Buying a new car in this economy is tough. It shouldn’t be like buying a house. Well, there is an answer. Assuming you don’t need to transport passengers or significant cargo, your next car doesn’t have to break the bank thanks to Elio Motors, who wants to revolutionize the auto industry with its tiny new three-wheeled car.
This unusual looking single-seat car gets an amazing 84 MPG on the highway, 49 MPG in the city, and travels at speeds up to 100 MPH. This car consumes just 1/3 of the gas that the average car does. The price? $6,800(USD). You can’t beat that.
Bonus: It is even made in the USA. The company estimates that they will create 1,500 jobs at their Shreveport, LA plant alone beginning in 2014. Let’s hope that automotive lobbyists and the government don’t kill the company before they can put a whole bunch on the road.
Hopefully they can impact the auto industry and provide people with affordable cars for many years. This is a company to watch closely.
There’s no governing body proclaiming this the world’s smallest crossbow, but it’s only slightly larger than a full-sized crossbow arrow so it’s got to be up there. Joerg designed this crossbow to be safe. The arrow is fully encapsulated so it won’t accidentally shoot off in an unexpected direction. You cock the crossbow with strong rubber and it’s the right length for the tip to stick out. That way the crossbow can accommodate all different broadheads and unload safely. It’s 1.5 lbs without an arrow in it. And Joerg gives it the Slingshot Channel seal of approval: "Ideal as a backup crossbow!" Okay, you heard the man.
Arduino microcontrollers are beloved by students and hobbyists because they’re affordable, small and versatile. Those are the same exact traits that the RFduino microcontroller possesses. In addition, it has one thing that other Arduino boards don’t have: built-in Bluetooth connectivity.
The RFduino was developed by Open Source RF, an electronics shop that makes Arduino-compatible peripherals and modules. The shop’s tiny invention makes it possible for people to make small gadgets and sensors that can be controlled or monitored wirelessly using a smartphone. You’ll have to buy and then fit a separate wireless shield to an Arduino board to achieve the same functionality.
Speaking of shields, the RFduino also has compatible shields that extend its functionality, including one with a USB-port and another with a coin cell battery slot. It also runs code written in the Arduino programming language, which should really make it an enticing platform for Arduino users. Check out the video below to see how the RFduino can be used:
They should have called it the Fleaduino – a small board with mad reach. Build a Pledge-Bot and pay at least $19 (USD) on the RFduino Kickstarter by April 4, 2013 to reserve your own unit.
There’s something about miniaturized gadgets that’s very appealing. This new router was unveiled by ASUS at CES 2013, and they claim that it’s the smallest router ever made. They’re probably right, because this thing is tiny.
The ASUS WL-330NUL Pocket Router is about the same size as a USB flash drive, and it’s basically perfect for anyone hitting the road a lot. It weighs about 25 grams, and the 802.11b/g/n router has an Ethernet port on one end to connect to a wired connection, and a USB cable on the other for leeching power from a computer. It can also be plugged into an outlet. For ultra-thin laptops, it doubles as an Ethernet port, because they usually lack them.
Signal range is probably limited with something this small, though, and it might be nice if it had a retractable Ethernet cable built into it. Prices and availability have not yet been announced, but I’m guessing that it will be out a little later this year.
Gamers, get ready for the next big thing on Kickstarter. What you’re looking at here is an entire gaming console that fits inside of a 2-inch-long stick, and neatly travels inside of its controller.
Developed by PlayJam, the GameStick is an incredible engineering marvel that crams an entire Android 4 gaming system into a portable stick you can take with you anywhere. All you do is plug it into the HDMI port on any HDTV, and you’ll be gaming in seconds. I love the idea of this, because you can throw the entire console in your bag and take it with you wherever you go. Keep in mind that your set needs to be MHL-compliant to self-power via the HDMI port, otherwise, you’ll need to plug the GameStick into a USB power source.
Since the system is based on Android, it will be easy for developers to get their games up and running on the console. In fact, the team behind the GameStick has already identified about 200 titles that will work great out-of-the-box, and is working with over 250 developers and game studios to create content for the console. Games will be delivered wirelessly, and will sell for much less than traditional console titles. They’re also expecting a library of free games to hit the console as well.
