Gadget Arena

Is music your life? Those who put up their hands to second that suggestion would definitely find the Zoom R8 to be at the top of their wanted list, or perhaps somewhere up there. Just what is the Zoom R8? This is touted to be the perfect tool if you need something to capture audio whenever, wherever you are. The Zoom R8 will merge a quartet of production tools in a single compact, versatile device. Apart from being an 8-track playback/2-track simultaneous recorder that makes sure all of your recordings end up on a SD memory card, the R8 will also double up as an audio interface, a control surface and a pad sampler.
According to James Tsaptsinos, Samson’s VP of Sales, “The R8 will fit in a guitar case, for a flexible, multi-track solution. More than ever before, Zoom users have all the tools necessary to create studio-quality recordings on-the-go.”

Since summer is already upon those of you living in the Northern Hemisphere, just what the heck are you doing at home, reading online news and staying cooped up all day long? Why not head outdoors and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts? After all, before you know it, autumn will be upon you and when you want to bask in the warmth of the noon day, that is no longer as fun as during summer itself. Not only that, gusts of wind will certainly thwart the flight of your Lateral Drift Remote Controlled Helicopter.
This remote controlled helicopter will offer more than just upwards, downwards and basic movement – it will also throw in side-to-side drifting movement that is something you hardly see. This is made possible thanks to a couple of horizontally oriented mini-rotors located on either side of the fuselage, and controlling this puppy is a snap. 40 minutes of charging will deliver seven minutes of flight – diminishing returns at its best for a $69.95 purchase.

What you are seeing here is an OLED “geo-cosmos” display at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo.
It is designed to show images of the Earth taken from a meteorological satellite, along with all the clouds and storm fronts. It is about six-meters around, and it has a resolution of about 10 million pixels across 103,620 PMOLED panels, each measuring 96 square millimeters.
The OLED globe will be unveiled on June 11th, and will hang on the ceiling. I honestly wish that I was going to be in Japan at this time, just so I could see this thing. It looks like something that an evil overlord would have hanging on his headquarters ceiling like a disco ball.

Do you think that you have a respectable music collection that deserves the other people around you to learn how to appreciate what you have been enjoying all this while? If the answer is in the affirmative, then might we add that you will need to ditch that pair of earphones and settle for the TDK 3 Speaker Boombox instead. Why, you ask? Well, let me list down the reasons.
First of all, this £499.99 device looks great as a portable sound system in this day and age, where it will pay homage to ghetto blasters of the 1980s. Of course, expect top notch technology crammed inside, where you will be able to enjoy touch-sensitive controls as well as hook up a wide range of devices to it thanks to multiple audio inputs.
A 6″ subwoofer does a pretty bang up job of delivering bass, while the cassette deck is no longer there to keep up with the times. There are also two 6-inch drivers located on either side of it, and you can even blend inputs together if you want to let that creative music beast inside of you loose.

When it comes to making sure that you have the fastest rig in the market compared to the rest of your mates, surely overclocking your computer processor as well as other chips that are able to be overclocked is a great idea – but there is always the downside of voiding the warranty should something go awry, not to mention a higher level of power consumption. Oh yeah, there is the other problem that might literally get too hot to handle – the heat that builds up within a chassis due to an inadequate cooling solution.
Enter the NZXT Havik 140 CPU cooler which is actually a high-performance CPU cooler that comprises of 6mm heat pipes, in addition to dual standard 140mm fans and expertly engineered fan blades that will be able to offer unparalleled cooling performance. Not only that, Havik 140’s fan blades were specially designed to slice through the air with little or no effort at all, helping maximize ventilation (90.3 CFM) at drastically reduced noise levels (25db).

I guess that there is nothing that can be done with “pet” games other than linking them with real pets, but until that day, there is Wappy Dog.
Wappy Dog is from video games industry giant Activision, and the toy that you see in the picture is designed to wirelessly work in sync with a 3DS game. The Wappy Dog toy has light up cheeks that can express Wappy’s different mood states from unhappy to fully content via different colors.
As you might have guessed, the object is to make certain Wappy is a happy puppy, and to keep its cheeks the color of contentment. The player/user can talk to Wappy as it recognizes more than 18 different voice prompts, and it can respond with more than 350 barks that are “translated” with the 3DS.

