Latest Posts on Coolest Gadgets-13 Nov 2008

FeLiCa: A “robot” that gives you cash

Posted: 13 Nov 2008 11:33 AM PST

At the iEXPO 2008 trade show in Japan, a new robot was unveiled. Actually, this really isn’t really a robot, because it is really only designed to stay in one place and do only one job.

The FeLiCa is a robot designed by NEC to be a payment terminal. Think of it as an ATM for virtual cash. The arm is equipped with a reader to check your bank account for a cellular phone. The screen on its chest is a full touchscreen that allows you to chose the e-money application that you need.

FeLiCa is also equipped with face recognition technology, and if I were NEC, I would put that right in the face of the android.

This is normally the part where I say that the FeLiCa is still concept technology and is not available at this present time. However, NEC has said just the opposite, and FeLiCa is actually available now. I don’t have any word on how to order one, or the price.

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Sanyo PLC-XW57 ultra-portable 3LCD projector

Posted: 12 Nov 2008 06:30 PM PST

Sanyo’s latest projector would be the PLC-XW57, and this ultra-portable 3LCD projector will target the education and business presentations market with its very capable specifications. Sanyo engineers have really outdone themselves this time round where the PLC-XW57 is concerned, and it will tip the scales at just 6.4 lbs., taking up a minimal amount of space courtesy of its tiny footprint of 13″ x 3.15″ x 9.3″. Now how about that - it is a far cry from the pico projectors that we’ve seen in the past, but at least it isn’t that heavy to not being able to be carried around on your business travels.

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Callpod introduces Drone

Posted: 12 Nov 2008 06:21 PM PST

Callpod has just released its Drone - a plug and play VoIP and Bluetooth stereo USB adapter that can be used on both PCs and Macs. The Drone itself aims to make conversations a snap no matter which platform you’re on, where it was specially created from die-cast zinc and high impact polycarbonate for greater strength and durability. The Drone can also switch seamlessly between Bluetooth headsets and headphones, connected to a computer via USB. Just to make sure your conversation continues in a crystal clear manner, make sure you don’t go beyond the 100 meter radius! The combination of features in the drone is touted to surpass just about any other Bluetooth USB adapter ever released.

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Space Invaders Alarm Clock

Posted: 12 Nov 2008 06:07 PM PST

Those who grew up in smoke-filled, dank arcades will definitely remember the challenge of Space Invaders as you attempt to save the earth from a horde of ever advancing aliens who are absolutely ruthless, stopping at nothing until our home is reduced to mere rubble and ash. Of course, the addictive musical ditty that speeds up as they approach nearer to the earth’s surface ...>read more

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

Global Warming Link To Amphibian Declines In Doubt (November 13, 2008) -- Evidence that global warming is causing the worldwide declines of amphibians may not be as ...>read more


Text Messaging May Help Children Fight Off Obesity (November 12, 2008) -- Cell phone text messaging could be used to reduce children's chances of becoming overweight or obese later in life, by helping them monitor and ...>read more

New Technology Could Revolutionize Breast Cancer Screening (November 12, 2008) -- The world's first radar breast imaging system that could revolutionize the way women are scanned for breast cancer is currently under clinical trial. Scientists have been working for ...>read more

Round Gobies: Alien Fish In Swedish Waters (November 12, 2008) -- A round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) was caught in late July off the Swedish coast near Karlskrona. This is the first find of its kind in Sweden. The species, which originates from the Black Sea and probably...>read more

Previous Abortions And Exercise: Do They Affect Pregnancy? (November 12, 2008) -- Women who have had two or more induced abortions have a reduced risk of pre-eclampsia by 60 percent. It is not currently understood to...>read more

audio player

Posted: 12 Nov 2008 10:43 AM PST

Sometimes the concept of a digital photo frame becomes quite vague as they start to have more and more applications become attached to them. Take the Keian Japan P71-A2-JP, a box-like photo frame that can act as a printer, audio player, and even the option of adding an external hard drive.

