Apr 29

Angry Birds Throwable Plush Toys Let You Recreate the Game

Posted in: gaming, Tech Toys, Today's Chili, Toys, video games

Throwable Angry Birds Plush

The Angry Birds train rolls on, and while you can buy all manner of Angry Birds swag, nothing has been quite as cool yet as these adorable, palm-sized Angry Birds 5″ plush toys from ThinkGeek. Just tap one of the birds’ heads, and then throw him across the room to hear him make the sounds from the game while flying through the air. 
All of the birds are accounted for, and they all make sounds – you can collect all of the individual birds and build your own pig crushing arsenal. The best part is that the pigs are available too: the piglet, the helmeted pig, the mustached pig, and yes, even the Pig King himself are all up for sale. With enough of them, you can recreate your own Angry Birds level using plush toys that actually make all the right noises when you throw them or things fall on top of them. 
Each of the birds and pigs are available now for $9.99 retail price directly from ThinkGeek. A number of them are on back-order, so make sure you check back if the one you want isn’t available. Check out a video of the little guys in action behind the jump.
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Apr 19

ThinkGeek Now Accepting Pre-Orders for the iCade iPad Cabinet

Posted in: gaming, ipad, ipad 2, Tech Toys, Today's Chili, video games

ThinkGeek iCade

The iCade, originally an April Fool’s joke by ThinkGeek, is finally here – almost. The iPad arcade cabinet finally has a release date: May 11th. The device will start shipping on May 10th, and if you have to be first in line or get one shipped to your home on release day, you can pre-order it now for $99.99 retail price.  The iCade uses Bluetooth to connect to the iPad, and supports both the original iPad and the iPad 2.
If you do buy one, you’ll also want to pick up a copy of Atari’s Greatest Hits in the iTunes App Store – at the moment it’s the only game (although it’s actually a collection of over 100 classic Atari games) to fully support the iCade. ThinkGeek and Ion have partnered to build the arcade cabinet and to produce an API that app developers can use to make their games compatible.
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Apr 18

Game Boy Gutted, Turned into a Nintendo 3DS Case

Posted in: 3ds, diy, Games, mod, nintendo, Tech Toys, Today's Chili, video games

GameBoy 3DS Case

If you don’t remember quite how large the original Game Boy really was, this DIY hack will remind you. One proud 3DS owner looking for an unassuming but still geeky case for his shiny new handheld console decided that his old original Nintendo Game Boy would make a perfect carrying case. 
The modder, named “Goteking,” gutted the original Game Boy of all of its components, but kept the shell, the buttons, and the screen intact. He printed some paper cut-outs of the start screens of his favorite games, and affixed them where the Game Boy’s LCD screen used to be. Next, he attached a hinge to the left side of the Game Boy and a clasp to the right side. 
With a little sanding down, it just happens that the interior of a Game Boy – with everything else removed – is just the right size to slip a 3DS inside. He repeated the process with a newer Game Boy model with a translucent plastic body, and got the same results. Once the 3DS is inside, you can’t even tell it’s in there: it just looks like an ordinary Game Boy. 
You can see a video of the case behind the jump.
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Apr 06

DIY Zelda Treasure Chest

Posted in: diy, Tech Toys, Today's Chili, video games

Zelda Chest

The sound of a treasure chest opening from the iconic Legend of Zelda videogames is a sound that’s etched into the minds of young people everywhere: it hasn’t changed in well over 25 years. Now, thanks to a true Zelda fan at Instructables (where else?) you can learn how to make your very own 8″ wide treasure chest that plays the Zelda timed opening tune when you pop it open. 
The chest is large enough to store a decent number of items, too: it’s not just a prop that makes noise. The instructions even call for black felt to line the interior. The music is provided courtesy of a cheap generic mp3 player that you’ll install in the chest, pre-loaded with the treasure chest sound, and a cheap audio amp or stereo speaker connected to the mp3 player. 
The best part of the project is that it’s not even terribly difficult. The full instructions and the list of parts needed are listed at Instructables, but there’s a video of the treasure chest in action behind the jump.
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Apr 04

Hasbro Releases 3D Glasses For iPhone

Posted in: iPhone, Tech Toys, Today's Chili

 

my3d.jpgHasbro is looking to break out of the kids market. The company is introducing a new line of 3D glasses for the iPhone that will be marketed towards gadget fans. While it sounds like a smart move to make it does come with one issue, the My 3D glasses are awkward to say at the least.

The black, and, blue glasses look more like a child’s toy than a new electronic accessory. However, Hasbro claims that this pair will allow users to turn an iPhone or iPod into a 3D gadget. No word on if it will work on the iPad.

The My 3D kit costs around $34.99.

