Thursday, November 1, 2012

Posts from Coolest Gadgets for 10/31/2012

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Coolest Gadgets

Oct 31, 2012 11:00 am | Alison

A Claw for Ice

The Empire Strikes Back is definitely my favorite Star Wars movie. Come on. You can't tell me that you didn't shiver up and down as the rebels fought the empire on Hoth. The subterranean cold forced the rebels to come up with a number of different innovations for surviving. Massive amounts of high tech clothing to start. How about the ton-ton? A two legged horse that survives the cold.  In the case of the wampa – the big abominable snowman type thing that hung Luke upside down in his cave – he was cut out for the cold. Fortunately the wampa's strength was no match for a Jedi.

What better way to prepare yourself for the impending winter snow, than with an arm patterned after that very cold weather being? ThinkGeek has a great solution in the Severed Wampa Arm Ice Scraper. You will look like you can take on the world – or Luke Skywalker – with this furry clawed scraper. The mitten keeps your hand warm. And as the winter goes on and your paw gets dirty just throw the mitten in the washer. You can conquer the ice on the car for just $24.99. So get yourself armed for the snow and ice – and add a little character to your scraping.

[ A Claw for Ice copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Oct 31, 2012 10:30 am | Alison

Chill Out, Without Ice

More wine talk! Wine temperatures sure make a difference, even for the uneducated drinker. If you put two glasses of Pinot Grigio in front of anyone – one room temp and one at a proper 35 degrees – guess what tastes better? Or even a nice red. Room temp is too warm. Chill just a smidge and the flavor comes out. And don't forget the importance of chilling sparkling wines. So what if you entertain and have red and white and bubbly drinkers? Keeping them at the proper temperature poses a challenge.

Ditch the ice and the fridge and go electrical. Brookstone offers an Iceless Wine Chiller for $99.99. They use Peltier thermoelectric technology. Essentially a thermoelectric cooling, with no moving parts or liquid to chill things. Just plug it in, insert your bottle, punch in the desired temperature and let the chiller do its thing. The LED display shows current and desired temperature so you can see the progress. And a countdown timer alerts you when the vino is ready.  The device fits nicely on a kitchen or bar counter top too. So let your guests enjoy the full flavor of the wines you serve. They'll think you hired a sommelier!

[ Chill Out, Without Ice copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Oct 31, 2012 08:01 am | Alison

A New Leash on Life

Time to walk the dog. Run through your mental checklist. Coat? Check. Dog's coat? Check. Gloves? Check. Leash? Check. Oh wait, it's about to snap. Re tie it. Doggy bags? Check. Reflectors for walking at night? Check. Boy, this dog walking stuff gets more complicated all the time. Long gone are the days of just taking the dog out and letting them run.

I recommend making the walking process as efficient as possible. Quirky wants to help with their Kosoku leash which contains more features than I knew a dog leash could contain. Kosoku is good for dogs up to 45 lbs and offers a retractable 9 foot leash with a semi-rigid core. Around the core is neoprene and nylon canvas. Collectively the materials provide flexibility, strength, shock absorption and durability. The leash portion remains naturally comfortable in the hand via smart design and neoprene exterior. And most importantly the leash contains a pocket for the doggy bags! No more walking out of the house without them.

On Quirky's site you will see that the Kosoku is still in development. But they also feature a video on the development process. Once done you can pick up a Kosoku for $29.99 which seems an easy investment if it helps cut down on some of the hassles of walking the pooch.
[ A New Leash on Life copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Oct 31, 2012 06:30 am | Edwin

Musical Wine Glasses

I am quite sure that back when you were a wee little kid in school, you realized that different levels of water in glasses could create various "notes" whenever your finger rubs on the rims of the glass. Why not be a whole lot more professional now that you are all grown up, with money in the bank to spare? I am referring to the £39.99 Musical Wine Glasses, where it puts a new spin on an age old trick, making a set of these spit out plenty of notes if you are musically inclined.

Each of the shapely glass will come finished with a gold luster, featuring musical notations that let you know which corresponds with various levels of liquid. As an example, a nice full glass might be a B flat, and when you have had your fill of fruit from the vine, you will end up playing a G sharp. Just make sure your finger is wet beforehand, while taking a firm grip on the base of the glass with the other while gently running the wet finger around the lip.

[ Musical Wine Glasses copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Oct 31, 2012 06:00 am | Edwin

Tetris takes a Halloween look

Everyone loves Tetris – I have yet to meet someone who did not relish the challenge of ensuring all those lines are cleared in the fastest possible time. The thing is, with the advent of multiplayer Tetris, one is truly capable of finding out just where one stands among your peers. Here is a Halloween take on Tetris, where hacker/squash carver Nathan Pryor decided to put in a whole lot more attention and detail into this pumpkin instead of just sticking a candle within a jack o’ lantern. What we have here is not only a pumpkin Tetris, but it is a very playable one by all means and purposes.

Pryor managed to carve an impeccable grid into a good-size pumpkin, while ensuring it remains loaded with a whopping 128 LEDs for the "display." Pryor decided to christen this unique mish mash of technology and food “Pumpktris” – how apt, don't you think so? The stem itself has been transformed into a controller, working like a joystick. The entire Pumpktris is a labor of love, taking a whopping dozen hours of work, 256 pieces of heat-shrink tubing, and 313 solder joints to complete.

