Friday, January 18, 2013

Daily Digest Coolest Gadgets for 01/17/2013

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Coolest Gadgets

Jan 17, 2013 08:00 am | Alison

A ChargeCard…Literally

Anyone who goes travels – whether across the globe or across town – knows the importance of keeping chargers on the ready. You never know when you may have a few seconds to charge up. Keeping the cables organized is a different story though. Personally, my travel bag always resembles a hornets nest. Between cables and headphones. Bleeeech! It's a mess. And gosh forbid you are totally on the go and don't have a place to put a cable. Some smart folks in California took a look at this very dilemma and came up with a perfect solution that received some attention at CES last week.

Meet ChargeCard, a compact USB charger that fits virtually anywhere in your life. These card sized units, available for iPhone 4 or 5 and in micro USB, fit in places as small as your wallet. When you need to charge find a USB port pull back the rubber tongue and plug in. Then plug the adapter into your phone or device. The USB plug snaps back into place when done charging. It functions just like any other USB cable so yes, you can sync too. As simple as the concept may seem, ChargeCard is apparently something that we all need as the project received plenty of CES press and tripled their Kickstarter goal last summer. Sometimes some of the simplest gadgets are the most helpful though! Pick up your own ChargeCard in black or white for $25. Tweet about ChargeCard and get a discount too. And leave the manic charging and crazy cable blues behind.
[ A ChargeCard…Literally copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 17, 2013 07:00 am | Alison

Let Your Phone Feel & Act Like a Camera

How many of you non-photographers out there even bother with a camera anymore? Smartphone photography is taking the world by storm. With faster speeds, more megapixels, better lenses and bigger capacity on our phones there remain few reasons to carry a camera. Yet becoming a professional photographer may not be totally possible with these handheld devices. Let's face it, holding onto the delicate sides of your phone while trying to take quality photos does pose a challenge sometimes.

A funded Kickstarter project in the UK is launching a solution to help you enjoy smartphone photography while letting you literally 'feel' like you are using a camera. snappgrip, compatible with iPhone 4, 4S, 5 and Galaxy SIII, includes a case and camera controls.  Pop the case on your phone then slide in the snappgrip controller when the moment arises. Synced via Bluetooth, the controller enables you many of the conveniences of a camera. Press the shutter button to take a picture or press halfway to focus. Shoot in portrait, landscape or video mode zoom in and out and use flash. On the bottom you have micro-USB port for charging the controller and standard tripod too.  iOS and Android companion photo apps are available. Black/silver and silver/white/brown color options are available and snappgrip is anticipated to begin shipping in February. Pick one up for £29 on Kickstarter now or £69 once launched. And get that camera feel back into your photography.
[ Let Your Phone Feel & Act Like a Camera copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 17, 2013 05:30 am | Edwin

iPad To Television Dock

So you have got this great video that you have stored on your iPad, and want to share it with everyone else at the office or at home. The thing is, your iPad's display is not really that large, and it would be inconvenient for some folks to view the video you play upside down, not to mention them not being able to drink in all the visual details that was carefully shot beforehand. Apple has yet to create an iPad with a built-in projector, so what would your next step be? This is where the $99.95 iPad To Television Dock comes in to save the day.

As its name suggests, the iPad To Television Dock is the ideal dock to play videos stored on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch – all on a connected TV. The dock itself will hook up to a TV thanks to the included composite cable, making it ideal for sharing recently captured footage, be it a holiday football game or day of skiing on the Swiss Alps. Apart from that, the iPad To Television Dock also doubles up as a charger, since your connected Apple devices will be recharged along the way. It will play nice with the iPad, iPhone 4, iPhone 3G/3GS, and iPod touch just in case you are interested.

[ iPad To Television Dock copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 17, 2013 05:00 am | Edwin

BioLite Camping Stove

Do you love the great outdoors? Have you tried asking your kids to spend less time at home, glued to the TV and head outdoors instead for some nature-inspired goodness? If you have answered in the affirmative, then perhaps what you need to do is to "talk" to the younger generation on their terms and frequency. Give them a gizmo to play around with when they are out there in the wilderness, and you would have greatly enhanced your chances of receiving a positive answer from them to your request. Case in point, the £149.99 BioLite Camping Stove ought to ensure that you will be able to keep them wild animals at bay at night, cook your meals, and burn some zombies along the way just in case a Walking Dead scenario comes about.

