GadgetReview

Not knowing that there even was a Toy Hall Of Fame, I’m pleased to announce that the Nintendo GameBoy has just been inducted.  Officially called Strong National Museum of Play’s Toy Hall of Fame, this black and white portable gamer was the final choice among 12 finalists of culturally important toys.

Many of you gamers around for the advent of the Gameboy will remember clearly just how cool this thing was.  I actually never had one.  I did have the Atari Lynx which was awesome for back then too.

Also recently inducted was the ball.

Read

Got twenty bucks?  Easily entertained?  Then what I’ve got for you will quite literally blow your mind wide open.

It’s called the HoverDrone, and it’s a little toy hovercraft that actually hovers.

It’s not that much bigger around than a silver dollar, and it floats by generating its own cushion with a small fan on its undercarriage.  It also blinks a little blue LED.  But where this is interesting is not that it’s a tiny flight-capable toy, but rather that it’s the SMALLEST remote controlled flying device ever made.

No, really–it’s just over sixty millimeters in diameter, and it flies.  You can even control the height of the flight by remote, even if the remote is basically “up” and “down”.  And the best part is, you can have one of these for just about twenty bucks.  Even if you’re not that interested in flying a little blue toy with an LED light that blinks, well, it’s almost worth it just to have that piece of toy history in your hands.

Read

Now this is actually a really fun idea–you know how, when you were a kid, you probably used to imagine various household objects as race cars?  Well, now you can do it for real with the RC Driver Tissue Box.

This isn’t just a fun idea, either.  It’s also highly useful.  I remember when I had the flu…I was on my back, barely able to move, and even something like getting up to go get a tissue to try and clear my nose sufficiently to breathe was like the labors of Sisyphus.  But the thought of being able to snag a remote and DRIVE my tissues to my sick bed makes me feel almost…happy, somehow.

But still, the idea of driving your tissues around the house is probably at least a minor freakout, so be careful.  It’d be terrible trying to, say, explain to the vet that you ran over your cat’s foot with a box of tissues.  They’re taking pre-orders on them now for $44, so get them before someone else does!

Read

Not too long ago we posted on the expensive but cool TouchScreen Rubik’s Cube and today we have the Classic Nintendo version.  Though I don’t recognize all of these icons, I’m sure there are fanboys out there that have these tattooed in special places.

Designed by deviantARTist r4r3truffle, this item is not for sale at this time.  I have never been that great at puzzles and I definitely have never completed a Rubik’s Cube.  I’m not so sure this version could get me interested.

Read

Chances are you’re going to wonder why I’m even bothering to talk about a Sega Saturn joystick at least ten years after the system went the way of the dodo, but I tell you that there’s a very good reason.

Because, you see, in the grandest old tradition of original Nintendo belt buckles, someone’s taken that old device and made it into something new and interesting: art.

James Ian Killinger took apart an old Sega Saturn joystick and noticed that, if he just added a few extra screws–three, to be exact–we’d get the thing you see above, a giant space bug.

Let that sink in for a second.  That’s a big bug sculpture made from only the parts of a Sega Saturn controller and three extra screws.  No extra parts were brought in, nothing was taken out.  That thing is just a Sega Saturn controller with three screws.  It’s easy to wonder what Killinger could’ve done if he’d had a FOURTH screw.

Read

If you’ve looked at your job and thought, you know, it’s great here and all, but what we need are more random Jedi duels, then do I have the gadget for you!

Five words: Star Wars Lightsaber Laser Pointers.

I know, I just said a whole volume of geektastic joy in one handy little five-word burst, but it is exactly what I said it is, a red laser pointer (what, no color options?  Can’t I have something other than Sith Red?  Why no love for any of the half-dozen or so Jedi colors?) that projects a small beam of red light.  Call attention to points in your PowerPoint presentation.  Freak out your cat.  Grab a magnifying glass and try in vain to fry ants.  Stage duels on your lunch break.

There are so many uses for this, but the clearest use of all is to clearly denote that YOU, sir (or ma’am as the case may be) are a serious Star Wars fan, true believer.  And if you’ve got $14.99, you too can slice up your choice of foes.

Read

If you recall, this past summer the makers of the super adorable Pleo went bankrupt.  As a result the Pleo, much like the dinosaurs, went extinct.  But through the magic of cellular reproduction (someone bought the IP) the Pleo is back and available for your holiday gifting.  You can grab one now for $349, or if need be pick up an extra battery pack, charger or adapter.

[via Robotsrule]

Read

Talk about a party favor.  I mean who doesn’t like to trip?  Having recently experienced CornField Electronics’ Trip Glasses, I’m very glad there is not one part of me that is epileptic.  The packaging makes note of some sort of meditation that can occur when you wear the glasses but I don’t believe that malarky one bit.  Perhaps if your definition of meditation is in fact hallucination, then maybe.

To explain it bluntly, the Trip Glasses are less like glasses and more like a kaleidoscope of blunt force trauma to your senses.  Some people who tried it had mixed results, but I can honestly say that I could trigger my inner shroom no problem.  …Continue reading: Trip Glasses Review

Oh yes.  I’m going to a haunted corn maze on Friday or a maize maze for those of you who like multi-lingual wordplay, and if this remote controlled bat was part of the show I’d be impressed.

Exactly what you think it is, this 13 gram and 10 inches of wingspan Flying Vampire Bat uses a tiny lithium polymer battery that lasts for 10 minutes for every half hour of charging.   This has Halloween prank written all over it.

The controller runs off of 6 whole AA batteries and the whole product costs around $33.  To add to the scare tactics the bat also has green LED’s embedded in the eyes for all those unsuspecting Trick-or-Treaters.

This reminds me of something I saw in Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive and I’m sure it will do its best to “kick ass for the lord!”

[via CoolestGadgets]

Read

I certainly loved me some Super Mario Kart on the Nintendo 64.  It provided endless hours of entertainment and was one of those games that you could just pick up and play.  From the screen to the desktop comes the Mario Kart Micro Desktop Racers.  Just like the game they include a turbo charge button and the banana peel and tortoise shell obstacles.  You can have the sweet taste of Nintendo nostalgia for just $24 (£14.95 UK) each.

Read