Sony Voice Recorder With Camera

Sony Voice Recorder
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

This is kind of a strange concept. It's not a video camera, but a voice recorder with camera. I spend a lot of time dictating in my line of work and have never once thought to myself, "I wish I could take a picture" while I'm dictating.

From the press release:

"Those looking for convenience and organizational features for recording speeches, dictations, interviews or class lectures need search no further. Sony's new line of digital voice recorders provide compact, durable and visual components in high-quality recording.

Bringing voice recording to new heights, the ICD-CX50 model is a voice recorder with the added benefit of a built-in camera and color LCD screen.


To see a presenter, a 1.2 effective megapixel CCD camera is incorporated into the unit. The camera contains a 4X digital zoom to get closer to the object being photographed, and a 256MB flash memory to store up to 4,000 pictures (640 x 480 JPG). From thumbnails to folder names, information is displayed on the LCD, making it easier to navigate to and from desired screens."

It still seems odd to me, if you need to record and take pictures, why not just video tape the lecture? No pricing yet.

This One Goes To Eleven

Powermate
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Most of us (especially us guys) can't resist the temptation to play with knobs. See a knob, turn a knob. Whether it is a car radio or a home stereo, it is almost as if we are preprogrammed to fiddle with them.

Griffn Technology has released what might be the ultitmate knob - the PowerMate:

"PowerMate is the coolest volume knob your computer has ever seen - but it's so much more. You can use it to edit home movies or scroll through long documents or create your next audio masterpiece. How can PowerMate be this cool? Because it's an assignable controller that you can program to do anything you want, in any application. Customize it to your needs and go wild!"

Pretty cool and useful. About $45.00, click on the headline for link.

Monday Morning Distractions - Squares

My new favorite flash game should get you going this Monday morning. Take a driving disco/tech beat, add a simple concept - you are a black square, use your mouse to hit other black squares - don't hit a red square or game over, and voila! a great distraction for this week. Go ahead and play. You can thank me later.

Update - I screwed up. Big Time. Wrong link. Now it is correct. Still a great game. Give it a shot. My apologies!

Click on the headline for link.

Cheap Electronics Secrets - Sales Circular

Sales Circular
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Hey, Gadget Guy, how do you know if that computer. mp3, camera, etc., is a good price? Well, besides checking Frrogle, I head on over to SalesCircular.com to see what some of the big brick and mortar stores are having on sale for the upcoming week.

It has listings for every state and a breakdown by electronics category. You never know what might be on sale -

Click on the headline for link.

Flash Player With Speaker

Aiwa AW690
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

The Aiwa AW60 flash player includes a micro-speaker among its features, but to save space it was incorporated into the cap that goes over the USB plug. Sure, it probably sounds like crap, but at least it's there if you need it. I'd guess it's more useful for playing voice recordings than Jay-Z. There's only one other player with something similiar, the M-Bird XT-21.

The 4-color OLED screen is nice addition but the controls look a little simplistic to be much good for navigation. Other features include FM radio, line-in recording, 128mb-1gb capacity. No pricing or release date. (Via dapreview)

April Fools' Gadgets To Annoy Your Friends

supriser
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

The Surpriser - light activated hysterical laughter that is timed to go off about 10 seconds after the light is turned on. Set it up in yout bathroom late at night - and wait for the fun (and the subsequent butt kicking).

About $10.00. Click on the headline for link.

But Does It Also Clean Your Balls?

Robo Caddy
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Some days, I think my favorite part of writing about gadgets is thinking about the headlines to go along with them. Anyway, I am absolutely convinced that golf has some of the coolest, innovative and expensive gadgetry as any sport. Take this little number:

"This remote control cart shoulders your golf bag for you, so you can put all your energy into your game. The lightest and most maneuverable powered caddy available, the cart can make 360° turns and can even go in reverse (unlike other models) at the touch of the remote control.

Its pocket-sized remote control gives you complete forward, left, right, and reverse command up to 100 yards away, and the caddy can travel up to 6 mph."

Only $1,500.00, available from Hammacher Schlemmer. Click on the headline for link.