When it comes to the iPhone, accessory manufacturers would certainly love this handset to bits and pieces because it is hugely popular, and folks tend to want to accessorize their smartphone in order to stand out from the rest of the crowd. You have your wish this time around with the iPWN! Case that will play nice with both the Verizon Wireless as well as AT&T iPhone 4.
It comes in a super slim fit design that measures a mere 2mm thick – definitely not something that will add any unnecessary bulge to your handbag or pockets. Apart from that, it won’t hinder your access to the touchscreen display, buttons and peripheral ports – just like what any other good iPhone case should do, while offering adequate protection against knocks and bumps. Boasting IML (In Mold Labeling) technology, that will deliver up to 3 layers of protection to the case, all the while preventing color fading and resistance to moisture.

Dr. Who fans, heads up! Ever wondered how it would feel like to have an army of Daleks at your beck and call, annihilating anyone and everyone who gets in your way? Well, they say that money is not everything, but having more than enough of it is certainly something nice to have! What happens if we told you that it is now possible to own a slew of Dalek replicas? Too bad they cannot be remote controlled in any way to do your bidding, but at least they can sit there, looking all pretty and menacing on their own that some folks might even wonder whether they will be zapped if they get too near.
The only flipside to the Dalek replica? They cost a bomb at £3,000 apiece. Surely in the current economic climate, having to cough up that kind of money for an army of Dalek replicas is out of the question, unless you’re an oil sheikh who can’t find a better way to spend your money, of course.

You know the old proverb, you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. The same applies to this leisurely looking float that might just lull you into thinking that floating around on a pool with a good book in hand, a pair of shades, some Pina Colada and a generous amount of sunscreen splashed all over is the perfect idea of chilling out. Why not throw in an element of exercise with the Hand Pedal Float?
This raft lounger can be propelled in the direction of your choice using hand-powered propellers, where a couple of four-blade propellers (with one located on each side of the seat) will rotate with a simple turn, helping move the float forward, backward, or turning it in the direction that you want to. With an angled backrest, it will let you relax in a reclined manner, while 25′ sq. of float real estate ought to let you have more than enough space for outstretched limbs.
There are also two integrated cup holders that will keep your favorite drink upright. Made from heavy-gauge vinyl, it is puncture resistant (to a reasonable degree, of course), and isn’t that easy to fade. Are you willing to fork out $79.95 for the Hand Pedal Float?

So you managed to line up and pick up an iPad 2 despite the extremely limited stock in the market, how are you going to differentiate yourself from the rest of the iPad 2 owners out there? Apart from having it come with a custom engraving on the back, there is another way, to use stickers or protective cases that are truly unique. Then again, all cases out there do not come as an exclusive, so you might just bump into someone else who shares the same taste with you.
Moshi knows this, but that has not stopped them from coming up with the Concerti Case for the iPad 2. The Moshi Concerti is a silicone and microfiber hybrid case which will deliver extreme versatility with unparalleled elegance to iPad 2 owners.

If you are going to use top notch graphics cards in your gaming rig, then you had best have one of the more reliable and effective cooling solutions to ensure that your gaming sessions don’t just halt in the middle, simply because of overheating issues. Apart from a good and stable liquid cooled solution, there are other ways such as not pushing the overclocking bit overboard, as well as getting a solid set of cooling fans.
NZXT, an old hand when it comes to cooling fans and computer chassis models, have just announced their latest NZXT FX Fan series which intends to deliver a much quieter gaming experience overall. This addition to the FX Fan series will offer performance fans for cooling enthusiasts which will push airflow to the max.

When I was my children’s age, I had some neighbors that had those orange flexible tracks for Hot Wheels cars. Try as I might, I never could get one of those cars to go through a loop.
Clearly, I am not the person who planned this jump from Team Hot Wheels. You can watch a video of it after the jump, and see the longest jump by a four-wheeled vehicle on May 29th, 2011 at the Indianapolis 500.
I’m not certain, but it sounds as if this life-sized Hot Wheels vehicle has no engine. I guess they must have just got some giant hand to push it up the ramp before they pushed it down.

Pets might not be on the same level as humans, but that does not mean they do not learn through some human methods, and playing is among one of those traits. After all, it is through playing that kittens learn how to catch prey, honing their reflexes and hunting instinct amongst their siblings. Cat owners out there – how many times have your feline friend left you a “present” in front of the door in the form of a roach, rat or other small animals?
How about letting Garfield (or whatever else you call your cat) hone its playing skills with the Magneticat Cat Toy? This $12.99 purchase works as its name suggests, featuring a magnetically powered cat toy inside that boasts of a weighted base and a ladybug toy on a string. The magnet in the base will repel the ladybug, letting it dance, and that ought to keep your cat amused for hours on end.

The Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3 for short) can be said to be a success in its own right, and for the longest time, it was touted to be the cheapest Blu-ray disc player in town, and with the option to upgrade its firmware (unlike early models of other Blu-ray players), the PS3 made perfect sense from a home entertainment point of view. Gaming-wise, all the signature titles were there from the beginning, alongside some great third party titles as well.
As for the console itself, it has undergone a hardware revision along the way, looking much slimmer than what it originally was. Still, there is always room for improvement, otherwise we would all still be living in caves, won’t we? Calibur11 knows this, which is why they have rolled out the Base Vault for the Ps3 this time around instead of just for the Xbox 360 previously.

Own an iPad or iPad 2 and love it to bits? Well, if you are the type who has plenty of time to watch movies on the iPad, then you would surely know that carrying the iPad at all times can prove to be quite the unwieldy experience, not to mention giving your hand a good cramp. There are mounts, and then there are mounts – and one of the later models available would be the MountMe Freedom II.
MountMe Freedom II will target owners of both iPad generations, where it is now up for pre-order where you will be able to receive a special discount of 10% to 25% off (the former if you purchase one model, while the latter applies when you buy two). This unique protective carrying case will boast a durable mounting and standing accessory which will deliver a special all-in-one solution, turning your precious tablet into an entertainment center with optimal viewing options.

It is a good time to be a tablet or smartphone right now, so I don’t see any reason why in the world someone couldn’t combine them. It looks like ASUS is doing that with the Padfone, and they showed it off at Computex Taipai in Taiwan.
As you can see, the Padfone tablet opens up in the back so the Padfone smartphone can nestle safely in the back. Not much else is known about this, but the smartphone should have a 3G connection.
Another feature is that the smartphone can charge itself inside the bigger battery in the tablet. Of course, I think we all know what we really want, which is data sync between the smartphone and the tablet.

Have you watched Inception, and ever wondered at the end where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character’s totem, a spinning top wobbles but you were left wondering whether it fell down in the end to indicate that he is in the real world? Perhaps it didn’t – but that does not mean that he is back in reality and not in a dream, since he could have been using a different form of the Magnet Powered Spinning Top.
Yup, this top is capable of spinning – for up to a week, since that would be just about when the 9V battery dies out, but it would make for a fascinating piece on your work desk. I imagine interviewers placing this on their desk, asking questions to the prospective employees only to see those folks mesmerized by it – a surefire way of discerning whether said person has strong focus (or at least, focuses on the right thing) or not.
The Magnet Powered Spinning Top works as it does thanks to an electromagnet in the base for constant spinning action, and for $9.99 a pop, just leave it on for a week to see if the claim of its battery life is true. If the top doesn’t fall, you might actually be trapped in a dream, no?

Sony’s VAIO laptops is a well established range over the years, and for good reason, too. They’ve proved to be stylish and technologically advanced, although some people might feel that when it comes to value for money, it isn’t quite there just yet. Well, this has not stopped the Japanese company from rolling out newer models, and one of their latest efforts would be the Sony VAIO S Series.
The VAIO S Series laptop will merge for the first time portability, performance and power in a thinner, lighter design that is perfect for everyone, never mind if you are a student or a business traveler. It intends to break down the previous perceived wall of being aloof by offering users more personalized options and flexibility in order to suit their lifestyle.

If you were jogging in the forest one day, and you looked up and saw this huge football shaped object hovering there, what would you think?
If you were thinking that you just saw a UFO, then you would be partially correct. This is a tree house in the shape of a UFO. I’m not certain whether or not this was designed for small children or adults, but it has a dinning area, bedroom, living room, and bathroom.
Seriously, it has a bathroom. I have no idea if the plumbing goes up the tree trunk or what, but unless it is some sort of outhouse, I want to live here. Then again, I don’t know how tall the ceilings are, but they look pretty low.

There’s nothing I like more than reporting on robots on this blog, and this one has is certainly has something unusual on two fronts.
First, it is can climb up walls, provided they are made of glass. It has suction cups, and they could take away all window washing jobs permanently. No more of those guys hanging off the sides of tall buildings.
Unfortunately, the suction cups won’t keep the robot affixed to the side of a glass building, not by themselves anyway. Here’s where it gets interesting. This robot has a vacuum suction that is generated by water. Yes, this robot can run on water. Not only that, the excess water is squirted out, which will help wash the windows.
Talk about killing two birds with one stone! Another thing that makes this robot nifty is that it is modeled after a gecko. Too bad it does require a flexible pipe in order to work, but the water tank is only so large, really.
Well, this water-powered robo gecko is under development from researchers at Zhejiang University in China, and there is no word if this will ever go past the experimental stage. So if you work on the top of a tall building, and you see a robotic gecko washing your window, do not be alarmed.

