Author Archives: Darrin Olson

Elgato Makes Smart Charger for Your SmartPhone

Posted on by

Elgato Smart Power ChargerElgato has released a smart charger to go along with your smart phone with the Smart Power portable charger. This portable charger will connect to your iPhone via Bluetooth and an iOS app and provide information on the portable charger’s status whereabouts.

The actually charging still happens through a USB cord and the Smart Power holds enough juice to charge or iPhone 3 times. It can also charge other mobile devices with a USB connection. What sets this product apart is that it lets you know how much battery is left in it through the iOS app interface and will give you a reminder to plug it in and charge it up before you go places. Given access, the app can also be integrated with your calendar to identify busy days that you would be reminded to bring the portable charger along.

Some nice additional features provide information of how many charges are left, and when the SmartPower is charging it will tell you how long until it’s fully charged. It will even play a sound when prompted by the associated app if you are having trouble finding it.

The Smart Power charger has a 6000 mAh capacity and delivers an output current up to 2.4 amps through USB. It measures 3.3 x 3.3 x 0.9 inches and weighs in at a little over 5 ounces. The iOS app is available on the App Store and the device goes for $99.95 USD. According to the website will be “coming soon”.

Elgato

Rumored Sony QX1 E-Mount Lens

Posted on by

Sony ILCE-QX1 E-Mount LensThe Xperia Blog has leaked some photos, including the one above, of the rumored Sony ILCE-QX1 E-mount camera lens system. The QX1′s intention is to turn give your smartphone the ability to take DLSR quality digital photos.

The idea with this lens system from Sony is to basically create a very portable, professional type lens with all of the picture-taking features packed inside. They then give it the ability to mount onto your smart device and communicate with it wirelessly through Wi-Fi. The QX1 will pretty much work by itself to take pictures, but the phone acts as a viewfinder and a way to review the photos.

Sony ILCE-QX1 Camera Lens

No pricing or release date yet, but rumors include a built-in memory card and interchangeable lenses that will likely not come cheap.

via Engadget

Engineer Makes 3D-Printed Key To Open Any Lock

Posted on by

3D Printed bump key to open any lockSome German engineers have revealed designs for 3D printing a “bump key” that they say can be used to break into common tumbler style locks. According to the engineers, using nothing but a photo of the lock and some software called Photobump, a working key can be created.

Bump keys are not anything really new, but the ability to produce a lock-specific bump key through 3D printing from a picture of a lock, well that’s pretty new. A bump key basically uses some force and some jarring of the lock to move the small pins in the tumbler into the correct position so that the lock will turn.

Check out the video below:

Unlocked

V8 Car Engine-Powered Chainsaw

Posted on by

Chainsaw powered by V8 car engine.Yes, you are seeing this correctly. This is a chainsaw powered by a 4.2 liter V8 car engine. The chainsaw runs at a 1:1 ration directly from the engine’s rotations and tears through a 21 inch diameter hardwood peppermint gum tree in about 2.4 seconds.

The chainsaw was built as a promotional tool by Whitlands Engineering in Australia (hence the gum tree), so they really have no plans to manufacture them for consumers, but nevertheless it is impressive to see.

Check out the video below:

via Neatorama

ThinkEco smartAC Kit

Posted on by

ThinkEco SmartAC kitThis is a great energy saving tool to have if you have a plug-in air conditioner. The ThinkEco smartAC Kit will help you conserve energy all the while helping you keep cool on these hot Summer days.

The kit comes with a modlet and a remote control/thermostat. You can take the remote control with you to any room of the house, which is a convenient way to keep your location cool. If the AC reaches the room temp that you want the modlet will turn the AC off. If it gets 2 degrees above the set thermostat temperature, the AC will turn on.

Another great feature about this device is the ThinkEco software and smartphone app that are a part of the package. You can adjust the thermostat from anywhere. You can turn it on an hour before you leave work or if you are on vacation it is a great way to monitor the temp at home.

Finally, A Smart Toaster

Posted on by

Dualit ToasterNothing worse than burning your toast first thing in the morning. One, it’s just annoying. Two, that smell can linger all day long.

Introducing a smarter toaster by Dualit. This toaster has patented Climate Sensing Toasting Cycle technology. What that means is it monitors the temperature of the toaster and what is being toasted so it can compensate for the correct toasting time. It also has a “peek and pop” function which allows you to look at the toast without having to reset the timer.

Other benefits to this toaster are a defrost setting and a bagels and buns settings that toasts one side while it only warms the other side. It comes with a removable crumb tray and a feature that allows you to lift the toasted items higher. So if you have something small in the toaster it is easier to get it out without having to defy death. You can also get an optional sandwich cage which will toast your favorite sandwich in a jiffy.

At 139.99, it is a little on the spendy side. But if you value your stress free mornings, this is your thang.

via Gadgeteer

Jackery Mini Portable Charger for $20 Today

Posted on by

Jackery Mini Portable ChargerJackery, maker of portable chargers, has their Jackery Mini on sale on Amazon priced well under the norm and less than competitors for the same type of device.

The Mini is a small device at just a few ounces and just under 4 inches long and an inch thick. It contains a 3200mAh rechargeable batter with a 1A output that will hold it’s charge for when you need it up to 6 months. It works with just about any device that will connect via USB and will give 10 hours of talk or an equivalent of one full charge to your iPhone. It also has a nice LED light indicator to show the level available.

Jackery also has a number of other sized and shaped portable charges including the Air, Giant, Fit, Bar and the Mini being the smallest.

You can get one now at Amazon for $19.95 (71% off of retail).

Jackery

Netgear Intros Nighthawk X6 Tri-Band Router

Posted on by

Netgear Nighthawk RouterNetgear announced their latest in Wi-Fi routers this week at the CE Week New York Event with the Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router. Aside from the cool new Batman-like appearance, the router features 3 bands and increased speeds, but the tri-band isn’t really an extension of the dual-frequency routers we’ve seen, as one might initially think.

The Nighthawk provides one 2.4GHz band and two 5GHz bands, where the 5GHz is actually provided as two separate bands. Newer, faster devices can connect on a higher-speed while older, slower devices can use a slower band and not interfere with others allowing the router to deliver higher speeds. Netgear states the router can deliver up to 3.2 Gbs if you combine all three bands. That would likely be in perfect conditions and circumstances, however the potential is there.

The X6 AC3200 sports six movable antennas with instructions for use and placement and a couple of USB ports to connect networked devices. It also has the usual home router features along with VPN, SPIT, NAT and guest network support. You can pre-order one now from Amazon for $299 with delivery a little later this month.

Nighthawk X6 Router

Microsoft Launches Nokia X2 Running Android

Posted on by

Nokia X2 from Microsoft with Android OSNokia announced on Tuesday the release of the Nokia X2 Dual SIM smartphone. The X2 is the successor to the X1 with more power and the intention of delivering a reasonably prices smartphone to the “next billion” people according to Microsoft.

The device will sell for around $135 USD but most interesting is that the device will continue to run the Android OS despite the purchase of Microsoft who themselves have been struggling to keep up with their own operating system in the smartphone market. Microsoft stated that despite the phone having the competing OS, it will have access to some Microsoft services including Skype and the OneDrive cloud storage service.

This move by Microsoft seems counter-intuitive but also can serve as a good opportunity to highlight the differences between the phone OS platform and services that are available, bringing potentially more business to Microsoft services from other platforms.

Nokia X2