Feb 15

Pedometer Walking Stick

Posted in: Today's Chili

Now, the $99.95 Pedometer Walking Stick is something that folks should have thought up of in the first place, but somehow or rather, no one came up with it until the folks at Hammacher did. As the name implies, this walking stick boats of a built-in pedometer which is more than capable of tracking steps, distance, time, and calories. It is constructed from lightweight yet sturdy aluminum, where the stick itself will assemble from two halves, twisting and locking into place without taking up too much of your time. Right below the handle on the shaft itself lies the pedometer that will activate automatically whenever its rubber tip strikes the ground.

This pedometer will then get to work, measuring every other step that is taken during a walking session while showing off the elapsed time. Whenever you stop, the pedometer will pause its counting to ensure accuracy. The display also shows off the total number of steps, calories burned, and distance in 10ths of a mile. With a contoured ABS handle that includes a polyester wrist strap and an upper shaft that has been coated with rubber for a comfortable grip, you know that the Pedometer Walking Stick is not poorly thought up of. There is also an LED light that clips to the shaft so that it can help illuminate walkways, or you can use it to flash a warning signal by blinking.

[ Pedometer Walking Stick copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Feb 07

What Leia Had Under Her Robe?

Posted in: Today's Chili

Ever wonder what Leia, Obi Wan, Yoda or any of the others had on under their robe? You figure it had to be comfortable to be so mobile and agile (well except Yoda). A creative contributor to instructables.com decided that a shoe-inspired tribute to one of our favorite droids is within anyone’s reach. ‘Mikeasaurus’ took his knowledge of R2D2 and constructed a tribute using white heeled shoes, LEDs, batteries, foam and other items. He posted the instructions for all to see and do. Now this is no ordinary construction project. An ample amount of tools (soldering iron and propane torch for example) are needed. But for the true Star Wars fanatic…or their lady friend…these R2D2 heels are a subtle and unique tribute that will turn heads. Visit Mikeasaurus’ post on instructables.com for the full ‘recipie’ on R2D2 shoes. And  maybe you can have that look that Leia maybe had under her robe!


[ What Leia Had Under Her Robe? copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Feb 06

Dine Doraemon Style

Posted in: Today's Chili

Sometimes you just can’t get enough of your favorite cartoon. We can wake up to Superman alarm clocks, eat breakfast off our Angry Birds plates, take notes with our X-Men pen and crawl into bed clothed in our Avengers pajamas (ok, maybe not). Doraemon, famous Japanese animae series, is one of those iconic cartoons that deserves to be a part of our lives.

TV Asahi wants visitors to truly experience Doraemon when you visit their Tokyo headquarters. They converted the lobby café into Doraemon’s Secret Gadget Café to celebrate their 55th anniversary and release of the upcoming Doraemon: Nobita’s Secret Gadget Museum. Walk through the Dokodemo Door (Anywhere Door) and experience a variety of Doraemon gadgets. The menu includes items like a 4D Pocket Sandwich and Dora-gratin. There are plenty of smoothies, lattes with character images in the foam and other treats to remind you of the adventures of this Japanese classic. So if you pass through Tokyo in the next couple months stop off and get your Doraemon fix in a whole new way.
[ Dine Doraemon Style copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Feb 05

Wash and Dry Under the Same Tap

Posted in: Today's Chili

Dyson Tap Dryer

We have all been there. You are in an airport, mall or other public bathroom. And you typically have a carry-on bag or your shopping bags or a child to keep an eye on. You approach the sink, scrub your  hands and then peer across the room realizing that you have to traipse 10 feet away with wet hands plus bags, child, etc. to get your hands dry. You can try the shopping bag shuffle (squeeze bags between your legs and gently move them along as you walk), or you can leave your items sitting by the sink at risk of who knows what. Not real convenient or sanitary. One thing is certain, the janitorial crew will have job security as long as the pathway of drips continues from tap to dryer.

The geniuses at Dyson have apparently observed us doing these crazy techniques. They think we need to contain our shuffling. Meet the Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer. Integrated into the tap is a 1400W motor which can pull in 28 liters of filtered air a second. Your paws will be dry in just 14 seconds with this Dyson power. Spinning 92,000 times a minute may make you weary of breakage. But seven years of development enabled the fan to only have 3 moving parts. No rings, brushes and other pieces to break down. These futuristic faucets will be available beginning in March at a hefty price ($1500 and £1000). But, as Dyson points out, the savings on paper towels and hand dryer machines not to mention drip cleanup – may make these gadgets worth the investment.

 

Further info over on the Dyson site.
[ Wash and Dry Under the Same Tap copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Feb 01

Make Your Own Iron Man Costume?

Posted in: Today's Chili

Getting dumped sucks. It is safe to say that we have all experienced some sort of breakup in our lives. Maybe it was back in 3rd grade or maybe it was yesterday. Some poor guy in Germany recently got dumped by his girlfriend. Rather than sulk he channeled his knowledge of lasers and created an Iron Man arm piece.

Patrick Priebe, German laser gadget guru, decided to spend 130 hours and $650 to build that same mechanical device that helps turn Tony Stark into the hottest super hero of the moment. Included in the Iron Man Gauntlet, as you see in the video below, are everything from the pop up motion of the laser to the distinctive red and gold casing. Also seen in the video is Priebe blasting some balloons with the two 1.2 watt blue lasers and two 4-miliwatt red lasers.  On his website you will find other creative laser (and non-laser) devices like a Pulse Laser Gun, a Wrist Bow and a Flame Glove. Why does he create such contraptions? Mainly out of boredom so it sounds. All is not lost however as he was able to sell the Iron Man Gauntlet for over $2600. Not bad for a project to kill time after a breakup.

