Q; What do you get if you combine a Swiss Army knife, a 32GB USB drive, a laster pointer, and a bluetooth powerpoint remote?
A; The $399 Victorinox Presentation Pro.
| 
|
Don't be lazy and sit in a golf cart the next time you play a round, get out and walk and enjoy the fresh air and exercise!
What's that I hear you say? "but my golf clubs are too heavy to carry around". Well we have the solution for you: the Shadow Caddy.
This clever little robot follows you around the golf course carrying you bags of clubs (and presumably your liquid refreshment). How does it know where you are? via a transmitter you carry.
Trials of the Shadow Caddy are currently underway at four Melbourne Australia gold courses.
| |
This folding grill is the latest example of not completely thinking through your great new product idea.
It's a portable grill that you just fold up and carry with it's convenient carry handles...... carry handles that probably get very hot when the grill has been used recently.
I can see it now, guys get together for an party at the beach, grill some burgers and hotdogs, have a few beers, time to go home, grab the grill, sizzle! time to call the paramedics. Way to ruin a perfectly good party.
I see no massive warning labels on the grill. This is America - I guarantee one of the first 10 owners of this grill will be dumb, burn themselves, and then sue the grill manufacturer.
Currently available for £19.99 ($40 + $160 shipping) from gadgetshop.com.
| |
Everyone has seen those wind up electric radios and torches but here is a new variation on the theme: a wind up electric shaver.
You can charge it at home or in the car, or if the battery is flat just wind the handle for a minute to get two minutes of shaving time.
The Wind 'N Go Freedom Shaver is available for $46 direct from the manufacturer but I have to wonder how long it will be available for: those 3 individual floating and rotating heads look like they infringe on a bunch of Norelco patents.
| |
GentlemensGadgets came across this travel charger bag that at first glance looks like a good solution for the traveling gadget addict but we think they are approaching the problem from the wrong direction.
We used to travel a lot, and my wife currently travels almost every week (in the last month she has been in 8 countries), and the most important thing when traveling a lot is keeping things lightweight, compact and accessible. This thing at 12" x 8" is none of those.
Choose gadgets that share a common power source, such as a mini-usb connector so you can charge from your laptop or from a shared single charger (such as an iogear juice charger with adapters for charging in planes, cars, and electrical outlets all over the world).
Keep all those gadgets easily accessible during flights in your "personal item" while keeping you main carry-on bag for clothes and toiletries thus avoiding the dreaded checked baggage wait.
What do we choose as our "personal item"? A Maxpedition bag (such as the jumbo or the colossus versipack), it is equally comfortable on a plane or an all-day hike and has enough pockets and compartments for all our gadgets, chargers, snacks, books, etc.
| |
Watchismo Times got photos and video of the $400k HD3 Complication Vulcania watch that last year topped a list of the world's most complicated watches.
It definitely has a unique look to it, I'm not sure if I would wear one, but as they say: beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
(more at watchismotimes)
| |
In the lawn mowing business time is money: the faster you can mow an acre the more lawns you can mow in a day.
The Dixie Chopper Xcaliber probably has a lot of lawn guys excited, not only because it's 38hp engine 15mph top speed and 74" cutting deck give a mowing capacity of 9.2 acres an hour, but also because it comes with springer forks, electric deck lift, and a 12 volt adapter for an ipod, cellphone, or portable beer fridge.
How much will all of that set you back? $11,000!
(dixiechopper, via i4u)
| |
As soon as someone invents a spying device someone else has to invent a way to block it, and that has just happened for those little GPS trackers you can put in your spouse's car when you think they are fooling around.
The "GPS Tracker Defense" from Trackershack in the UK works exactly as you would expect: you plug it into the power socket (cigarette lighter) in your car and it stops any GPS device within 15ft from locking onto the GPS satellites.
Of course this also means your GPS navigation system won't work either so good luck fining that little out of the way morel where your arranged your scandalous tryst.
(via tfts)
| |
Back in 2004 we reviewed a MSN Direct Fossil Wrist Net Smart Watch and it wasn't exactly awe inspiring: bulky, unattractive, poor coverage (a bit like the people that wore them)
Microsoft tried to keep them alive but finally pulled the plug:
"As of recently, the Smart Watches with MSN Direct have sold out and are no longer for sale. While we continue to move forward with MSN Direct and seeking out new opportunities for devices that would benefit from the MSN Direct service, we, along with our watch partners, do not have immediate plans to create a new version of the Smart Watch, as we are focused on other areas of our business. We will maintain support of our watch customers and continue to deliver information to the watches, but we do not plan to increase our investment in the watch business going forward."
| |
Ever wanted to do a manly project involving lots of wood but worried you might get a splinter or maybe even cut your hand off? well Sawstop can help you (with the hand part, you will still get splinters).
The table saw is designed to instantly (well ok, within 5 milliseconds) retract into it's housing when it detects the electrical conductivity of a finger (or other appendage) as opposed to the wood it is supposed to be cutting.
They even have a video showing it cutting someone's sausage! (a hotdog, what were you thinking??)
(more at sawstop)
| |
Alaska is a state where men are men and thermal underwear is required.
In Alaska there are a lot more men than women and as it takes more than muscles and a plaid shirt to attract the ladies, I can see where the inspiration for 26 year old Carlos Owens little project might have came from.
