Latest Posts on Coolest Gadgets

Yes, someone taught a robot to shoot an arrow in the air
IPong Table Tennis Trainer
Panasonic Robot Washes Your Hair
AOC WLED Monitor adds a little style to the rear
Aerolatte Hot for the perfect cuppa
Professional’s Image Restoring Digital Slide Converter
Sony VPL-VW90ES is first 3D front projector from Japanese giant
Gadget Thumbnails for 26-Sep-2010
Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex ultra portable drive
Sonos Wireless Dock ready to rock
Sanyo PLC-HF10000L QuaDrive projector lights up the world
Shattered Clock
DIY LED Hula Hoop
HiSaver Energy Saving Powerbar

Yes, someone taught a robot to shoot an arrow in the air

Posted: 27 Sep 2010 06:30 PM PDT

Clearly someone didn’t think robots that shampoo your hair is enough. In fact, someone decided to teach a robot a skill that is still a rite of passage in some tribes: using a bow and arrow.

You can watch the video of this robot after the jump as it takes aim, and progressively getting closer to the bulls-eye.

I’m going to give you a spoiler and say that the video shows the development team with apples on their heads. Hopefully, the next phase of this project isn’t to have the robot go all William Tell on their heads.

Yeah, maybe it’s just me, but I’m not really comfortable with the idea of teaching a robot how to shoot a weapon, even if it is only a bow and arrow. It can only end with a heavy machine gun, which is far easier to trigger.

This robot looks a little familiar, and I can’t help wondering if we’ve reported on it before. It also looks a little creepy. I don’t know who put the headdress on it, but does anyone think this might be slightly offensive to Native Americans?

The robot’s look also reminds me of the end of Short Circuit 2, when Johnny Five goes all punk to catch the rogue bank robber. If you haven’t seen that one, then you should.

Source

Coolest Gadgets UK – For all your UK centric tech and gadget news.
[ Yes, someone taught a robot to shoot an arrow in the air copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

IPong Table Tennis Trainer

Posted: 27 Sep 2010 04:16 PM PDT

Table tennis can be a tricky thing to practice when you don’t have any help. Thankfully there is the IPong for those of you that don’t have anyone to help you out with those practice sessions. It’s a very funny looking device, but it’ll send out as many little yellow balls as you need to keep your ping pong paddle moving.

It’s very similar to a tennis ball machine, it just happens to dish out ping pong balls instead. By turning a handy little knob you can select one of 3 spin settings. There is the underspin, topspin and finally the heavy topspin. The trainer will hold 110 balls and even has an adjustable speed dial that can dish them out from 12 to 70 per minute. You can pick one up through Hammacher Schlemmer for $149.95.

Source: UberReview

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ IPong Table Tennis Trainer copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Panasonic Robot Washes Your Hair

Posted: 27 Sep 2010 03:50 PM PDT

One of the best parts about going to the hairdresser is having someone else tend to your hair. That includes the relaxing process of having your hair washed, but Panasonic is now about to unveil a robot that does the job for people. If having a robot hold your head in their metal hands creeps you out then you might want to be careful of outlining your wants when your kids pick a funeral home for you.

This Panasonic gadget is meant for nursing homes to take some pressure off of orderlies dealing with the elderly. Although some elderly are quite calm, others become very violent with age. The sixteen robotic fingers wash hair after scanning the exact shape of the head. The three motors use just the right amount of pressure for shampooing, rinsing and even giving a bit of a scalp massage. It will even remember the person’s shape of the head for later usage. Although it’s incredibly creepy thinking about a robot giving your head a rub down, I suppose it’s no more strange than the massage machines you find at the mall.

Source: Switched

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ Panasonic Robot Washes Your Hair copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

AOC WLED Monitor adds a little style to the rear

Posted: 27 Sep 2010 02:53 PM PDT

AOC is rolling out some attractive new monitors. I can’t say that I see the back of my monitor, well, ever. However, if the back of your monitor is often on display, you could show off soemthing besides the usual look. With this AOC monitor you’ll get all of the flat screen goodness that you love, while also getting something that’s just a little different.