The system is powered by an Amlogic 8726-MX processor, with 1GB of DDR3 RAM and 8GB of flash memory for storage. It supports 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and uses Bluetooth LE 4.0 to communicate with the controller. Here’s some early demo footage of a prototype device to give you a sense of how powerful it actually is:
The GameStick project just launched over on Kickstarter with a goal of $100,000 to go into production. I think they’ll have no problem reaching – and likely blowing well through this goal in the next 29 days. If you move quickly, a pledge of $69(USD) will get you one of the first 250 GameStick/Controller bundles, and after those sell out, the price goes up to $79 for supporters. For $115 or more, you get the bundle with an additional controller. Based on the current production timeline, the first GameSticks should ship in April 2013, so you won’t even have to wait that long to get your hands on one.
We’ve featured several cameras that were madeusingLEGObricks (or something similar to LEGO), but this camera separates itself from the pack because it’s just one brick. Also it’s not made out of a LEGO brick. At least they’re stackable!
Simply called the Block, it’s made by Chobi Cam, a Japanese company that’s known for itstinycameras. The Block can take colored or black and white 1.3MP still images and capture 720×480 video at 24fps. Here are clips taken with the Block and uploaded to YouTube by JTT:
You’ll need a microSDHC card to store your data, and a USB port to charge the camera.
You can order the Chobi Cam Block camera from Japan Trend Shop for $73 (USD), while Detective Conan wannabes in Japan should order it from JTT.
A couple of weeks ago we saw a Kickstarter fundraiser for a desktop arcade machine based on the Raspberry Pi. It turns out that hacker and tinkerer Jeroen Domburg has already made a tinier, yet also functional machine based on the same computer.
Wow. So many wonderful features in such a tiny package. I think it’s as small, if not smaller, than the Space Invader cabinet we saw a while back, but this one runs MAME so it can run tons of classic (and not-so-classic) games. It has a transparent cabinet made from laser-cut acrylic, a 2.4″ LCD screen and an itty bitty OLED display up top that displays the logo of the game being played (if available). It runs on a Li-ion battery that can be recharged via USB.
This project is definitely not for beginners, but if you have the skills Domburg has posted a thorough step-by-step on his website.
Meet Apollo Run, a little three-man band from Brooklyn. They are going to be really, stupidly big soon, so watch this now so you can brag about how you were a fan back when no one knew who they were. More »
The arrival of Windows 8 is a good excuse for the PC industry to flood the market with so much hardware, consumers will be blinded by so much choice. Acer’s jabbing its digits into your eyes with its new lineup of low-end desktops for the casual user. The ME micro towers will take an Intel Core i5 or I7, 2TB HDDs and up to 16GB of RAM. If you don’t have anywhere else to stash your smartphone, the chassis comes with a recess desk on top with a USB port for easy charging. Those looking for something a little less demanding can pick up an XC desktop, a space-saving unit that will take an Intel Core i3, a 1TB HDD and up to 6GB of RAM. Prices for the ME begin at $700, while the cheaper XCs will set you back a much more modest $400.
Maybe it was because of Super Mario 64, but I always thought the Nintendo 64 was one of the best consoles Nintendo ever made. But it was always sort of big and clunky. And while these days, you can emulate the console on a tiny handheld, there’s still nothing quite like playing with the original cartridges and the original controller. Now, one modder decided to shrink down his old N64 into a more compact form factor.
Modder Slipstream (aka Smackedsam), the guy behind some epic N64 portables and other mods, managed to mimic the style of the original Nintendo 64, but managed to reduce its size substantially.
It’s quite an amazing build job, since it looks like something that could have come right off the assembly line at Nintendo. Check out the N64 Mini in all its glory in the video clip below:
Heck, that thing is about the same size as the controller. I just love that sexy metallic orange automotive paintjob too. I wonder how many coats it took to make it look that great. Slipstream says the mod is for sale, and if you’re interested in it, send him a private message over on his YouTube channel.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
