I’ve been gaming nearly my entire life, though the PC has almost always taken a backseat to consoles. Still, with the advent of Steam and a lot of great games being released almost weekly, I could no longer ignore the computer I decked out with parts for gaming as an excuse to spend more for a high-end rig yet never gamed with. Now that I’m up to my neck in fantastic PC games to rival the best my consoles have to offer, I needed something a little extra to give me more control and really solidify a solid gaming experience.

Enter the Razer DeathAdder Gaming Mouse and Razer Vespula Dual-Sided Gaming Mouse Mat. Separate, each of them would have been a massive step up from the generic mouse I was using and the (don’t laugh) cutting board I had on my desk as a makeshift mouse pad. In tandem, the two work fantastically. After installing the drivers and getting access to a full profile of customizable settings including sensitivity, scrolling speed, DPI, and polling rate, I was good to go in probably ten minutes or less.

The DeathAdder features a lot of clever features that become apparent once the drivers are up and running, including the ability to program macros to any of the mouse’s five buttons, change between five profiles using a button located under the mouse, or even map a button to change the mouse’s sensitivity without backing out to the device’s settings – A fantastic idea for anyone running to a vantage point with a sidearm, setting up camp, and beginning a long-lived sniping mission. The mouse feels great in my hand, and Razer even makes a flipped model for lefties, moves smoothly across all surfaces, and is extremely responsive.

As for the Vespula mat, there isn’t a whole lot to say, but all of it is positive. Using a very traditional mouse pad material, the Vespula doesn’t slide around the desk at all. On top of the soft, floppy material, a hard plastic plate rests comfortably, wrapping around the built in wrist rest, giving a wide effective surface to move the mouse around. The plastic plate doesn’t bend or shift while using it, offering stability and an ideal space to move around on. With two sides, the plate can be flipped to the user’s liking. One side offers a slick surface ideal for quick, violent movements that need to be made in a split second, while the other offers a slightly larger amount of resistance for more controlled movements.

The difference, believe it or not, is noticeable almost immediately. Whether it’s flipping between the sides of the Vespula mat, changing mouse sensitivity on the fly, or the step up from standard mouse and odd kitchen equipment to professional-grade gaming peripherals, once you’re mid-game with the Razer in your hand, the transition is seamless. Everything you want to be doing with your mouse happens without snags, without having to pick up the mouse and continue moving in the same direction. Even on my dual-monitor display, I have all the space I need to navigate my full desktop smoothly. The change might be something you think of as being a massive upgrade, but the feeling of solid control is unmistakably there.

Editor’s Rating

4.5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Bottom Line: The Razer DeathAdder offers a simple yet effective entryway into getting your computer rigged for optimum gaming. The product itself has no real shortcomings whatsoever, the only potential turnoff is that if you are the kind of person with more macros than actual commands, the DeathAdder only features five mouse buttons like a standard gaming mouse. It does, however, have a profile changing button located on the bottom to help you switch out settings as you like through progammed settings. For the price, and for the features, the Razer DeathAdder, especially combined with the effective, large surface of the Razer Vespula are going to be ideal fits for all but the most specialized of gamers.

Pros:

• Smooth movement ensures no hiccups whether you’re charging headfirst into a battle or carefully sniping your opponents
• The dual surfaces of the Vespula mat provide slightly different textures, offering a preference on how the mouse moves and how your hand feels on the surface
• Completely adjustable sensitivity, even on-the-fly, means that you can adapt to any situation without having to tab out of your window to make changes

Cons:

• Not many mappable buttons can be a downside for gamers used to intensely customizable mice
• A decent amount of desk space needs to be dedicated to fit the Vespula down
• Some of the settings like polling rate require a reboot to take effect, not a massive downside, but something to consider when fine-tuning the mouse before gaming rather than during

The Razer DeathAdder Gaming Mouse is available from Amazon for $45.23. The Razer Vespula Dual-Sided Gaming Mouse Mat is available from Amazon for $27.93.

USB hubs are pretty common place.  However, very few achieve “form meets function.”  The Pig Buddies is an adorably cute USB hub.  And while we’re sure you’ve figured it out, we feel inclined to tell you that the baby pigs act as a thumb drive, while the momma pig is the USB hub itself, accompanying up to three babies at a time.

No word on a price, but there is just no way they won’t manufacture this.

It’s been roughly 25 years since the last time I can say with certainty that I’ve held a brand new Nintendo Entertainment System controller. The last time I held one was a couple of days ago, playing old games with my controllers so worn down that certain buttons don’t work right, that I cramp my hand slightly when making my character move left due to deteriorated responsiveness. When I saw the Retrolink USB NES controller, I knew instinctively from years of gaming that this was the real deal. No aspect of the now-antiquated yet refreshingly simple original NES controller was overlooked.

