re Looking For

Lambert Varias — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:00:46 +0000

There are a few awesome things about this product. First of all is Geek Stuff 4 U’s insistence that this is a “soy sauce dispenser.” I’m not sure what will happen should you have the gall to fill it with something else, say honey or machine oil, but I wouldn’t mess with an astromech droid if I were you.

Second, R2-D2 is actually just one of the “flavors” of this dispenser. It also comes in R2-Q5 (or black) and R2-R9 (red). Both are still meant to be used for soy sauce.

Finally, this instructional picture, which is both unnecessary and wrong:

If you need a picture to tell you how to put soy sauce in to the dispenser, then after looking at the picture above you’re probably going to put a whole bottle of soy sauce into R2-D2. If you’re in need of a dispenser for soy sauce – and soy sauce only – Geek Stuff 4 U is selling the dispenser for about $40 (USD).

Star Wars Operation: Wasn’t C-3PO the One Who Always Needed Surgery?

Technabob — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:17:30 +0000

Do you think the Star Wars franchise will ever run out of product licensing ideas? I sure don’t. The latest in a long, long line of official Star Wars merch is this version of the board game Operation, and the patient in need of medical help this time isn’t that chubby naked dude with the light-up red nose – instead it’s R2-D2. Yeah, I know that seems wrong, given the fact that C-3PO seemed to always be in pieces, and R2 was the resilient droid.

Still, droid surgery sounds kind of fun, and Hasbro makes it a little more entertaining by replacing the old Operation buzzer with “Realistic Sound Effects” (as realistic as a fictitious droid from a galaxy far, far away can be.)

Well, at least 3PO gets a little screen time with a couple of small malfunctions to repair, but nothing quite as dramatic as “limbs severed and stuffed in a backpack.” That’s one malady I’d like to see you fix with a pair of tweezers.

Star Wars fans who need just one more item to round out their collection (this week) can head over to ThinkGeek, and order this special droid edition of Operation for $29.99 (USD).

[via Laughing Squid]

R2-D2 Planetarium Dated and Priced: My God, It’s Full of Stars

Conner Flynn — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:30:46 +0000

Remember that awesome R2-D2 planetarium from a while back? Of course, how could any self-respecting geek forget? Well, it is finally on it’s way to store shelves and our geek homes and hearts.

The R2-D2 Homestar is a fully functional planetarium inside of our favorite Star Wars droid. Sega finally has given us a date and a price on this little guy. He will be available on September 15 for appx. $88 (USD). That’s not a bad price at all for a projector with 10,000 stars in it. Oh, and of course it shows the Death Star too.

It uses a 1W white LED and uses four AAA batteries, which will give you three hours. R2 stands just 21cm high, so he isn’t very big, but he has a projection range of 1.5-2.3m/4.9-7.5ft with a projection area of 1.8m/5.9ft circumference.

You can find it at Japan Trend Shop for those of us not in Japan, where you can pre-order it now.

[via Washington Post]

R2-D2 Sweater: The Threads You Are Looking for

Range — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:29:30 +0000

This must be the best R2-D2 sweater I’ve ever seen. (Or is it the only R2-D2 sweater I’ve ever seen?) It also helps that it’s handcrafted to your personal measurements and requirements, to ensure that it fits perfectly.

This droid sweater by EricaKnit costs $450 because it’s awesome and custom handmade out of merino wool. The likeness to R2-D2 is pretty obvious to anyone who sees it.

You can order yours over at Erica’s Etsy store. It takes Erica about 4 to 6 weeks to knit your sweater, so you better order them fast if you want one any time soon. The sweater is fitted and somewhat stretchy, so it requires customization, which is why it takes so long to get it just right.

[Etsy via Buzzaurus]

Motorized LEGO R2-D2: This One Has a Good Motivator Unit

Technabob — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:48:08 +0000

Frequent readers of Technabob know that we love LEGO and we love Star Wars, so when the two universes collide, magic often happens. While this LEGO R2-D2 might not be as big as this version, it has one thing the giant LEGO version doesn’t – it can actually move around.

The motor-driven LEGO R2-D2 was created by flickr contributor Ickelpete, and not only looks great, it drives around, and makes all the requisite droid sound effects too.

He built this particular droid for a LEGO event at the National Space Centre UK, and as you can see from these pics, the robot is surprisingly detailed. R2′s head even turns, and his center leg can be retracted too. Check out R2 in action in the video clip below:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Ok, so it doesn’t move very fast, but I’d like to see you try and build a LEGO R2-D2 that’s this cool (and if you do, let us know!) You can check out a few more detailed pics of this awesome R2 unit over on its flickr album.

