Tag: Gadget Blogs (Page 6 of 8)

      New Mace Case for iPhone Brings new Meaning to FaceTime

      November 10, 2012 /

      Irresponsible iPhone users can be a dangerous lot.

      That’s because in anyone else’s hands, that device is really just a phone. But in the hands of the irresponsible user, it becomes a weapon that allows them to text while driving, destroy relationships with ill-advised, at the bar Facebook updates, risk their careers over a chance to beat their “Angry Birds” high score during a meeting, and even have access to the combined knowledge of the world, should they ever get around to it after updating their Pinterest boards, and browsing Netflix.

      However, not content with the tools of destruction already allowed to iPhone users, a company called Spraytect is giving them a much more tangible weapon in the form of an attachable pepper spray canister.

      The device is very simple, as you install the compatible case on your iPhone (which comes in 4 colors with matching canister, including pink). From there, should the need arise, you simply remove the safety clip on the back and fit the cartridge in while rotating it until the yellow label of the cartridge is facing forward. Then you just  turn the phone sideways so you may press down on the top of the cartridge and fire your pepper spray burst. Additionally, each case set includes one test cartridge filled with harmless aerosol, and one of the real deals. A replacement cartridge will set you back $18, while the case bundle retails for $39.95 from the spraytect website. Currently it is only available for the iPhone 4 or 4S model.

      With smartphone thefts growing every day, and crime in general not threating to fall anytime soon, I’m sure that this device was created with the best of intentions. However, we’re more likely to see this become a favorite tool of the frat guy market, as well as a host of Instagram users who can’t resist posting an “OMG pepper spray! LOL” section than we are to hear of it actually preventing theft. I also question the integrity of an item that recommends using the canister as a kickstand for your phone right above the safety section of its own website. I don’t care how many safety precautions the device has, when it can jet out a cloud of burning spray that’s as strong as law enforcement models, you should probably sooner advise to factor in a degree of human precaution, and not encourage people to use it as a way to watch “Doctor Who” easier.

      All in all, for my iPhone security needs, I’ll stick with the iShank.

      Recommended in Red to Hide Splatter Stains

      News

      CannaBliss: Must Have Smoking Accessories

      November 7, 2012 /

      Congratulations to the re-elected president Obama, as yesterday after a long campaign you and your team claimed victory and will lead this country again in the next four years.

      But sir, with all due respect, you did not have the biggest headline from yesterday. Instead that would go the states of Colorado and Washington which became the first US states to approve the long awaited legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

      Or, as the great Homer Simpson put it, you could “…walk up to the President and blow smoke in his stupid face and he’d just have to sit there groovin on it”

      With that in mind, if you live in one of the recently impacted states, it may be time to consider the an upgrade to your smoking equipment in celebration. After all, now that you don’t have to shame hide your pieces in old socks, or cupboards any more, it may be time to add a little more class to your glass. To help you, here is a quick rundown of the best paraphernalia on the market.

      Water Bong

      The centerpiece of any respectable collection is a good bong. Many smokers own one with a variety of “trippy” colors, a funky name, a few fun stories, and maybe a skull or two. However, there are few brand names that serious smokers swear by, and among them the best may be Sovereignty Glass.  Of that particular collection, the jewel in the crown would be the Peyote Pillar Perc.

      This 19 inch beauty is made of some of the finest glass work available in this particular field. However, unlike other flashier models, it isn’t meant to impress just by looks alone, but rather with its functionality. Sporting a multi chamber base, you can load the bong with more smoke than any other model, while producing a cleaner pull than you ever felt possible. It is a model of dangerous design and efficiency and is the absolute head of its class in every measurable way. As a testament to its quality, it retails for a hefty $1,200 and is regularly sold out.

      Pipe

      Ideally a pipe is going to be your on the go piece, or similar option. As such, you don’t have to invest as much in it, and there are a variety of ways to go. Since so many pipes are of good quality, don’t be afraid to go for a little more style, or something that reflects your personality.

      Or, if you want a really cool and extremely practical option, just go with the Monkey Pipe. A handy little wood model, the Monkey Pipe is extremely portable in its native form, is easy to maintain, looks cool, and is still very reliable. Now that residents of Colorado and Washington will be able to smoke freely in the great outdoors, a Monkey Pipe is a perfect solution for smoking on the go.

      Vaporizer

      A more modern solution to smoking, there is no substitute for the vaporizer. The unit heats up to a high degree and evenly burns your marijuana with minimal effort and maximum effect. Even better, it produces virtually no smoke and is kinder for your lungs. Every smoker must own one.