The Retrolink NES controller is precisely the same size and shape of the controller it’s modeled after, but the attention to detail doesn’t stop there. The directional pad is made out of the same plastic, the buttons are concave and red like its namesake, and the select and start buttons are still the same pliant rubber that they were always meant to be. But I had to know just how deep this homage to retro gaming’s commitment went, so I took to my toolbox for a comparison.

It should have been an obvious sign when the Retrolink used the same number and size of screw as my NES controllers did, that taking them apart was an identical process for both controllers. Opening the controllers, the only differences on the inside were the PCB boards and the wires, which really came as no surprise considering that one was USB and the other proprietary to its console. The wire even nested inside the box the same way. The rubber beneath the plastic and the d-pad and buttons were virtually identical, and enough so to be swapped between the two. Even if I couldn’t find a myriad of uses for the Retrolink controller, the idea that I now had a reliable source for replacement buttons for my NES controllers was a huge relief to me.

There are some differences between the two, but they are largely cosmetic. The back indentation where Nintendo left their model information and brand insignia was simply left blank on the Retrolink, the buttons are a slightly deeper red, and the rubber making up the start and select buttons is slightly different on the inside but still a solid fit in either controller. None of these things really stuck in me as a design flaw, but if you have to have everything exactly the way it was way back when, these changes might stick out at you.

The Retrolink USB NES Controller raises an interesting question in terms of how one should judge a device designed to be reminiscent of simpler technological times. In terms of what it does and what it can do, the Retrolink controller comes up short in every way imaginable to similarly-priced gamepads. It’s almost pitifully primitive, and while great for say, emulation, it requires a small degree of sacrifice for almost any other application. Yet, if you consider the intent and the scope that the company made designing this product, if they’d added more buttons, or analog sensitivity to the D-pad, retro enthusiasts would have been up in arms about how it didn’t capture the right feel, how it just didn’t compare to the real thing. Retrolink kept it simple, and delivered exactly on what they promised. It might not be the most ergonomic or functional peripheral, but if you want to feel like you’re back in the 80′s playing all the old classics, this is the perfect controller to do just that.

Editor’s Rating

5 out of 5 stars

Perfect

Bottom Line: With a purposefully retro feel, using the Retrolink USB NES Controller is going to limit you to any game that needs nothing more than 4 buttons and digital movement. You could make a strong case for this being a huge setback in terms of usability and function, but anything more would have betrayed the very design and feel of the controller, turning it more into a generic gamepad than something truly retro. In terms of form, the Retrolink is precisely the same in terms of dimensions and feel to an NES controller. The fact that it can be disassembled to repair your childhood controllers is just a cherry on top of an otherwise flawless product.

Pros:

• Perfectly replicates the feel of using an NES controller for any games or emulators on your computer
• Being made out of roughly 90% compatible parts, the Retrolink can also be used to replace failing aspects of genuine NES controllers
• Easy to hook up and get started with instantly, no hassle getting right into the game on any PC

Cons:

• Limited buttons in the design means limited functionality across a wider library of games
• Takes a bit more setup than just plug-and-play on Linux-based systems if you’re not already setup to use gamepads
• Not entirely identical to its namesake in terms of internals and colors; though it works perfectly fine it may be a sticking point for purists

The Retrolink USB NES Controller is available from ThinkGeek for $29.99.

A nice addition to any MIDI setup or to serve as a starting point for anybody with an interest in sound design, the Korg nanoKEY2 takes a considerable step forward from its previous iteration in terms of style. Whereas the first nanoKEY was modeled after the thin, trapezoidal sort of keys frequently found on laptop keyboards, the nanoKEY2 adds some spacing and autonomy for each button by taking a page from the MacBook, with rectangular keys that are each spaced uniformly and separated by the plastic casing. The nanoKEY2 lives up to its name by being incredibly thin and lightweight, only taking up as much space as it absolutely needs to.

With 25 keys, as well as on-board octave changing, pitch modulation, and note sustaining, the Korg nanoKEY2 is extremely flexible in what it can accomplish as long as you exercise a little bit of creativity and planning beforehand. The true amount of its capabilities are highlighted through the software licenses provided with each purchase. From Korg’s own M1 Le synthesizer program to ToonTrack’s EZDrummer Lite, Lounge Lizard Session, and a $50 coupon for any of the critically-acclaimed Ableton programs redeemable through their website, the Korg nanoKEY2 is a smart investment for anyone getting started just in terms of the software included.

