Alright so it’s a little bigger than a gadget, but I thought that this blog’s readers would enjoy an article about Terrafugia‘s Transition. You have probably already heard about this “big boy toy”, but just in case you have not, it is a flying car. Or maybe it’s a driving plane? I think I would classify it more as the second option. Terrafugia does not want it to be called either and would like to see it called a “roadable aircraft”.

Yes, at about $200,000, you too can reserve your own roadable aircraft. It is a two-seater vehicle/plane that was developed by MIT engineers. Certified as a Light Sport Aircraft because of its weight, the Transition will require a Sport Pilot license (20 hours of logged flying time) or higher to fly. Actually, this plane/car is 120 lbs over the weight limit for a vehicle of its class, but the FAA allowed it to pass as a Light Sport Aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 1,420 lbs. So really, anyone with money and a brain could get the chance to make use of this plane – I mean, “roadable aircraft”.  It can take off or land at any public-use general aviation airport with at least 2,500 feet of runway.

Honestly, I just see it as a plane that can fold its wings up and become a car that can go about 90mph at a respectable 30mpg on the highway. In the air you can cruise at about 115 mph and should get you at least 400 miles per tank while you are in the skies. Yes, it is pretty cool, but I do not think it is something that is too revolutionary. Now you can buy one piece of machinery that functions as both a car and a plane, but I am curious to see how many people will use it as a multifunction form of transportation. Also, not only is the actual car/plane expensive, but think about all of the airport fees that you would have to pay!

As for some more fun facts, it has:

• “Front wheel drive on the ground
• Automotive-style entry and exit
• Two place, side by side
• Automated electromechanical folding wing
• No trailer or hangar needed
• Cargo area holds skis, fishing poles or golf clubs”

Oy.

So, this article may be a little late in getting to you, but just because the shirts are “intended” for Valentine’s Day does not mean that you have to get them for that day, right? It could be a gift that shows your love for someone or a shirt that you just want to satisfy your geeky side. It’s okay, I want one, too.

What shirts am I talking about? Well, you really should buy them as a pair, but you pay for each one separately. They are about $17 a piece– which is not to bad considering that technology has been incorporated into the shirt.   These 8-Bit Dynamic Life Shirts were created by ThinkGeek, and they feature six hearts lined up in a row on each shirt. Essentially, it is a “love meter.” The closer you are to your loved one, or whoever is wearing the other shirt, the more illuminated are the hearts! For instance, if you are far away, only two and a half of the hearts light up and when you are within hugging distance, all six of the hearts glow a steady red. Cute, huh?

How does it work? Well, for starters, the energy comes from three AAA batteries that are in a small pack that has been concealed in a small pocket inside of the shirt. What else is involved? Besides your and partner shirt wearer’s intense sparks of emotion, of course, a proximity based radio frequency transmission/detection system is used.

What’s also neat about these shirts is that the animated decal is removable so that makes washing the black cotton shirt extremely easy. If you are wondering how it is attached to the shirt, it is attached by hook and washers.

To add in to the fun, if you do not have a significant other or another loved one to share the beauty of this shirt with, you always can buy a transmitter. Now you can pretend that your loved one is nearby! Who knows, maybe you can use the shirt to strike up a conversation and find a new relationship!

After recently coming back from spending a weekend on the slopes at Sunday River in Newry, Maine, I decided to look into some skiing and boarding gadgets. I had seen people using their iPods, attaching cameras on their helmets, and even pulling out their Blackberry phones to use as trail maps. I suppose the phone is easier to pull out than a paper trail map that will rip as you open it, but this is just more proof that technology will continue to make its way to the slopes. I am personally against technology on the slopes, but unfortunately, I do not think that we will be able to keep our slopes technology free in today’s world.

That being said, here is a gadget that I could be convinced of supporting. Called the SlopeTracker, this three ounce gadget straps to your arm and then proceeds to  spend the day logging your coordinates and calculating all kinds of interesting information. The SlopeTracker can log vertical feet, distance ridden, top speed, number of runs, the average grade of the slopes, and difficulty rating. To make this gadget even more effective, the SlopeTracker allows you to get a full print sheet of your performance. You even can get a GPS map of your skiing or boarding adventure.

If you want to talk about costs, I should let you know that the SlopeTracker is  available for rent at a number of resorts including Winter Park, Park City, Telluride, Keystone, Copper, Deer Valley, and Sunshine Village. However, if you are looking to buy this gadget, you will have to look for a version of the device, STATS, that  is available for purchase. As of 2009, this gadget is able to operate at over 640 resorts. Something like this is a great tool to have to see how you have improved, but it also is a luxury gadget.

The SlopeTracker is “the DNA of your extraordinary snow day.”

This year’s CES week was held from January 7th-10th. CES stands for Consumer Electronics Show and is a non-public trade show held each January in Las Vegas,Nevada, and is sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association. It is pretty much a big “geek fest” in which reviews of products are introduced and new products are announced. It is the industry’s largest educational forum that helps companies expand their businesses.