      But which to buy? For years the answer was, without argument, the Volcano. While it is still a great way to go, I must recommend the Exteme Q vaporizer from Arizer. It’s cheaper than the more popular Volcano, has memory settings for temperature, comes with a remote, and unlike the Volcano has traditional hose as well as a bag option for your toking pleasure. Wrap it up in a well designed package, and for an even $239.00 you’ve got the only home piece you’ll ever truly need.

      Grinder

      If you’re new to the smoking game, you may underestimate the value of a good grinder, but you do so at your own peril. It crushes and breaks up your marijuana in an instant, and not owning one is the equivalent of peeling all of the potatoes you will eat for the rest of your life by hand, and not using a peeler.

      You’ll be wanting the best then, so you’ll be wanting a four piece Space grinder. It’s output consistency is impeccable, its durability is unquestionable, it features magnetized top seal, and has a mesh screen for collecting that most potent of smokeables, crystallized kief. There’s no going back from one of these, but considering how well they work, that’s a good thing

      Snack

       

      Not technically an accessory, definitely not a gadget, but without a doubt a necessity. There are an impossible number of ways to go for snacking, from the bag of chips, to cookies and candy. However for something salty, sweet, creamy, and satisfying it’s hard to argue against Ben and Jerry’s “Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night Snack” ice cream.

      It’s vanilla bean ice cream with a salty caramel swirl and fudge covered potato chips, as well as evidence, besides the recent de-criminalization acts, that smoking has definitely planted roots in the mainstream.

      News

      The iPad Mini – The Worm in Apple’s Core

      October 24, 2012 /

      The iPad mini was recently unveiled to the shock of few, but certainly the delight of many of the Apple faithful who, with outstretched arms and open wallets, welcomed the new 7.9 inch tablet into the world. It is beautiful, it is fast, and it is currently so hot that the surface of the sun is considering releasing a sex tape to stay relevant.

      It also represents one of the biggest Apple missteps in years.

      Now, let me make this clear. I love the iPhone 5 (though I prefer the Galaxy S3 in many respects), I would trade limbs for the any of the upcoming MacBook line, and I think that the iPad 3 and it’s mind blowing retina display is without competition the best all-around gadget on the market, and possibly the company’s greatest release on a purely technical level. I certainly do not hate Apple, and instead love them for how they force everyone to step up their game.

      And that’s why I am tremendously disappointed with the iPad Mini. Since the original Kindle Fire received a great deal of mockery initially for being viewed as a “can’t afford the iPad, might as well settle” device, the small tablet market has become its own niche, no longer defined by the functions of the iPad. This is particularly evident by the quality of the Google Nexus 7, a tablet that’s versatility far outshines any limitations it is supposed to have. It’s also an idea that’s being carried on by the news of the upcoming Kindle Fire HD, which at its full price model is as statistically impressive of a 7 inch model as we’ve seen.

      It would have once been impossible to imagine that a small tablet released by Apple wouldn’t storm a market set up to defy it like a bully on a fresh playground. Instead the visual we are left with after its initial unveiling is a timid child approaching with a drooping baseball cap feebly mumbling, “Hey guys…can I play?”

      You can view the statistics and figures of the iPad Mini compared to its main competitors, and you’ll find that it is pretty much even, slightly better, or slightly worse in all fields. I like the super slim size and light weight of it to be sure, and of course appreciate its typical Apple beauty, but there is no one spec that jumps out at you as truly jaw dropping, or even noteworthy. Well, besides the price, which runs from $329 for the base model 16 GB with WiFi up to a 64 GB model with LTE capabilities for $659. This is compared to the Fire HD which is $199 for the 16 GB model, and the Nexus 7 which goes for $199 for and 8 GB and $249 for the 16 GB.

      Now, you could justify the price of the iPad mini if it was indeed the top of the line, “Rolls-Royce” of  7-inch tablets. However, you just don’t get that vibe from the early word about the mini. The positives so far talk about what a great e-reader it is, its ultra slim design, and of course the benefit of the Apple app market which is far and away deeper than the Android market, and has apps designed more for a tablet in mind which Android is lagging on. That last point has been a the major defense of Apple since the announcement of the mini, as they have been feverishly supporting their price point to many different sources, with the main idea being that what you’re really buying here is the Apple brand and everything that comes with it, more than a product that can be easily defined by numbers.