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New Enterprise pic finally hits the Net …

Posted: 11 Nov 2008 10:48 PM PST

It is perhaps the coolest gadget in the universe after the lightsaber. It’s the Starship Enterprise. And the new reboot of the popular Paramount science fiction series is getting its flagship ride “pimped” for JJ Abrams vision of what Starfleet looks like. The new Enterprise looks a lot like the old from both the series and the movies, and Abrams says he did it that way deliberately.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Abrams plan was to Abrams create a new Enterprise design by fusing original TV series Enterprise and the movie franchise Enterprise. The result is a super cool starship that looks like it stopped by the Federation speed shop on the way to the Neutral Zone.
“If you’re going to do Star Trek there are many things you cannot change,” said Abrams. “The Enterprise is a visual touchstone for so many people. So if you’re going to do the Enterprise, it better look like the Enterprise, because otherwise, what are you doing?”

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Telescope Views Glowing Stellar Nurseries (November 11, 2008) -- An APEX telescope image reveals how an expanding bubble of ionized gas about ten light-years across is causing the ...>read more

Forced Evolution: Can We Mutate Viruses To Death? (November 11, 2008) -- Can scientists create a designer drug that forces viruses to mutate themselves out of existence? A new study by bioengineers could help make it happen. The study offers the most comprehensive mathematical analysis to...>read more

Web-spinning Spiders And 'Wannabe Butterflies' Head To Space Shuttle (November 11, 2008) -- A NASA space shuttle mission carrying a payload of web-spinning spiders and wannabe butterflies will be closely monitored by hundreds of ...>read more

Science Discoveries

for Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Mars Phoenix Lander Finishes Successful Work On Red Planet (November 11, 2008) -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has ceased communications after operating for more than five months. As anticipated, seasonal decline in sunshine at the robot's arctic landing site is not ... > read more

Chandrayaan-1 Now In Lunar Orbit (November 11, 2008) -- Chandrayaan-1, the Indian Space Research Organisation's lunar orbiter, was captured into orbit around the Moon on Nov. 8. One day later, the spacecraft performed a ... > read more

Modeling Ice Cream Production In The Search For Innovation (November 10, 2008) -- The production of ice cream, a seemingly simple product, brings into play a variety of complex hydrodynamic and thermic processes, with as yet poorly known interactions. To assist industry ... > read more

How 'Molecular Machines' Kick Start Gene Activation Revealed (November 10, 2008) -- How "molecular machines" inside cells swing into action to activate genes at different times in a cell's ... > read more

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Posted: 09 Nov 2008 08:15 PM CST

How weird would it be if we one day succeed in getting animals to talk and find out they all sound exactly like celebrities? Well, it wouldn't be weird at all, of course, because that's exactly what we'll be expecting after all these animated talking animal films. In fact, we'll all be really disappointed if the real animals have boring, unfamiliar speaking voices. I mean, think about it...read Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa review

Nice Gadgets

Fifty-One electronic cigarette

Posted: 10 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST

Electronic cigarettes are nothing new, but that doesn’t mean new technology cannot be introduced into the genre to help those who want to cut down on their puffing or even quit the habit altogether. Fifty-One has released its latest electronic cigarette that could possibly help you kick the habit, assuming you’ve already tried other models in the market to no avail. What makes this version different from the rest is the ability to choose from a wide range of flavors and nicotine levels, letting you slowly but surely cut down on your daily fix until you feel that you are no longer nicotine-dependent. Let’s read more about Fifty-One’s electronic cigarette right after the jump.

For starters, the Fifty-One electronic cigarette looks and feels like the real thing, making it comfortable to use with long time and new smokers alike. It comes in two components - the first is a rechargeable battery while the other is ...>read more

The Voice Activated R2-D2

Posted: 10 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST

Hammacher Schlemmer have always been an authority figure on oddball gadgets, well now they’ve got one more to add to your collection. This 15” tall R2 is voice activated and will respond to all kinds of voice commands. Actually he responds to over forty different voice commands, which is tragically a much larger amount than my supposedly smart dog. I wonder if I could swap them R2 for a tubby little pug, at least the bot would make far less of a mess. R2 can even be set to a motion sensor so that he sounds an alarm when he senses movement. My dog just licks the intruder to death, at least R2 would startle them.

R2 also can follow you around ...>read more

Goodyear-branded commercial vehicle GPS

Posted: 10 Nov 2008 04:00 AM PST

The NCC has already started working on a Goodyear-branded commercial vehicle GPS known as the GY500X. This unit was specifically designed for the trucking industry and drivers of various commercial vehicles including vans, railers, Recreational Vehicles and motor homes. This is more than a GPS built with commercial needs in mind, it was specially designed from the ground up to appeal to a trucker’s needs. Some of the key features found on the GY500X include :-

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