These are through AOC Europe and right now the information is a little limited. At least there’s a few tidbits to give you an idea on this product though. These are Full HD (1920 by 1080) monitors with WLED-backlit e2240Vwa (21.5-inch) and e2440Vwa (24-inch). Both of the options support 20,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, a 250cd/m² brightness and 5ms response time. To finish it off it also has DVI and D-sub. Sadly, like I said there is a little lack of information, like how much it’ll cost.

Source: TechFresh

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ AOC WLED Monitor adds a little style to the rear copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Aerolatte Hot for the perfect cuppa

Posted: 27 Sep 2010 06:30 AM PDT

Have £59.99 to splash around, but are not quite sure on just how impulsive you would like to get? Then why not use that money to get you the Aerolatte Hot? This could very well be the convenient tool for coffee lovers everywhere, as it is full well capable of frothing and heating up your milk to the optimum temperature, making it ready for you to tip it onto your delicious cup of java while sprinkling your favorite condiment over the top, be it some chocolate powder or even nutmeg and vanilla powders. This might just help you discover that you have latent barista skills that have yet to be discovered. Made out of a special non-stick material which will not have you grapple with horrible burnt milk stains on it, cleaning it is a snap – requiring only a quick rinse and a wipe. A special sensor has been fitted within to detect and heat your milk to perfection, and each Aerolatte Hot can let you make anywhere from one to four coffees’ worth of delicious, hot, frothy white milk, depending on how much you consume per cup.

Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ Aerolatte Hot for the perfect cuppa copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Professional’s Image Restoring Digital Slide Converter

Posted: 27 Sep 2010 06:00 AM PDT

We are living in a digital age these days, there’s no doubt about it. Well, to make sure that you keep up with the times and preserve your favorite memories of yore, you might want to check out the Professional’s Image Restoring Digital Slide Converter. What makes this device tick is the fact that the scanner itself will rely on the award-winning Kodak digital image enhancement software to convert and restore 35mm slide images to their original quality. Its magazine alone is capable of accepting up to 50 slides simultaneously, scanning them one-at-a-time, which can result in large-scale conversion projects if you so desire. Not only that, individual slides can be previewed thanks to the built-in light panel. At its highest setting, it can achieve a full 3,600 x 3,600 dpi resolution scan, where a single slide will require up to 2 minutes’ worth of scanning time in order to preserve your favorite memories for all eternity (as long as there is a viable back up plan, of course). Each $799.95 purchase comes with Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0 software to boot, now how about that?

Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool

[ Professional’s Image Restoring Digital Slide Converter copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Sony VPL-VW90ES is first 3D front projector from Japanese giant

Posted: 27 Sep 2010 05:30 AM PDT

Stereoscopic 3D entertainment looks set to be the next big thing, especially after what Avatar had done for the movie industry on the whole. After that, surely you would have come across a slew of 3D movies, and it is safe to say that none of them actually lived up to what Avatar delivered, making them more of an afterthought instead of being primarily a 3D movie. Well, that hasn’t stopped hardware manufacturers of consumer electronics to deliver 3D devices into your living room, what with a slew of 3D HDTVs being touted at CES earlier this year. This time round, the focus has shifted to projectors, and Sony’s inaugural 3D front projector would come in the form of the VPL-VW90ES.

Designed with the custom and specialty consumer electronics market in mind, the VPL-VW90ES is the first projector from Sony to be branded with their very own “Elevated Standard” (ES) moniker, which points toward a high build quality and outstanding video experience. Not only that, it was also specially built to integrate with third-party control systems seamlessly. The Silicon X-tal Reflective Display (SXRD) full HD (1920 x 1080) projector is capable of delivering film-like performance with Sony’s 24p True Cinema, where you will get frame sequential 3D technology alongside active-shutter glasses which will co-operate with Sony’s proprietary 240Hz high frame rate technology, resulting in smooth, full high-definition 3D images.

Not only that, this new 240Hz high frame rate drive will also be able to support minimize cross talk for minimal image distortion, where Sony touts will deliver an unrivalled 3D and 2D high definition cinematic experience. A solitary Ultra High Performance (UHP) lamp is also capable of driving a brightness level of 1,000 ANSI lumens, and your eyes will be blown away by a sharp, deep black picture courtesy of Sony’s Advanced Iris 3 technology. Expect the VPL-VW90ES SXRD 3D front projector to arrive this month for around $10,000. Not cheap, but it might be worth every penny when it comes to home entertainment.