As someone with a small amount of practice on larger, more classically designed keyboards and pianos, the uniform size and spacing of the white and black keys has a tendency to throw me off, leading to me placing my fingers between keys and pressing them simultaneously, or getting finger spacing all wrong while playing chords. Obviously, the nanoKEY2 isn’t designed with 1:1 piano replication in mind, but it does need to be considered for anybody who thinks they can just jump right onto this device without any acclimation.

That being said, the inclusion of velocity-sensitive keys on a keyboard of this size and price range was more than enough to make up for any issues I might have with key spacing. Though I have had a little bit of trouble comfortably replicating the right amount of pressure while playing around on a consistent basis, that can all be adjusted via the software with four different settings for the velocity and pressure. It may seem like a frivolous feature, but anybody who’s played a piano knows the massive difference between a soft, whispering melody and pounding the keys like Ben Folds. That the Korg nanoKEY2 lets you decide which you’d prefer by simply playing is a big, big deal.

More of an additional tool to be used in conjunction with other devices, the nanoKEY2′s slim, portable design fits in well with other similar devices that hook up easily to laptops or tablets. Available in black or white, you can even select the design that better matches the rest of your gear. Due to the smaller design and lack of included features and full playability, the Korg nanoKEY2 isn’t going to be good enough as a stand-alone keyboard for any serious players, but then that’s not really it’s intended purpose. The nanoKEY2 is really ideal for sitting alongside other equipment, adding extra functionality to already existing digital musical tools, and it does that pretty well.

Editor’s Rating

4 out of 5 stars

Great

Bottom Line: The Korg nanoKEY2 is a pretty bare-bones synthesizer that let’s you get right down to handling some simple play that can be fleshed out more in the presence of a full suite of software and hardware. Designed more as an additional keyboard to use with others, the amount of full-featured musical programs whose licenses come with the nanoKEY2 make it an ideal starter set for anybody looking to start dabbling in music. For the price, there’s just so much you can do with this keyboard while getting your feet wet to pass it up.

Pros:

• Onboard pitch, octave, and sustain buttons give the user a good deal more ability than a regular 25-key mini-keyboard
• Velocity-sensitive keys allow for a more natural feel while playing
• Included suite of software is enough to get absolutely anybody started with powerful, flexible tools

Cons:

• Key spacing can seem a little unfamiliar to anybody with any training on a more traditionally shaped piano or keyboard
• Hard to play anything of any considerable depth or range without the assistance of a looping device or software
• Sustain can only be held, not toggled, so sustaining a note in one octave and then playing a part in a different one only sustains every note played

The Korg nanoKEY2 is available from Amazon for $49.99.

Whether you need a good microphone for podcasting or just to get the most out of your Skype calls, I don’t think you’ll find a better balance of sound quality, good looks, portability, and value than the Samson Meteor Mic. Modeled after the classic studio microphones of long ago, the Meteor Mic keeps its features simple and built-in, making the use of this product extremely intuitive and quick to set up in a way that not only works, but works perfectly.

The Meteor Mic plugs in to your computer using a mini-USB to USB cable that is fairly long, and is ready to go immediately. Without even needing to be set up in any kind of recording software, I plugged a pair of headphones into the jack on the microphone and could hear myself clearly right away, adjusting the sound with the volume knob to see exactly how much background noise there was, and finding the best angle and spacing to keep myself sounding just right.

Of course, when it came time to actually record the Meteor Mic was already ready to go, and I couldn’t help but notice a huge leap in quality from my previous $30 microphone. Chalk that up to being able to make my adjustments on the fly rather than through a series of test recordings if you like, but the 25mm diaphragm condenser and 44.1/48 Khz resolution probably aren’t hurting either. Just seeing the Samson sitting on my desk as I talk into it makes me feel more confident that I sound as good as possible while speaking.

I have to do my best not to just be enamored by the style and functionality of the Meteor Mic, but when it comes to trying to say anything negative I feel like I’m just nitpicking. Hitting the mute button on the mic off and on gives off a distinctive “thunk” sound in the audio, something that a small wired remote could solve. I wasn’t able to make use of the screw attachment to connect the Samson to my mic stand due to a size difference. These kinds of things really didn’t make an impact in any of the uses I or most people had for the microphone, and so I don’t feel that they really detract from the overall experience. Sure, I couldn’t use my stand, but the microphone comes with its own. If I didn’t want to make a sound as I muted myself, any piece of software can accomplish the same thing easily.

