Gizmo of the Day

Solio Solar Charger (Charges iPods, Cell Phones, etc.)

Solio Solar Charger (Charges iPods, Cell Phones, etc.)

Are you a gadget freak that is concerned about the environment? Well, get a Solio Solar charger and do your little but significant part. The Solio can charge pretty much any mobile device: iPods, cell phones, digital cameras, PDAs, etc. using an interchangeable tip system. It has an internal battery that stores energy for months at a time, and is also rechargeable via conventional wall power if there’s no sunshine. Lightweight and ergonomic, the Solio folds up neatly and fits easily in your pocket. The vendor has also done its part to help the environment by planting trees to zero out the Carbon release in the manufacture of their product.

Sony® Portable Reader System PRS-500

Sony® Portable Reader System PRS-500

I saw one of these Sony e-Ink palm-sized readers up close at the CES show earlier this year and I was duly impressed. Electronic books are here. E-Ink has made it possible by providing a display that compares to traditional printed text. Couple this with a software-based device that is thinner than many paperbacks and light (under 9oz), and you have a winner. Wouldn’t it be great to board an airplane with over 100 books to choose from? The reader has 128MB of built-in storage and accepts Memory Stick storage media and SD Cards to dramatically increase its capacity.

LIVEdigitally Review: Moviebeam

LIVEdigitally Review: Moviebeam

Our friend, Jeremy, over at LIVEdigitally recently reviewed Moviebeam and Moviebeam HD. Here’s a snippet:

Per the company’s description, “Moviebeam is a brilliant new way to rent and watch movies at home. Get movies delivered directly to your TV — no cable, satellite, or computer is required.� To me, Moviebeam is either the lazy man’s answer to Blockbuster, or, more likely, an early glimpse into the future of our soon-to-arrive “entertainment, anywhere, anytime, on-demand� lifestyle.

Today, Moviebeam’s offering is, in a nutshell, a $199 set-top box that delivers up to 10 movies per week (it comes with 100 or so available to start!), available in an instantaneous on-demand offering at prices ranging from $1.99 to $3.99 per movie. All movies are available at either DVD or HDTV quality, and the box does not interfere with any other TV or Internet offerings in your household.

After some hands-on use, I have to say, the product is quite fun to use, and a welcome addition to my home. Especially if you ask my wife!

Check out the rest of the review on LIVEdigitally.

Update 5/13/2006: The good folks over at MovieBeam have informed us that if you enter the code PR49B at checkout, you will get the MovieBeam box for $49 instead of the usual $199.

Uniden – Vonage – VoIP Phone System

Uniden - Vonage - VoIP Phone System

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, I bet most of the GfG reader’s will be put into a guilt trip from your mom wondering why you never call. Well, with the Uniden VoIP Phone System, costs do not have to be the limiting factor thanks to VoIP solutions from Vonage that work with this phone.

If you have a cable Internet connection or DSL at your home or business, you can use your constant broadband connection as a telephone line to call anywhere in the world. The growing Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service allows you to access the Internet and make phone calls simultaneously. The Uniden VoIP Phone System uses Vonage service to connect you to any phone in the world with excellent low rates, even for international calls. Ideal for a home or small business, this phone set comes with a base handset and an extension, and once the base is connected to your broadband line, up to eight additional handsets (sold separately) can be connected, plugging only into an AC outlet.

Of course, you might not want to let your mom know you can make unlimited calls in country for a low monthly rate!

Review: Kensington SaddleBag Ultra Laptop Carrying Case

Kensington SaddleBag Ultra At one time or another, every geek has owned at least one Kensington product considering Kensington has been around for twenty-five years and now have an inventory of over three hundred computer accessory products. Kensington creates products that can be categorized into six divisions: “power it”, “control it”, “carry it”, “secure it”, “connect it” and “play it”. The Geeks have been testing one of their “carry it” products over the past couple of weeks called the Saddlebag Ultra computer case. If you are looking for a new laptop case, you should check out our review.

Flameless Wax Sensor Candle

Flameless Wax Sensor Candle

Mother’s Day is right around the corner and the Geeks know mom’s like candles so we found some candles that have real scented wax but don’t require fire. These battery-operated scented wax candles only require a wave of the hand to turn on and off and give you all the benefits of real wax candles including the flickering of light simulating a flame without the danger of an open flame.

While you’re at it, you may want to purchase a couple for your bathrooms!

Review: iSound Tripod Portable Speakers

Review: iSound Tripod Portable Speakers

iSound Tripod While the Geeks were at CES earlier this year, we ran across a company that tingled our gizmo senses on Day 3 called dreamGEAR. dreamGEAR carries quite a few gizmos from speakers whose styles really fit the whole Apple and iPod look to PSP accessories to general gaming accessories for PC, PS2, GameCube, XBox, Xbox 360, Game Boy and Nintendo DS. dreamGEAR was kind enough to send us a iSound Tripod to review. Read on to see if the stylish speakers are worth listening to.

Northrop Grumman Super B-2 RC Plane

Northrop Grumman Super B-2 RC Plane

Own the skies with your own remote control B-2 Stealth Bomber—it’s a full 40″ wide! This massive RC plane looks just like the Northrop Grumman Super B-2 Spirit bomber, and with built-in motors incorporated into ducted fans, it flies as far as 300′ from the remote. The plane’s five-minute flight time between charges keeps everyone excited as it cruises through the sky. Constructed of lightweight and durable EPP foam for long-lasting fun. Assembles in just minutes.

Review: GoodSync Data Synchronization Software

Review: GoodSync Data Synchronization Software

Slashdot ran an article last year titled “Condensing Your Life on to a USB Flash Drive?” and inspired me to modify how I use USB flash drives. I now use USB flash drives as portable backups in case of a disaster. While that may sound drastic, I didn’t think so as I had already started planning on using USB drives in this manner after Hurricane Katrina. While I created a portable backup solution using a couple of USB flash drives (one for personal information and one for work information), I also created a file synchronization nightmare. If I modified files on a USB drive, I had to make sure I copied it over to the folder in “My Documents” where I usually work on the file and vice versa. GoodSync uses a synchronization algorithm to synchronize data between PCs and USB drives. While other synchronization software simply copies files from place to place, GoodSync offers true bi-directional synchronization preventing data loss. Read the rest of the review to see how the Geeks feel about GoodSync’s synchronization algorithm.

ICEflow Personal Air Conditioner

ICEflow Personal Air Conditioner

Most IT geeks get put either in a cold server room location or the end office where the AC simply does not reach. My office represents the latter of these situations and when the temperature starts reaching 80 degrees outside, my office starts to warm up.

Sharper Image promises the ICEflow Personal Air Conditioner is the solution. While fans circulate air they do not lower the ambient temperature. The ICEflow claims that if your office heats up to 80 degrees, you will feel a 74 degree breeze comforting you and cooling you down.

Other similar gizmos require you to add ice but ICEflow uses the environmentally friendly Peltier Effect with electronics that remove heat from the water chamber to create the block of ice — without Freon, without refrigerants and without any need for window ventilation. Using only 10 watts, the gizmo is energy efficient too!

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