Press Release

Coolest Gadgets UK – For all your UK centric tech and gadget news.
[ Sony VPL-VW90ES is first 3D front projector from Japanese giant copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Gadget Thumbnails for 26-Sep-2010

Posted: 26 Sep 2010 10:01 PM PDT

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ Gadget Thumbnails for 26-Sep-2010 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex ultra portable drive

Posted: 27 Sep 2010 05:00 AM PDT

Seagate’s latest FreeAgent GoFlex ultra portable drive will carry 1.5TB of storage space in a mere 2.5-inch form factor, making it the world’s first in the process. Already available in the market if you are interested, this is one way for you to store all of your favorite digital memories and content on a single device, regardless of whether you are running on a PC or Mac platform. Just what does 1.5TB offer you? Well, on average, that would equal to 60 High Definition movies, or 750 video games as well as countless hours of digital audio and thousands of photos. What makes the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex ultra portable drive different is also the inclusion of USB 3.0 connectivity – a good idea since transferring up to 1.5TB of data is going to take a while if you use USB 2.0.

While it has started to ship Stateside, the rest of the world will be able to have a crack at the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex ultra portable drive later this year. All of them will ship with a USB 3.0 interface cable, which theoretically is faster by up to 10 times as compared to a USB 2.0 port, where you are able to transfer a 25GB file in under five minutes compared to the 14 minutes required thanks to the traditional USB 2.0 drive. Of course, the included USB 3.0 will be backwards compatible with USB 2.0 ports, so no worries there, all right?

What makes this Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex ultra portable drive even more enticing is the fact that you will be able to use it in tandem with an array of add-on cables and accessories such as the GoFlex Net media sharing device and the GoFlex TV HD media player, where the latter will deliver the flexibility of enjoying your content on a TV, a network, using a mobile device, or via the Internet. Playing nice with either Windows or Mac OS X operating systems, it is good to note that each drive includes an NTFS driver for Mac, letting you store and access files from both Windows and Mac OS X computers without having to go through the trouble of a reformat. $249.99 for 1.5TB of storage space sounds like a bargain to us.

Press Release

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex ultra portable drive copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Sonos Wireless Dock ready to rock

Posted: 26 Sep 2010 08:02 PM PDT

Hmmm, audio streaming is catching on these days as the amount of content available gets more and more by the minute, not to mention the easy availability of hardware. After all, streaming audio from one room to another also helps save costs in a household, since you no longer need to purchase separate audio playback units or devices for individual rooms. Sonos knows this, and plans to leverage on such an idea in the form of the Sonos Wireless Dock, which otherwise goes by its model number WD100. This will function as an accessory to the award-winning Sonos Multi-Room Music System, letting you play all of your favorite music from an iPod or iPhone in every room of the house. Let us see what the Sonos Wireless Dock offers in the extended post.

Available from the end of next month onwards for $119, the Sonos Wireless Dock is certainly worth looking into. According to Phil Abram, President, Sonos, Inc., "The Sonos Wireless Dock is the perfect accessory for our music loving customers who own an iPod or iPhone and want to enjoy the music stored on them in any or every room of the home. This new dock reinforces our mission to provide our customers with access to all of the music on the planet, including everything available on an iPod and iPhone in the home."

Capable of accessing virtually all of your digital music collection that is stored on an iPhone or iPod, the Sonos Wireless Dock will be able to send those sans wires to other Sonos ZonePlayers all throughout your entire home. Of course, before it is played, all music will be converted to analog so that your ears are guaranteed the best possible audio quality. Just how many iDevices would the Sonos Wireless Dock be compatible with? Well, they are the iPod touch (1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation), iPod classic, iPod nano (3rd, 4th, and 5th generation), iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and iPhone, and has also gone through the Apple certification process to meet Apple performance standards.

Press Release

Coolest Gadgets UK – For all your UK centric tech and gadget news.
[ Sonos Wireless Dock ready to rock copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Sanyo PLC-HF10000L QuaDrive projector lights up the world

Posted: 26 Sep 2010 07:56 PM PDT

Sanyo’s PLC-HF10000L QuaDrive projector is something that you might want to look into if you have the budget as well as the needs – after all, those who want an authentic cinematic experience would do well to check it out. Boasting a resolution of 2048 x 1080 pixels which by far exceeds the requirements for Full HD resolution, it will come equipped with Sanyo-exclusive QuaDrive technology, making it a native widescreen 3LCD projector that can deliver a mind-shattering 10,000 ANSI lumen brightness with a very wide color gamut, making it the perfect solution if you want to target mid- to large venue presentation markets. Check out what the Sanyo PLC-HF10000L QuaDrive projector has to offer in the extended post.

