When the little robot sits down, you get full access to the 4 USB ports it hides while standing up. Otherwise, you can play around with it while something loads on your computer. The LED eyes act as “indicator lights” which I assume light up when there’s data being transferred – or possibly just when devices are plugged in. Or maybe when the robot is getting ready to attack you.

Better yet, according to the photo above, there will be Tapas. Delicious Robot Tapas. I can only imagine ball bearings in spicy tomato sauce. The Robot USB Hub is also nice and cheap - Focalprice sells these for $5.79 (USD) each. What’s not to like?

[via GeekAlerts]

With this in mind, René Lee set off to work on designing a revolutionary printer with the busy office in mind. After spending a lot of time doing research and drawing up initial designs, Lee came up with the Arc Printer.

It’s basically a round printer that stacks printouts from different documents accordingly in a circle. Users can just walk up to the printer, find their stack, have a quick chat or say hello to the others who are also grabbing their documents, and go.

With this design, Lee has managed to transform the printer “from a heavy utilitarian equipment into something more elegant and emotional.”

I’d definitely love to see one of these at my office.

[via Utilitarian Things]

Undoubtedly the best thing about the Magic Charger is its look. That plus its ease of use makes it fit right in with other Apple products. The Magic Charger comes with Mobee’s custom battery pack that also replaces the battery cover on the bottom of the Magic Mouse.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I see a missed opportunity with the Magic Charger. I think Mobee should have made the base station significantly wider so that it could double as a mousepad, enabling you to use the mouse while it’s charging, especially since it takes five hours before the batteries are fully charged. You could leave the mouse on the charger overnight, but isn’t it more convenient to use rechargeable batteries instead? That way you’d still save money, reduce waste and you’ll be able to use the mouse as soon as you replace the batteries. But that’s just me.

If you’d like to partake of the magic of inductive charging, you can order the Magic Charger from Mobee’s online shop for $50 (USD). The battery pack is good for 500 cycles or about 3,000 hours of use, if Mobee’s 6-hour run time per charge is to be believed. Additional battery packs cost $30 each.

[via Bless This Stuff]

The thing looks sort of like a mouse with five finger pads attached by flat circuits. Each of the pads under a finger can sense motion and pressure. That allows the five finger thingy to sense specific gestures and inputs by reading the position of a finger and the pressure.

It’s an interesting device, but whether or not it ever comes to market is anyone’s guess.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Good ol’ Double Research and Development Co should have used some of its doubly good research skills on a better translator. I hardly think that banner you see in the video above is what they meant. A new bland of welfare equipment sounds rather, well, bland to me.

I often curse Google Translate because its translation results tend to need translations themselves. I’ve yet to see a translation from Chinese or Japanese make much sense. I guess the issue goes both ways.

[via Akihabara News]

The Happy Hacking Keyboard has been around for a while now and you can get the little keyboard with or without letters on the key tops. The thing about the little keyboards that many people like is the clicky typing and nice feel. The thing people that have to be near someone using a Happy Hacking Keyboard is the click.

So in support of those who prefer quiet, the company behind the Happy Hacking Keyboard has unveiled the Type-S. This is a new version of the keyboard with same style and features as the original models – only the keys are silent. The catch is the things are apparently only available in Japan. I hope you know someone over there; this may just save your sanity.

[via Akihabara News via Ubergizmo]

This looks like the EasyButton on those Staples commercials, but when you bash this button office supplies don’t appear. It makes a little sound and lights up to tell you how hard you hit it instead. The device connects to a computer via USB and has a number of voices; you can even capture recordings of the people that piss you off so you can hear them scream as you punch the button.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

There are  a bunch of different styles, and you can even get them with celebrity voices and more. Each of the nine different designs sells for $19.99 (USD) each. You can also use the button as a game controller if you want. Could you bash this instead of a coworker?

The Magic Bar will work with the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and the Magic Trackpad. It replaces the normal AA batteries inside either device with some rechargeable batteries and a little cap that you screw on. That cap is the inductive charge connector.

