Hasta La Gadget!

A few days ago we saw an iPhone case with a built-in pepper spray. The Coyote Case isn’t as aggressive, but it was invented with the same idea in mind: to protect the owner of the phone as well as it protects the phone itself. The case tries to accomplish this by freaking out.

By pressing a button, you can activate the 100dB siren built into the case. But aside from the tried and tested scream for help trick, the Coyote Case has a more advanced and more practical feature. You can also set it to send an emergency text that contains a map of your location when you press its button. The case is also fairly customizable. You can set it to activate by just pressing one of its buttons or require both buttons to be pressed. You can also choose whether activating the case will make it emit the siren and send a text or just one of the two.

A pledge of at least $60 (USD) on Indiegogo gets you a Coyote Case for your iPhone 4, 4S or 5 if it gets funded. I think it’s easy to see that the Spraytect and this case have their pros and cons. The Spraytect is far more useful if you don’t have the time to call for help or if you have nowhere to run from the bad guys. On the other hand, I think the Coyote Case is more versatile. For example, you can use it to help people find you if you’re lost, whether or not someone’s after you.

[via PC Germs via Reddit]

The U.S. government has launched a preliminary safety investigation against the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable due to reports of sticking throttles. Thus far, there have been no reports of crashes due to the issue. Fifty reports, however, have surfaced from drivers who say their 2000 through 2003 Taurus and Sable models have experienced stuck throttles.

The probe is being carried out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which posted a document of driver complaints regarding the issue on its website. Specifically, the investigation is looking into the issue of “a cruise-control cable collar [that] can fracture at a mounting bracket and cause the throttles to stick open.” A recall would affect approximately 310,000 vehicles.

Ford spokesperson Marcy Zwiebel said, “Ford is aware of NHTSA’s preliminary investigation on 2000 to 2003 Taurus and Sable models and will cooperate fully with the investigation as we conduct our analysis. We have just begun our analysis and we have very limited information at this time. Until we are able to gather more information and complete our own investigation, we cannot speculate as to what actually occurred during the reported incidents.”

This comes after the NHTSA’s investigation back in March regarding sticky throttles in 2001 through 2006 Taurus and Sable models. That issue was closed by the government agency without a recall and was replaced by this new preliminary probe. The last investigation concerned a different cruise control element.

[via The Droid Guy]

Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable under investigation due to sticky throttles is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Peter Olt nearly got into an accident when a car suddenly cut into his lane, unable to hear – or perhaps ignoring – his honking and cussing. The incident prompted him to make some noise, so to speak. Olt invented a loud vehicle horn called the Screaming Banshee. Now he’s raising money to produce a smaller variant, the Whining Siryn the Plug & Play Screamer.

When installed, the Plug & Play Screamer gives you two horns. Tap your car or motorcycle’s horn button and you’ll get the standard sound. But if you hold it down you’ll get a 120dB sonic attack and your headlights flash for a split second.  The Screamer is quieter than the Screaming Banshee, which can go as loud as 139db, but it’s also easier to install. It has four wires – two connect to the stock horn, one to the battery and one to the high beam lights. Olt will also make easy to follow video instructions for newbies.

Pledge at least $79 (USD) on Olt’s Indiegogo fundraiser to reserve a Plug & Play Screamer. The only thing I don’t like about this invention is that it could be abused in the wrong hands. We have enough obnoxious drivers as it is.

[via Autoblog]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a warning about counterfeit air bags, which are being sold as replacement parts. What’s the danger in counterfeit air bags, you ask? Explosions. Big, shrapnel-launching explosions.

According to the NHTSA, counterfeit air bags look nearly identical to the real deal, making them hard to spot. Often times, the fake air bag will bear the manufacturer’s branding and other identifications marks. Upon testing, the counterfeit air bags consistently performed poorly, at best failing to deploy, and in the worst cases, bursting with an impressive explosion of metal bits and flames.

There are no known deaths or injuries that have resulted from counterfeit air bags, which are estimated to be present in less than 0.1% of vehicles in the United States. Any car that has had the air bag replaced within the last three years by anyone other than a dealership is at risk, however. If you’re worried that your car may be home to a counterfeit air bag, you can call a call center associated with your manufacturer and pay to have the air bag inspected.

The NHTSA is actively gathering data from auto manufacturers so that a system can be set up that more easily allows counterfeit air bags to be identified. The agency is working wtih several other government agencies to identify where and how these fake air bags are entering the country, and how to stop them.

[via NHTSA]

NHTSA issues alert about counterfeit air bags is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The last thing you want to have to deal with when riding your bike, particularly in busy traffic, is your sunglasses falling off. So to ensure they stay on your face no matter how rough the terrain is, the Helm from Dux features a retractable pair of sunglasses that will never go missing. More »