Thursday, November 15, 2012

Daily Digest Coolest Gadgets for 11/14/2012

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Coolest Gadgets

Nov 14, 2012 11:45 am | Alison

Personalized Gifts

Everyone appreciates a gift that is uniquely theirs. If you are looking to add a little extra touch to a gift for someone peruse this selection of customizable gifts.
Included are items for her, him, kids even pets.

 

Need more ideas for your gift giving this year? Visit the Coolest Gadgets Gift Picker.
Tell us what they like and we’ll find the perfect gift.

[ Personalized Gifts copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Nov 14, 2012 11:15 am | Alison

Gifts for the Couch Potato

You know that person on your list that qualifies as a Couch Potato. They know all of the latest shows, they never miss their favorites and don’t you dare try to take the remote! See if these gifts don’t meet some of their needs.

 

Need more ideas for your gift giving this year? Visit the Coolest Gadgets Gift Picker. Tell us what they like and we’ll find the perfect gift.

[ Gifts for the Couch Potato copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Nov 14, 2012 11:00 am | Alison

Christmas Countdown… Star Wars Style

Parents: are you ready for the holidays? More importantly, are you ready for the "how many days 'til Christmas" questions (assuming they haven't started yet)? Do you suppose Luke Skywalker asked his aunt the same question? Or did little Anakin use the Force to pop that Advent calendar open sooner? Inevitably the questions and anticipation come. Rather than crossing days off the calendar or investing in a simplistic Advent calendar, maybe time has come to count down the days with some of our favorite galactic characters.

Welcome to the 2012 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar, $39.00 at Amazon.com. Each day of December will keep the little ones – or any Star Wars fan – in suspense. Contained in each day is a special LEGO gift. Included are minifigures, mini vehicles and accessories to help your minifigures fight the good fight. And yes, there are some holiday themes to some of them. These 24 pieces make a great addition to any LEGO collection or Star Wars collection…or both! And they will do their best to keep the little ones' minds off the gifts waiting them under the tree. Hop on to Amazon and get yours before December arrives and count the days Star Wars style. May the Force be with you this holiday season.

[ Christmas Countdown… Star Wars Style copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Nov 14, 2012 10:30 am | Alison

Jawbone UP, Take 2

Just over a year ago the Jawbone UP™ made its appearance. Set to revolutionize how we track our health and fitness, it was a somewhat stylish looking bracelet device. The concept: wear it 24/7 and it tracks everything and syncs with your smartphone. Workouts, sleep and daily activity were all noted. You could even set it to gently wake you up. Unfortunately – a few weeks after release a recall was issued and refunds offered. Faulty construction lead to water getting into the circuit board. Bye bye capacitors. They also found that cracks could appear in the board over time. No bueno.

Jawbone went back to the proverbial drawing board and retooled the UP just in time for the holiday season this year. The new and revamped UP is now available at Jawbone's website for $129.99, versus the original $99.99. Onyx is the only color currently available but 7 more will come. The iOS app now includes more detail and capability – track deep versus light sleep and even scan your food barcodes as an example.  Reportedly the Android version of the app is in the works too. Initial reports on the re-construction appear positive. Mat Honan at Wired had a chance to touch and feel and reported "..the band has as a new protective coating, and there are visibly fewer joints and exposed areas." The jury is still out on the re-engineering as test units are making their way around the industry. So stay tuned.

You have to admire Jawbone's tenacity, especially with Nike Fuelband and FitBit making headway in the market. But the last year could also be the key to success. Observing the competition while revamping the most stylish unit of the 3 may give them the "UP"per hand.

 

Thanks: Wired
[ Jawbone UP, Take 2 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Nov 14, 2012 10:00 am | Alison

Hold On To Your Phone in These Cities…

The good folks at Protect Your Bubble – gadget insurers – continue to comb through industry information to learn more about how and where we manage to misplace our portable electronic devices.  Their latest press release quotes a study by Lookout, creator of an app to help locate lost smartphones. Lookout found that Philadelphia experiences more losses per capita. Congratulations City of Brotherly Love, hold on to your phones. Keep an eye out in all these cities…

1.     Philadelphia
2.     Seattle
3.     Oakland
4.     Long Beach
5.     Newark
6.     Detroit
7.     Cleveland
8.     Baltimore
9.     New York
10.  Boston

Where do people lose their smartphones? Lookout published that too: fast food restaurants, drugstores, grocery stores, coffee shops and office buildings. So watch out for your phone at the office in Oakland, CVS in Cleveland or any of these other popular locations of loss.

[ Hold On To Your Phone in These Cities… copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Nov 14, 2012 05:30 am | Edwin

Griffin Twenty is now available

If you have not heard of Griffin Technology before, perhaps it is time for a heads up – this is touted to be one of the world's foremost creators of innovations for everyday life, and the company has recently announced the availability of Twenty, which was originally introduced earlier this year at January's showcase CES 2012 event in Las Vegas, Nevada. Just to recap, Twenty will function as an audio amplifier which will incorporate the user's Airport Express so that it can capture the AirPlay stream, followed by decoding it, and then playing lossless amplified sound via the attached speakers. In fact, Twenty has been recognized for its design and innovation, having picked up the gong for the Popular Mechanics Editor's Choice Award along the way.