Since the first CES took place in New York City in June of 1967, this event has grown ever so quickly. In 1967 there were 200 exhibitors and 17,500 attendees, but since then, this trade show has grown more than ten-fold. Companies clamor to have a chance to speak or go to this trade show because they know it makes for remarkable media coverage. According to a Burson-Marsteller Most Valued Podium survey, CEOs even rank the CES as one of their top 10 most desired speaking opportunities.

Here are some of the winners of the 2010 CES show.\:

For Best In Show–the Panasonic VT25. This TV will be among the first 3D-capable flat-panel HDTVs available for sale in the United States. Its release date is set to be late this spring. Ridiculous! The CES 2010 People’s Voice Award went to the Intel Wireless Display. Called WiDi, Intel has created technology that allows one to connect their PC to the TV. To do this, one would use a WiDi-enabled laptop and wirelessly connect to an adapter box that plugs into the HDMI port of any display.

Another piece of technology that turned some heads was LG’s Blu-ray player. Here are some key features of the LG BD590 according to Cnet.com:

• 250GB built-in hard drive
• capable of storing music, photos, and videos
• Can rip CDs directly to the hard drive
• Online streaming media services include Netflix, Vudu, CinemaNow, YouTube, Pandora, Picasa, AccuWeather
• Purchased Vudu movies can be stored directly on the hard drive
• Built-in Wi-Fi
• Allows you to stream music, photos, and videos from a connected PC

CES is the ultimate technology trade show.

Technology is advancing really fast, it’s almost as if we can’t keep up with its pace. I came upon a video about a new technology that blew my mind away; it’s a video about the SixthSense Technology. That video gave me a glimpse of the way we will live our lives in the very near future. If you haven’t heard about it, SixthSense is a wearable device that allows the user to make the physical world interact directly with the digital world. The wonder that is SixthSense Technology cannot be understood and appreciated if only seen through the line “make the physical world interact directly with the digital world,” one needs to see it demonstrated. That is why I have included in this post the video that “blew my mind away.” But before you hit the “Play” button on the video player below, here are some teasers:

• Remember the movie Minority Report? Of course you remember that movie, everyone does, especially the newspaper with moving pictures in it. With SixthSense the impossible technological wonders we often see in sci-fi movies cease to be just fantasies, they actually happen.
• Imagine being able to drag an image from a book (hard copy) and drop it unto your computer’s monitor.
• Imagine being able to write on any surface with your finger or play a digital game on any surface without bringing your bulky computer.
• Imagine meeting a person for the first time and seeing basic information about him flash before your very eyes.

Okay, I know that words are not enough when it comes to things like this one so here is the video, prepare for a mind-blowing viewing.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The inventor of the SixthSense Technology is Pranav Mistry, a PhD student in the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT’s Media Lab. Mistry says he will give the software behind SixthSense as open-source so that people can make do-it-yourself SixthSense devices of their own.

Meet Nook– the “World’s Most Advanced eBook Reader,” or so Barnes and Noble says.

In a previous article we were introduced to the world of eBooks; here is an example of one of the newest and more developed eBook readers. Called the Nook, this piece of technology is about the size of a paperback book. Its specifications are:

It is not your typical eBook reader. This gadget allows you to gain access to over one million eBooks, eNewspapers, and eMagazines in two different ways. One way is via 3G wireless technology while the other way is using a simple Wi-Fi connection–allowing you to download books in seconds. You can buy books, even new releases or best sellers for prices such as $9.99, and you can share your books.

Some people are concerned about buying an eBook reader because they do not think that they will enjoy reading off of a screen; I know I dislike e-versions  of my text books because I hate reading off of my computer screen for ridiculous amounts of time. However, Barnes and Noble obviously kept this fact in mind when designing their Nook and was able to design this gadget so that it has a E Ink® Vizplex™ Electronic Paper Display. This display allows Nook users to read off of the screen as if it were a printed page. How does that work? Well, by reflected light. This allows for not only a more natural reading experience, but it is also easier on the reader’s eyes. You also can adjust the screen brightness and pick from the 16 different shades of gray! The E Ink Display also has a high-resolution 600×800-pixel screen.

You can test out this Nook at your local Barnes and Noble store. It will be available starting November 30th. It is $259, but if you think about how much that could save you in terms of buying shelves, storage space, and more, it might be worth the splurge! I honestly think that this Nook is not your average eBook read and would choose this over lugging books or reading off of my computer screen any day.

In today’s world, we tend to see a common theme–going green.  Whether it be using fabric bags at the supermarket or buying cars that run on electricity, people are trying to be more and more green. As society becomes more and more green, the amount of gadgets that are starting to become green are gaining as well. For instance, they now have a necklace called the Lux that has solar panels, two by three inches, arranged around on a string that are hooked up to LEDs.

