Technabob » gadget

Jigger USB Lighter Does Away with the Flame

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:00:08 +0000

I think one of the grossest things you can do is smoke cigarettes, yet a bunch of people still do it. Still, if you insist on smoking, and like geeky gadgets, you might want to check out the Jigger. It is a USB lighter that doesn’t use a flame. You charge it by plugging it into your USB port on your computer.

When you slide its cover open it has some sort of heating element inside that lights a cigarette or cigar. It would have to be a rather thin cigar because the opening isn’t very large, though. The main advantages of the Jigger is that it can be used even on a windy day, and you can travel with it on an airplane unlike butane lighters.

The heating element is an electric induction coil and it comes in two versions. There is a standard USB Gadget Lighter and a fancier USB Prestige Lighter selling for $29.99 and $49.99 (USD), respectively. Charge times are anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes and the cheaper lighter is good for 250 lites. The more expensive Prestige lighter is good for about 300 uses.

[via EverythingUSB]

TapCaps: So You Can Wear Gloves and Still Use Your Touchscreen Phone

Hazel Chua — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:30:35 +0000

Even though we’re headed towards the warmer summer months, there’s still that random cold spell that makes it nearly impossible to leave the house without gloves on. This becomes a problem when you have to use a touchscreen device, simply tapping or swiping at the screen with a gloved finger makes nothing happen.

The solution? Alice Ning’s TapCaps. They’re tiny capacitive stickers that you’re supposed to stick onto your gloves so you can make it usable with a touchscreen.

Alice plans to come up with smaller, thinner, and more flexible prototypes of the TapCaps, but not until she can raise the necessary funding to get access to in-studio machinery and materials.

That’s where you come in. If you’re interested in supporting this project and getting the TapCaps once they’re made available, then you can make a pledge of at least $25 to the project. Head on over to TapCaps’ Kickstarter page to find out more.

PowerPot Thermoelectric Generator Charges your Gadgets Using Fire

Shane McGlaun — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:30:45 +0000

There are a number of backup emergency power generators on the market that allow you to charge your iPhone or other smartphones without a traditional power source. Most of those involve consumables such as fuel cells or use solar panels that may or may not work depending on the environment. A new charger prototype has surfaced that will charge devices while you cook or boil water.

Working on a similar principle to the BioLite CampStove, the PowerPot also will generate power for USB gadgets using thermoelectric power. There are three different versions of the PowerPot, offering from 5W up to 15W of electricity for charging. All three concept versions put that power out through a USB port.

In theory, all you need is a heat source of any kind from a fire to a grill and you can generate electricity to recharge your gadgets. The pot also needs to be filled with water or watery contents to work. This would be the perfect thing for emergency preparedness kit for campers. The PowerPot could also be a very useful new source of electricity in developing parts of the world.

Check out the video below to see the PowerPot prototype in action:

The PowerPot is currently raising funds over on Kickstarter. A pledge of $99(USD) will result in the donation of the 5W model to someone in a developing nation. $125 or more gets you one for yourself, while $199 buys the 10W model, and $500 will get you and a family in need the 15W model.

[via EverythingUSB]

Cigarette Lighter/Stun Gun Combo Smokes Cigarettes (and Humans)

Conner Flynn — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:30:14 +0000

This is one of the oddest combo devices I’ve ever seen. On one hand it will light your smoke, but if you need a little something extra in a lighter, it will also act as a stun gun.

It should be called the “Stun and Smoke” or “Smoke and Stun,”, but it’s simply called a “Multi Function Cigarette Lighter and Self-Defense Device.” How boring. In addition to lighting cigarettes, it features a 260KV ‘high voltage’ output, powered by an integrated NiCad rechargeable battery.

Hopefully you are fully charged when you encounter the bad guy in a dark alley, and you’re not in the middle of lighting up. This device also acts as an LED flashlight, because why not? Charging time is about 10 hours, during which time you won’t be stunning or smoking. By the time you get some of that nicotine, you’ll be shaking so bad that you’ll really want to stun somebody.

