GadgetReview

Last I checked Carhartt was in the tough man clothing business.  But it turns out they’re getting trendy, really trendy.   They’ve now teamed up with Vestax to produce a portable turntable, you know, the thing that plays those vinyl discs.

They claim that it can operate at a 90 degree angle, which means flush to a wall…I’m skeptical.   Skepticism aside, it’s got a line in and out jack as well as a USB input for converting your records to a digital medium.  And for all your DJs out there you’ll be pleased to hear that it can run on batteries and includes pitch control and master level fader. …Continue reading: Carhartt Portable Turntable

Wall docks can be pretty convenient placed around the house or used for travel purposes.  Today’s wall dock is from DLO and it sports a clutter free design compatible with the full range of iPods and iPhones.

The wall charger also has a higher output so it effectively takes less time to charge your device.  On sale now for $25 …Continue reading: iPhone Wall Dock Done DLO Style

You may remember reading here, back in March, about the D3O protective plasticine goo being used in soldiers’ helmets, but now it’s got a more mundane use–as a gadget protector.

Parent company Tech21 recently launched a wide array of smartphone and laptop cases that offer between, get this, “140 and 221 percent more protection for a mobile device or laptop than existing cases can”.

See, D3O is a strange sort of chemically engineered, enhanced Silly Putty of sorts that, when you pull it apart slowly, stretches much like Silly Putty would.  But if you jolt it abruptly, it hardens and becomes rigid, offering a shock absorption capability for relatively low space.

D3O cases are now available, and cost between twenty eight and fifty bucks depending on where you shop and what sizes you get.

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The HypnosEye Projector is a completely wireless projector and is a cheap and easy way for you to display visual media from your iPhone.  It actually works with any phone that has an adjustable brightness as it uses a special mirror with a reflection agent at the top of the glass instead of the bottom making for a more clear image. …Continue reading: HypnosEye Projector For Your iPhone

If you happen to own one of five kinds of Nokia phone–an E72, E71x, 5800, N97, and N97 mini phones–and you’re fond of Netflix, then I’ve got some great news for you.

Netflix, just two days ago, launched a new kind of app exclusively for those five phones, that will allow you to remotely modify your queue, browse their library for possible additions to that queue, and even watch previews of upcoming releases.

It’s available on the Ovi Store, under entertainment.

About the only people saddened by this news is everybody at Blockbuster Online, who doesn’t have anything even remotely like this and is still jumping for joy over their new “download movies to SD card” system.  This would admittedly be awesome except the downloaded movies will only play on a television, but that’s beside the point.

If you’ve got Netflix and Nokia, folks, you might as well get the app.

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Have you ever left the house or the apartment, and been struck by the sudden horror that you didn’t turn off your stove or your toaster or your television or whatever?  Yeah, I’ve been there too once or twice.  And I know some people who’ve made an entire psychological disorder out of something like that.

Well, there’s a new gadget, currently in the prototype stage, called the PowerZoa.  The PowerZoa can be used to remotely cut power to any gadget plugged into an outlet.  Everything from your stove to your toaster can be suddenly, remotely, disabled.  The PowerZoa transmits details on power use to a secure website, which you can log into to remotely disable your gadgets.

Of course, it’s entirely possible that such a gadget could be used against you, but even so, what happens?  You unplug the PowerZoa and replug your appliance back into the wall.  For people who worry about leaving things on, this is a great device.

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Qualcomm just yesterday introduced a whole new brand of Lenovo gadget that’ll blow your mind open.  Check this out.

It’s called the smartbook, and it combines all the best features of a smart phone and a netbook.  Slimmer than most smart phones and able to fit in the palm of a hand, it offers not only a QWERTY keyboard but also a “full-size screen”.  It’s powered by a Qualcomm chipset platform that has, for some reason, been dubbed Snapdragon and will run a series of different applications including Flash, Adobe and AT&T’s mobile broadband.

It’s interesting to note, however, that this may not be the end of the smartbook line but only the beginning.  Word is that everybody from Asus to Toshiba is planning to launch their own smartbook.  But do people, especially in a bad economy like this, really want or even need another portable computer when they already have laptops, netbooks and smartphones to choose from?  Is there anyone who’s saying “I love my netbook but I wish it were smaller!” or “I love my smartphone but I wish it had more features!” who isn’t just buying the next step in either direction?

Name and price are still being kept quiet on this new model as the product will officially launch this January at the Consumer Electronics Show.

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First responders, pay attention, because you might be able to save some MORE lives with what I’m about to hit you with next.  Some engineer managed to take ten dollars worth of electronic parts–available off the shelf pretty much anywhere–and modify his mobile phone into a cell phone that does double duty as a microscope.

This is no ordinary engineer; he’s an assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of California, and he’s actually started up his own company to market the cell phone microscopes.

Not that this is just great for the medical and scientific communities–now any putz can check a blood sample for signs of tuberculosis, malaria, or anemia!

It’s conceivable that, from here, the phone would then be able to remotely send the images back to actual medical professionals for diagnosis before the patient was even put on an ambulance.

No idea when they’ll be available, but they really should do a whole lot of good when they’re done.

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I love Thanko.  There’s just no two ways about it.  These guys clock out some of the craziest ideas in gadgetry with a straight face, and I love picking them up to talk about them.

Today I’ve got a real winner–USB powered fingertipless gloves.

No, seriously.  Gloves, with internal heating coils, powered by a USB drive and missing the tops of the fingers to make your typing easier.

You see what I mean about how it just LOOKS like a stupid idea?  Who needs gloves indoors, right?  Nobody, really.  But here’s the kicker–heat on your hands can loosen muscles.  Like the muscles you’re using to type, for example.  These gloves could be a way to beat carpal tunnel syndrome before it even starts.  I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but it sure sounds feasible to me!

And if you actually want a pair of these winners, you can lay hands on them for right around thirty bucks a pair.

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Remember how we just finished talking about the Tele Scouter, which interprets every language and translates automatically?  Well, it’s a bit of a misnomer because there’s one language it won’t interpret–American Sign Language.

That’s right, folks–Ameslan is completely out of the Tele Scouter’s bailiwick.  But now, we may have the answer for that one–the Sign Language Interpreter.

Basically, what this is is a camera connected to a microprocessor that “sees” the motions of sign language, matches them against its own internal systems, translates them, and announces the word or letter that the gesture is the equivalent of.  I’m doing a bit of interpolation there as the read link wasn’t exactly clear on if it can handle words and letters or only letters, but either way, a sign language interpreter gadget will change the lives of deaf people everywhere.

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