Hydrogen Fuel Cell Toy Now on Sale June 30, 2006
By Andrew Liszewski
Those that have been following the H-Racer will be happy to hear that the world’s smallest hydrogen fuel cell car is now available for sale. For those who haven’t the H-Racer is basically a motorized toy car powered only by hydrogen. And since most kids probably don’t have tanks of hydrogen gas lying around there’s also a solar-powered electrolyzer available that creates hydrogen from water and can be used refill the H-Racer. No batteries or extension cords are ever needed here.
The whole idea of course is to get kids interested and used to hydrogen as an alternative fuel source in hopes they’ll grow up to be adults who also promote the clean fuel alternative. Perhaps a toy that gets kids interested in getting off their duff and actually walking somewhere wouldn’t hurt as well.
The H-Racer is available on the Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies website for $40. The hydrogen fuel station is available as an add-on for an additional $40.
[Hydrogen Fuel Cell Toy] VIA [I4U News]
Original Article syndicated via RSS from OhGizmo!
The Samsung CX913P Can Point In Any Direction
By David Ponce
Affectionately naming it the CX913P, Samsung has released a 19 inch LCD with 6milisecond response time and a contrast ratio of 1,500:1. That’s pretty neat in itself, but makes for rather bland news. What is only marginally more interesting though, is the monitor’s ability to point itself in just about any angle, though a cleverly designed stand.
We’re a little unclear what the practical advantages of such a feature would be, though we’re thinking along the lines of LCD as artwork. Or something.
It’s Korea only for now, and it’s $511 over there.
Original Article syndicated via RSS from OhGizmo!
The Urwerk Blackbird, An Expensive Sounding Watch
By David Ponce
The bastard child of MarketingSpeak and Limited Edition is Expensiveness. Just how expensive is unclear and unimportant. What matters is that the 103 Blackbird from Urwerk is a very special watch. Only 10 will be made. And they’ll be made in a very special way:
The streamlined platinum case is cloaked in an exotic black PE-CVD or Plasma Enhanced-Chemical Vapor Deposition coat that boasts an extremely high scratch resistance.Accentuating the Blackbird’s powerful visual impact is the black PVD coating on the dial, satellites and orbital cross: the latter crafted from high-tech grade 2 titanium.
A case shape as incredibly complex as the 103 Blackbird is extremely difficult to machine in gold and harder still in the much denser platinum
Yeah, platinum case. Seems they also make it in the relatively cheaper gold.
[Urwerk 103 Blackbird] VIA [Josh Spear]
Original Article syndicated via RSS from OhGizmo!
Pluma, A Redesign Of The Propane Tank
By David Ponce
If the shiny future SciFi writers have been promising us for years is ever to come to be, we need to start paying attention to how ugly some of the items in our lives actually look. When was the last time you eyed your propane tank, thinking “Hey, that thing looks good!”
Yeah, we didn’t think so. So that’s why we’re pleased to see the Pluma, a redesign on the ole gas tank by Portuguese design firm, Brandia Central. This work gave them the packaging design Gold in the 2006 Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA).
Of course, it might take some time before it makes it to store shelves, but it’s a comfort to know that some people are at least thinking about these things.
VIA [Core77]
Original Article syndicated via RSS from OhGizmo!
Viagra Rings
By David Ponce
I’m sure you’re all familiar with the cyanide-pill-hiding-in-a-ring cliché. Well, unless you’re a spy, we think there are better, more positive things to carry around in a ring. Like Viagra.
The company Viagra Ring makes, well, rings with a specially shaped enclosure to carry you favorite blue pill around. Prices start at $50, and seem to go up to $80.
[Viagra Ring] Thanks, Paul!
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Tronical PowerTune June 29, 2006
By Andrew Liszewski
The Tronical PowerTune is an auto-tuning system that can be retrofitted to virtually any make or brand of guitar and is typically accurate to within 0.1 cent. (Manual tuning is apparently usually only accurate to within 0.2 cent.)