Another green gadget is a set of solar powered Bluetooth headphones. They were developed by a student from the Translyvania University of Brasov, Shepeleff Stephen. He was able to harness energy by using the sun and has created these eco-friendly Bluetooth headphones. They are called Q-Sound and feature solar cells that are installed on the top of the headband. These solar cells generate power for two removable and rechargeable NiMH batteries. Each battery operates at a voltage of 1.2V and have capacities of 800mAh. These two batteries will allow the headphones to run up to 40 hours.  The Bluetooth headphones are kind of massive and alien looking, but they are innovative!

Another concept that is in the workings is a solar powered lunch box. By using solar energy, this lunch box would be able to keep food warm. What this means is that you could pack something in the morning and keep it warm until you wanted it for a snack or for lunch. I think that an interesting concept would be to create a cooler that would keep food and drinks cold, like a refrigerator would, that is run by solar power. That would be much more efficient than melting ice, as you would be able to put more things in the cooler!

Solar power has made a huge difference in the world, and we all can see, there is much to be expanded upon with using this type of energy. It is very green and useful!

So, you know what a blackjack is correct? Well, for those of you who think that I am talking about a card game, I’m not. I am talking about a weapon, a small, easily-concealed club consisting of a wrapped lead weight attached to the end of a coil spring or shaft. They were popular among law enforcement officials because of their size and capability of sneakily attacking someone. A blow to the head by one of these weapons could be fatal. In America, some people refer to a blackjack as its slang name, “sap.”

Now that you know what a blackjack is, allow me to introduce you to this new “gadget” called the Sap Cap. Yes, it is what I think you think it is–a “sap” in disguise as a cap. Shomer-Tec now offers this new low-profile weapon on its website for only $29.00 a cap. This weapon looks exactly like a logoless baseball cap, but it has the potential to be a very harmful weapon because of its built in blackjack, or sap. No one would suspect that a cap on your head would be carrying this lead weight in it, but all you would have to do is take the baseball hat off of your head and use the bill as the handle to create an impact weapon.

It sounds a little bit dangerous, but that is what it is supposed to be. I’m not completely sure if a hat like this is legal, but the thought that people could be walking around with bludgeoning tools in their caps kind of scares me. I do understand how it could provide a sense of security and safety to some people, but I hope that people will not have to resort to using a cap to end or prevent violence.

According to Gizmodo.com (which quotes Shomer-Tec’s website), “It’s not really clear what’s actually providing the weight; apparently it’s a ‘unique impact material that is 110% the density of lead and will not rust..’ “

Siftables–aka the coolest toy blocks you’ll ever see in your life.

Okay, well, maybe they aren’t known as the “coolest” toy blocks you’ll ever see in your life, but I certainly think they are. However, they are known as the toy blocks that can think.

Thinking blocks? Indeed! Developed by MIT grad student David Merrill, these toys can do math, play music, talk, and more! They’re like little blocks that you can stack and shuffle in your hands, but they do ridiculously amazing things because they are tiny computer blocks that can interact with each other to make networks. They are tools for manipulating digital information.

Where to start? It’s hard to describe just what these blocks do. They look like thin blocks that are about the size of a cookie and that have a screen on top. The best thing for you to do would be to watch this video of Merrill demonstrating the “toys.” In his demonstration Merrill takes the blocks and shows some “simple” examples. For instance, for those of you who have seen or read Harry Potter, remember how the people portraits would look around, move around, and interact with the characters? Well, you can configure many blocks to each have their own portrait on them. Once the Siftables are brought toward each other, each block can sense another block’s presence, and the people in the portraits will become interested in each other. Merrill also took one block that had a red paint bucket on it and “poured” it into another Siftable. He then took a block that had a blue paint bucket on it and “poured” that one into the same Siftable that the red was poured into. What happened? Well the Siftable turned into a mixture of red and blue, otherwise known as purple!

The Siftables can do math problems, you can play word games on them (rearranging the letters to create words), and more. One of the coolest things that that Merrill demonstrated was assigning each of the blocks an instrument and then adding them all in to create a song. He even used Siftables and would tilt them up and down in order to control the volume, re-verb, and more.

I don’t think that this article does these “toys” justice, so check out the link above.

In this day and age, saving money is a big deal. That means any possible chance that exists to save even just a few cents can sometimes be a great help.

What does saving money have to do with cool electronic gadgets?

IKEA just released a brand new line of solar powered lights. They come in several different models, all of which are meant to be used outdoors with the exception of one indoor model. The individual designs range from ground/stake lights to stand up or round hanging lights. The sole indoor model is a small desk lamp that comes in  different colors: blue, green, red, orange and yellow.

These lights are created more specifically for those interested in helping the environment and lowering power consumption, obviously due to the fact that they require no manufactured power.

Probably the greatest thing about these neat gadgets is that IKEA is selling them. IKEA keeps their products fairly cheap without sacrificing quality, which means these lights should last some time, unless of course your own kids, or the neighbor’s, kick ‘em over for laughs.

The price range starts from around $6.99 to the more expensive models which top off at $19.99.  The lights can be purchased individually or as a packaged deal in groups of 5 or more.

That means it’s time to stop putting off that garden project you wanted to start work on. Begin it with these inexpensive yet durable lights, and go from there.