Latest Posts on Coolest Gadgets

Google Wallet introduced, and PayPal is upset
Satellite view reveals 17 lost pyramids in Egypt
ITP Thesis shows that the touchscreen is not enough
Casa De La Flora makes certain everyone gets a seaside view
Water Wars Water Pistol Game
Ollie the robot comes in blimp form, with a child’s mentality
PowerSkin battery case for the Motorola Droid X and X2
Digital Storm ODE gaming system
University of Chicago to get a mechanized library
Native Union announces Gold POP phone
Gadget Thumbnails for 26-May-2011

Google Wallet introduced, and PayPal is upset

Posted: 27 May 2011 12:01 PM PDT

Google has recently announced their new mobile payment system with Google Wallet. It is a free Android Android App that will arrive sometime this summer that will allow users to make payments for products and/or services.

Google Wallet, which is open platform software, was officially unveiled at a massive event a few days ago. This deal has been in the works for a while, and a lot of big companies like MasterCard, Citi, Sprint, and First Data have invested in it. In order to encourage more growth an usage of this unique program, Google Wallet is going to encourage a lot of deals like discounts, promotions, loyalty rewards, and the like.

It sounds like a terrific deal for consumers, but you know who isn’t happy about it? PayPal. Yeah, they are suing Google, accusing Google Wallet’s project leader, Osama Bedier, of “feeding confidential PayPal information to Google so that it can develop the NFC mobile payment system”.

Apparently, PayPal and Google were trying to make a deal so that users could pay the Android Market via PayPal. However, it Google has their own mobile payment system, that seems like that deal is off. Something tells me that we are going to hear a lot about this in the near and far future.

However, if you need some serious open payment payment system, you’ll need to wait. I wish I had a more exact date.

Source

Coolest Gadgets UK – For all your UK centric tech and gadget news.
[ Google Wallet introduced, and PayPal is upset copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Satellite view reveals 17 lost pyramids in Egypt

Posted: 27 May 2011 11:20 AM PDT

When it comes to discovery, technology has essentially “been there, done that”. Thanks to satellite imagery, there are no more lost islands, and there are very few civilizations that have been untouched by civilization. However, technology played a huge part in uncovering 17 lost pyramids and thousands of ancient tombs, not to mention other structures in an infrared satellite survey of Egypt.

NASA and a University of Alabama at Birmingham Egyptologist Sarah Parcak teamed up to use commercial satellites in order to find mud-brick structures underneath the sands. These satellites were 430 miles up in the air, and they found 1,000 tombs as well as 3,100 settlements.

Parcak has stated that there are “there is enough to be excavated for 50 generations to come”. These findings at Saqqara or Sakkara could easily keep archaeologists happily digging, and I would love to see what they find.

I can’t help but wonder if infrared technology on commercial satellites has discovered this in Egypt, I wonder what other lost civilizations are there, just waiting to be explored? Someone seriously needs to turn these satellite cameras on South America, and see what ancient buildings are below the ground. It has occurred to me how little we know about ancient civilizations, and if this can give us further insight, then let’s check it out!

Source

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ Satellite view reveals 17 lost pyramids in Egypt copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

ITP Thesis shows that the touchscreen is not enough

Posted: 27 May 2011 10:42 AM PDT

The touchscreen has revolutionized the last decade, and it will continue to improve this decade. However, this ITP thesis by Michael Kneupfel for NYU’s design program has shown that the touchscreen could use a little more accessories.

There is a video after the jump so you can see what he has in mind. The one in the picture is for pulses, and I am not certain what to use that for. However, there are a few things that are pretty much self-explanatory.

For example, there are two types of pens, and one of them allows for some intriguing shapes like a traditional thick marker pen. The other is used for making some interesting shapes.

The most intriguing of them is this weird toy robot that moves its arm as the user brings his or her finger closer to it. It is the one at the end of the video, and I can’t help but wonder if some toy company is planning some new line of action figures because of it.

Whatever the case, I think it shows that having a touchscreen is only the beginning. That iDevice may think that it is all that, but after all this, it seems very incomplete.

Extending the Touchscreen – ITP Thesis Teaser from Michael Knuepfel on Vimeo.

Source

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ ITP Thesis shows that the touchscreen is not enough copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Casa De La Flora makes certain everyone gets a seaside view

Posted: 27 May 2011 10:12 AM PDT

In case that Star Trek Resort that is opening in Jordan isn't enough luxury for you, you might want to check out this one under construction in Thailand.

