Your's Web Tech Power Blog's: Jul 12, 2011

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Latest Posts on Coolest Gadgets

Cars 2 Wii game vs. Mario Kart
The Portable Power Max from i.Sound
The iOmega Superhero saves the day for your iPhone
Sony kills off the MiniDisc Walkman
Maxim 2-in-1 Jug and Scales
21-Day Litter Box
FireText Smoke Alarm

Posted: 11 Jul 2011 08:30 AM PDT

I suppose that it can be said that Mario Kart set the standard for racing games, at least on the Wii. As a recent ad for the Blur racing game has shown, one of Mario Kart‘s limitations is that it is too cute of a game. I mean, you shoot turtles and leave banana peels to thwart your enemies, for gosh’s sake.

The video game for Cars 2 follows the Mario Kart formula, and it is clearly designed with younger players in mind. The game requires the player to go through several tedious and sometimes superfluous tutorials before it will allow him or her to even race. What makes Cars 2 different than Mario Kart is the fact that the player can get “energy” through drifting, driving backwards, driving on two wheels. Energy is acquired in order to get turbo boosts of speed.

What makes Cars 2 similar to Mario Kart are the battle races, where it is possible for Lightning McQueen and other other racers to pick up machine guns, missiles, and other spycar weaponry. Considering that much of Cars 2 is devoted to an espionage plotline, this feature ties in with the film quite well.

Cars 2 is just a series of races in various places, and it could have been more of an action/fighting game than the obvious genre of racing. After all, the World of Cars is this world where automobiles are people, and it would be quite cool to rove freely in this interesting world that Pixar created.

Both games are available at any place where Wii games are sold. It is possible to use the Mario Kart racing wheel with Cars 2. Interestingly enough, the Cars 2 player has the option of using the Nunchuk.

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[ Cars 2 Wii game vs. Mario Kart copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

The Portable Power Max from i.Sound

Posted: 11 Jul 2011 08:15 AM PDT

I must have a thing for chargers today. After I just finished reporting on the Superhero, I’m now going to talk about the Portable Power Max from i.Sound.

The Portable Power Max can’t back up the information your mobile device, but it can charge more than one mobile device. This tiny box is essentially a big 16000 mAh battery that plugs into the wall to charge. It has five USB ports that allow the user to charge a great amount of mobile devices, and it also includes a mini/micro USB cable.

The Portable Power Max has an LED status to make sure you know how much power is left in the big battery. Clearly, this device is meant to be used in emergency situations, as it has a built-in flashlight so it can be used in the dark.

Just to let you know, the included cable does not come with the 30-pin connector for an iDevice. So you had better bring that white cable with out. However, a device like the i.Sound Portable Power Max could definitely come in handy, as reduce some clutter of charging cables.

The i.Sound Portable Power Max is available at the i.Sound site for a price of about $129.99.

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[ The Portable Power Max from i.Sound copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

The iOmega Superhero saves the day for your iPhone

Posted: 11 Jul 2011 08:00 AM PDT

It is either great arrogance or confidence that motivates iOmega to call their backup and charger for the iPhone the Superhero, so I had to see whether or not it lives up to its name.

After all, most superheroes from movies, television, and comic books tend to swoop in and save the day. I suppose that this Superhero saves an iPhone from running out of power at a critical moment. Not only that, it has the ability to back-up photos and contacts on its included 4GB SDcard.

This keeps your photos and other information backed up in a secure place, and makes it easy to transfer this information to a new iPhone in case yours is lost, stolen, or destroyed. You can upgrade the card to more memory if you want to store more photos or data as well.

The Superhero is quite easy to use as the user just puts it in the dock, and a progress bar tells you when the back-up is complete. You will need to download an App for it to work, and you will need iOS 4 as well. At least the App is free.

All in all, the Superhero is a handy place to backup the data on your iPhone, which is needed in an emergency situation. So it really is a superhero, in a way. If you feel that your iPhone is crying out for something like this, head on over to the iOmega website and lay down $54.99.

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[ The iOmega Superhero saves the day for your iPhone copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Sony kills off the MiniDisc Walkman

Posted: 11 Jul 2011 07:30 AM PDT

Nothing lasts forever – the Egyptian dynasty of Pharaohs was pretty long, but eventually the sands of time overcame any imperialistic tendencies. Having said that, the mighty Babylonian, Greek, Persian, Roman and British empire also did not last, even when the rulers thought that they had ushered in the New World Order. Heck, even Hitler with his 1,000 year Reich failed to make it to his successor, so what makes you think that a particular data format will last?

In this digital age, we have seen information being spread using floppy disks that evolved from the 5.25″ variety to the much more durable 3.5″ form factor. Once data started to get larger and larger, a more suitable means of transfer needed to be used, which gave birth to CDs and subsequently, DVDs. Today, we transfer Gigabytes’ worth of data on a Blu-ray disc, and we’re sure that sometime down the road, newer formats will roll out. Let us pause for a moment of silence for a fallen comrade – the MiniDisc.