Carlos is building an 18 foor tall Mecha; an exoskeleton that he can climb into and take 8 foot long strides, crushing cars with it's massive pincer hands.
All it needs now is the flamethrower.
Christian over at WatchReport reviewed the new Fossil Wrist Net MSN Direct Watch (the FX-3005) which is supposed to be more stylish than the bulky old Fossil Wrist Net watches.
"The updated Fossil Wrist Net is definitely a step in the right direction, though it's important to note that the focus was on aesthetics and comfort.
I'm not going to make a final determination as to which watch -- The Fossil Wrist Net or the Swatch Paparazzi -- is the better of the two since I think that's a completely subjective question and depends entirely on preferences and priorities."
| |
Hardextreme.org reviewed the Swiss Army Knife with a built in USB drive.
The fact that products like this are so easily available just adds to my dismay over the hype PalmOne were trying to give the USB drive function of the $400 Tungsten T5.
If you can buy a 512mb USB drive for $50 or a 1gb USB drive for $100, or you can buy a high quality swiss army knife with 128mb drive for $99, why would you buy a $400 Tungsten T5 with 140mb of storage?
Getting back on subject, hardexteme liked the knife. I think it would be good guy for anyone who usually carries a swiss army knife and needs some USB storage (i.e. your typical sysadmin guy).
jkOnTheRun took a look at the Axible gadget storage bag, also known as "The Man Bag".
The Man Bag tries to fill a tricky product niche: a small bag for the guy who has too many things to fit in his pockets (phone, pda, book, keys, etc etc).
Why is that a tricky niche to fill? simple: it must absolutely definately positively be impossible for the bag to be mistaken for a purse.
Did jk's Man Bag pass the "man purse" test?, check out his review and see.
Casio have announced a new watch in Japan that lets you pay for gas at Exxon gas stations that support Speed Pass.
The watch will be available in Japan from October 22nd and will cost 26,000 yen (about $230).
In related news, a gallon of gas will soon cost more than this watch.
Personally I like the idea of technology being built into watches as a watch is the one thing I am guaranteed to be carrying all the time, however I would much prefer it to be in a watch that looks nice, not a big lump of plastic that looks like a refugee from the 1980's.
(via wristdreams)
| |
Suunto have announced a new MSN Mobile connected SPOT watch: the n3i.
I reviewed another SPOT watch (the Fossil Wrist Net) a while back and didn't like how bulky it was, so this seems like a good improvement.
The Suunto n3i costs around $300 (plus MSN Direct subscription), supports standard straps, is water resistant to 330ft, is just 13mm (0.5") thick, and can be charged via AC or via a USB port.
The Suunto n3i will be available October 15th.
(via spotstop)
| |
Every guy (or gal) who spends time outdoors needs a great knife, and the buck 760 summit is a great knife.
If you're into backpacking, hiking, camping, river rafting, diving, kayaking, climbing, or boating you should check out this knife:
3.5oz, aluminium overlay handle, lanyard loop, 4.12" closed, 2.5" blade, plus a couple of other little gadgets including a corkscrew (I never go anywhere outdoors without a corkscrew.... and a bottle of wine).
The Buck 760 Summit costs around $70 and can be bought online direct from Buck.
| |
The Fossil Wrist Net is a Smart Watch that uses the MSN Direct service to receives information such as news, weather, sports results, stock prices, MSN messenger messages and more via FM radio signals.
At a high level, how it works is: you buy a watch and sign up for a subscription with MSN Direct ($59/yr linked to a .net Passport) where you specifiy your home and commute areas. As long as you are in range of FM towers in those locations you get data sent to your watch automatically.
We got hold of a Fossil Wrist Net Smart Watch to review. Keep reading to see what we thought.
| |
Swiss watch company Tissot and Microsoft have announced the launch of a new Smartwatch: the Tissot High-T.
The High-T joins the existing Smartwatches by Fossil, Suunto, and Abacus and is, in my opinion, the most stylish of the Smartwatches: more solid metal and less plastic than the others.
Smartwatches use the FM radio band and a Microsoft technology called SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology) to wirelessly transmit sports, weather, news, stocks, lottery results, etc to the watch (requires a subscription to MSN Direct, 6 months subscription included with the watch).
| |
Searching for a last minute father's day gift idea?, Brookstone has loads of great gifts for dads such as a grill fork with built-in thermometer for $30, an LED multi-tool for $20, talking remote thermometer for $75, or a golf scope (rangefinder/club selector) for $75.
Big spenders can use coupon code AF061804 for $15 off an $150 order (exp 6/18).
Order by 1pm today for 2nd day shipping or 1pm EST on Friday for next day shipping.
ShinyPlastic is brought to you by Search Network and edited by Mark Mitford:
Mark is a thirty-something guy living near Boston who loves to own the latest gadgets from brilliant to bizarre and from commonplace to cutting edge.
He used to work as Group Product Manager at a $20 billion Nasdaq 100 technology company so he knows what it takes to create a top gadget or product and make it a success.
Companies don't pay to have their products mentioned here, we are honest and open in our reporting, and this site is supported solely through online advertising.
If you like ShinyPlastic please bookmark us or subscribe to our feed.