Thanks: L.A. Times
[ Make Your Own Iron Man Costume? copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 31

Valentine’s – Geek Style

Posted in: Today's Chili

If geeks did Valentine’s – of course they do – here are some cool finds as to what might excite them about February 14th.

Office/Desk Gadgets

 

Flowers

 

[ Valentine’s – Geek Style <3 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 25

Brookstone Discounts

Posted in: Today's Chili

If you are in the market for gifts of any type stop by Brookstone. Through the 31st you can use the codes below to save and get free wine:

  • $10 off order of $80 or more by using promo code AF80 when you check out
  • $50 Naked Wines voucher on purchases of $99 or more by using promo code WINE when you check out

So while you shop for your honey, save some money and look forward to some wine.

[ Brookstone Discounts copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 14

Z3RO Pro Computer from Xi3 Corporation

Posted in: Today's Chili

Forget about “Honey, I Shrunk The Kids” – while that movie (and its subsequent sequels) were entertaining back in its time (being rather cheesy if you were to watch it today), what we are more interested in these days would be the miniaturization process of computers and all things silicone. Xi3 Corporation is proud to unveil their Z3RO Pro Computer, a small form factor computer that comes in the size of a tiny paperback, where it debuted at the recently concluded CES 2013.

It might just prove to be the computer to purchase for developing countries, and by those who want decent computing power without having to break the bank. The Z3RO Pro Computer will have a sticker price that starts from $399 onward, where it is meant to pave the ay forward for small form factor desktop computing. Housed in Xi3′s smallest chassis (1.875” x 4.875” x 3.625”), the Z3RO Pro Computer is meant for general computer use, where among them include home and office environments, and yet is also more than capable of handling specialty applications including digital signage environments and home theater use.

Jason A. Sullivan , founder, President and CEO, said, “The Z3RO Pro Computer is the ideal size for the ultimate in small form factor x86-based general computing. In this post-PC era, it’s clear that there’s no reason to buy a tower or mini-tower computer ever again. Not only does the Z3RO Pro Computer help round out the Xi3 product line, it also marks the end of desktop computing as we’ve known it.”

The Z3RO Pro Computer will feature a dual-core 64-bit, x86-based processor that runs at 1.65GHz (with 2MB of Level2 Cache), carry an integrated graphics processor (GPU) containing 80 graphics cores (or shaders), 4GB RAM, 16GB to 1TB of internal solid-state SSD storage (with up to 12Gbps throughput speeds), depending on your needs, a couple of display ports providing maximum resolution of 2560×1600 (including 1 HDMI/DisplayPort v1.2 and 1 Mini-DisplayPort v1.2), a quartet of eSATAp 3.0 ports, and a 1Gb Ethernet port. Expect it to be made available to the masses sometime in the second quarter of the year.

Press Release
[ Z3RO Pro Computer from Xi3 Corporation copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 10

Choose Your Experience as You Use Your Card

Posted in: Today's Chili

Just about every credit card holder collects some sort of rewards. Maybe it is cash back, maybe it is points or maybe your spending gives money back to a charity. Cards make life easy – so we won’t be going away from them anytime soon. And card companies will do just about anything to attract more business. Their offers continue to change to entice consumers into using their card.

Dynamics develops advanced payment platforms – not your typical CES topic. But this payment platform is oh so electronic. ePlate™ proves to take credit card rewards to another level. The technology presents two buttons on a credit card. After making a purchase the cardholder can press one of the two buttons. Each of the buttons can be assigned to a different ‘experience’ which may include points in a game to be used towards items, charity donations or whatever an organization may want to offer. Maybe a user wants to donate to a charity every time they eat out. No problem. But maybe there are also business expenses on the card. Select a different experience for those purchases. The card user assigns an experience to each button via an online management tool. And of course they can be swapped out.  Cards are issued exclusively through UMB Bank. Apply online today. Or stay tuned to see if your favorite businesses offer an ePlate version of their card. Experiences already exist too. Groups like Upper Deck (collect digital card set and receive an actual collectors set by mail) and Toys for Tot (donate toys as you make purchases) are on board already. And more are bound to come.  A toolkit exists for ePlate so programmers can develop more experiences to lure card holders. If you are looking for a more versatile way to use your purchasing power take a look at the Dynamics ePlate from UMB Bank. Give yourself options with how to use your rewards.


[ Choose Your Experience as You Use Your Card copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Jan 04

Calling All Employers

Posted in: Today's Chili

If you are the boss and have employees I’ll bet we can get into a fun discussion about wellness programs. You know they help drive insurance costs down and improve overall performance. But do you really want to get that involved in the lives of your employees? Many bosses talk of how implementing wellness programs makes them feel like their employees mother. Yet it helps the bottom line.

How about a program that offers incentives without you having to nag, coach or coax? Maybe it is time for you to implement the S2H Challenge. Each participant is equipped with a pedometer which is registered online. Every time a user logs 10,000 steps they receive a reward code on their pedometer which they can use on the website for incentive rewards like gift cards or even company merchandise. All activity is tracked so you can even create other rewards (i.e. most steps in a month). Obviously the system is not free – costs are involved for setup, the pedometers, rewards, etc. No costs are revealed on their website but you can setup 6 or 12 month programs and can vary the objectives. Maybe you want to issue an around the world challenge. Or perhaps you want to walk for charity. There are plenty of options. And motivating employees to get involved in such a program can not only be good for them, but your business.
[ Calling All Employers copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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