Source
[ Tetris takes a Halloween look copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Oct 31, 2012 05:30 am | Edwin

Verizon announces LG Spectrum 2

Here we are with yet another smartphone that you might be interested in, especially if you are looking to upgrade your current contract that is set to expire. Of course, you will need to rock to Verizon Wireless if you want to pick up the LG Spectrum 2. The LG Spectrum 2 is a Verizon exclusive, so you are unable to pick it up from other mobile carriers in the US, and it is already available Stateside online since yesterday, while arriving at brick-and-mortar Verizon Wireless Communications Stores in the weeks ahead for a surprisingly affordable $99.99 price point – after you hand in a $50 mail-in rebate and agree to a new two year contract, of course.

It is said that the LG Spectrum 2 will be able to deliver a unique wireless experience courtesy of an ecosystem of features and accessories, enabling customers to do away with pesky cables that tend to get all tangled up from time to time – especially so when you leave your cables alone. There is the special battery cover that paves the way for wireless charging, and best of all is, this is thrown into the mix for free.

You are able to share information such as contacts, maps and websites with others sans wires thanks to the built-in near-field communications (NFC) capability, where all you need to do is just tap a pair of compatible phones together, and you're good to go. NFC is also capable of working with reprogrammable LG Tag+ stickers, creating special smartphone modes for different situations and places that you might be in, while SmartShare allows you to wirelessly view pictures and watch videos on a DLNA-enabled device.

Other hardware specifications include a generous 4.7-inch True HD display, Corning Gorilla Glass for that added touch of durability, 4G LTE connectivity, an 8-megapixel camera at the back, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and 1080p HD video recording capability among others. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is the operating system of choice, where it runs on a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Krait processor, accompanied by 16GB of internal memory with a microSD memory card slot for expansion purposes. Does this sound like the smartphone for you?

Press Release
[ Verizon announces LG Spectrum 2 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Oct 31, 2012 05:00 am | Edwin

Samsung Nexus 10 announced

The tablet market has seen a reversal of roles of sorts, if you were to analyze it. For starters, Apple, when Steve Jobs was still alive, said that the 7-inch tablet market does not make sense, and tablets released at that size was pronounced to be DOA – Dead On Arrival. Rather ironic then, to see Apple step into the 7-inch tablet market with their recently announced iPad mini, don't you think so? Samsung, on the other hand, had always tried to best Apple in the 10-inch tablet segment with their attempts coming in the forms of the Galaxy Tab family, while issuing 7-inch models under the same banner to boot. Their latest attempt, however, carries the Nexus flag of Google, resulting in the Google Nexus 10 which will also be the first device to ship with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean in tow.

One major talking point about the Samsung Nexus 10 would be this – it is touted to be the world's highest resolution tablet display, offering new multi-user support, immersive HD content as well as the very best that Google apps deliver, making sure that you have a little bit of something for just about anyone and everyone. Measuring a mere 8.9mm thin and tipping the scales at just 603 grams ,the Nexus 10 will be powered by a speedy dual-core A15 processor and advanced MIMO WiFi, where the latter claims to deliver web browsing speeds that are up to 4 times faster compared to standard issue WiFi.

In front, there is a 1.9-megapixel camera, allowing you to look at your highest resolution best while you chat over video with up to nine friends simultaneously via Google+ Hangouts. The Nexus 10 does seem to be a tablet for everyone – tap your photo to sign in to your own user account, and you can set up different accounts for different users just like how your Windows system is like. Not only that, there is also the new Daydream mode on the Samsung Nexus 10 that allows you to display useful or delightful information on your tablet even when it is charging.

Other hardware specifications include a micro HDMI port, micro USB support, a 10" display at 2560 x 1600 resolution (300ppi), Bluetooth 3.0 and NFC support, and a massive 9,000mAh battery to keep this puppy going for hours on end. Does the iPad have something to be scared of? I would go out on a limb here and say yes, resoundingly.

Press Release
[ Samsung Nexus 10 announced copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Oct 30, 2012 01:25 pm | Alison

Computer Control at Your Fingertips…Literally

Think of the evolution of the mouse & keyboard. First there was the lack of mouse and the directional keys on a keyboard attached to the PC. Then this crazy little thing with the clicks came along – albeit corded. Keyboards too became corded. Then the mouse and keyboard lost their tail and went wireless. Somewhere in there the track pad came on the scene. What's next? Your finger. And it looks like early 2013 will make it a reality.

Welcome to the Leap, launching in early 2013 for just $69.99. This nifty gadget will revolutionize how you navigate your PC or laptop. Simply plug in the cell phone sized device into a USB port. Using Leap Motion Technology the device creates a 3D interaction space around your computer. It distinguishes thumbs from fingers from hands and uses your motion to maneuver around. Swipe to change pages (remember Tom Cruise in Minority Report?). Or accurately game. Point a pen to sign a document. Zoom-in or zoom-out by pinching. Check the video below to see the Leap in action. How accurate can it be you may ask? It tracks motion down to 1/100th of a millimeter. You will even be able to create custom motions for some of your most used functions. The Leap is compatible with Windows 7 and 8 and Mac OS X and Linux is in development. Pre-orders are being taken now, so cruise over to www.leapmotion.com to get your order in for delivery in just a few months.

Thanks: TechOD


[ Computer Control at Your Fingertips…Literally copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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In This Issue

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