      But the question for consumers must be is that really still worth it? Can you justify using the word investment on what is still essentially a first gen product, that will no doubt be outstripped by a new model next year for the benefits of the tablet specific apps, and the Apple brand? Apple is touting that the mini is not a reduced and instead a condensed form of  the regular iPad, but ironically  in a market once created as a smaller alternative to the iPad comes an actual smaller iPad that finds itself in a field where that is no longer enough. The Google Nexus 7 was a game changer for 7 inch tablets as it proved that you don’t have to compromise for a smaller size, and that a cheaper tablet can perform on a high level for a reasonable price, with features and qualities unique to its model. It’s hard to say the same for the iPad mini which still looks and feels like a smaller iPad, but not a 7 inch iPad of its own.

      In times gone by Apple would not have put up with competition in its domain and would have unequivocally released the 7 inch tablets to end all 7 inch tablets. While the iPad mini looks like a more than competent device that will no doubt perform at a high level, for the first time in a long time consumers have viable options to choose from when facing the prospect of going against an Apple device.

      The only question is, will they test these new waters in mass, or blindly take the worm like the good little fishes Apple seems to think they are?

      News

      New Wheelchair to Make Much More of the World Handicap Accessible

      October 19, 2012 /

      For as easy as technology has made the lives of the average healthy, able bodied, and sound minded person, it’s done even more miraculous things for those who are disabled or impaired in any way. Many conditions that were once a death sentence at worst, and a guaranteed difficult and painful life at best, or now treatable, or even curable, thanks to advancements in so many fields.

      Now Japanese researchers at the Chiba Institute of Technology may have just made a truly significant improvement to one of the oldest and most vital of all medical aids: the wheelchair.

      Four wheel drive powered, and heavily reliant on robotics and hydraulics, this wheel chair is based on the the simple idea of providing true range of mobility to the tragically immobile among us. Primarily using sensors on the bottom, this wheelchair is incredibly useful in situations that the average wheelchair fails at such as taking a sharp turn, incline, or making tight movements in confined spaces. However, the feature that truly makes it excel is how it handles obstacles and steps.

      That’s right. This thing can actually climb steps and go over common items that would have once been an impediment. The sensors gauge the distance of the steps or items and the chair does the rest. Even larger objects (like cinderblocks) can be overcome using communication between the rear wheels and the front to create the appropriate amount of leverage.

      Now the actual movements themselves are somewhat awkward right now, but the job still gets done in any case. Besides, the more important thing is that the idea of such an innovation is out there for either the researchers at Chiba to perfect, or for other groups to start experimenting with, in the hopes that one of the most serious of physical detriments may one day no longer prevent those that suffer from it from performing basic movements in everyday scenarios.

      Hell, I wouldn’t mind one for the mornings when my brain and my legs aren’t on the same page yet.

      I kid, I kid.

      News

      The Pianocade May Just Be Music to a Nostalgic Gamer’s Ears

      September 1, 2012 /

      When I look back at the 8 bit era of video games, the thing that impresses me most is the music quality. Think of classic themes like those in Mario, Zelda, and DuckTales, and marvel at how such a new concept like full video game music could have produced so many classics on a sound system that was as bare bones as can be. Even as modern games now come with sweeping full sound orchestras accompanying them, some still prefer 8 bit music as a medium, and not just view it as another wing in the nostalgia museum.

      The makers of the Pianocade, also recognize the technological brilliance of the 8 bit era of melody and have engineered an equally brilliant device to help people replicate it. Underneath the minimalist arcade board design lies a pretty complex keyboard system meant to product an exact replication of the 8 bit music style. The Pianocade boasts a full range MIDI system and open source capabilities that allows for an immense level of user customization and sharing options. The built in synthesizer also produces an impressive level of sound quality with a 128 note sound range, and full tempo control. Now if you’re as musically inept as I am (I believe the technical term is “Tone Deaf”) then you don’t really need to follow all of the specs, and instead just need to check out the video of this thing in action.

      Currently the Pianocade is only available for pre-order, and retails for $250CDN ($253 US) for a one octave model, or $325CDN ($329US) for the two octave version. Even better is the newly announced optional strap that allows for conversion of the unit into a keytar. The preorder period is estimated to be over on September 14th, at which time the first units will begin shipping out.

      Obviously if you want to recreate 8 bit music there is a wide variety of digital options available (hell, it was digital to begin with). But since the goal of this project is to recreate the arcade experience of a room filling with a variety of video game music for all to enjoy, if you have the skill and the means this could make for one interesting party piece, conversation starter, or even a legitimate addition to your recording studio, as if you have the need, this device certainly has the capabilities.

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