First of all, more on Sanyo’s QuaDrive technology – it will be able to throw in a yellow color control device to the red, green and blue elements of the projector’s existing 3LCD system. Being able to automatically control the amount of yellow light in the image, you can expect to see improvements in color accuracy, resulting in a wider color gamut while enabling higher brightness levels. This technology first rolled out in 2008, and has seen leaps and bounds made since then of course. Being the first QuaDrive projector capable of Real 2K resolution without any image compression, the Sanyo PLC-HF10000L will feature dual high-output lamps, a combination of three internal mirrors as well as Sanyo’s very own Durable Inorganic Optical System (D.I.O.S.) that will work in tandem with QuaDrive to deliver a 3,000:1 contrast ratio.

As for maintenance, you need not fret that much thanks to Sanyo’s Active Maintenance Filter (AMF) system which will aid long-term reliability and reduce maintenance costs, simply by monitoring the intake air volume via the filter. Besides, this system will automatically advance the “cartridge-like” filter media to provide a clean surface once reduced airflow through the filter is detected. You also have nearly 12 lens options to choose from, depending on the venue requirements. Other features include picture-in-picture or picture-by-picture modes, a Color Matching function, built-in LAN networking capability, HDMI 1.3; DVI-D; D-sub 15 pin RGB; BNC for RGBHV and CV/Y-Pb/Cb-Pr/Cr; and S-Video input options. The price to pay? A wallet busting $34,995.

Press Release

Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ Sanyo PLC-HF10000L QuaDrive projector lights up the world copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Shattered Clock

Posted: 26 Sep 2010 07:30 PM PDT

At first glance this clock seems to be absolute chaos and like it’s missing a hand. However, once you realize how to read it the clock immiately makes sense. This clock is meant to show that odd relationship between order and chaos. It’s also managed to land itself as my new favorite clock.

In the picture above the clock reads 12:10. The hand points to the minutes while the hour is merely indicated by the number that actually reads clearly. The numbers shift around to come together or to form something besides the gibberish you see on the rest of the clock. Before writing up this clock I thought my eyesight was perfectly fine, but clearly it must have gone horribly wrong. Otherwise I would swear that the clock is priced at 2000 USD, but maybe they forgot a decimal point somewhere. You never know.

Source: Neatorama

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ Shattered Clock copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

DIY LED Hula Hoop

Posted: 26 Sep 2010 06:58 PM PDT

Hula hoops still have their perks for kids, despite the age of that classic toy, they do still seem to attract attention. However, if you want to update a clear hula hoop, you could always check out this way of adding some technology to your current hula hoop. With this it’ll give the kids a miniature light show while they play.

It would be a whole lot of fun to play with this once the sun has gone down. Plus, you’ll always be able to keep track of the kid’s location as long as they’re with this. If you’re curious how to pull this off, Make was kind enough to take you through the entire process. The difficulty is ranked at moderate while the time required is 2-3 hours, so all around it’s not a bad Sunday afternoon project.

Source: Crunchgear

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ DIY LED Hula Hoop copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

HiSaver Energy Saving Powerbar

Posted: 26 Sep 2010 06:12 PM PDT

We all know we really shouldn’t leave our electronics on as much as we do, but not all of us are that great at applying that knowledge to change old habits. Truthfully, I’m not as good at it as I’d like to be and I know I’m not the only one. These HiSaver Powerbars are perfect for the well meaning PC user that just hasn’t been able to kick those nasty habits.

This works by using motion sensing technology. You plug in your speakers, printer and monitor into this power strip, then when it notices no one is around it’ll just kill the power to those devices. It’ll wait ten minutes of lack of motion before it kills the power. You can purchase this for $109.99. Which is a lot, but hopefully it’ll pay for itself after a while.

Source: SlipperyBrick

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ HiSaver Energy Saving Powerbar copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Tuesday, September 28, 2010