[via Brothers Brick via Gizmodo]

R2-D2 iPhone Case: Turn Your iPhone into a Droid

Range — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:12:36 +0000

R2-D2 has already made his way to smartphones, but only if you want to own a Motorola. But what if you want to make your iPhone look like a droid? And by droid, I don’t mean Android! This nifty case should do the trick.

The R2-D2 iPhone Case (prototype pictured above) is a StarWarsShop exclusive. It’s a hardshell case, and not only looks like R2, but will have sculpted details to make it feel like R2 too. I like the how it plays on Android and the fact that it’s for an iPhone. If R2-D2 was your favorite ‘bot from Star Wars, then you can make your iPhone look like him. C-3PO fans, you’re out of luck for now.

The case is currently available for pre-order for $29.99 (USD) and will be available in June 2011. I’m sure that it will be a runaway hit.

[via GeekAlerts]

R2-D2 Dissected Into Little Itty Bitty Parts

Range — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 15:28:48 +0000

Adding a bit of Star Wars to an otherwise gear-obsessed day? Sounds perfect! This funky R2-D2 deconstruction poster was created by Kevin Tong and would look great on your wall.

The poster measures 24″×36″ and features my favorite Star Wars droid broken down into all of its essential components. Favorite droids in Star Wars? That wouldn’t be C-3PO, but the lesser known IG-88 would be. Although I have to say the General Grievous is a fantastic droid/enemy.

But I digress… The poster is a hand-numbered edition that will sell only 400 copies, so get ready to order one when they are available at a random time on Friday over at Mondo for $50 (USD). The poster even glows in the dark, so it’s a great way to light up the darkness of Black Friday.

[via LikeCool via Kat Hannaford]

R2-D2 Finally Settles Down and Gets Married

Technabob — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 03:07:53 +0000

You read the headline already. This is a real thing, I kid you not. At least I think it is.

During last week’s Star Wars Celebration V, our little droid buddy tied the knot with one Ms. Bonnie Burton. The ceremony was officiated by none other than Darth Maul (See? he’s not so bad.)

R2-KT was flower girl, and the Dark Lord of the Sith himself was Best Man. And yes, that’s Adrienne Curry as the Maid of Honor. Why? Why do you even ask? Does any of this really make sense?

Officially, I guess you can’t get married to a droid in the state of Florida, so it went into the books as a “committment ceremony.” Call your local Congressman and demand that human-droid marriages be recognized by the state.

No word on whether or not the marriage was consummated.

Wedding ceremony video here and more pics here.

[via Star Wars Blog via R2D2Central]

R2-D2 Droid 2 Phone Photo Surfaces at Star Wars Celebration V

Technabob — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:36:06 +0000

There’s been some buzz floating around the web about a special version of the Verizon Droid 2, decked out to look like the little R2 unit that inspired its name. The special-edition phone isn’t supposed to be shown until the start of tomorrow’s Celebration V show, but I stumbled onto this picture one day early, snapped by the folks at R2-D2 Central.

From the looks of things, R2-D2 is looking awfully flat and boxy in his new smartphone home. I don’t know if there’s much else to say about the phone except that true Star Wars fanatics will have to run out and buy one when it arrives this September.

[via twitpic via epicponyz]

R2-D2 8 Console Hack Proves Casemods Don’t have to Make Sense to be Cool

Technabob — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:32:43 +0000

I’m not sure why this R2-D2 has 8 video game consoles built into its innards, but I still like it. Maybe it’s just the very fact that I’ve never seen an R2 unit with more than 20 game controllers connected to its front, or maybe it’s just the sheer absurdity of the thing that has me captivated. Either way, I bet you can’t say you have one of these in your media room.

While there aren’t many details about the heritage of this mod, what we can see from the picture is that the little droid is loaded up with a Dreamcast, an Xbox, an N64, an Atari 2600, a SEGA Saturn, an NES, an SNES and a PlayStation. It’s also got a projector and sound system built-in for good measure.

Though R2-D2 may have been designed as a utility droid, I think he’s finally found his real purpose – gaming droid.

[via Hack N Mod]

R2-Q5 & R2-D2 USB Hubs Don’T Exactly Save Space

Lambert Varias — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:57:49 +0000

I mean look at the damned things. They’re almost as large as those Coleman containers that was all the rage when I was in high school. The droids shake their heads and emit bleeps and bloops, but damn they’re huge.

And this, I believe, is the palette swap = $$$ formula at work:

The droids are also quite detailed, so I’m thinking these are collectibles with some functionality. Here’s a closer look at the R2D2 hub:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The R2Q5 and the R2D2 USB hubs are available at GeekStuff4U for about $74 (USD). Giant Artoo not included.