Right now, I am in the San Francisco area, but I wish I could have been there for the Maker Faire, which was last week.
The Drawing Machine that you see here in the photo was one of the winners of an Editor’s Choice award, and he didn’t even expect to show it off at this year’s fair. The device is able to recreate a JPG mechanically in the form of a drawing.
It has a set-up with Arduino software, and it takes weeks or even months to complete the image. You have to admit that is a pretty long time to wait for a drawing, and yes, a human would be able to do it faster. I’m not certain if a human can achieve the level of detail that this device can, as it makes a drawing of Frankenstein’s monster from the classic motion picture look like a still from the movie.

It has been many years since Bluetooth technology was implemented in mobile devices, but how about the application of it? Bluetooth never really broke new ground apart from being paired to a pair of headphones, or used as a wireless mouse, or sending data sans a cable. Well, nothing much has changed here with the foxL V2 Bluetooth Soundbar, but it is still an interesting $199.99 device which proves its bark is worse than its bite.
Why so? For something so diminutive and portable, the Bluetooth A2DP Loudspeaker surely boasts of a superior quality speakerphone, delivering incredible power and dynamic range that targets audiophiles and gadget hounds. Not only that, it has the pedigree to back it up – physicist, NASA engineer, and well known audio design legend, Dr. Godehard Guenther, is the brain behind the Foxl V2 Bluetooth Soundbar.
Powered by an internal battery, it will fit comfortably into a relatively large pocket or backpack, offering blistering audio for up to 8 hours before requiring a recharge. Seems to be the perfect device to bring on your long camping trips – just get a solar-powered charger of sorts to accompany it and you’re set to be marooned on a tropical island for life.

Sleep is vital to the well being of humans, any doctor can tell you that. Heck, you need not slog your way through medical school (suffering from a lack of sleep in the process, how ironic is that?) to know that having the right amount of sleep is important to make sure you function at peak efficiency. Well, some of us get too much, most of us get too little, but the EASYWAKEme Sleep Stage Alarm Clock from Dreamtrap intends to help you achieve the perfect balance.
Ready to rock and roll this coming July, the innovative sleep monitor will be able to detect the most optimal moments for you to wake up through the simple monitoring of customers’ sleep. This means with enough data collected, you will be awakened stress-free while feeling totally alert, energized and ready to meet the new day, never mind that you are already behind schedule in your work.

Do you love collecting timepieces as a hobby? For the more notable names in the industry, this can end up being a pretty expensive hobby, but the Cadence Watch Company has something special for you watch lovers in the form of the new 4-Bit Chronograph Watch. Not only does it look subtle, but it is also classy that notches up a point for geeks who want to impress their dates but without a Tag Heuer or an equivalent.
Apart from being able to tell the time (duh!), the Cadence 4-Bit Chronograph watch will also throw in the functionality of a chronograph and Universal Coordinated Time (UTC). You won’t get Arabic or Latin numerals, but rather, “see” the numbers in 4-bit binary. To recap, binary is a system of 1’s and 0’s which all computers ultimately rely on, and wearing this won’t make you look out of place even in black tie affairs.

Google has recently announced their new mobile payment system with Google Wallet. It is a free Android Android App that will arrive sometime this summer that will allow users to make payments for products and/or services.
Google Wallet, which is open platform software, was officially unveiled at a massive event a few days ago. This deal has been in the works for a while, and a lot of big companies like MasterCard, Citi, Sprint, and First Data have invested in it. In order to encourage more growth an usage of this unique program, Google Wallet is going to encourage a lot of deals like discounts, promotions, loyalty rewards, and the like.
It sounds like a terrific deal for consumers, but you know who isn’t happy about it? PayPal. Yeah, they are suing Google, accusing Google Wallet’s project leader, Osama Bedier, of “feeding confidential PayPal information to Google so that it can develop the NFC mobile payment system”.

The touchscreen has revolutionized the last decade, and it will continue to improve this decade. However, this ITP thesis by Michael Kneupfel for NYU’s design program has shown that the touchscreen could use a little more accessories.
There is a video after the jump so you can see what he has in mind. The one in the picture is for pulses, and I am not certain what to use that for. However, there are a few things that are pretty much self-explanatory.
For example, there are two types of pens, and one of them allows for some intriguing shapes like a traditional thick marker pen. The other is used for making some interesting shapes.