Via TG Daily

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Apr 04

DIY NES in an NES Game Cartridge

Posted in: diy, Games, nintendo, Tech Toys, Today's Chili, video games

NES in NES Cartridge

We’ve all marveled at one point or another at how technology has changed even in the past few years. Mobile phones are smaller and more powerful; computers are thinner, lighter, and more powerful than ever. Even so, what about game consoles? They’re still fairly large, even though “slim” models generally come a few years after their release. If the original Nintendo Entertainment System were released today, how small could it be? 
One DIY enthusiast over at Instructables wanted to try their hand at making an NES as small as possible, and wound up fitting the entire console inside of an NES game cartridge. That’s right – they managed to get the entire console, including ports for controllers and an on-off switch inside of one of the cartridges you used to insert into the console to play. 
The modder, known over at Instructables as dany32412, found himself an old Famicom (the Japanese version of the NES) and took it apart. With some hard work, he managed to squeeze the whole thing into the cartridge, and standard NES controllers even work with the cartridge console. Instructions, as always, are at Instructables if you want to try it yourself.
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Apr 01

ThinkGeek April Fool’s Products Include PlayMobil Apple Store and Angry Birds Pork Rinds

Posted in: Tech Toys, Today's Chili, video games, Weird News

ThinkGeek - Playmobil Apple Store

Every year on April 1st, the folks at ThinkGeek go out of their way to come up with hilarious products that don’t exist. Often, those April Fool’s products are so well loved that the community demands they become real, like the My First Bacon talking plush. 
This year, ThinkGeek’s April Fool’s Day arsenal includes goodies like a Playmobil Apple Store Playset, complete with a little Steve Jobs giving a keynote speech in the theater and a Steve Wozniak on a Segway outside. The show floor is covered in iPads and iMacs, and the “optional line kit” gives you enough people to make your own little line outside the store full of people who have waited for days for the next shiny iThing. 
Also among the spoof roster this year are Angry Birds Pork Rinds, which, as you might imagine, are crispy and green. We know where those came from. There are also Star Wars Lightsaber Popsicles, a Minecraft Nether Portal USB desk toy, Gummi iPhone Cases, and more. Sadly none of them actually exist, but if you like them enough you can tell ThinkGeek that you want a real one when you click to add the fictional product to your cart.
You can check out the videos for the Angry Birds Pork Rinds and the Playmobil Apple Store behind the jump.
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Mar 29

Quadrocopter Ping Pong

Posted in: Robots, Robots Robotics, Tech Toys, Today's Chili, Weird News

Quadrocopter Ping Pong

A quadrocopter is, as it sounds, a four-rotored flying machine, much like the Parrot.AR Drone that you’ve seen here before. Well, they’re all the rage among a number of manufacturers and DIY enthusiasts, and a group of students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have built a pair of quadrocopters and programmed them to play a friendly ping pong match. 
The two flying machines have a tennis racquet attached to them, and the programmers position the two copters perfectly to volley the ball back and forth between them with minimal adjustment. While watching the ball fly between the two copters is interesting enough, it’s almost more interesting to watch each quadrocopter compensate for its human partner in the initial set of tests. 
Check out the full video of the flying bots behind the jump.
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Mar 14

Green Lantern Power Battery Replica Won’t Give You Super Powers

Posted in: Movies, Tech Toys, Today's Chili, Toys

Green Lantern

The upcoming Green Lantern movie is shaping up to be a blockbuster. Trailers appear on the Web to much fanfare, and the first set of merch has started to appear. 
Ironically though, this item isn’t aimed at everyday fans of the movie or the comic book and not destined for store shelves or toy stores: this Green Lantern Movie Power Battery Replica is aimed only at the most hardcore movie fans. Only 2500 of the replicas will be produced, and when they’re all sold out, they’re gone forever. 
The replica Power Battery will ship with a size 14 Green Lantern Ring, and when you bring the ring close to the lantern, the two will glow a bright green. 
The closer you bring them, the brighter they get. The lantern is 15-inches tall, and the whole package will retail for $289.99 at retail. If you’re willing to drop the cash, you’ll be able to get your hands on one in July. 
[via ChipChick]
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Mar 10

Kinect Gets Guinness World Record, Is the Fastest Selling Consumer Electronics Device Ever

Posted in: kinect, Tech Toys, Today's Chili, video games

XboxKinect.jpgEarlier we noted that Microsoft’s Kinect gaming peripheral had topped 10 million units sold, but one bit of news that came shortly afterward is that Guinness World Records has certified the Kinect as the Fastest-Selling Consumer Electronics Device, topping gadgets like the iPhone, the iPad, the Nintendo Wii, and every other device you’ve seen people line up for outside of stores in the pouring rain to get their hands on. 

Guinness says Kinect sold an average of 133,333 units per day, and hit 8 million units sold in the first 60 days it was on sale, beating out all rivals not just in the gaming category but all consumer electronics in general. The award was confirmed yesterday, and the new record will be included in the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition book. 
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