When you need to charge the keyboard or trackpad up all you have to do is slip the keyboard into the Magic Bar and walk away. The device is made from aluminum and looks like it was made by Apple. It can also be recycled when you no longer need it. We don’t know pricing yet, but the Magic Bar will be available in late June, with pre-orders starting on May 15th.

It seems like a keyboard moving on its own would be distracting, but Smartfish claims that the movements and adjustments the Engage makes are very subtle. The keyboard has a split QWERTY design with the keys you should control with each hand in their own sections.

The halves of the keyboard can be separated to a comfortable distance and the keyboard angle can be adjusted up or down to meet your needs. The Engage surfaced at CES, but you can already order your own for $149.99. Feel free to wear your Star Trek costume while you type.

The TrulyErgonomic keyboard works its magic by aligning your hands, wrists and fingertips in the optimal neutral position for typing. That all sounds good, but the main problem is that if you use a laptop or another computer at work, you’ll have to change the location of your hands and the way that you type if you use an ergonomic keyboard at home. This could be an issue.

This keyboard certainly looks different. It’s got a symmetrical look, that might work well. Also, they have high-quality key switches and an integrated palm rest. It can be ordered with a different layout, as well as blank for all of the braver touch-typists out there. The only catch is that it costs $169 (USD).

[via CrunchGear]

Eagle Eye comes with Windows-only setup software. You have to set up the key mappings on a PC first or else you won’t be able to use the converter at all. The video below shows how to set up the converter; of course you can skip straight to the second video, which is the actual gameplay demo.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

If you’ve used gamepads or even emulators on a PC before, Eagle Eye’s setup shouldn’t be too hard to understand. The combo and turbo features will surely be popular among hardcore players. Here’s the gameplay video:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

For a moment there, towards the end of the video, you can sense that the guy was really getting into the game. Good thing he remembered he was on camera. Anyway. It seems like the Eagle Eye is an awesome product, but I’m a bit concerned that there won’t be a way for users to re-map the controls or even just view which button does what while the whole thing is connected to the PS3. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it does mean that you’ll have to possibly take down notes about the key mapping you set up. Also, there’s a good chance that a control scheme that’s good for one game won’t be effective with another game. I’m not sure if the ability to save two control schemes will be enough to prevent users from going back and forth between a PC and the PS3 to set things up.

As the voice in the demo said, Eagle Eye will be available on July 2010, and it’s set to retail for $60 (USD). You can register at Penguin United’s website if you want to be notified when the Eagle Eye is available; you’ll also get a $10 coupon when they notify you via email.

[via Joystiq]

The Sojourner is but one of faux-antique master/steampunkifier Richard R. Nagy, who goes by the awesome moniker Datamancer. He’s also responsible for the wind-up laptop, which has a key that you turn to uh.. turn it on.  And it ran Windows XP. How ancient is that?

The Sojourner is made of polished brass that’s been “artificially tarnished”, and then fitted with an aged leather faceplate, above which rests keys that are electroplated in brass and have parchment key inserts. For some reason the parchment Windows key cracks me up.

As I said, the Sojourner is quite pricey, so much so that Datamancer isn’t willing to put a tag on his creation, although he does say that his keyboards are in the $1200 to $1500 range. Also in that range? A 21-inch iMac. But Datamancer himself asserts, “My keyboards are that expensive because they are that difficult to make.” Still interested? Contact him at datamancer@datamancer.net, and while you’re waiting for his reply check out his website and have a look at his other creations.

[via Born Rich]

Tada! A little wobble for your balance board, perfect, maybe, for games like the Wii Fit titles, or for a little snowboarding. Sure,  you may fall on your face a little at first, but again, this still looks easier than something like the Tony Hawk Ride board. Also? Slightly cheaper at $44.99.

But the real question is… do you have room for more Wii accessories? Well, let’s think positive: if you already have a balance board, this just makes it thicker and a little rounder. But accessories for your accessories? That may be a little much.