If you’re thinking of recording anything in the near future or using voice chat functions with your desktop, laptop, or tablet, the Samson Meteor Mic belongs in your arsenal. Being as portable as it is, the Meteor blew me away in terms of how much it improved the audio quality of every one of the applications I use a microphone with. Other people notice it as well, whether they’re just hearing the results or actually see it’s distinctive look standing next to my keyboard. It’s thick and all metal, save the rubber feet on the bottom of the folding legs, so don’t worry about it getting banged up when you transport it. In fact, don’t worry about anything where the Samson Meteor Mic is concerned, it’s more than able to handle the job.

Editor’s Rating

5 out of 5 stars

Perfect

Bottom Line: The Samson Meteor Mic may not be the best choice for a nationally-syndicated radio show, and finding the right position to use it in to improve your recording quality from pretty dang good to perfect may take some time, but make no mistake: the Meteor Mic is going to fit virtually every need an amateur will need. For its price, finding a better-looking mic with the same level of performance is most likely impossible. Highly recommended.

Pros:

• Flexible legs create built-in mic stand, or microphone can be screwed onto an existing stand
• On-mic volume/muting knob and headphone jack for latency-free monitoring ensure that you sound professional and clear at all times
• Sleek yet compact design and travel pouch make the Meteor Mic extremely portable without making the slightest concession in sound quality

Cons:

• Volume/mute knob is located on the front of the mic, which can cause some sounds to pop up when adjusting, or become inaccessible if pointing the mic upward using the legs, some kind of remote would make this feature that much better
• Bottom screw to attach to booms or stands didn’t fit my stand, so do some research if that’s something you absolutely need
• USB connection on back means that the mic can’t be folded up with the cables attached, make sure to keep the cable in the travel pouch with the microphone

The Samson Meteor Mic is available from Amazon for $67.01.

Charging the iPad and laptop at the same time isn’t exactly a quandary faced by most people. Sure, it requires two plugs or simply plugging the iPad into your computer. But for those that travel and don’t want to carry around two chargers, the PlugBug makes a ton-o sense.

The genius of the device is that it’s made to work exclusively with all Macbook Pro adapters. You know that removable plug? You simply slide that off, and instead of replacing it with the extended Mac power cord you slip on the PlugBug. The red portion, which denotes the PlugBug, can deliver 10 watts of power, so charging your iPad up happens as fast as possible and you won’t have to occupy one of your precious USB ports on your Macbook Pro.

To ensure your iPad or iPhone doesn’t feel left out, the PlugBug also includes it’s very own outlets, so it can serve as a standalone charger for any USB device. This also means PC users, or those that aren’t smart enough to switch to a Macbook can still use the device.

However, if you travel internationally, the PlugBug won’t have a place in your arsenal of road warrior tools since it negates the ability to swap in a foreign plug and thus eliminates its convenience.

The PlugBug is available now for $34.99.

]]> http://www.gadgetreview.com/2011/11/plugbug-dual-charger.html/feed 0 http://www.gadgetreview.com/2011/09/seagate-4tb-goflex-review-breaking-barriers.html http://www.gadgetreview.com/2011/09/seagate-4tb-goflex-review-breaking-barriers.html#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:38:35 +0000 Shawn Kline http://www.gadgetreview.com/?p=108866

4.5 out of 5 stars

Seagate has been a name synonymous with computer storage since 1979 (they were Shugart Technology in 1978).  Throughout their history, they’ve had a number of “firsts” – they made the first 7200 rpm hard drive, the first hard drive with the Fibre Channel interface, the first 15,000 rpm hard drive; and the list goes on and on.  Along with the amount of innovation they’ve brought to the table, they’ve also had some of the highest quality drives as well – consistently ranking higher than comparative drives, and constantly winning various awards from different sources.  So when the Seagate rep contacted me and asked if I wanted to review their new 4TB GoFlex drive – the first drive to break the capacity barrier – well, how could I possibly resist?

To look at the drive on the outside, you might never guess what it’s hiding underneath.  There’s no loud or flashy (and unnecessary) labeling on it to scream “Hey look at me, I’m bigger than the competition!”  They’ve gone with a beautifully minimalistic design on this drive – you really wouldn’t be able to tell it from any other GoFlex drive.  Jet black, with one little Seagate company logo on the front, it easily fits next to any PC or laptop.  The GoFlex drives I’ve seen before have always had a manageable footprint, but somehow Seagate was able to shrink it down even further in this model (it measures 6.22 x 4.88 x 1.73 inches).