Love gold? After all, that is the place where investors flock to if they are looking for a safe haven from all the uncertainties that are going on in the world where their investments are concerned. The failing US dollar and Euro have nudged more people to purchase gold over the past year, bringing it to new highs more frequently than ever before.
Why not show the world that you’re rich enough to afford a gold plated cell phone as well? That is where Nokia steps in with the Nokia Oro, a premium brand product (but nowhere near the Vertu’s range of handsets) that will incorporate 18-carat gold plating which is accompanied by a sapphire crystal and leather from one of Scotland’s finest Caledonian herds (don’t let those animals get skinned in vain – purchase a Nokia Oro!).

Let’s face the facts – many of us who have visited our grandparents would probably have come across this ancient artifact (OK, so it wasn’t that ancient but you know how it is with the advent of MP3s and digital media content these days) known as a record, or vinyl player. If your memory serves you right, it would mean dusting off those old vinyls and playing them on the record player – horizontally placed, of course.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and iPods with its numerous clones of portable media players have taken over the world when it comes to the mobile music experience, but what happens when you retreat back to your home after a particularly long day at the office, hoping to relax in classic tunes that only a vinyl can offer with its warmth? Enter the Vertical Vinyl that will ship at the end of June onwards, although you can place a pre-order for it for £79.99.
The name itself gives the game away – you can mount this puppy vertically, helping you save space in your home at the same time. Grandpa might love to have this for Father’s Day, don’t you think so?

The TDK Sound Cube brings new meaning to “surround sound”, that’s for sure. It should be called “surrounded sound” instead, since the cube that you see on the right should find a happy audience regardless of where they are seated – as long as the crowd size is right, of course. Right now up for pre-order, the £299.99 TDK Sound Cube measures just 25.5cm³, making it the smallest in its range, but it is no pushover where performance levels are concerned.
Each of the Cube’s vertical sides will boast of its own speaker (two of them are active while the other two are passive), delivering 360° of party-starting audio, not to mention the nice touch of a sturdy leather handle on top that makes toting it around fun and comfortable. It can be powered by mains or a dozen D batteries (the latter is certainly going to fill up those landfills, fast!), so make sure you use rechargeables if you’re gunning for the latter.
At the back lies a quartet of separate sound ports, letting you plug in a variety of devices such as a portable media player or an electric guitar. Perfect for the day out with the rest of your family, listening to your favorite tunes all round in 20 watts RMS glory.

I suppose that the conductor behind the pedestal leading an orchestra is one of the oldest ways of listening to music.

Nvidia reveals its new mobile processor known as Nvidia Tegra 2 3D Processor after the success of Nvidia Tegra 2 which is in upcoming new Motorola Xoom Tablet featuring android 3.0. New Nvidia Tegra 2 3D processor will posses speed of 1.2 GHz and allowing the future tablets to provide a better human computer interaction using 3D effects. 3D view is... [Read more of this review]

Verizon Wireless has announced that it will start accepting pre-orders on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play from this Thursday the 19th of May, and the Xperia Play will go on sale on the 26th of May.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play will cost $199.99 and customers will have to sign up for a new 24 month contract with Verizon.

Here’s shortlisted entry into designboom’s 2011 Fujitsu Design Award. It was created by the Korean designer Dae Hoon Jung, and it’s called the Split. It splits up, in an analogue way to the Bento Book concept, offering mobile computing among a host of gadgets. Unlike the Bento, all modular elements are part of the computer, and they can be controlled remotely via the tablet or the smartphone.

Staying healthy and fit should not be a painful job or even a chore. And you shouldn’t have to spend hefty amounts of money on gym membership fees just to do a few reps on the old bench press and then head back home. In fact, why can’t exercise be fun and entertaining? Actually it can be, with the right equipment — fitness gadgets disguised as video games.
It’s Healthy Week here at Syfy, and to kick off the festivities we’ve compiled a list of 11 fun healthy video game gadgets that can keep you looking lean and mean right in your very own home. Sorry, hot sweaty strangers are not included with any of these.

Said competition being the Fujitsu Design Award 2011. Turns out it’s a major happening among design circles as more than 1,000 entries have been submitted so far. The theme for this year is “a life with future computing” and some chick might have just presented the smartest idea. Among the cream of the crop are Ms. Laura Lahti’s Keyless Lifebook, which borrows the long running brand name of Fujitsu laptops. Lahti takes it further through a novel concept that finally gives users the power to determine their own keyboard configuration.