Product Props: Lightwedge
While reading the swissmiss blog today (an amazing design blog), I saw a post about the Lightwedge, so I thought I’d just give my accolades to this awesome product, as I’ve owned one for over a year. The ‘wedge is a flat, glass book light that comes in a couple different sizes (depending on the size you’d like or the size of the books you most often read). It’s amazing because it serves as both a light and a bookmark at the same time, just close up the book with the light between the pages. It’s also incredibly bright, thanks to LEDs, and much more comfortable to sit with while reading than most competing products.
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The Grillslinger
Uncrate has a summer-apt post about the “Grillslinger.” This looks like something any hardcore BBQ fanatic should own. For a single Benjamin ($100), you can carry your knife, spatula, and tongs, and the belt is machine washable. Do grilling accessories get any cooler? If I owned this, I’m sure I’d find myself grilling everything from fruit, to steaks, to dessert… any excuse to strap that baby around my waist. A perfect complement to my “CULINARY COLEMANATION” apron. Though if I was manufacturing this, I’d add a compartment to fill with sauce and a basting brush, just to take it to the limit.
Lego Key Rack
Here’s a cool Lego key rack found on the Make Blog. I use a regular hook right now, but I’m plenty nerdy enough to have a Lego block on my keychain at all times. It just remains to be seen if it would support my metric assload of keys.
USB Batteries: One Smart Invention
A company called Moixa Energy Ltd. is now selling USBCell batteries, AA batteries that charge by plugging them into a USB port. They can be charged by plugging into any standard USB port or powered USB hub. This means I can now charge my Xbox 360 controllers’ batteries by plugging a pair of these into the front of the console. I always seem to have some kind of computer/power supply but never have my NiMH battery charger. These would work wonders for me. A pair of them runs $19.99… somewhat steep, but a small price to pay for the convenience they may afford you. I hope this represents a sea change in battery technology. By the looks of the company’s website, they have plans for AAA, C, and 9-volt batteries as well as some for cell phones. Here’s Palm Discovery’s video review:
Kill-a-watt Energy Monitor
Stephen from Toolmonger just posted a deal on the Kill-a-Watt energy monitor device: $20 from Meritline. We used to have one of these when I was working at the University of Florida and it worked like a champ. It allows you to see what wattage a device is pulling, which is good for determining the real power consumption of that third or fourth PC you have hooked up. As Stephen mentions in the post, this tool allows for an easy “energy audit” of your home. And for geeks like me who’ve got tons of random devices and gadgets all over, you might even save yourself some money.
via Toolmonger
iPhone, iPhone, iPhone!
The iPhone is a reality! And apparently, somehow they’re calling it the iPhone, even though it’s been all over the net lately that iPhone is a registered trademark of Linksys/Cisco. Oh well.
The phone looks NICE. Heres a glimpse:
The interface is completely touchscreen-based. It serves as an 8GB widescreen iPod, 2-megapixel camera, and fully functional phone. The phone is quad-band GSM + EDGE with WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0. Pretty crazy having all that hardware packed into a device thinner than both the Moto Q and the Blackjack. It’ll also run FULL OS X, Safari, Google Maps, AND support a new IMAP push email service from Yahoo!. It’s scheduled to ship in June and be sold through the Apple and Cingular stores (Cingular has excusivity on the device in the US). I don’t even think the most hardcore Apple fanboys saw this many features coming.
Microsoft Zune Will Come With Some Content
According to the Microsoft Zune blog, the Zune (Microsoft’s new iPod competitor) will come packaged with “some content” preloaded on it. Way to really go public with that information and not tease the public and build hype, Microsoft.
The Zune doesn’t have a release date scheduled yet, but some seem to think that it’ll be sometime in 2007. The Zune is also supposed to work with Microsoft’s URGE music service, and I’ve heard it’s pretty nice, though I have not actually used it.