One feature of this GoFlex drive, is that straight out of the box it can be used on either a PC or a Mac.  No messing around with different drivers and what not – it’s truly plug and play on both systems (i.e., no need to format).  The 4TB GoFlex is USB 3.0, which means the transfer rates are wonderfully fast – however there are a number of adapters out there that will allow you to hook it up to FireWire, eSATA, or even USB 2.0 (if you either don’t have any USB 3.0 slots, or don’t feel like using them).  The included USB 3.0 adapter is pretty cool, as it has four white LEDs on it – each light represents 25% of the storage space on the drive, so you instantly have a rough idea of how much you’ve used.

Memo Backup (a normal bloatware product) is pre-installed on the drive in order for you to backup your system (Mac users need not fear – it is fully compatible with Time Machine).  Honestly, Memo is pretty much junk – there’s a LOT of better options out there.  Memo Backup lets you do basic things for free, but then wants to charge you for any advanced features.  In any case, no matter if you use backup software or not, the drive really is quite zippy.  When testing it’s write speed, it ran at an average of 88 MBps, and it’s reading speed is a nice 100 MBps.  It might not be the fastest drive I’ve used, but it’s damn well close.

The only real problem I had with the drive is that it had a tendency to tip over when it was on my desk, but moving it next to my tower solved that issue.  The drawback that most consumers will see however, is the price point.  With the previous 3TB model being almost half the price, unless you’re an early adopter (or really need that extra space), it might just be better for you to wait for the price to come down a bit.

The drive itself is grade A material – I do with the base was a bit wider though in order to handle the tipping issue I mentioned, however it’s not a deal breaker.  The bottom line is that if you want a 4TB external drive, if you want a great drive you can move from system to system, or if you just want to show off to your friends that “mine is bigger than yours”, then the Seagate 4TB GoFlex is most definitely the way to go.

Final score is four and a half stars out of five.

Pros:

• You can hook it up to a PC or a Mac with no formatting
• It is running 4TB of space – there is nothing bigger that’s commercially available right now
• The read and write speed is pretty fast on it
• Oh, did I forget to mention?  IT’S 4 TERABYTES!

Cons:

• The price is absurdly high, as is the price on all new tech
• There’s a slight stability issue because of the shrunken footprint
• Only 7200 rpms – not a true negative, but you know faster ones will be coming soon

For now, you can only get the Seagate 4TB GoFlex drive from the Seagate website (but next month it’ll be available everywhere) for the price of $249.99

Road warriors are the masters of packing a suitcase when it comes to any trip.  Inevitably they must carry a variety of chargers since they’re generally equipped with at the very least a smartphone and a laptop.  Fold in a portable audio player and a tablet computer into the fray and now we’re talking about up to four individual power packs to charge all their gadgets.

The AViiQ Portable Charging station eliminates up to 3 AC adapters and neatly encloses all your plugs into one handy miniaturized zip up suitcase.  Up to 4 USB devices can be charged simultaneously and it uses just one outlet, meaning your gear can be neatly placed in one area of the room.  A retractable USB cable also lets you sync any charging device to your computer.

AViiQ is so confident that you’ll love it that they’ve got a 30-day money back guarantee if you’re not 100% satisfied.  And considering it costs $79.99 there better be.

A chastity belt for your USB stick.  So precious you’ll never lose it, but if you do…

Do you remember that gum that turned your friend’s mouth blue?  It was a harmless prank, which of course now looking back probably wasn’t all that harmless since it probably used a carcinogenic dye.  Fast forward 20 years later to the computer age and you’re working in a bored-to-tears 9 to 5 job.  So what’s one to do?  Exactly what you did years prior, prank the crap out of your co-worker.

The USB Computer Prankster plugs into any free USB port and plays havoc on your friend (or foes) computer.  You can set it to make the mouse go haywire, permanently engage the caps lock feature and make the keyboard go bananas.  It even features a time delay in the form of a volume wheel, which allows you plant, walk away and then set the attack in motion without being within close proximity to your target’s computer.

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Snazzing up your desktop can come in a multitude of forms.  You could take the approach of adding a variety of ThinkGeek like products – think USB Lava lamps or a remote controlled Nerf gun – or you could just update your gear with the flair and bravado of Kayne West.  We’re a fan of the latter, and that’s probably why we’re not mad at Samson’s Gold Plated Meteor Mic.  It sports the same features as the Chrome version, with the exception of plated 22k Gold and a 50% price increase to $149.99.

Samson says they’ll produce just 400 units of the Gold Plated Meteor Mic, which will be packaged in a numbered, mahogany wood case that includes a high-quality, braided, gold-flashed USB cable.  Like the Chrome version, it will sport a a 25mm large condenser element and an all-metal body.  The legs can be manipulated for positioning and there is a 1/8-inch headphone output for monitoring levels.