[via GoNintendo]

A representative of Logitech’s UK office told CVG that they’re not aware of any such product, so “… it may be something the US office is working on.” If this UMD drive does come out, let’s hope that Logitech (or Sony) includes software that can rip UMDs so that people can transfer their UMD-based games to the PSP Go’s memory. Either that or sell it dirt cheap. Otherwise this is a slap in the face of everyone who bought a PSP Go.

If and when this device is released and all it does it play UMDs, it will be an implicit admission that the PSP Go is a crippled and expensive joke of a device.  You know Sony, if you really want to go backasswards, you’d be better off bringing back PS2 software emulation on the PS3.

[via Exophase]

Those who want their peripherals to blend in with the rest of their computer will be glad to know that the 10 Key also comes in black and white.

I don’t know if there’s any way to re-map the arrow keys though, and that could be a problem if you’re used to the 2-4-6-8 layout of ordinary numpads. Unless of course that functionality is baked into you operating system and not in the peripheral itself.

You can get the 10 Key at Retail Factory for £50 (approx. $80 USD). I guess the dual functionality and the design were factored into the formula used to derive the price.

[via ChipChick]

While it’s not clear if the image is from Nintendo or from a 3rd-party accessory maker, it definitely looks like something I could see hooking up to my Wii. The $89.99 controller appears to be a foot-pedal device that’s used to interact with a variety of bike-riding and fitness activities.

My best guess is that the slide was leaked from some sort of Nintendo product focus group, and might not represent a final product. Still, I really love the idea that someday I may be able to participate in the Tour de France in my living room.

It’s actually my life’s ambition to complete a triathlon without ever leaving my couch.

[via Go Nintendo]

The graphics don’t exactly look spectacular, but they almost never do in DS screenshots. Anyway, if Game Life’s Easy Piano is worth anything at all, I don’t care how it looks… only how I sound after I try it!

The game is set to feature ten lessons (only ten? maybe they’re pretty comprehensive) and more than forty songs, as well as an as-yet unseen peripheral. With the budget prices on DS games, this may be worth checking out!

[via ThatVideoGameBlog]

DJ Hero has been on the radar for quite some time, ever since the trademark turned up last year. And while the title has yet to be officially announced, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick recently confirmed not only the game’s existence, but that it was due this year.

Gameplay in DJ Hero is said to be similar to that in Guitar Hero, and the game may even include sections in which players can use a guitar controller. That way, if you don’t already have one, you’ve got a reason to buy one. It’s brilliant!

[CNBC via Joystiq]

It comes in white or black, because who doesn’t want black suds? Wait, what? Black soap? That’s a little strange, no? Anyway, it’s from yeduo and appears to be just a prototype, which is fine by me. I get enough computational action all day long. The last thing I need is to wake up every morning and shower with soapy stand-ins for my peripherals.

[via Notcot]

Made by design firm Hacoa, the designs include keyboards, USB flash memory drives, a memory card reader and a USB hub, all made from some delightful natural materials.

There’s no word on when or where you’ll be able to buy these yet, but I’ll let you know if I find anything out.

[via AVING]

The NuLOOQ plugs into your USB port and provides quick access to frequently used functions in popular graphic design and multimedia applications, with the greatest productivity enhancements available for Adobe’s Creative Suite products. With the controller, you can quickly move slider settings, precisely change brush sizes, zoom in and out and pan around the screen without ever touching your keyboard.

The navigator controls include a ring that can move in multiple directions for simultaneous pan and zoom and a touch sensitive disk for precision control.

Support is ready to go out of the box for Adobe Creative Suite 2, Adobe Photoshop Elements 4, Adobe Bridge, Microsoft Word & Excel, Final Cut Pro (Mac), iMovie (Mac), Adobe Premiere Pro (Win) and iTunes. The controller can also be custom configured to control almost any application. As a bonus, the price has recently dropped from $150 down to $79.99 USD.

[via Chip Chick]