Gadgets - SlashGear

‘Gadgets’ Stories

Moshi Voice Control Digital Clock Radio Makes Waking Up a Lot Harder

Evan Selleck, May 19th 2010 Discuss [0]

There has to be a fine line between our alarm clocks getting smarter. Or, maybe not smarter, but rather easier to control. Because, we don't know about you, but the only way our alarm clock wakes us up, is if we have to get out of bed to turn it off. Then again, there has to be something said about an alarm clock we can talk to. And, even better, that does what we tell it to do. We love our voice commands, after all. Read The Full Story

Quirky Switch modular Swiss Army knife debuts

Shane McGlaun, Apr 27th 2010 Discuss [0]

Things were very different when I was a kid compared to today. If I left my 5-year-old home all day while I went to work, I would go to jail. That was common when I was a kid. Schools were also more relaxed back then. I once took my Swiss Army knife to school for show and tell in first grade. The teacher made me leave it in her desk during recess, but no one called the cops. Read The Full Story

Dry-All Wet Cell Phone Emergency Kit might save your phone

Shane McGlaun, Apr 26th 2010 Discuss [0]

I've never had a problem with getting my mobile phone or other gadgets wet. I have spilled a Dr. Pepper on my keyboard before and had to dry the thing out and my son once spilled a whole can of root beer on a GPS device I was testing. Read The Full Story

Squishy Lights Make for the Best Luminous Trees

Evan Selleck, Mar 16th 2010 Discuss [1]

It's no secret that we're fans of all kinds of tech and gadgets, but we especially hold a soft spot in our hearts for things like this. They're just fancy, and crazy enough to pique our interest. Of course, if you were to actually put any of these squishy lights in your home, you might get some second glances, or maybe even some dumbfounded stares, but isn't it worth it? After all, you could probably take some solace in the fact you'd be the only one on the block with them. Read The Full Story

Zoom drops new G2Nu and G2.1Nu guitar pedals for rockers

Shane McGlaun, Mar 12th 2010 Discuss [0]

My lack of musical talent has been well documented. I attribute my musical inability to the lack of interest in any sort of practice. Guitarists have all sorts of gadgets and gear they can use to make their music sound better and different like effects pedals and other stuff. A company called Zoom has unveiled a couple new effects pedals for guitarists called the G2Nu and the G2.1Nu. Read The Full Story

Gravity Ruler luggage scales are annoyingly straightforward

Chris Davies, Jan 13th 2010 Discuss [1]

We're not going to labor the old "sometimes the simplest solutions..." point because, well, if the were so straightforward then why wouldn't someone have commercialized on them already, but design students Marcella Maltese and Lin Wei's "Gravity Ruler" luggage scales really do have us kicking ourselves. Intended to avoid unexpected shocks at check-in, the simple handle takes advantage of some stretchy bungee cord to give an at-a-glance guesstimate of whether you're over an airline's limit. Read The Full Story

Featured

Parrot AR.Drone hands-on at CES 2010

Ewdison Then, Jan 5th 2010 Discuss [1]

We’ve always had a soft-spot for remote control helicopters here at SlashGear, and so Parrot’s AR.Drone quadricopter - which throws iPod touch/iPhone remote control, video streaming, augmented reality gaming and military-spec auto-pilot functionality into the mixture – was bound to appeal. We caught up with Parrot at CES Unveiled this evening to grab some hands-on photos and video; check out our first-impressions after the cut.

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Wavebox portable microwave

Keffan Dolly, Dec 31st 2009 Discuss [3]

Really, who wants to go out into the wilderness and track down dinner? Sure, the idea seems fun and adventurous but for people like myself it would result in nothing more than being swarmed by hornets and falling in a creek. And ultimately going home hungry. Of course you could always take a bag lunch but really come on what is this 2008? The other option out for the tach savvy hunter gatherer is picking up the Wavebox portable microwave. Read The Full Story

Columns

Avi Greengart’s Products of 2009

Avi Greengart, Dec 31st 2009 Discuss [1]

As 2009 comes to a close it’s time to acknowledge some of my favorite tech products of the year.

The first “product” on the list works across the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPod touch: Apple’s App Store. The hardware upgrades to the iPhone and iPod touch in 2009 were less impressive than the price drop on the iPhone 3G and the greatly expanded capabilities that application developers were given for writing for the iPlatform. The developer community responded with tens of thousands of new apps that turn an iPhone or iPod touch into a portable game console, heart monitor, prayer book, GPS navigator, eBook reader, and myriad other possibilities. Other platforms also rolled out app stores this year, but Apple retains an enormous lead in both the number and quality of options.

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Last Gadget Standing needs the People’s Vote

Vincent Nguyen, Dec 23rd 2009 Discuss [0]

The problem with "Best Product" run-downs - as the iPhone 3GS/DROID arguments proved - is that just a few people are left to decide what are the stand-out devices of the moment. If you'd prefer to make your own voice heard, head over to Last Gadget Standing where they're taking votes for the top tech right now. Read The Full Story

Dash Cam Dually twin-camera keeps an eye on accidents

Chris Davies, Nov 27th 2009 Discuss [0]

Cameras intended to be permanently mounted inside a car and used to record evidence of crashes aren't exactly common, at least as far as we're aware, so it comes as something of a surprise to find the Dash Cam Dually described as "the final answer to all car cameras". Ridiculous name aside, the DCD has two 1.3-megapixel cameras and is packed with GPS, a digital compass and a shock-sensor, and automatically records what's going on inside and outside the vehicle in the case of a collision. There are also four infrared LEDs used to illuminate nighttime scenes, and everything is recorded to an SD card complete with time/date logs, speed, location and other details. Read The Full Story

Columns

Citizen Gadgetry

Michael Gartenberg, Nov 25th 2009 Discuss [2]

opening box I love watching excellence in motion. Watching Fred Astaire dance, reading a poem by Robert Frost, watching Michael Jordan play ball, Tiger Woods play golf or opening new products that have the ability to bring a smile to my face. They all share one thing, these folks make it look so easy. The result of hard work and tireless practice is that the performance appears almost effortless. Of course, that’s never the case.

I’m constantly amazed at the number and the degree of badly designed products out there that come to market. I’m talking bad stuff. I mean stuff that had to go from concept, to design, to prototype and eventually make it to the retail channel. Stuff so bad that it’s impossible to imagine that anyone in their right mind signed off on the process and the steps along the way. The stuff that makes you scream…”what were they thinking?” You don’t need to be a genius to know that some of this stuff just won’t work. It isn’t rocket science, it’s just focusing on the basics and this is why much of the criticism is warranted.

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