The gold plated Meteor Mic ships April 15th, though you can already preorder it at Best Buy, which has an exclusive on the product.

Samson Samson announces Gold-Plated, 22k Limited Edition Meteor Mic — Both models Available for Pre-Order today at bestbuy.com/migear
28 Feb 2011

Both Meteor Mic Models to ship on April 15, 2011

Hauppauge, NY – February 28, 2011 – Samson’s new Meteor Mic, as well as a limited edition gold-plated model exclusive to Best Buy, will be available in Best Buy Musical Instrument Stores and on bestbuy.com/migear on April 15, 2011. Best Buy will accept preorders beginning February 28, 2011. Meteor Mic is a USB studio condenser microphone that’s perfect for recording music in your home studio and is also ideal for Skype, iChat or voice recognition software.

As an exclusive Best Buy offer, 400 units of a limited edition version will be produced and available on April 15th. Each microphone will feature jewelry grade, 22k gold-plating that is four microns thick and will be packaged in a numbered, mahogany wood case that includes a high-quality, braided, gold-flashed USB cable.

Just like its chrome-plated twin, the limited edition Meteor Mic features a 25mm large condenser element and all-metal body. Its unique, fold-back leg design allows for optimal positioning for any recording application from acoustic guitars and vocals to speech. Meteor Mic also has an 1/8-inch stereo headphone output for no latency monitoring, as well as a volume control. A microphone mute switch gives you audio privacy while video conferencing.

No drivers are required for either model, so you can start recording with Meteor Mic right out of its box. Meteor Mic can be connected directly to any computer and is compatible with most computer-based digital audio recording software.

“Meteor Mic’s compact design is unique, but don’t let its size fool you,” says James Tsaptsinos, VP Sales. “With our largest condenser, everyone will be amazed by the audio quality of their recordings.”

About Samson

Samson began 30 years ago as an audio technology company designing wireless microphone systems. Today, we are an industry leader with three distinct brands: Samson, Hartke and Zoom. Over 250 products designed and distributed by Samson are sold in 130 countries throughout the world. samsontech.com

For a microphone that’s called the Meteor Mic, Samson’s shiny new aluminum device isn’t nearly big enough. Though I suppose once they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, meteors lose size real fast. Then there’s the question of the Meteor Mic looking more like a Lunar Lander than a piece of rock. In fact, it looks remarkably like a spaceship that just happened to land on your desk.

A retro spaceship, that has a 20Hz to 20kHZ frequency response, cardioid pickup pattern, and records in CD quality. There is also a headphone jack for monitoring levels and recordings, and a 25mm diaphragm. There’s no need for drivers, and the Meteor Mic comes with a USB cable and a soft carry pouch, all for the price of $99.

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There’s been USB drives made in every color and every shape, disguised as anything you can think of, but mostly as objects normal people wouldn’t consider storing data on. Most of these come from Asia and they’re crazier than you can imagine: USB drives disguised as shrimp and other seafood, as a human thumb, and a coffee cup.

I could see the coffee cup being useful, and I can actually see Verbatim’s new line of Clip-it USB drives also being useful due to their small size and ability to disappear until they’re needed. They can be clipped to business cards, sleeves, your tie, or pretty much anywhere else.

The 2GB version costs $12 and the 4GB clip is $15, they both come in seven color and have won a red dot Design Award for ingenuity.
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SanDisk has unveiled one of the world’s smallest flash drives, and certainly the smallest I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure they can take the title of “world’s smallest”, but it’s awfully close. The SanDisk Cruzer Blade is the size of a paper clip and weighs as much as a penny. It’s probably easy to lose, so it’s good that it attaches to a keychain. It’s available now in sizes ranging from 2GB to 16GB, and prices from $14.99 to $77.99.

SanDisk Launches Its Smallest USB Flash Drive in North America

Tiny SanDisk Cruzer Blade USB Offers Sleek High-Capacity Storage, Letting Consumers Take Their Favorite Files With Them Wherever They Go

MILPITAS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), the global leader in flash memory cards, today announced the availability of its smallest USB flash drive to U.S. and Canadian consumers. The SanDisk Cruzer® Blade is about the size of a standard size paper clip and weighs approximately the same as a penny, creating a tiny footprint that fits easily on a keychain or mobile phone dongle. Despite its small size, the drive packs high-capacity storage at an affordable price.