Follow That Lamp

Solar Lamps
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Pretty cool looking collection of Solar Powered Motion Sculpture Lamps. From the website:

"This unique collection of solar powered decorative lamps provide soft, indirect lighting. The whimsical, animated wire sculptures are powered by directing a swiveling solar panel towards a sunny window or the lamp's bulb. A collection of original gifts!"

About $40.00. Click on the headline for link.

Roger That!

Walkie Talkie Watches
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Man oh man, if I were a kid, I would love to have these. Imagine how cool it would be to pretend that you are Starsky, no wait, maybe Hutch (boy am I dating myself). I wouldn't even care if the device kept accurate time as long as I could press a button on my watch and say something cool like "10-4" over and over again.

I don't have a whole lot of information about the range on these walkie talkies since you apparently have to be a dealer in order to get true specs.

What I do know is that these are supposed to retail for about $50.00 a watch. Whatever the cost, they sure look like fun.

Float Like A Butterfly, Fall Like A Rock

Hoverboard
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Who wouldn't want their own personal hovercraft? Admit it, ever since you watched the Jetson's as a kid you wanted either jet shoes, your own space craft or at the very least that gizmo that gets you showered and dressed automatically every morning.

Well, while we might be a few years away from a couple of these, you can build your own hoverboard to make do while we wait. "The hoverboard uses high performance hovercraft technology to lift a 200+lb rider 1 inch above the ground. A 6 horsepower 4-stroke gasoline engine spins a multi bladed propeller to force air under the craft."

You can buy the plans to build it yourself for $50.00; or buy it fully assembled for $9,000. Lots of videos on the website, click on the headline for link.

PowerSki JetBoard

PowerSki JetBoard
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

How often does this happen to you? You want to go water skiing, but there's no one around to drive the boat. That's not a problem anymore. From the website:

"One of the most radical water toys ever invented, the PowerSkiJetBoard is an engineering masterpiece - the inventors have taken the form factor of a surfboard and built in an ingenuously small and flat 45 horsepower motor capable of propelling it to 40 mph. With the rear thrust, rail and the three fins beneath, the JetBoard carves better than anything else on water, tarmac or snow, generating G-forces up to 6G and enabling the rider to get almost horizontal (check the pics inside). The JetBoard never cavitates or slides out, enabling a standing rider to perform continuous, stable, high speed turns with slight shifts in weight."

About $7,000, click on the headline for link. (Via gizmag)

Radio Pen

Radio Pen
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Other then the fact that this is so cheap, I'm not sure who the intended audience for this gadget is supposed to be. From the website:

"This clever ballpoint pen features a built-in FM digital scan tuner — great for private, discreet listening in libraries, offices...just about anywhere. Clip to your pocket for handsfree use with the included stereo earbuds. There's a handy volume control wheel on the cord that plugs into the top of the pen. Radio detaches from pen for independent use."

At least the price is right - about $10.00. Click on the headline for link.

What's Going On In Your Bedroom When You Are Not There (Wouldn't You Like To Know?)

Camcorder Spy Clock
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Here's something for all of you paranoid types. "This low profile, fully functional and discreet LCD clock has a digital video camera hidden inside. The motion-activated camcorder will turn on and record full-motion video whenever someone moves into its wide field-of-view, then shut off automatically when activity stops. When you return, simply play the AVI digital video files through your computer or laptop using the included USB cable.

Unlike elaborate, expensive security cameras that require a VCR or television for playback, this discreet device is a simple, self-contained system that is ready to go right out of the box."

How much for this peace of mind? Only $199.00 from Sharper Image. Click on the headline for link.

Funky Spelling Alert - Phlat ball

Phlat ball
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

From the website:

"Phlat Ball is half 6" ball and half 9" throwing disc and is taking Australia by storm.

You Phlatten the ball by squeezing the top and bottom together and it sticks in place, then throw it like a disc, and it pops out into a ball, which is really quite clever. The release from disc to ball is random, so you never quite know if you're going to be catching a ball or a disc. And of course if you happen to miss-throw it (heaven forbid) and it lands on an inconveniently placed roof, simply wait and when it pops into a ball shape it'll roll off - neat. Of course it's also great for travelling, as it packs flat, or rather 'phlat'."

Looks like fun, hopefully won't be too long before this hits the States. Click on the headline for link.