Ethan Opelt, Line Manager of Griffin's Audio category, said, "Griffin's Twenty is the easiest, best-sounding solution for untethered digital playback from iTunes or any AirPlay-enabled iOS device. We designed Twenty to be an elegant solution to cable clutter while maintaining high-fidelity sound for the audiophile."

Just what else does Twenty offer? For starters, it comes with a zero-configuration audio set-up, where you will plug the AirPort Express into a built-in power connection and mounting platform on Twenty's top panel. Following that, Twenty will then capture the AirPlay stream from iTunes as well as other AirPlay-enabled apps including (but not limited to) Pandora, Spotify, and last.fm, while sending great Apple Lossless audio to your speakers via its low-profile digital amplifier.

Twenty was also specially designed to deliver docking with the original Airport Express, although it is also capable of being compatible with any digital audio source including the new Airport Express. The audio amplifier will boast of a 2.1 channel sound system alongside 20 watts output per channel, while supporting a powered subwoofer using an automatic active crossover at 80 Hz.

You can pick up Twenty for $99.99 a pop if you are interested.

Press Release
[ Griffin Twenty is now available copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Nov 14, 2012 05:00 am | Edwin

Apogee announces Quartet

Apogee (no, not the video game company) has just announced the Quartet, which is touted to be the ultimate desktop audio interface and control center for Mac machines. The Quartet is ready to be shipped around the world, where it will boast of a quartet of inputs, eight different outputs, MIDI support, a top panel display and control, which more or less lets Quartet set a totally new standard when it comes to performance and connectivity for the modern studio.

Sporting more than enough input and output connections, the signature single controller knob, QuickTouch pads, and Apogee's conversion technology, you can be sure that the Quartet does not disappoint, delivering where it counts the most in terms of sound, functionality and usability.

You will be able to hook up the Quartet to just about any Mac via USB 2.0 high-speed for extremely low-latency and stellar performance. It does not matter if you are rocking to a MacBook Air or a far beefier MacBook Pro, the Quartet will be able to connect a whole lot more easily at amazingly high-speeds regardless of the machine or sample rate; 44.1-192kHz.

Thanks to the Quartet's four combination inputs that deliver microphone, instrument and line input alongside an exceptional gain range of up to 75 dB, you are left with a whole lot of headroom for demanding microphones and sound sources. Not only that, if you need additional channels, Quartet's eight digital inputs will be able to deliver the option of hooking up an external interface, similar to the Apogee Ensemble.

Apogee CEO and Co-Founder Betty Bennett, said, "We are excited to announce Quartet. Quartet offers a highly requested I/O configuration, award-winning sound and sleek design, all at an affordable price. We have listened to our customers and have designed Quartet with their requests in mind. At Apogee, we are all about delivering the absolutely best in sound, design and functionality and believe Quartet is a winner on every front."

Press Release
[ Apogee announces Quartet copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Nov 14, 2012 04:30 am | Edwin

Retro Telephone Shaped Hand Shower

Are you one of those who love spending hours lounging in the shower, singing your heart out? It works out great if you are single and living all by yourself, but if the home has only one bathroom, and during the early morning rush hours where everyone wants to have their turn in the bathroom, you would best hurry up. The thing is, if you absolutely want to get your singing kicks in, perhaps it would be best to avoid purchasing the £12.99 Retro Telephone Shaped Hand Shower and installing it in the shower stall.

Functioning like a standard shower head with a universal fitting, the Retro Telephone Shaped Hand Shower is definitely a sight to behold, especially when you have water spraying out. The telephone itself is shaped perfectly to function as a shower head, where it will be able to give a different take on an everyday item, transforming it into a fun, albeit slightly wacky but definitely unique, “talking” point! Those who grew up with a 1950s Bakelite telephone will definitely be able to appreciate the humor in this.

[ Retro Telephone Shaped Hand Shower copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Nov 14, 2012 04:00 am | Edwin

Folding Electric Mini-Farthing

Is it me, or are retro designs starting to make their mark yet again in our lives? The farthing is one of the more popular ways to get around sometime in the previous century, but it sure as heck looked extremely weird. Fast forward to the 21st century, and we have Hammacher's take on the farthing of yore – in the form of the $5,000 Folding Electric Mini-Farthing. I suppose when you take inflation into the picture over all these years, $5,000 is not too much to ask, but it is still a sizeable amount for the average person on the street to fork out for what some might deem to be an indulgence rather than a necessity.

The Folding Electric Mini-Farthing is a folding electric bicycle that was inspired by the large-wheeled penny farthing which was made popular in the late 19th century. It is touted to be the smallest folding electric bicycle of its kind in the world, considering how it measures a mere 43-liter in terms of volume, taking just 20 seconds or so to stow away for easy transport or storage. Capable of hitting a top speed of 14 mph, there is a 450-watt electric DC motor that helps drive the 20″ front wheel while its 8″ rear wheel delivers steering capability, as long as you do not tip the scales at more than 220 lbs. Other features include high-visibility LED lights, built-in brake and turn lights.

[ Folding Electric Mini-Farthing copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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