The Lighter/Stun Gun combo is available over on Focalprice for about $20(USD).

[via Redferret]

Swann MP3 DJ Doorbell Paves the Way for Doorbell Tones

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:00:21 +0000

I’m sure at one point somebody thought ring tones were pretty stupid. Today we have all sorts of ring tones for music the other things that we hear everywhere we go when someone’s phone rings. I think Swann may have just kicked off a new fad for doorbell ring tones. The company has unveiled a new wireless doorbell called the MP3 DJ doorbell.

The doorbell sells for $49.99(USD) and is designed for quick DIY installation. You can slip a SD memory card up to 32 GB into the doorbell and it will play the music on the card when someone presses the button. I can think of a bunch of music I’d like to have only push my doorbell. Maybe Lurch’s “You rang?” or “Ding, dong, the witch is dead.” That last might offend my mother-in-law though.

The doorbell will play polyphonic tones as well. The doorbell activator switch has a range of 330 feet from the base and is powered by three AA batteries. I only hope that custom doorbell tones are available soon. Something along the lines of Yoda saying, “Sell me crap, you will not” would be right up my alley or maybe Mr. T saying “I pity the fool that rings my bell again, sucka.”

Cryoscope Lets You Feel the Temperature Outside from the Comfort of Your Home

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:00:58 +0000

If you read Technabob very much, you know how we feel about DIY gadgetry around here. If you have a cool DIY project that uses in Arduino controller, you’re probably going to catch our eye. I know Robb Godshaw has certainly caught my attention with his cool invention. The Cryoscope is one DIY gadget that could certainly fill a need in my house.

Namely, it would keep me from the daily morning conversation with my seven-year-old about the weather outside. She rolls out of bed each morning and comes in my office and wants to know how hot or cold it is outside. Her little brain doesn’t work in absolutes, so telling her it’s going to be 65° out means nothing to her. She’s also got a lot that fiery Italian in her thanks to her mom, so she gets pretty upset if I tell her she needs long sleeves and a jacket in the morning, and then she gets hot on the playground.

What she needs is this Cryoscope gadget, which lets you feel what the temperature outside is like without leaving the house. An LED glows to give you an indication at a glance if it’s hot or cold outside. The current build actually lets you feel what tomorrow’s temperature will be like, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be used for current weather too.

To build the Cryoscope, Godshaw took a Peltier element and placed it on top of a heat sink with a cooling fan, and a RGB LED on the bottom. The system gets its temperature information from a web-based application, relaying it to an Arduino controller. The controller and the Peltier element then heat or cool an aluminum cover to the appropriate temperature, with a range of 0 to 100°F. Then you simply lay a hand on it and know exactly what it will feel like when you go outside tomorrow. It even compensates the temperature to account for wind chill, humidity and the properties of the aluminum cube itself.

I wonder how hard it would be to build one of these for myself.

[via CNET]

Scosche cellCONTROL Blocks Dangerous Cell Phone Use While Driving

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:30:32 +0000

This is one of the stranger tech products I have seen in a long time. It comes from Scosche and is called cellCONTROL. The idea is that you plug the dongle into the OBD-II port under the dash of any car from 1996 up, and then put an app on your mobile phone. The app and hardware work in conjunction to ensure you can’t use the phone while driving.

Scosche says that when the dongle senses the car moving it will block all sorts of things on the phone including texting, email, voice calls, the camera, and more. It’s also supposed to still allow voice calls if it detects a handsfree headset. The idea is that it will prevent the driver from using the phone and being a hazard or just pissing the rest of us off. Too bad it can’t block idiots that read or put on makeup while driving too.

I see a couple issues with the $129.95 gadget though. The first thing is if you happen to roll your car and the wheels keep spinning how would you call for help? The second is that you have to be running an app on the mobile for the device to work, and the third thing is that all the driver has to do is unplug the OBD-II dongle to foil the system (though it will notify you via email if it’s removed or deactivated.) The system also doesn’t list iPhone compatibility, though it works with Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and others.