“At half the size of some other USB drives, our compact Cruzer Blade provides consumers with highly portable storage at a great value”

Available in capacities ranging from 2 gigabytes (GB)1 to 16GB, the SanDisk Cruzer Blade lets consumers take their favorite digital content with them wherever they go. A 4GB drive can store 1,000 songs, 1,200 high-resolution photos, or 8 hours of 768kb/s video*. The SanDisk Cruzer Blade offers reliable storage in a sturdy form factor, helping consumers rest assured that their digital content is safe.

“At half the size of some other USB drives, our compact Cruzer Blade provides consumers with highly portable storage at a great value,” said Kent Perry, director, retail product marketing, SanDisk. “The drive lets users transfer their digital data quickly between computers, and delivers a storage boost to devices such as netbooks that often need additional memory but are difficult to upgrade easily.”

The SanDisk Cruzer Blade USB flash drive is available now in the United States and Canada at sandisk.com, with prices ranging from $14.99 to $77.99. The drive carries a two year limited warranty.

About SanDisk

SanDisk Corporation is the global leader in flash memory cards, from research, manufacturing and product design to consumer branding and retail distribution. SanDisk’s product portfolio includes flash memory cards for mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders; digital audio/video players; USB flash drives for consumers and the enterprise; embedded memory for mobile devices; and solid state drives for computers. SanDisk is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States.

This USB -controlled power strip is a pretty smart idea. Now, this thing isn’t powered by USB — rather, it connects with your computer so that you send commands to shut down or power up certain sockets (say, turning on a printer only when you need to print something). The sockets are universal, too, for frequent travelers. You’ll have to keep your PC on 24/7 to use some of the automation features, but a lot of laptops are pretty green nowadays anyway, so it should be worth it. It’ll be available in August, though the price is currently unknown.

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Push Notifications on the iPhone are dandy and all, but what about on the good old ‘puter?  Enter the Brando USB Mail Box Friends Alert.  When you receive a new email (Gmail, Yahoo, etc), a Facebook update or new Tweet this USB attached device lights up.  Keep in mind if you’re anything like me (I’m really popular and get a ton of SPAM email) this thing might be permanently lit.  I wonder if you can tweak it to represent just Facebook updates?  Now that might be a tad more useful.  You can grab it for $18.

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This is a cigarette lighter that can be recharged simply by plugging it into a USB port.  What’s that mean?  Never again will you have to buy or fiddle with those highly flammable bottles of butane or lighter fluid.  It’s kind of like a portable car cigarette lighter.  It also sports a UV light for inspecting money or identification cards.

Brando has it for $15.

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At this point in the USB 3.0 game we’re pretty confident no one has yet to run out of ports – the tech just hasn’t been adopted widely enough yet.   But just in case you wanna get ahead of the curve and don’t want another antiquated piece of tech on your desk Unitek now offers a USB 3.0 4-port USB hub.  It says it supports Windows and Linux only…hmmm.

Brando has it for $48.

Western Digital brought some nice upgrades to its WD TV Live player today with the release of its successor, the WD TV Live Plus HD. The biggest addition is the support of Netflix’s Instant Watch streaming service, but there’s also some other welcome new features, like access to the entire MediaFly podcast network. This is in addition to the Pandora, YouTube, and Flickr support found in the previous model. It also plays 1080p content, either natively or upscaled, stored on an external WD hard drive or streamed via home network.

The WD TV Live Plus is available now for $149.99.

