Fans of the Lego Technic line will definitely find this new two-seat off-roader to be a worthwhile pursuit, since it is powered by realistic-looking a V8 engine (scaled down, of course). Perfect for kids who are looking forward to grow up and being a mechanical engineer of sorts. Features include an integrated motorized Power Functions to raise and lower its ground clearance, operate the front-mounted winch or turn on the LED headlights. In addition, you will also get the benefit of stylish hydraulic gull-wing doors, opening trunk and hatch, motorized suspension to raise and lower the truck and a working steering system. Watch out for the Lego Technic Off Roader from next month onwards for approximately £90. (Read the full post about ‘Lego Technic Off Roader Now Out’…)
Every time I go to a city by a bay, like San Francisco or Seattle, I am completely saturated by an array of scents. They wash over me like multiple waves from the high-priced restaurants with views of the water, and I am compelled to shell out my money for expensive food. A Japanese company known as Recruit Co Ltd. has found a way to follow their nose to make people some money by using special displays. These unique advertising devices, developed by NTT Communications Corporation, have a 42-inch LCD display that not only show food, but emit mouth-watering aromas. I’m sure you see the idea. Potential customers are baited by the smells, they approach the display, and they are hooked. (Read the full post about ‘Just for the Smell of it: Scent-Emitting LCD Displays’…)
Yesterday, my bike was stolen by a local junkie. It was left outside the corner store for a few moments, locked with a “shopping” lock, a shackle that is mounted on the frame and slides a bolt through the rear wheel (you can see a picture below). It turned out that the shop’s CCTV had caught the guy on tape (or rather, hard disk), and he appeared to pop that lock in a matter of a couple of seconds and wheel the bike away. And no, I don’t have the bike back. Maybe I should have paid him the €40 he demanded, but I was pretty angry already when he had the cojones to return to the scene. Now I have to find a new bike before setting off on a trip in a couple of days. (Read the full post about ‘A Junkie Stole My Bike: Why All Locks Are Not Equal’…)
Shower radios are usually fairly boring, but they get the job done. In the end all you really need is to have a radio blaring your favorite tunes to drown out your off key voice. It’s pretty basic really, find the station you need and you’re good to go. However, most designs do stand out a bit in the shower. It just looks like a radio which isn’t very interesting. With this radio, it may not be anything exciting or different, however, it will definitely blend in with the rest of your shampoos and conditioners. (Read the full post about ‘Shampoo Shower Radio camouflages your radio’…)
Fancy a portable electrocardiogram (ECG) unit that would come in handy during medical emergencies? However, it ain’t that easy to find a power outlet if you’re out by the beach and somebody requires urgent medical attention along with an ECG machine, which is why a student from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) has come up with a solar-powered portable ECG unit. Dubbed ‘Kadiri’ (which means ‘possible’ in Tanzanian), this unit is meant for use in developing countries where access to a power grid is not something easily available. It will take a fair bit of time before these units are produced on a mass scale, but at least it is a step forward in the right direction. (Read the full post about ‘Solar-powered Portable ECG’…)
While most of us would agree that Apple designed products are aesthetically beautiful, as well as functional, every once in a while you may want to spice up clean lines with some fun colors. You can accent the sleek look of all your Apple products with SeeThru cases from Speck, candy-colored translucent hard plastic cases, like the one for the iMac or this one for your MacBook, available in nine colors. Maker of the popular Pixel Skins, Speck consistently comes out with practical yet fun cases. And we’ll be giving away a Speck SeeThru set, including one for iMac ($49.95), MacBook ($49.95), and iphone 3g ($29.95) to one of our Popgadget Drop email subscribers, so sign up already. (Read the full post about ‘Speck SeeThru cases add color to your MacBook, iMac and iPhone’…)
The FuChat cordless phone concept will cater to both landlines and Internet calls, and is smart enough to help the user increase their emotional self-awareness thanks to sensors that detect changes in one’s voice tone as well as the body temperature. Perfect for Bruce Banner as he tries to negotiate his pay raise with his employers - the FuChat cordless phone will definitely go a long way in helping his stay calm lest he walk away from the ruins of his umpteenth office. It will be interesting to see whether the FuChat will be released in the near future, if ever. It gets rather unnerving to know that a machine is capable of telling me how I feel. (Read the full post about ‘FuChat Cordless Phone’…)
Sharp has launched two new electronic dictionaries in Japan called the Brain PW-AC880 and Brain PW-AC830. Boasting 80-hours of battery life which is enough to last quite a few school days for students, both of these electronic dictionaries feature a 5-inch LCD screen with HVGA (480 x 320) resolution with just 5 colors to save on battery life.These two dictionaries also feature 100MB onboard memory, an SD card slot, photo viewer and handwriting pad. Both measure only 5.71 x 4.25 x 0.85-inches. In addition, these electronic devices are pre-loaded with dictionaries including Oxford Dictionary of Contemporary English, Encyclopedia Britannica, some Japanese local travel guides and Japanese to English dictionaries and many more. (Read the full post about ‘Sharp’s Brain PW-AC880, PW-AC830 electronic dictionaries give out 80 hours usage’…)
Not at retail stores, but it was cleverly hidden in the Dell customer service page (currently still there at press time - 0901 PST). The internal customer service session pages contain information that helps the rep through several wireless keyboard and mouse resynchronization steps. The codename “Nausicaa” has been associated with the Dell Studio Hybrid, and obviously this set will ship with a wireless mouse and keyboard. It makes me wonder, with all the plug-and-play advancements we’ve seen to date, will there really be any screw ups with a wireless keyboard and mouse combo? (Read the full post about ‘Dell Studio Hybrid Shows Up’…)
Asus has released a new soundcard - the Xonar D1 7.1. This PCI soundcard will update the previous Xonar DX with (a claimed) 35 times cleaner audio quality compared to other motherboard audio, hitting signal to noise ratio of 116dB. Other features include :- Integrated DS3D GX CirrusLogics CS4398 audio DAC (120dB SNR & 117dB THD+N) 1/32 (-105dB) of the total harmonics distortion present in motherboard audio (-75dB) That’s pretty technical, but to sum it up, it is much quieter when things are supposed to be quiet, and it does not shirk from reproducing near perfect sounds when the situation calls for it. If you can’t tell the difference with your motherboard audio, either get a better speaker or your ears checked. (Read the full post about ‘Asus Xonar D1 7.1 PCI Soundcard’…)
