Latest Posts on Coolest Gadgets

Ventev PowerCELL Charger
Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drive
Renault unveils swiveling front seat
Death Star Planetarium
Creative announces X-Fi Style and ZEN Style portable media players
Solar Impulse, first completely solar-powered plane, has its first flight
Sidewinder SCBA for firefighters
Toe Mouse For Upper Body Handicaps
BioLite Camp Stove cooks and generates electricity
Smart Jumper Cables think for you
Gadget Thumbnails for 07-Apr-2010

Posted: 08 Apr 2010 04:31 PM PDT

We covered the EcoCHARGE from Ventev before, and I had a chance to meet with Ventev at CTIA and got to know more of their products, like the PowerCELL.

The PowerCELL reminds me of Technocel PowerPak, which is a device that can plug into the wall or the USB drive, and it will charge up as a lithium-ion battery.

In fact, it really is just like it. I plugged the PowerCELL into the wall with the included AC cord, and it took several hours to charge. I don’t know how long it took to charge, but I simply plugged it in before I went to bed, and it was finished by morning. If it helps, it is a 1700 mAh battery. While it is charging, there are these five tiny blue lights that can surprisingly light up a dark room. I believe that the PowerPak has a similar series of indicator lights.

Once it was charged, I plugged it into my iPod, and it began to charge it. The PowerCELL only can charge anything that has a USB charging capability. There is a complete list of the products that it can do on this page. You should be able to get the PowerCELL at the exact same web site for about $54.99.

Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool

[ Ventev PowerCELL Charger copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drive

Posted: 08 Apr 2010 04:23 PM PDT

Western Digital is back with a brand new hard drive known as the WD VelociRaptor, where it will be available in 450GB and 600GB capacities. These are the next generation of its 10,000 RPM SATA family of hard drives, where it was specially designed to cater fro blade servers, high-performance PCs, Mac computers, professional workstations, in addition to 1U and 2U rack servers – basically any situation that calls for a balance of high performance and capacity. It also holds the distinction of being the only 10,000 RPM SATA hard drive on the market, and has been a firm favorite in the past amongst enthusiast and enterprise groups. Nice to know this latest iteration of the VelociRaptor brand now features double the capacity and up to 15% performance increase.

The WD VelociRaptor hard drive comes with enterprise-class mechanics that provide round the clock durability under high-performance demands, where up to 600GB of data can be crammed into a 2.5″ enterprise form factor. Apart from that, you can pick up the WD VelociRaptor drive in the IcePack enclosure, which is essentially a 3.5″ mounting frame that comes complete with a built-in heat sink. This factory customization will be able to fit the drive into a standard 3.5″ system bay while keeping it extra cool even when it is installed in a high-performance desktop chassis and 3.5″ hard drive form factor enterprise chassis.

Among the features that are found on the new WD VelociRaptor hard drives include :-

Killer speed – SATA 6 Gb/s interface and 32 MB cache enhance the next generation 10,000 RPM WD VelociRaptor making it up to 15% faster than the award-winning previous generation.
Monstrous capacity – WD VelociRaptor SATA drives are available in capacities up to 600 GB, double the capacity of the previous generation.
Rock-solid reliability – Designed and manufactured to mission-critical enterprise-class standards to provide enterprise reliability in high duty cycle environments. With 1.4 million hours MTBF, these drives have the highest available reliability rating on a high capacity SATA drive.
Ultra-cool operation – Consumes no more power than the previous generation WD VelociRaptor while offering double the capacity and higher performance.
IcePack mounting frame – The 2.5-inch WD VelociRaptor is enclosed in a backplane-ready 3.5-inch enterprise-class mounting frame with a built-in heat sink that keeps this powerful little drive extra cool when installed in high-performance desktop chassis.
Rotary Acceleration Feed Forward (RAFF) – Optimizes operation and performance when the drives are used in vibration-prone, multi-drive chassis.
NoTouch ramp load technology – The recording head never touches the disk media ensuring significantly less wear to the recording head and media as well as better drive protection in transit.
Environmentally conscious – In addition to being ROHS compliant, this generation of WD VelociRaptor is also a halogen-free design.

Expect the WD VelociRaptor (model WD4500HLHX and WD6000HLHX to retail for $299 for the 450GB model, while the 600GB model is going for $329.