The system consists of three components that produce minimal cosmetic changes to the guitar but more importantly does not affect the sound. First there’s the TuneControl-Multiknob which serves as the interface and also provides visual feedback on what is happening during a tuning. Secondly there’s the PowerHead-Locking Turners which are basically motors and servos that are used to automatically increase or decrease the tension on the strings and finally there’s the TuneControl-Bridge and Tune-Core Controller which is what actually ‘listens’ to the guitar and calculates how the string tensions should be adjusted in order to tune the instrument.
The PowerTune system should be available at select stores as of April 2006 for about $500.
[Tronical PowerTune] VIA [Geek24.com]
Original Article syndicated via RSS from OhGizmo!
Mapion Local Search: Just Point And Learn
By David Ponce
What happens when you combine a cellphone, a GPS module, a compass and an Internet connection? A kickass service from American GeoVector and Japanese CyberMap Japan (aka Mapion), sadly only available in Japan. It’s called “Mapion Local Search”, and allows you to get detailed information about any of 700,000 businesses simply by pointing your cellphone at them. The GPS determines where you are, the compass where you’re pointing; the service digests this information, and spits back useful info about the business in question.
It’s initially being launched on KDDI’s network, and will be available for download to users with the Sony Ericsson W21S. Other models will be added later in the year. The service is free for now, though the companies are planning on adding a premium version soon, with more detailed maps, and more POIs.
[NYT Article] VIA [Sci-Fi Tech]
Also see GeoVector’s Press Release
Original Article syndicated via RSS from OhGizmo!
The nPod V2, A Hand-Made Portable NES
By David Ponce
Some of you might have seen this man’s work before, but for those that haven’t, let me introduce you to Benjamin J. Heckendorn, maker extraordinaire. His claim to fame, according to yours truly, is his fabulous ability to make portable NES, and SNES consoles. That’s right, the entire console, with screen, in a device that fits in the palm of your hands.
What you’re looking at, in this picture, is the latest iteration: the nPod V2, an updated version of the original nPod. It has a smaller emulator chip, which allows for the reduced size. It uses 4 AA batteries which “last a long time”. Right now, it’s only a prototype, though Ben seems to be testing the waters of commercialization at $250 a pop, or $300 with extra features such as TV out and such.
Original Article syndicated via RSS from OhGizmo!
Credit Card Sized Computer
By David Ponce
We’re digging where all this miniaturization business is going. Just take a look at PQI’s wonderfully engrished, credit card sized U510 advert. And it seems like the expression “Credit card sized” is the de-facto standard when it comes to conveying to consumers just how small something is.
The CM-X270L, from Israeli company Compulab is no exception. It’s essentially a fully-fleshed PC that happens to be the size of (you guessed it) a credit card.
The CM-X270L measures just 4.4 x 6.6 cm. In comparison, a MiniPCI wireless card is 6.0 x 4.4 cm - just half a centimetre thinner.In this space, the CM-X270L somehow manages to fit in an Intel (should that be Marvell?) XScale chip running Windows CE or Linux, half a gig of flash, 128MB of RAM, AC’97 sound and a Philips 802.11b wireless interface, as well as some things you wouldn’t find on a PDA, such as a PCI bus, 4 USB host ports and wired networking.
Course, it’s not something Average Joe consumer will buy. Rather, it’s meant to serve as a building block in embedded applications, and will set your company back $47 per unit, so long’s you order at least 10,000.
[Compulab’s CM-X270L] VIA [Digg]
Original Article syndicated via RSS from OhGizmo!
R/C Golf Ball June 28, 2006
By Andrew Liszewski
Keeping with the R/C theme this morning there’s now a high-tech way to prank your friends during that weekly round of golf. Those exploding golf balls of yesterday are so passe, what you really need to mess with their minds is the R/C Incred-a-Ball.
The ball itself house a small motor presumably with an offset weight on the drive-shaft like is used to make cellphones vibrate. Using the included remote you can cause the golf ball to vibrate making it mysteriously fall off a tee or use it while on the green to pull off some truly amazing putts. I can only assume it’s not recommended to actually hit the Incred-a-Ball with a driver though since the internal components of the ball are probably not that durable.
The RC Incred-a-Ball is currently available from IWantOneOfThose.com for about $25.00 and includes the remote control and charging base for the ball.
[R/C Golf Incred-a-Ball] VIA [Geek24.com]
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