I’m not saying you can’t go wrong with the spoken word either, but at least you stand a better shot. That’s what you can come to expect with Record Me - a concept design by Luc van Hoeckel.

Basically, this is how it works: turn the knob to choose an empty slot, press the button to record, say what you want to say, then push the button again. Your message will be saved to the slot, and a light will flash to indicate that there’s a message waiting to be heard.

To be honest, it sort of reminds me of a plate that’s been stuck to the wall. Or make that a stack of plates. And in a way, it’s like an answering machine, only minus the phone lines and the automatic answering machine response.

That said, it’s still an interesting concept that many would use. There are similar voice memo products already on the market, but they don’t have the unique design and intuitive interface of the Record Me.

[via Yanko Design]

Instead of just a single camera that captures traffic in front of you, this portable device has a pair of swiveling digital cameras which can capture images in front and behind you. Or to your left and to your right, or just about any other combination of angles. Each camera can rotate a full 180 degrees.

If you do chose to use it in your car, it has a handy “SOS” button, which automatically makes sure that video from 10 seconds before and after an accident will be saved to memory. A G-force sensor also does the same in the event that it detects a crash.

Video resolution is 720p (1280×720), and it captures H.264 video from each camera lens at up to 30fps. In adddition, it can grab 1600×1200 stills (appx. 2 megapixels). Also built into the camera is a 2.7-inch widescreen LCD, which lets you view one, two or both cameras at the same time.

One other nifty feature is a set of four infrared LEDs around each lens, so you can use it to capture in the dark too. It’s even got a mini-HDMI output so you can view content on a big screen too. At least they’re nice enough to include the mini-HDMI to HDMI adapter in the box.

Content is stored onto an SDHC card (not included), and can also be output to your computer via the USB port. The Dual Camera DVR also comes with a suction cup mount for use on your windshield or other smooth surface. While it’s designed to run using you car’s 12V cigarette charger, it has a built-in rechargeable battery. It also comes with a remote control, so you can activate recording remotely.

One thing to keep in mind if you are planning on using this thing for more artistic endeavors. One camera captures a 120 degree wide angle field, while the other captures a more telephoto image, as is shown in the video sample below:

If it wasn’t obvious enough from the watermarks on the images, the Dual Camera DVR is available from Brando, where it sells for $116 (USD).

Instructables contributor DIYHacksAndHowTos came up with this simple circuit which you can install into a box, and it’ll play back any sound you want when the box is shaken.

The circuit requires just a small number of inexpensive components you should be able to pick up at a Radio Shack (or order from their website), and minimal soldering skills. Once assembled, you record the sound you want it to play, hot glue it to the box, and let the fun begin.

Nice sound there at the end. Though I like the idea of recording Chewbacca’s growl or maybe some broken glass if I make one.

This seems like a simple enough gag that someone over at ThinkGeek should consider turning it into a product for next Christmas. For now, you’ll hae to build your own. You can find complete build instructions over at Instructables.

Designer Fabien Nauroy came up with the Play, and it comes in a nifty little package shaped like a speech bubble. The compact device has a front-facing video camera and microphone for recording, and a small 2.4″ color LCD screen and speaker for playback. Once you leave a message, it has a bright LED indicator so you know that someone has recorded a clip.

It’s also got a built-in magnetic back so you can just stick it to most refrigerators. Plus, if you have a fridge that won’t hold magnets, you can just hang it over the handles with the convenient carrying strap. That also makes it easy to hang on a doorknob too. They also include a magnetic sheet with a sticky-tape back that you can hang up anywhere.

Specs are nothing to write home about with just 320×240 resolution, but it’s a fridge magnet so what do you want?

The Play is available for pre-order now over at Native Union for $59.99 (USD), and is scheduled to start shipping on October 20th. But good luck ordering it the U.S. Unfortunately, the drop-down menu to choose the color is borked in the U.S. version of their website. You’ll have much better luck if you live just about anywhere else though. Hopefully, Native Union will fix the problem soon for those of you who want to order one. Just don’t try their even more perplexing customer service page.

[via Fancy]

But expect nothing of that sort with Rollei’s newest shooter.

It’s definitely not as small as a regular bullet. I mean, if it were, I don’t think Rollei could slap “HD” beside its name because it probably wouldn’t be able to take images better than VGA quality.

The Rollei Bullet HD is built with a 12-megapixel CMOS sensor and is equipped with a 170 degree wide angle lens. While its shape might seem like more of a novelty for some people, it can actually make for a much useful camera, say, when you want to mount it, as you can see below, and in the demo videos over on YouTube.

The Rollei Bullet HD can record HD video in 720p and has a built-in microSD card slot for added memory. The pack comes bundled with a 4 GB microSD card and will be shipping out later this month with a price tag of $350.

[via Gizmag via Geeky Gadgets via Slippery Brick]

The pictures I’ve included in this post are just that of the RD-R2, the higher end of the two recorders. The RD-R1 looks pretty much the same anyway. Some of the RD-R2′s exclusive features include guitar and mic input jacks, a metronome, and a tuner.

In addition to their recording capabilities, both devices also have FM tuners and can play MP3, WMA, AAC and WAV files. They also have mini-USB ports and a 3.5mm input jack so you can plug in your media players. No word on the price of the RD-R1, but the RD-R2 will be sold in Japan for ¥37,800 (appx. $460 USD).

