Hasta La Gadget!

One of the better tactics that publishers use to entice gamers to pre-order is by creating special bundles that include real goodies. The notable ones include the PIP-Boy 3000 clock from a Fallout 3 bundle and the loot chest from a Borderlands 2 bundle. But no bundle can compare with the Grid 2 BAC Mono Edition. It comes with an actual car.

And not just any car, mind you. The BAC Mono is a street-legal race car. It has a 2.3L 280hp engine and a carbon fiber body, for starters, allowing it to go from 0 to 60mph in just 2.8s, with a top speed of 170mph. The popular British car show Top Gear named it one of their top picks in 2011. It should come as no surprise then that the Guiness World Records hails the bundle as the “Most Expensive Video Game Commercially Available – Special Edition.”

And yet for some reason the car isn’t on the game’s cover. The bundle is a one-time offer and costs £125,000 (~$190,000 USD). In case you were wondering, the car alone costs £96,495 (~$146,000 USD). That means the game on its own will retail for $44,000. Just kidding. The deep-pocketed gearhead who claims the Grid 2 BAC Mono Edition also gets a PS3, a racing outfit (a helmet, a suit and a pair of gloves) and a day at the BAC Mono factory. The buyer will meet with BAC personnel to tour the factory and personalize his new ride.

Ask your assistant’s assistant’s secretary’s butler’s falcon breeder’s son’s geeky friend to contact BAC at sales@bac-mono.com to order the bundle. But just for kicks, check out UK store GAME’s pre-order page for the game as well. The six-figure tag is just sitting there as if it were a pre-order for any other game. Deadpan humor at its finest. Seriously go to the page and get a screenshot of it.

[via BAC Mono via Gear Diary]

I’m okay with using a microfiber cloth to clean the display on my gadgets and my computer. But if your nose is sensitive enough that it can smell the oil, dirt and whatever substance is left on your screen, watch out for Elecom’s new touchscreen cleaners. Aside from containing germ-killing ethanol and dirt-scrubbing surfactant, they also have various fragrances.

The scented cleaners are sold in either small spray-on bottles or equally tiny wet microfiber cloths. But even if you get the spray-on cleaner, Elecom recommends that you spray them on a piece of clean cloth first then apply the cloth to your gadget’s screen instead of spraying the cleaner on your screen directly. Probably because some of the liquid might find its way inside your gadget.

Elecom will make the cleaners available in Japan starting this month. The tissue will sell for ¥640 (~$6  USD) for a pack of 5 tissues while a 7ml bottle of the liquid cleaner will go for ¥1,323 (~$13). If that sounds too expensive to you, there are lots of guides online about mixing your own screen cleaning solution. Maybe you can add a fragrance to those recipes. Or the scent of a new computer. Or booger bits. Whatever floats your boat.

[via Elecom via Akihabara News]

We know that cats like to play with iPads, but it turns out they also like iPhones. While these tiny cats may look like they’re scratching up the back of your smartphone, they really are there to help it stand up.

I really don’t know what else to say about this except… Japan.

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Most of the replicas I’ve seen are of robots, vehicles and weapons. The inspiration behind Darius Bode’s creations is a lot humbler than that. But it’s one that is quite intriguing when you see it in action: a trash compactor. To be more specific, Bode made a working replica of the Schörling 2R rearloader.

In his making-of article (pdf), Bode confesses that he’s been fascinated by the compactor since he was a kid: “I think there is some kind of magic about this packer because it moves so stolidly (sic) and calm no matter what you throw in there.” He started with cardboard models of the compactor, but in 2009 he finally decided to make one that works just like the original. He ended up making a 1:11 scale replica using aluminum and steel. It takes its time, but the tiny compactor actually works. The video below shows it taking on some aluminum cans.

Aaaand we just spent a few minutes looking at a miniature trash compactor crush some cans which we could have just as easily crushed with our hands (or heads.) Thanks Internet! There’s more where that came from. Check out Bode’s YouTube channel for additional videos of the replica.

[via Darius Bode (pdf) via Classic Refuse Trucks via Doobybrain]

Want a massage? Then give yourself one by getting one of the many available self-massaging devices available on store shelves in most retailers.

Massagers are pretty common gadgets and they’re usually pretty easy to use. Most of them anyway, with the notable exception of the foot-powered back massager with hand tool that you see pictured below.

Even their model looks like she’s having a hard time with the device, but maybe that’s just me imagining what it would be like to try using this thing they call a massager.

It’ll probably be easier to use though, once you get the hang of it. The massager is described as allowing “the user to apply firm pressure for extended periods of time while completey relaxing the target muscles.” It also instructs users to adjust the push-button locking pin for back pain relief. Or you could just go see a good massage therapist.

The foot-powered back massager retails for about $50 (USD) over on Amazon.

[via 7gadgets]