The BioLite Camping Stove is capable of cooking, heating and charging your electronic devices, where it does so by using renewable biomass including (but not limited to) twigs, pinecones, wood pellets in addition to other easily attainable flammable materials. A built-in fan will create the necessary airflow required, where it merges with the fuel chamber so that an ultra-efficient combustion fire is produced. All generated heat will be converted into electricity thanks to the Power Module which is then stored in the lithium ion battery, or it can be output to charge smaller devices. The included handy carry bag makes sure it remains nice and dry even when it is pouring outside, and it can be folded away quickly and easily just in case you want to escape from the eye in the sky in an instant. Tipping the scales at under 1kg, the BioLite Camping Stove ensures you need not tote around gas canisters, bulky chargers or heavy firewood ever again the next time you go camping.

[ BioLite Camping Stove copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 17, 2013 04:30 am | Edwin

Ice cubes get smart

There is nothing quite like having a nice drink at the end of the day with good company, but if you happen to lack some self-control, the conversation at your table would get boisterous and some might even say, nonsensical along the way. Well, if you are one who drives home alone, it would be better if you had brought along a designated driver as it would be far too foolish to endanger not only yourself but others on the road when you have taken in one drink too many. Well, just what other inventions can we look forward to that are able to help us get home safe and sound despite having our fair share of fun and drinks? Trust a brainy boffin over at MIT, a specific Dhairya Dand in particular, to come up with a set of “ice cubes” which are capable of keeping track of how much you have drunk during the evening, where it will flash red to inform you that you have had too much to drink.

This set of glowing cubes after was specially designed to monitor a person’s alcohol intake, where it will change color from green to red as the alcohol intake increases, so that one has a visual cue as to when to stop. I am rather skeptical of this, as the person him or herself might feel that they are far from their limit, and would not need the warning light. After all, how many of us have run a red light because we figured out we could be fast enough? What is there to prevent one from doing the same when it comes to drinking?

Well, I guess at the end of the day, something is still better than nothing, and each cube is comprised of a colored LED, an accelerometer, IR receivers, and a battery, and these have been molded into an edible, waterproof jelly so that the circuitry remains protected without affecting the drink's taste. The accelerometer is able to calculate the number of sips a person takes, comparing it with a timer in order to estimate one's level of intoxication while changing the flashing LED's color accordingly. With the different alcohol levels in individual drinks, there is still plenty of work to be done before these smart ice cubes are perfected, but they are a start to begin with.

Source
[ Ice cubes get smart copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 17, 2013 04:00 am | Edwin

Philips Lifeline GoSafe for added peace of mind

The recently concluded CES 2013 at Las Vegas, Nevada, capped a hectic week for many in the consumer electronics industry, but somehow, some of the devices that are worthy of mention seemed to have slipped through our news net. One of them would be the Philips Lifeline GoSafe, which is a new generation of mobile personal emergency response system (PERs) which was specially designed to help senior citizens eke more out of life. This latest innovation from Philips will deliver a unique combination of fall detection capabilities, accompanied by a suite of locating technologies as well as two-way cellular voice communication that will help users gain the confidence to continue doing the activities that they enjoy, knowing that they are able to summon help should the situation arise.

Continuing the long tradition of the Lifeline range that has clocked up nearly four decades of experience in empowering seniors, the new Philips Lifeline GoSafe will incorporate its fair share of Philips' trusted features, while it goes ahead to expand PERs functionality beyond the home, so that users have access to the Philips Lifeline Response Center at all times. We are talking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, now how about that for peace of mind?

The Philips Lifeline GoSafe will redefine the PERs niche market, as it intends to change the way people think about aging. In fact, the GoSafe is packed with its fair share of advantages that include (but are not limited to) the widely adopted AutoAlert fall detection capabilities that is capable of detecting a fall automatically, following that up with a call for help to the designated number should the user fail to push the GoSafe button.

There is also two-way cellular voice communication, and you can use up to seven user-locating technologies which was specially designed to help identify the user's location in a wide range of situations. Sporting a single, attractive, easy to wear, waterproof button, all one needs to do is press the button to access help – regardless of where they are.

No idea on pricing just yet, so stay tuned!