Press Release

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drive copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Renault unveils swiveling front seat

Posted: 08 Apr 2010 04:15 PM PDT

Most of us who have seen 4WDs, vans and MPVs will be familiar with seat configurations that can swivel, but Renault attempts something different with their new Clio which will hit the European market, where it is the first original equipment swivel seat for the front passenger. It comes with a swivel base located beneath the original front passenger seat, where it will be able to turn through 75 degrees at the pull of a lever which is located right under it. When you reach the angle you desire, it will lock into place automatically so that it won’t twist around. Ready to hit the market this June, the swivel seat will initially be available in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland. It comes as an option for the three- and five-door versions of the New Clio's Expression Clim and Dynamique Tom Tom equipment levels, retailing for 1,600 Euros.

Source: Gizmag

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ Renault unveils swiveling front seat copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Death Star Planetarium

Posted: 08 Apr 2010 04:11 PM PDT

Do you remember how the Kamino system was erased from the Jedi archives in Attack of the Clones? Well, if the Jedi had the Death Star Planetarium to help them out, we don’t suppose they would miss Kamino since it includes the worlds of the Star Wars galaxy alongside those of our very own night sky, just in case the Jedi want to learn about our culture. You can place a pre-order for the Death Star Planetarium for $25, where it will arrive sometime during the third quarter. Guess folks who are sitting for their science tests and need to know more about our own universe and its solar system might want to give this a go.

Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ Death Star Planetarium copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Creative announces X-Fi Style and ZEN Style portable media players

Posted: 08 Apr 2010 04:07 PM PDT

Creative has been playing second fiddle to Apple for a long, long time now in terms of portable media players. While it remains a far distant from Apple’s coveted position, that doesn’t mean the company is just going to roll over and give up. No sir, Singapore-based Creative has always had a fighting spirit, and they have recently announced the release of the Creative ZEN X-Fi Style and the Creative ZEN Style series of portable media players. Both models will offer what Creative normally tries to – bringing the purest sounding portable media players on the market without breaking the bank. Both the Creative ZEN X-Fi Style and Creative ZEN Style series of portable media players also come with new designer looks ooze with style, ensuring that aesthetics and functionality meet together in the middle.

The Creative ZEN X-Fi Style portable media player will offer all the audio goodness of the Creative ZEN X-Fi2 with a surprising level of affordability without compromising on style or quality. Its aesthetically pleasing form factor allows you to enjoy pure music perfection on-the-go, thanks to integrated X-Fi technology. With such technology, music tracks are intelligently restored to replace audio quality lost during compression. Apart from that, the Creative ZEN X-Fi Style is also able to handle a wide range of video and audio formats, making it a true blue portable media player.

As for the Creative ZEN Style Series, this model will bring all the features that users hanker after in a basic portable media player, although you do get to enjoy unmatched digital music playback. It looks stylish as well, where you can groove to your favorite tunes with the purest digital music playback possible, while using the LCD display to view photos and video no matter where you are. Comprising of the Creative ZEN Style 100 and Creative ZEN Style 300, the latter will have all of waht the former has in addition to an integrated FM radio and a built-in speaker.

You can pre-order the Creative ZEN X-Fi Style now, where it will ship this April 14th as it comes in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities, retailing for $79.99, $99.99 and $169.99, respectively. As for the Creative ZEN Style series, it will come in $49.99 (4GB), $59.99 (8GB) and $79.99 (16GB) price points for the Creative ZEN Style 300.

Press Release

Coolest Gadgets UK – For all your UK centric tech and gadget news.
[ Creative announces X-Fi Style and ZEN Style portable media players copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Solar Impulse, first completely solar-powered plane, has its first flight

Posted: 08 Apr 2010 03:54 PM PDT

This mechanical phoenix that you see here is the Solar Impulse, and this completely solar-powered plane just completed its first flight this morning.

The flight lasted 87-minutes long, and soared to 5,500 feet. During that time, it only achieved a top speed of 44 miles per hour. According to the pilot, Marcus Scherdel, “the aircraft’s control-ability matches our expectations”.

I don’t want to be the one to split hairs, but this flight, notable as it is, is actually late. Yes, it was originally planned for 2009, and it didn’t make its deadline. However, there is plans that this plane will be on schedule to do an around the world trip in 2012. Assuming the world doesn’t end by then, of course. Anyway, the next step is to make certain that the plane can stay up in the air for 36 hours.

The plane has a 200-foot wingspan, which is equivalent of that of a Boeing 747. Its engine is only 44 horsepower, which doesn’t sound too fast, does it? In fact, how does this thing get in the air with that speed?

This, of course, leads to another question that seems obvious to me. How will it stay up in the air when the sun is not out? It better have some power stored up in some batteries to make that 36-hour flight during the night portion.