Jawbone Offers UP Buyers Full Refund, No Returns Needed

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:00:41 +0000

Back in the summer when we caught our first glimpse at the Jawbone UP bracket it seemed interesting enough. The idea is that the UP can track all sorts of things about you and your health from how far you walk to how long you sleep. It went on sale recently and was met with some harsh criticism.

Apparently, the UP has a tendency to not work for some users. Jawbone notes that it has found that there are a couple of capacitors that are bad in some units and affect performance. If you purchased the UP and haven’t been happy with it, Jawbone announced today that it would give you a full refund.

Even better than a full refund, Jawbone doesn’t want the UP back. You can get your money back and keep the product; it’s rare to get an offer like that. Of course if your UP isn’t working, getting a refund and getting to keep the device isn’t as nice as it sounds, since you’re still stuck with a broken gadget. I wonder if Jawbone will fix the device and offer it up for sale again, since it did actually sound pretty cool.

Verizon Prices Galaxy Nexus at $299, Cementing New High-end Price for High-end Devices

Shane McGlaun — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:00:44 +0000

Here it is geeks and geekettes, the likely death of the $199 price point for high-end smartphones. Verizon Wireless has announced that the Galaxy Nexus from Samsung will be priced at $299(USD) when it lands – and that’s with a 2 year contract. If the phone sells well, and it will, this will undoubtedly be the price of all high-end phones on the network moving forward. You can bet other carriers will follow suit.

I would imagine that the iPhone 5 will bring with it the $299 price point as well. If you were going to push $100 more down the throat of consumers, the Galaxy Nexus is the device to do it with. The smartphone will run Android Ice Cream Sandwich, also known as Android 4.0. It has a huge 4.65-inch Super AMOLED screen with 720p resolution, and 4G LTE connectivity. The Nexus is powered by a speedy TI OMAP 4460 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, and it has a lot more as well. It has NFC support, and even has a barometer built-in.

It looks like we will need to save up a bit longer for those fancy new handsets moving forward.

[via WSJ]

Thanko USB Eye Warmer Will Soothe Your Tired Eyes

Conner Flynn — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:00:07 +0000

If you have been sitting in front of the computer all day long, your eyes could use a rest. They get all tired and dry, maybe even cold. You could always use an ice pack or a hot towel, but those are messy. The Thanko USB Eye Warmer will handle it for you.

Just plug it into the USB port and put it on. You’ll be relaxing those eyes in no time. Just wait for the eye-covering cushions to warm up, and make you feel all better. It features high and low settings that can be controlled with the switch on the cord.

Silly as this looks, it might actually be a good stress reliever. Just don’t get caught napping at work, since you will be warm, but blind. About $20(USD) from Thanko.

[via EverythingUSB]

Ventura Sparc MGS Mechanical/Digital Watch Needs No Battery

Shane McGlaun — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:00:31 +0000

I have seen a bunch of watches over the years that are mechanical action units where you don’t need to wind them and they don’t need batteries. These watches are the sort where the motion of your arms as you move around keeps the watch wound up. A new watch has surfaced that combines elements of that no-wind mechanism with a digital timepiece.

The watch is called the Sparc MGS by Ventura Watches. It has a LCD display on the face and above the watch face is another crystal that covers a little mechanical nano generator. The generator creates the power that is needed to run the watch when you move around.

It has a way to store the power that allows the watch to run for 45 days without moving. The face displays the time, date, and has dual time zone capability. It also has a LED backlight. The watch runs some sort of OS leaving the chance for upgrades open as well. The only bad part about his watch is that the black version you see here costs $5,500(USD).

[via WristWatchReview]

SnūzNLūz Wi-Fi Donation Alarm Clock: Time Literally is Money

Lambert Varias — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:00:00 +0000

We’ve featured an alarm clock that forces you to save money and an alarm clock that destroys money. The SnūzNLūz alarm clock is a nice compromise between those two. It won’t shred your cash, but it won’t store it either. Instead, every time you hit the snooze button, the clock will donate some of your funds to a charity.