[via 7Gadgets]

Mini R2-D2 Drives Around Your Desktop, Where’S C-3PO?

Technabob — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:05:15 +0000

Is that a lightsaber unit in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me? That’s the question your friends will be asking when you whip out this tiny little motorized R2-D2 and he starts tooling around your desk between your coffee mug and your iPod dock.

The miniature R2-D2 doesn’t just sit there. Nope, it can tool around any smooth surface, maneuvering in spinny circles just like its full-size brethren. The little droid includes an infrared remote that lets you drive forward, spin backwards. And of course, the remote looks like a tiny lightsaber, natch.

All the while you drive Artoo around, he makes authentic movie sounds and blinks a red LED eyeball on his turning tin-can shaped head.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I must have one. Now.

You can get your grubby little mitts on your own mini R/C R2-D2 over at ThinkGeek for just $29.99 (USD).

R2-D2 Sippy Water Bottle Carries R2d2h20 (or Booze)

Technabob — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:51:30 +0000

Next time you happen to crash land on the sandy surface of Tatooine with nothing but you, your shiny metal sidekick and a bunch of Jawas to carry your rusty carcass around, why not first quench your desert thirst with one of these?

I’ve never seen these R2D2 water bottles before today, but I want one for the next time I leave the comfort of my climate-controlled basement to go outside to get some fresh air and exercise. That is, assuming I could fill it with Grape Tang and vodka instead of water while I saunter down the sidewalk in my Stormtrooper outfit.

Unfortunately, if you live outside of Japan you might have a hard time finding one of these. But if you happen to speak both Japanese and Protocol Droid-ese, you can find the R2D2 Water Bottle over at Tanomi for ¥3,300 (appx. $37 USD).

Rare R2-D2 Fridge for Sale: One Cool Droid

Technabob — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:30:54 +0000

I was surfing around in search of this desktop R2-D2 mini USB can fridge that I recently read about, when I happened upon something much, much cooler than that cooler.

Turns out that this awesome R2-D2 compact refrigerator was apparently made back in 2002 as a promotional prize for an Attack of the Clones contest held at 7-11 Stores in Japan. Word has it that just 1000 of these rare refrigerators were ever made, and now this one can be yours (assuming you’ve got the dough). Even rarer than the elusive Google mini fridge, this is definitely a serious über-geek collectible.

The guys over at ToyEast managed to get their hands on one of these rarities, and it’s in pristine condition. Priced at $1070 USD, it’s not exactly cheap, but if you’re a serious Star Wars fan, you might not be able to pass this up. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, I could overdraw my my checking account for this one.

R2-D2 Cake Makes You Wonder What Droids Taste Like

Technabob — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:56:43 +0000

Star Wars fans looking for something tasty to serve at their next soiree should look no further than this awesomely great R2-D2 cake.

Created by master pastry chef Mark Randazzo of Brooklyn’s Mark Joseph Cakes, this edible Artoo came complete with a domed lid and plenty of delicious blue and silver icing to satisfy any sweet tooth.

While I don’t see a matching golden C3P0 cake on Mark’s site, I bet he’d be willing to bake one for your special occasion. On the other hand, a furry Chewbacca cake might be a bit more of a tall order.

[via B-Side Blog via Boing Boing]

Giant LEGO R2-D2 Could Crush C-3P0

Technabob — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 04:24:39 +0000

If you’ve ever visited the LEGO Store in downtown Chicago, you might have come across a life-size R2-D2 made from thousands of snap-together plastic blocks. While I thought that was impressive, this mammoth LEGO droid measures in at a whopping 8-feet tall.

Built by official LEGO Master Model Builder Dan Steinenger with the assistance of a bunch of visiting kids, the giant R2 unit was assembled as part of the recent Festival of the Masters event at the LEGO Store at Downtown Disney in Orlando, Florida.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The giant R2 even had functioning red and blue LED details, and was backed up by sampled sound effects from the popular motion picture series.

Looks like R2-D2 can finally see eye-to-eye with Chewbacca and tell him who’s really boss.

R2-D2 Speakers Play More Than Beeps and Blips

Technabob — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:57:31 +0000

Star Wars fans, here’s another fun R2-D2 inspired gadget to add to your collection. Japan’s Taito has created these multimedia speakers based on everybody’s favorite cylindrical droid.

Unlike their movie doppelgangers, each droid’s head flips open like a trashcan to reveal a speaker. The pair includes both R2-D2 (blue) as well as the slightly more obscure R2-D1 (orange). Each speaker measure about 12cm (4.72″) tall, and connects to your computer or MP3 player via a standard 3.5mm stereo plug.

A pair will set you back about $40. They’re available for pre-order from BigBadToyStore and are expected to ship sometime in December 2007.