Yes sir, Sony has finally decided that enough is enough, and will stop manufacturing the MiniDisc Walkman. This product originally appeared back in 1992 (wow, one more year and it would have hit its 20th anniversary!), with shipments ceasing from this September onwards. This is because there is no more sustainable demand for the MiniDisc player, hence Sony’s painful decision to stop its manufacturing.

Before the iPod took over the portable media player world by storm, the MiniDisc player was the epitome of cool. Imagine stashing away an entire album on a disc that measures just 6.4cm in diameter, without the skipping problems that plagued the Discman while doing away with all the noise found in cassette tapes. Too bad the MP3 format and a slew of portable audio players like the iPod appeared, which marked the beginning of the MiniDisc’s decline.

To date, the MiniDisc Walkman had sold around 22 million units worldwide, but it ultimately failed to match the popularity enjoyed by its predecessor, the portable cassette player (the original Walkman, of course). Sony won’t give up making the discs yet though, so don’t trash that MiniDisc player just yet.

Source

Conference Calendar – The global conference and expo finder.
[ Sony kills off the MiniDisc Walkman copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Maxim 2-in-1 Jug and Scales

Posted: 11 Jul 2011 07:15 AM PDT

For those who love cooking, surely you must have a plethora of devices and gizmos in the kitchen. Not only that, you are fully stocked up on all the cooking videos of the latest celebrity chefs. These tools are there to aid you in your quest to be the all conquering chef in the neighborhood, simply because you can’t stand your kid coming home and complaining to you that Joseph’s dad who lives down the street churns out the best hamburgers in town, and cooks a mean sirloin steak to boot.

Well, if you are missing a jug or a scale in your kitchen, or are looking for a replacement, what better time than now? After all, the Maxim 2-in-1 Jug and Scales will be able to kill two birds with a single stone – letting you measure not only volume, but weight as well in a single device. If you need to measure volume, just pour the liquid into the cup, taking special note of where the surface is on the side markings. This is pretty much dummy proof and works just like any other standard clear measuring cup. The Maxim 2-in-1 Jug and Scales is capable of holding up to a full liter – translated to the equivalent of four cups.

If you happen to need to weigh your ingredients to that Aunty Rose’s secret sauce mix will be perfected, and nobody would realize that you have actually mastered her recipe, then the Maxim 2-in-1 Jug and Scales would also be the perfect device to handle such a situation. All you need to do is empty your bevy of ingredients into the cup, albeit making sure those are solids.

The integrated scale will let you know the total weight on its LCD display which is conveniently located on the handle itself. Just make sure that whatever you want to weigh does not go beyond 3 kilograms, (6.6 lbs) and it ought to be a faithful servant for many, many years to come. There are volume markings on the cup itself which displays metric as well as imperial measurements, so it doesn’t matter which side of the pond you’re on – you can still use this without any hassle. Not only that, this nifty little kitchen assistant is capable of converting five commonly-used substances from weight to volume, how neat is that?

The only drawback? This $35 device isn’t fully waterproof, so make sure it doesn’t end up in a dishwasher once you’re done with your cooking! Best to tell whichever good natured soul who wants to go the extra mile this lest you end up with a short circuited device.

Source

Coolest Gadgets UK – For all your UK centric tech and gadget news.
[ Maxim 2-in-1 Jug and Scales copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

21-Day Litter Box

Posted: 11 Jul 2011 07:00 AM PDT

Cat owners will know that kitty poop can be quite devastating to one’s nose, and as a dog owner who has had cats in the past, I can vouch for that. Somehow, dog poop seems to smell less putrid than cat poop, but I guess other people with different breeds might beg to differ. To each his/her own, and cat owners might find the 21-Day Litter Box to be heaven sent.

Why do we say that? Well, this litter box is ‘smart’ enough to work for up to three full weeks without requiring any change inside, thanks to the non-clumping litter crystals that are touted to absorb liquid waste and odor immediately, dehydrating solid waste in the process so that the litter is capable of lasting up to three times longer compared to traditional litter.

There is a built-in sensor which detects when the cat leaves the litter box, while the integrated rake will automatically comb through the litter, sweeping solid waste into a receptacle which will then close so that both poop and odor are contained. There is an integrated LCD panel which keeps track of how many times the litter box is used. Too bad it won’t work if there is no juice supplied to this $169.95 purchase.

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ 21-Day Litter Box copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

FireText Smoke Alarm

Posted: 11 Jul 2011 06:46 AM PDT

Isn’t technology wonderful? In this day and age, you are able to have a device that is capable of detecting whether a fire is in the vicinity, helping sound an alarm so that you will be able to run to safety. Back in the medieval days, the only fire alarm you had was your nose, and sometimes that fails you especially when you’re sleeping. What if your village caught fire (or was burnt down), and you remained a hundred miles away – there was no way to know until you made the long trek back.

Fast forward to the 21st century and you have the FireText Smoke Alarm which will send you a friendly text message (up to a quartet of different numbers simultaneously, to boot) to warn you of imminent danger. Not only that, since you already have a phone in hand, you can straight away make that call to the fire brigade. For £89.99 a pop, it doesn’t sound too bad to have. What do you think?