But of course this clock can’t set up the financial side of things on its own. For its threat to actually motivate you to wake up early, you’ll have to connect it to the Internet and use its software to tie your bank account to a charity or non-proft organization, as well as specify the amount per snooze that you’ll lose.

The SnūzNLūz alarm clock sells is listed for $40 (USD) at ThinkGeek, who by the way has a nightmarish suggestion: set up the clock to donate to a cause that you hate. (And yes, I know this was an April Fools joke, but it’s still a great idea.)

Fetch My Keys Finds Your Keys, Because Dogs Can’t Be Bothered

Conner Flynn — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:46:59 +0000

Dogs are fun and all, but let’s face it. They are a lazy bunch of animals. Sure, they perform when they want treats, or when they want their belly rubbed, but if there’s nothing in it for them, they just lay there.

So it’s up to us to make gadgets that will do the jobs they are too lazy to do. Like fetching our slippers, retrieving the newspaper and fetching our keys for instance. Fetch My Keys is shaped like a dog, because it is the dog that you wish you had. And if there’s any justice, the dog will see it’s likeness, see what it does and be properly shamed. Maybe even feel bad enough to start doing some cool stuff.

All you have to do to find your keys is whistle and the nose will glow and make a noise to lead you to your keys. It will cost you £5.00. (~$8 USD)

[via Chip Chick]

Retro Tech Gets a Papercraft Makeover

Technabob — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:43:44 +0000

I’ve never been particularly adept at cutting precise forms with an X-Acto knife, and then if I do anything with glue, it ends up everywhere it’s not supposed to. So when I see work like this, I can really appreciate the amount of artistic talent and technique it takes to construct something as incredible as these papercraft retro gadgets.

Designers Lucie Thomas and Thibault Zimmerman of Zim and Zou created all of these precise, scale replicas of classic technology for their Back-to-Basics collection. While I don’t quite remember my Walkman being this colorful, all of the other details are spot-on.

I can’t believe they even put a tiny spool of tape inside the reels of that cassette. Now that’s what I call attention to detail. Here’s a little behind-the-scenes footage of Zim and Zou putting their knife (and glue) skills to the test:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Colossal Art + Design]

Spy Camera Light Switch Can Send Images to Your Phone

Shane McGlaun — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 12:00:46 +0000

Like a lot of things in this world, the HD Spy Camera light switch can be used for good or evil. You could use the camera to be sure no one was in a part of your home or business where they weren’t allowed. You could also use it to spy on people in various rooms of a home or office. The switch mounts to the wall and has lots of features that are interesting.

It has a pinhole camera inside – behind that logo on the bottom right corner. The video it takes is stored to a microSD card and can be shot out to your notebook via USB. It looks like a normal light switch according to the market. It’s not looking like any light switch we commonly have in the US to me though.

It also has a GSM SIM card inside and can send you text message when it senses motion. It can shoot still photos or video and can send you an MMS text message of the photo it takes as well. You can also activate the camera to record using your phone. Unfortunately, the video resolution of this “HD” camera is only 320 x 240 but at least the stills are in 1280 x 960 resolution. It can be powered by an internal battery or an AC outlet. I wonder why it can’t just get power from the light switch. The camera is $80 over at Chinavasion.

Negomimi: Mind-Controlled Cat Ears – Uh, Yeah.

Technabob — Fri, 06 May 2011 02:50:27 +0000

Despite the hardships and tragedies that Japan has had to endure of late, it hasn’t stopped them from occasionally taking time out from rebuilding their great nation to do something fun – like create a headband with cat ears you can control with your brain waves. Yep, Japan is on the mend.