New WD TV(R) Live Plus HD Media Player Delivers Thousands of TV Episodes and Movies for Netflix(R) Members to Watch Instantly
WD TV(R) Live Plus HD Media Player Enables Consumers to Stream Their Favorite Shows and Personal Content Directly To Their Big Screen TV
LAKE FOREST, Calif., June 9, 2010 WD, the world’s leader in external storage solutions, today introduced the WD TV(R) Live Plus HD media player, which makes it easy for Netflix(R) members to instantly watch thousands of TV episodes and movies on the biggest screen in their home — their HD television set. The new Netflix interface enables members to browse and add movies to their instant Queue on the Netflix Website right from their TV.
In addition to Netflix, the WD TV Live Plus HD media player also enables users to stream personalized Internet content from YouTube(TM), Flickr(R), Pandora(R), Live365(TM), as well as the MediaFly network which includes daily podcasts from CNN, NBC, MTV, ESPN(R) and other online content providers(1). Unlike most other Netflix-capable devices, the WD TV Live Plus HD media player also lets consumers enjoy a broad variety of the digital media they already own, creating a unified entertainment experience.
The onscreen menu brings together all of the users’ available media in an elegant and simple-to-navigate interface, while the network capability enables users to stream movies from PC or Mac(R) computers, USB storage devices such as My Passport(R) portable hard drives, My Book(R) desktop drives, or network-attached storage such as WD’s My Book(R) World Edition(TM) and WD ShareSpace(TM) to their HDTVs. Compatible with Windows(R) 7, the WD TV Live Plus HD media player enables the Windows 7 Play To feature so users can initiate and control the streaming of video, music or photos to the media player and home entertainment systems from any Windows 7-based PC on their network.
The WD TV Live Plus HD media player fulfills consumers’ growing demand for large libraries of digital videos, photos and music. According to research firm Parks Associates, the average broadband household will see its digital media storage needs grow to nearly 900 GB by year-end 2014. And users are increasingly looking for easy ways to enjoy the content on the big screen. Parks’ findings reveal that the sales of connected consumer electronics devices, such as connected TVs and digital media adapters, is expected to more than double from 57 million units in 2009 to 115 million units in 2013 (Home Networks for Consumer Electronics 2009).
Similar to the popular generations of WD TV HD media players that preceded it, the WD TV Live Plus HD media player connects directly to a users’ HDTV and plays almost any file stored on a connected USB drive such as My Passport portable hard drives. The WD TV Live Plus HD media player features powerful media processing, which enables playback in Full-HD 1080p resolution. WD TV Live Plus HD media player also plays movies, music and photos stored on other popular USB devices such as digital camcorders and digital cameras.
“Netflix has become a ‘must have’ for consumer electronics devices,” said Netflix vice president of business development Bill Holmes. “We’re proud to align with WD to include Netflix on WD’s groundbreaking WD TV Live Plus HD media player.”
“While Netflix can be found on an increasing number of products such as Internet TVs, Blu-ray Players, video game consoles, and other stand-alone devices, the WD TV Live Plus HD media player is unique as it allows digital media buffs to access and play all of their own personal HD media stored anywhere on their network or USB drives. At the same time they can easily stream Netflix, Pandora, YouTube and other Internet favorites to their HDTV,” said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD’s branded products group.
WD TV Live Plus HD Media Player
Features of the WD TV Live Plus HD media player include:
Full-HD 1080p video playback and navigation with the included remote control and crisp, animated navigation menus;
Access to thousands of TV episodes and movies to watch instantly for any Netflix member with an unlimited subscription;
Wireless ready to support wireless network connection to your home network with an optional USB wireless adapter, which is sold separately;
Supports a wide variety of the most popular file formats with no need to spend time transcoding;
Play videos, music and photos from the Internet on your big screen TV and discover new music with Pandora Internet radio or listen to thousands of radio stations via Live365 Internet radio, daily podcasts from the MediaFly network including CNN, NBC, MTV, ESPN and other online content providers;
Ethernet port for wired or WiFi connection(2) to access files anywhere on the network to play movies, music, and photos from any PC or drive on a home network;
Turns a USB drive(3) into an HD media player and plays content from most popular USB drives, digital cameras, camcorders, and portable media players that can be recognized as mass storage devices;
Unlimited media collection, just add more USB drives for more space;
Two USB ports that allow seamless media playback from multiple USB drives displayed in a single list and sorted by media type;
Windows 7-compatible Play To feature enables users to stream Windows 7 computer files to the TV through WD TV Plus HD media player;
Transfer files by copying, moving or deleting files stored on a USB drive, a network drive, camcorder, or a camera to the attached USB drive using the on-screen menus;
Works with digital cameras, digital video cameras and any other digital imaging device that supports Picture Transfer Protocol;
Advanced navigation options including thumbnail and list views, media library and search;
Photo viewing to create custom slide shows, zoom and pan and search;
Movie viewing with fast-forward, rewind, pause, zoom and pan, view subtitles, and search;
Music playback with fast-forward, rewind, pause, shuffle, repeat and search;
HDMI(R) 1.3 port, composite video and component video output(4) for the highest quality HDTV or home theater;
SPDIF digital output that sends digital signals to your AV receiver for the best surround sound experience; and,
Ultra-compact design to fit easily into a home entertainment center.
Pricing and Availability
The WD TV Live Plus HD media player is available now at select retailers and online at shopwd.com. Covered by a 1-year limited warranty, the MSRP for WD TV Live Plus HD media player is $149.99 USD.

The iLuv Micro USB Car Charger is pretty self-explanatory, charging any USB device you might own via your car’s cigaratte lighter port. It’s small size has a trade-off, though, since it charges only one USB port at a time. But if you want a small, compact option for replenishing those gadget’s battery lives, this might be perfect. Oh, and it might reduce your smoking…a little bit.

The iLuv Micro USB Car Charger is available now for $10.

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