Casa De La Flora is a resort by VaSLab, which "meshes futuristic design with nature". Each particular villa has a rectangular frame structure with floor to celing glass windows. Not only that, but each room has a private pool, small garden, as well as 24-hour butler service.

Not only that, these villas are all built on a line and a hillside. The big advantage of this type of construction is that every tenant gets a seaside view. There are no high-priced rooms that are by the water, which means that they can charge whatever price that the landlord wants. Okay, maybe that is not such a good thing.

However, it is refreshing to see a resort that doesn't look like a blight on the land, but can blend right in. Of course, all the repetition of the resort rooms might look a little strange, like the identical houses of a boring neighborhood. Well, I don't have any word of when this particular resort is opening, but I hope I am Thailand when it does. Yeah, like I will just happen to be in Thailand.

Source

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ Casa De La Flora makes certain everyone gets a seaside view copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Water Wars Water Pistol Game

Posted: 27 May 2011 10:00 AM PDT

Playing water pistols has just gotten more fun with the Water Wars Water Pistol Game. For those of you who grew up playing Laser Tag, you know just how fun that is, trying to zap your opponents from afar, with the vest and helmet they wear being legit targets. Since summer is here, how about playing a variation of Laser Tag with the Water Wars Water Pistol Game? Each $37 purchase will come with a couple of color changing vests, so you can tell whether your shots were accurate or not.

The kit comes with a couple of water pistols and of course, two vests, to get you started right out of the box. What’s weird is this – the vests will feature printed targets that will turn red wherever they come in contact with water, so make sure you aim properly and don’t be such a klutz to spill water all over yourself when you’re taking a break!

Just how do the vests work? Well, it isn’t magic, but instead they are printed with special ink which turns red when it gets wet, and when the shirt becomes completely red, that’s game over. Time to stash away a bucket of water as a “grenade” of sorts if you feel that you can’t take the heat. Of course, the vests will become white once again when they are dry.

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ Water Wars Water Pistol Game copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Ollie the robot comes in blimp form, with a child’s mentality

Posted: 27 May 2011 09:58 AM PDT

The other day, we reported on some telepresence robots that were essentially miniature blimps that fly around with someone's head on it, and I equated the floating heads with something rather dystopian.

I now see a utopian age full of Ollie, a blimp who has been given the emotional range of a shy baby. There is a video after the jump, and you can see that Ollie is somewhat curious, and flaps its little fins when someone claps for it. It's like a fish that has been given the ability to fly instead of swim, and breathe air, too.

It is an open source project that is designed by Parson' grade Pritika Nilaratna, and it can be yours if you are willing to copy some code and assemble the lighter-than-air body.

Man, I tell you, if I knew anything about coding, and I had a bunch of helium filled apparatuses around, I would make a bunch of Ollies. Then I would have them float about the room, as if my room were one giant fish tank. If I had a tall ceiling, I would lay on my back and watch it like a mid-air aquarium.

Yeah, I think that Ollie is pretty cute. Maybe I don’t want my robots to have any more A.I. than this, but that’s just me.

Ollie from Pritika Nilaratna on Vimeo.

Source

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ Ollie the robot comes in blimp form, with a child’s mentality copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

PowerSkin battery case for the Motorola Droid X and X2

Posted: 27 May 2011 09:45 AM PDT

PowerSkin should be a familiar name for those who love flipping through catalogues and magazines about cases for smartphones, especially the iPhone that has made plenty of third party manufacturers a lot of money over the years due to its popularity amongst users. Today PowerSkin will look at what Motorola has to offer in the form of the Droid X and Droid X2 battery boosting case.

PowerSkin's flexible smartphone cases will rely on soft silicone rubber to protect your precious Motorola device from impacts as well as scratches, and with its patented XPAL Powered battery technology, you should, on paper at least, expect to enjoy twice the power with a battery life that will be extended by another 8 hours. All PowerSkins are rechargeable and 100% recycled, save for the battery and internal components, so you need not feel guilty about the environment when you purchase this puppy.

PowerSkins for the Motorola Droid X and X2 will cost $59.99 each regardless of either model, what are you waiting for?

Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool

[ PowerSkin battery case for the Motorola Droid X and X2 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Digital Storm ODE gaming system

Posted: 27 May 2011 09:30 AM PDT

Gamers can be a fussy lot, as they tend to look outwards first if they are on a losing streak. Could it be the mouse? Perhaps the keyboard isn’t quite right, or the standard, age-old excuse of “My computer’s too slow to keep up with the action”. Well, Digital Storm wants to make sure that you no longer have any more excuses the next time you lose, at least not from the processing point of view with their first pre-built gaming system known as ODE.

Just what is the ODE? This will be very different from Digital Storm's previous individually customized gaming rigs, as ODE will allow hardcore and interested PC gamers to acquire the best technology without having to select each individual component. Digital Storm will do this for you prior, having pre-selected and fully optimized all of the hardware within so that you get unparalleled performance per dollar.

With a liquid cooled 5.0GHz extreme overclocked Intel i7 2600K processor inside (you can pick up your jaws from the floor already), a dual SLI configuration that sports two NVIDIA GTX 570's, and a super fast Intel solid state drive (SSD) will let the ODE deliver super fluid graphical performance that will certainly have you salivate all over, so make sure that there are tissues ready.

All ODE models will be constructed with the same boutique level quality and care, where this pre-built machine will be fully loaded with a perfectly balanced configuration, shipping in just 72 hours so that you can get your gaming fix ASAP. Since it is ready right out of the box, you need not worry about missing components or sub-par parts, everything has been done for you already, you just need to pony up the dough.

Digital Storm's ODE gaming rigs will come in four different pre-set configurations, retailing for $1,499 onwards.

Product Page

Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool

[ Digital Storm ODE gaming system copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

University of Chicago to get a mechanized library

Posted: 27 May 2011 09:14 AM PDT

Just yesterday, I reported on the Yobot, a robot arm that will be stationed at a Yotel near Times Square New York, and its job is to take ones bag for safekeeping and file it with others.

This Joe and Rika Mansueto Library at the University of Chicago looks rather similar in operation, but it is essentially a robot librarian and not a bag check-in. It has about 35,000 metal bins in a five story chamber, which is enough for millions of books.

If a patron wants a particular book, he or she can request it, and one of the robot arms fetches it from the five story chamber located underneath the new section of the library. The books are not sorted by any sort of Dewey Decimal System or other numerical classification, but by size.

This is slightly more efficient than human-stocked libraries, as older books don’t have to be shifted around in order to make room for newer books. All that is required is adding a new shelf, and make certain that the book is entered into the new digital system. Of course, this does create a problems should there be some sort of power outage.

Not only is this subterranean method of organization pretty cool, but the new edition to the library is a very cool egg-shaped dome structure. It cost enough to build at $81 million.

Source

Coolest Gadgets UK – For all your UK centric tech and gadget news.
[ University of Chicago to get a mechanized library copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Native Union announces Gold POP phone

Posted: 27 May 2011 09:13 AM PDT

Want to introduce some bling into your life? Well, you can do so with the Native Union Gold POP phone. This is something that might appeal to the little boy in you who grew up reading James Bond novels, and wanting to play the role of a suave, debonair super spy who has everything under control no matter how harrowing it might seem, why not get the Gold POP phone and make it a part of your home as well? It would go down well with the James Bond persona, since Bond never skimps on his gizmos.

The Gold POP phone will also appeal to females, since it doesn’t look half bad at all, and at least it is a whole lot more presentable than the rest of the big boy’s toys that your man likes to purchase. We will look into greater detail as to what the Gold POP phone is able to offer you should you decide to bling up your life.

This shiny, metallic gold handset is the perfect device for those who love multi-tasking, as it enables one to talk, text and perhaps even dodge enemy bullets, all at the same time without breaking a sweat. You can use it to make Skype calls to your mates, or perhaps even hold a conference call with family who are displaced in different continents, looking like money over the webcam as well.

The Gold POP phone will be able to take advantage of its 3.5mm jack to play nice with most mobile devices, and you can also purchase an adapter which is sold separately just in case there are connectivity incompability issues.You will find a first class speaker and microphone fitted to this puppy, while the handset itself boasts of noise reduction technology so that the message gets across crystal clear, reducing the chances for any miscommunication.

Acclaimed French designer David Turpin is the brain behind this retro style handset, and it was based on his interpretation of the classic 1950s Bakelite telephone. Retailing for $60 a pop, this is one of the few affordable indulgences that most folks can afford, especially in the current economic climate, merging both flair and function in a single device.

Product Page

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ Native Union announces Gold POP phone copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]