Source

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ Solar Impulse, first completely solar-powered plane, has its first flight copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Sidewinder SCBA for firefighters

Posted: 08 Apr 2010 03:34 PM PDT

What you are seeing here is the SCBA, or self-contained breathing apparatus. I have no idea how this acronym is supposed to be pronounced, but I’m assuming it is not like scuba (which is, in case you don’t know, an acronym for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus).

The SCBA is designed for firefighters, in order to help them breathe in rooms that are toxic with smoke. It can connect to a shoulder-mounted air-tank with a retractable air tube.

I have to admit that the SCBA looks much less burdensome than the ones I have seen on firemen. It also has a voice amplifier, so a fireman’s yell of “is there anyone in here” can be heard. It also has a flashlight, as well as a heads-up display.

It sort of reminds me of the mask that Liam Neeson wore when he played Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins. It also reminds me of the ones Han, Leia, and Chewie wore in The Empire Strikes Back when they had landed inside that huge asteroid. I always wondered about that scene. I mean, if they were inside an asteroid that they had entered in through a huge tunnel, then technically, they are still out in space, right? I would think they would need more protection than just something that looks like a gas mask. I guess George Lucas didn’t want to do that scene with head-to-toe spacesuits.

Anyway, the SCBA is simply concept for now, but I can easily see it on firefighters of the future.

Source

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ Sidewinder SCBA for firefighters copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Toe Mouse For Upper Body Handicaps

Posted: 08 Apr 2010 12:20 PM PDT

The Toe Mouse may seem ridiculous for the general public, but it’s not designed for the average person. Instead, this was created with those in mind that have a disability to do with their upper limbs. Instead of a mouse that requires you to move your hands, they could have this on the floor and move their mouse around all with the use of a couple of toes. Now, I’m not sure how they’ll get past the keyboard issue, but it’s a start at the very least.

Of course if those of you with monkey toes want to be able to utilize the Flip Flop Mouse, I suppose that’s not all bad either. To work the mouse you just move it around like normal and there are sensors below the big toe and the second that help with the right and left clicks. This was designed by Liu Yi, so it’s not exactly something you’ll find at your local electronics store. Hopefully it’s something that will soon be able to be used by the handicapped.

Source: Yanko

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ Toe Mouse For Upper Body Handicaps copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

BioLite Camp Stove cooks and generates electricity

Posted: 08 Apr 2010 11:20 AM PDT

This BioLite was originally created for developing countries, but in addition to those areas this would come in very handy for hardcore campers and hikers. The main function of this is to function as a very lightweight and efficient little stove. For that it works excellently, but it also can use all of its leftover heat to power up your gadgets.

Now I’m not saying you should use it constantly to text on your phone the entire time you’re out camping. However, it would be great to make sure that your phone stays well powered in the event of an emergency situation. The rocket-stove only weighs 10 ounces and doesn’t require that you carry any fuel with you. It can bring a one liter pan of water to a boil in under 4 minutes. It does all of this by just burning random sticks that you gather along the way. It burns far cleaner than an average wood fire or a petroleum stove too. Once your fire gets up and going, there’s a thermoelectric generator that will run off of the excess heat and spin an electric fan. It separates the wood gas from the burning wood itself and mixes that with oxygen. This comes out sometime during this Spring, and at that point you’ll be able to find out more on how much this would cost.

Source: GadgetLab

Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool

[ BioLite Camp Stove cooks and generates electricity copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Smart Jumper Cables think for you

Posted: 08 Apr 2010 10:21 AM PDT

It’s probably pretty safe to say that anyone reading this has hooked up a computer with all of those pretty wires. The great thing about a brand new complete computer set is that all of the wires are color coded. It doesn’t get much easier than that. Well, jump starting a car is just like that. Don’t mix up the colors and don’t touch the clamps together. It’s pretty simple stuff. Well apparently, that’s just not simple enough, because someone had to create an easier set of cables.

Now if you’re completely color blind I can understand needing this, but beyond that, it just seems like a device to protect airheads from being killed thanks to a little natural selection. These Michelin Smart Jumper Cables can be mixed up entirely. Just pop the clamps onto your battery, then when you hook them to the 2nd battery it will figure out the polarity automatically. No more color coding is necessary. Now one thing I do like is that it has a built-in surge protector, so that you won’t damage you car’s computer or any other electronics. Truthfully I had no idea that was an issue, but I’m not exactly a car expert either. You can purchase these Smart Jumper Cables for $39.90.

Source: Ubergizmo

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ Smart Jumper Cables think for you copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]