Press Release
[ Philips Lifeline GoSafe for added peace of mind copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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In This Issue

Recent Stories

Make Yourself a Green Thumb
Avoid Obesity. Pump Your Stomach?
Magnetic Light Switch Covers
Super WiFi Antenna helps extend your WiFi reach
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Thursday, January 17, 2013

Daily Digest Coolest Gadgets for 01/16/2013

The latest and coolest gadgets daily digest Is this email not displaying correctly?
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Coolest Gadgets

Jan 16, 2013 07:45 am | Alison

Make Yourself a Green Thumb

True confession time. I am a killer. I kill plants. I try to grow them indoors and outdoors with the same results. Poor little green friends. It may be that they dry out (oops! Forgot the water!). They have come too close to the radiator too. And outdoor stuff seems to suffer a variety of deaths: lack of sun, weeds, neighborhood cat deposits. I really DO enjoy having plants around. But how to keep them alive?

Time to incorporate the smartphone in keeping greenery alive. Parrot – more famous for electronics like their R/C AR Drone – plans on launching Flower Power in 2013. They call it "the most advanced plant sensor" and after researching it I believe them! These two pronged gadgets easily slide into any pot or planter or bed to measure critical plant stats. Via Bluetooth they transmit data to your smartphone's Flower Power app. Parrot consulted botanists to ensure they measured the right stuff so you will get information on soil moisture, humidity, sun exposure, temperature and fertilizer.  And of course the app can alert you when any of the plant's "vitals" are out of whack. So for people like me…growing plants becomes easy! You can track up to 6,000 plants, errr sensors with the app. One AAA battery is required per sensor but you will get months of life from it. Parrot has not announced a launch date or time. But in all of the press they received at CES they insisted it will be out this year. Popular Mechanics and Stuff magazine both liked Flower Power so much they gave it a CES award. If they experts like it you, like me, probably will too.


[ Make Yourself a Green Thumb copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 16, 2013 07:00 am | Alison

Avoid Obesity. Pump Your Stomach?

January, sweet January. That time when we all feel the holidays around our waistline, gym membership sales skyrocket and many of us set our list of ways we will try to improve our health. Giving up the pasta, breads and sugar can be a challenge. What if you could pump it out? Gorge yourself and take it out of your system. Sounds crazy, but Aspire Bariatrics developed AspireAssist which does exactly that. Currently available in parts of Europe – this weight loss tool literally allows the user to pump food out of your stomach.

Sure, AspireAssist may not be for the average Joe looking to drop a couple lbs. But face it. The amount of gastric bypass surgery in the US is on the rise. Obesity exists as one of the biggest challenges in fast moving, quick preparation, fast food world. And the conditions that obesity contributes to (diabetes, heart conditions, etc) are enough to make docs and patients realize that immediate weight loss is a critical stop on the road to healing. AspireAssist is a minimally invasive, outpatient process that threads the pump device and, ummm…exit point(?) into your stomach. Wait 20 minutes after you eat and about 30% of the stomachs contents can be pumped out. By not digesting the calories the body can't absorb them and add to weight gain.

Ok, pumping your stomach may be extreme – but where the device is finding success stories is overweight patients who continually have problems maintaining weight loss. And for some whose health become so impacted by weight gain I would think that AspireAssist may provide a legitimate solution.
[ Avoid Obesity. Pump Your Stomach? copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 16, 2013 05:30 am | Edwin

Magnetic Light Switch Covers

When it comes to making sure that your entire bunch of keys remain where they are always, there are some inexplicable moments in life when you just simply forgot where you put your keys, or for the life of you, swore that it was last put at the place you normally keep it, but for some reason or another, it is no longer there. Perhaps what you need is some novelty to ensure that something like this never happens again – and Thinkgeek's $24.99 Magnetic Light Switch Covers ought to step in to help.

Basically, the Magnetic Light Switch Covers is pretty much self-explanatory – not only does it function as a light switch cover, it also allows you to store your keys on the light switch. Powered by neodymium magnets that ought to be able to get the job done just fine, the Magnetic Light Switch Covers are a snap to install as all you need would be a screwdriver. It will feature a nickel-plated key ring that can hold up to 27 keys, which should be more than enough for the average home.