[JVC via Akihabara News]

Yeah, the idea of using a snail to record personal memos is weird to me too. But maybe if you’re a fan of One Piece, it’ll make all kinds of sense to you. Of course, at an imported price of $37.80 (USD) for this thing, you’ll have to be a really, really big fan to bother throwing your hard-earned money at such a ridiculous thing.

Even though the product description over on Strapya World says “The things you can do with this machine have no limits!,” from what I can tell, Takara Tomy’s Sakasa Master Japan Reverse Voice Recorder does just one thing – it records your voice and plays it backwards on-demand. That’s it. End of story. Why? Why the heck not?

I wonder if you say “REDRUM” into this thing that it really will say “MURDER”?

[via TOKYOMANGO]

Of course you can also use it to stop people from eating your food, or to remind them that . Decorate it and then place it in your kids’ bathroom, so when they go to brush their teeth in the morning, you can greet them even if you’re actually still asleep. Record a spooky message or just plain scream into the can, hide it in your friend’s fridge, and wait for the shrieking and cursing. The possibilities are not endless, but they are many.

The recording can fridge guard lets you record messages up to ten seconds long. It’s powered by 3 AA batteries (not included). You can get it for £6 (appx. $9 USD) at Drinkstuff.

[via Gadget Blog]

All of the requisite electronics are crammed into a sphere that’s just a hair smaller than a ping pong ball.

The Camball can record 320×240 or 640×480 resolution video using MPEG-4 encoding. Since it stores everything on a tiny SD memory card, you can save up to 8GB of video with the appropriate card.

Alas and alack, this nifty little gadget is only available in Korea at this time, and there aren’t any plans to offer them stateside at this point. For the time being, you’ll just have to admire them from afar over at Korea’s Funshop.

Prices for the Camball range from 189,000 to 229,000 Korean Won (appx. $185 to $225 USD), depending on if you want the optional MP3 player capability.

The mutant offspring of an old G3 iMac and a VHS deck, Cory Baker’s iVHS casemod is one of the ugliest Mac designs I’ve ever seen. Heck, even the original iBook toilet seat design was more attractive.

I guess the only good news here is that this bastard child didn’t get its start as an actual iMac. Cory actually purchased an a la carte iMac motherboard off of eBay (for about 20 bucks) and modded it to fit into the case of his old VHS deck. With the addition of an ATX power supply, a few cables, a VGA connector and some electrical tape, this Frankenstein’s monster of a Macintosh was born.

At least he could have used a Betamax deck, couldn’t he?

The electronic parrot offers up an array of random phrases, plucked from the words it overhears, all the while gesticulating its mechanical wings. Just plug Polly into your computer’s USB port, and your fine feathered friend will get to yackin’ and flappin’ toot sweet. You can grab these birds from Thumbs Up UK for £19.99 (appx. $39 USD).

I’d love to get my hands on a bunch of these to recreate Disney’s Tiki Room in my cubicle.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Damn, now I can’t get that song out of my head.

Lanhui’s LH-555 media players come in several bright colors, and have a retro sort of feel to them. On the front of each player is a rather substantial speaker for blasting out your tunes without your headphones on. Playback details are displayed on a bright OLED screen, with an especially chunky looking typeface for the track info. The players can handle MP3, WMA, ASF and WAV audio file formats and have 1GB of memory on board. There’s also a TF memory slot for additional storage. They didn’t leave out today’s requisite FM radio and voice recorder either.

Chinagrabber has these for sale (under the DigitalRise brand name) for just over $30 each. However, you’ll have to buy at least ten of them, since that’s based on a quantity purchase. Maybe you can buy some for your friends if they’re not already listening to yours?

The upcoming DirecTV HR21 PRO looks like a whopper of a high-definition DVR, capable of recording up to 100 hours of HD programming. The recorder is clearly aimed at the high end of the market, with a black, rack-mountable case that’s perfect for serious home theater installations.

According to the flyer (from the upcoming CEDIA show), the recorder will also feature a newfangled “Optical HDMI” port (aka “DLI“), which will allow for digital signals to be sent via fiber optic cable, allowing for longer runs than regular HDMI. From the front panel, it also looks like it’s the first DirecTV DVR to support 1080p output. While I’m excited about the prospects of this DVR, I’m a little concerned that I don’t see any over-the-air antenna input on the back panel, which could be a deal-killer for some.

Not much else is known about the HR21 PRO at this point (it’s rumored to be coming this November, price unknown), but this is definitely one to watch for if you’re a DirecTV subscriber.

[Hi-res Image Here]

The Clarion DriveEye camera automatically senses emergency braking and captures video before, during and after an accident. A G-force sensor detects aggressive braking and then automatically triggers a digital recorder.

It saves 15 seconds of footage in its buffer from right before the crash occurred, and an additional 5 seconds after impact. Since the device has no moving parts, and is encased in a heavy duty magnesium alloy housing, it should withstand all but the nastiest fender benders.

The camera can also be used to manually record video whenever you want, so I guess if you want to record your street racing escapades, you could.

The DriveEye is currently only available in Japan, and can be found from Yodobashi for ¥49,800 (about $412 USD.)

The long-awaited Series 3 features a 250GB hard drive, enough to store about 32 hours of high-def content or about 300 hours of standard-def programming. The device also features dual tuners, allowing simultaneous recording on two channels. In addition, the Series 3 features dual CableCARD slots so it’s the first high definition TiVo to support cable. It’s also the first DVR to pass THX