Tokyo is making its comeback and starting to crank out the wacky tech once again. The Necomimi is a bit of funny-looking headgear from a company called Neurowear [JP], and it’s the first in what they hope will be a long line of mind-controlled fashion accessories. Yep, they definitely need to release a brainwave tail to go with these. Here, check them out in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As you can see, the ears automatically respond to your thoughts, perking up when you’re concentrating, then laying down when you’re chilling out. Or, as the video example shows, they perk up when you eat a donut, and get all depressed when you come to the realization that you have no more delicious chocolate-covered donuts.

[via Japan Trends via CrunchGear]

Japanese Lab Invents GROSS Kiss Transmission Device

Shane McGlaun — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:40:03 +0000

If you look at the source of most of the weird gadgets and inventions that surface, I bet that a ample number of them will hail from Japan. Engineers and designers in Japan come up with some really kooky ideas. The latest is from the Kajimoto Laboratory at the University of Electro-Communications.

The lab is conducting research on tactile communications with the aim of creating a device that can transmit the feeling of a kiss. Yes, I am serious. The Kiss Transmission device is a pair of boxes with plastic tubes sticking out the front that are powered by motors that are controlled by a computer. The guy on one end puts the straw in the mouth and flicks it around with the tongue and the person on the other end has the straw on their machine move in the exact same way. It’s supposed to simulate the feeling of kissing, with lots of tongue.

You can watch the video below to see one of the designers using it, but be prepared to be a little grossed out and embarrassed if you get caught watching it.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via DigInfo.TV]

Keyport Slide Gets New LED Light Blade

Shane McGlaun — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:05:18 +0000

If you have a ton of keys on your keying in your pocket I would bet that you get annoyed by all the bulk and having to dig for the key you want. You can’t just throw away all the keys to your office, home, storage, and cars, but you can make them easier to carry. The Keyport has been around for a long time and the thing has recently been updated.

The new version of the Keyport still holds six different slide-out blanks that can be used for cars – with blanks available for cars that need keys with chips too. The Keyport also has available blanks for USB storage and a new blank that has an LED flashlight.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The LED light can be pre-ordered right now for $9.99 and will fit into existing Keyports. A starter kit with one chipped car key starts at $94. A version without a car key starts at $79 and a USB insert sells for $19 for 4GB and $39 for 8GB.

95 Decibel Telephone Ringer Makes Sure Your Calls Will Not Go Unnoticed

Chris B. — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:11:35 +0000

Don’t you hate missing a call because you didn’t hear the ringer? Usually this problem can be fixed by turning your cell phone’s ringer on. However, some people do still rely on landline phones for the majority of their calls. These people usually fall into one of two categories: the elderly, and those with poor cell phone reception. The former group is no doubt the one being targeted for this 95 Decibel Telephone Ringer.

As you can imagine from the name, this device makes sure that no phone call goes unheard. It blasts out a ring that ranges from 80 to 95 decibels, which is enough to cause permanent damage to your ears with prolonged exposure. There’s also an LED that will flash brightly, just in case the sound doesn’t grab grandma’s attention. The device will set you back $50. Ear plugs (for those who can hear) sold separately.

[via RGS]

Potato Crisp Hand Keeps Your Fingers Grease-Free

Chris B. — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 11:51:30 +0000

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m the kind of geek who spends most of my time in front of a computer or with a controller in my hands. Naturally, I’m going to want food during this time, and chips are an easy go-to snack. The downside is that they always leave your hand greasy and nasty.

Eating chips while gaming means wiping off my chip-eating hand after every bite or risking the consequences of having a greasy mouse/controller. I may be a geek, but I’m not a slob. Which is why I usually just go for pretzels.

If you insist on eating greasy snacks like chips (Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going on some health-nut kick here. I loves me some greasy food.), then you might take a look at this wacky £4.99 (appx. $8 USD) Potato Crisp Hand. It has a hand with two fingers that pinch together to pick up snacks.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Just stick it in the bag, press down on the button, and you’ve got yourself a yummy greasy snack without the mess on your hand. Sure, there’s still going to be one on the front of your shirt from the crumbs, but you’ll have to deal with that problem yourself.

[via UberReview]