[ Magnetic Light Switch Covers copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 16, 2013 05:00 am | Edwin

Super WiFi Antenna helps extend your WiFi reach

When you add the prefix "Super" to anything, and rest assured, expectations on the performance of that particular noun would be sent to sky high proportions. So when we came across the $119.95 Super WiFi Antenna, there was this naughty bit in me that wanted to tear into all that the Super WiFi Antenna promised but could not deliver, but just to give the benefit of the doubt to First Street Online, let us see what this device touts.

For starters, it claims to be so powerful and amped up, that it is capable of picking up available WiFi signals from up to a mile away, how about that? All you need to do is plug it into an available USB port on your notebook or computer, and you're good to go. For it to be weather and UV resistant would mean the Super WiFi Antenna is rather hardy, and I strongly suspect that the notebook it is plugged into will not be that adventurous to remain exposed to the sun for long hours on end, let alone the user unless he/she is in need of a tan. Of course, this is great only if you have a free WiFi network to connect to, but otherwise, it could be put to good use when you want to work from your yard under the sun.

[ Super WiFi Antenna helps extend your WiFi reach copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 16, 2013 04:30 am | Edwin

iTwin Connect unveiled

Security of your precious data is often one of the priorities to have right at the top of your computing list, and even more when it comes to giant corporations. Well, there are many ways to leak out data (unwillingly or otherwise), and here is a potential solution for those who want to enjoy private and restriction-free browsing – with the iTwin Connect. The iTwin Connect will also be able to offer the wonders of remote file access and access to the home/office network (i.e., functioning as a personal virtual private network or VPN), coming in a simple and highly portable device form factor.

Basically, the iTwin Connect will comprise of two identical halves. In order to install, all you need to do is plug the device into a USB port on the home/office PC, detach one half of the device which will then be designated as the iTwin Connect "key", and carry that detached bit along. Whenever you are on the move, plug this key into a notebook and a secure VPN tunnel will magically be created to the home/office PC.

For the non-techies out there, there are some obvious benefits to reap from the iTwin Connect, where among them include 'Teleport Me', a feature that lets you browse privately and without being tied down to any restrictions. All Internet traffic will be directed via the secure VPN tunnel and the Internet is thus accessed via the home/office PC's Internet connection.

Not only that, 'Teleport Me' will also provide private access to the Internet via iTwin's dedicated network servers in US, Europe or Asia/Pacific. This bit comes across as useful should the home/office PC be in a position where it cannot be left on, and also should your browsing sessions require an IP locale that is different from that of the PC.

You can pick up the iTwin Connect for $129 a pop.

Press Release
[ iTwin Connect unveiled copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 16, 2013 04:00 am | Edwin

Facebook announces Graph Search

Now, I know that social networks are very different from what we normally serve up here, but this news is a wee bit too popular to not talk about – with Facebook announcing their very own social network search capability that comes in the form of Graph Search. Basically, Graph Search would empower Facebook users to have the relevant tools in order to map out their relationships with the people and things they care about. It is a living, breathing graph, and Facebook claims that right now, with over a billion people, it translates to over 240 billion photos and over a trillion connections. Truly mind blowing figures, and these are set to grow in time. Imagine how it would be like when one day, Facebook breaks into the China market.

Graph Search will kick off by being in beta, as all great enterprises start off. Originally, Facebook required folks to browse around, learn stuff about others and purposefully make new connections. Graph Search will return to such roots, although life will be a whole lot easier as users are now about to use the graph to make new connections.

Graph Search will come across as a bigger search bar at the top of each page. Whenever you perform a search, that search will determine the set of results pulled up, and it also doubles up as a title for the page, now how about that? You are then able to edit the title and in the process, create your own custom view of the content that you and your friends have shared over on Facebook.

Graph Search is a very different animal from web search, where the latter will take in a set of keywords (for example: "hip hop") and deliver the best possible results which match those keywords, while Graph Search helps you combine phrases (for example: “my friends in New York who like Jay-Z”) and retrieve a similar set of people, places, photos or other content that’s been shared on Facebook. How has your Graph Search experience been so far?

Press Release
[ Facebook announces Graph Search copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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In This Issue

Recent Stories

Phone Reminders on Your Wrist
Pore Cleaning Microdermabrasion System
Kyocera Ceramic Coffee Grinder
Rapoo does a slew of wireless audio solutions
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