Hasta La Gadget!

I never expected to find Bluetooth connectivity in a AA battery, but not only does this device now exist, it also seems quite practical. Once it infiltrates the battery compartment of your gadgets you can remotely toggle those gadgets on or off and more. This smart battery is called the Tethercell.

The inventors of the Tethercell – Trey Madhyastha and Kellan O’Connor – chose to make their device in the size of a AA battery because they claim that 60% of “primary battery-operated devices” use that size. Aside from the Bluetooth radio, the Tethercell is packed with other electronics, like a microcontroller, a temperature sensor and a voltage comparator. In turn, the Tethercell is powered by a AAA battery. So what can it do? Together with an iOS app and a Bluetooth 4.0-enabled iOS device, you can use the Tethercell to turn one or multiple gadgets on or off from up to 100ft. away. You can also schedule or set a timer to power off your gadgets and monitor your gadget’s battery level.

Pledge at least $35 (USD) on Indiegogo to reserve a Tethercell. Although it does reduce the available power of a device – you’re essentially replacing one of its AA batteries with a AAA that’s also powering something else – the convenience it provides could be worthwhile for many people – especially adults who want to limit their kids’ playtime with electronic toys. Not to mention its potential for pranks is quite high.

[via Ubergizmo]

Thanks to touchscreens and other input sensors, we’re finding more ways to integrate physical movement in electronic entertainment. The Princip Interactive LED Futuro Cube is another example. Its sensors work with the embedded LEDs to amuse – or frustrate – you in all sorts of ways.

The Future Cube has multi-axis accelerometers, 56 LEDs and a speaker. The accelerometers enable it to detect gravity, motion and tapping, the LEDs are there to, well, light up, and the cube provides feedback, tutorials and score through the speaker. The cube has 12 game modes, including Gravity Puzzle (similar to Rubik’s Cube but with tapping instead of rotating!), Snake (it slithers through all six sides!) and Cubris (Tetris, except it’s way more confusing!)

Here’s a quick demo of Gravity Puzzle:

Did you understand what was happening in that last video? Neither did I. All the more reason to get one of these toys. You can order the Princip Interactive LED Futuro Cube from ThinkGeek for $100 (USD).

In the future, we may not have any problems with carrying even full-sized tablets in our pockets because they’ll be as portable as plain old paper, as shown in this prototype technology called PaperTab. It was developed by Intel, Plastic Logic and Queen’s University’s Human Media Lab.

The PaperTab uses Plastic Logic’s flexible high-resolution 10.7″ electrostatic display, a flexible touchscreen and a Core i5 CPU. Like paper documents, PaperTab is meant to be used in groups. Each tablet is meant to run a single app, but users can also put multiple units together to form a big interactive display. Instead of just using gestures, users interact with the PaperTab by bending its portions. Transferring media and apps from one PaperTab to another is accomplished with a simple tap.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we actually end up with tablets this thin and bendy in the future. But I think having one app per device is a step backwards, and I wouldn’t want a permanently dog-eared and crumpled tablet. Then again the technology is in it’s very early stages so it’s too early to comment on its practicality anyway.

[Human Media Lab via Smarter Planet]

I’m hoping future iPhones will be equipped with Tactus’ tactile touchscreen, but until then those of us who need physical keys will have to settle for iPhone keyboards. The EX Hybrid Controller seems like a good option for iPhone 5 owners.

Despite sounding like an arcade stick for consoles, the EX Hybrid Controller is actually made of three pieces. There’s a keyboard, a gamepad and a back cover. Both the keyboard and gamepad attach to the back cover via magnets. They also both use Bluetooth 3.0 and are a mere 2mm thick. Supposedly they can last for up to 40 hours (160 hours on standby) and can be recharged in just one hour. According to the seller iPhone5mod, the gamepad module works with all games that are compatible with the iCade. That’s a little disappointing, but in its defense we know that no controller on the market works with all iOS games, and the iCade is the closest to a controller standard we have for now.

This definitely has some neat features, though it’s hard to tell if such a flat keyboard and gamepad will really help, since there’s really no tactile feedback. If you’re already sold on the idea, you can order the EX Hybrid Controller from iPhone5mod for $60 (USD).

[via Fancy]

There are plenty of wireless speakers on the market these days, but sometimes, you just need a small speaker to deliver the right amount of sound at the right place. While outlets might not be optimally placed, this speaker takes advantage of the fact that most wireless speakers still need to be plugged in – at least to be charged.

The Bem Outlet Speaker  just plugs into a North American 110V outlet and connects with mobile devices via Bluetooth. Once your devices are within 25-feet and paired, simply hit the play button, the music will flow. The compact speaker is only sightly bigger than a juice box, so you can hide it away pretty much anywhere. It will cover up most of the outlet, so you’ll have to watch that if you use many of yours. It’s also got a USB port and 3.5mm jack for connecting wired devices.

The Bem Outlet Speaker is available now for $99.99(USD) and it comes in either black or white case options.

[via Ubergizmo]