Well it’s about time. Think about how many gadgets we use on a daily basis are powered strictly by AA batteries. TV remote controls, flash lights, even wireless mice. The amount of batteries we go through has become a burden on not only the landfills, but our finances as well! How much money do we spend on batteries per year? Probably much more than we need too.

Sure, we can always pick up a set of those expensive rechargeable batteries. But even with them, you need a special adapter just to charge them up. And how many times can they really be recharged? The USB Rechargeable Batteries allow you to charge your batteries back to full power right from your USB port.

When your batteries run out of fuel, recharging this special power source is as easy as popping open the custom-made cap, which both conceals a USB dongle and acts as positive contact for the battery. A blue LED light indicates that the batteries are charging. When the charge is complete, the light goes off. Easy peezy, lemon squeezy.

If your interested in picking up 10 or less of the USB Rechargeable Batteries you can pick them up a set of four for $20.40 each. ChinaVision also offers bulk purchases, 10 or more sets only cost $19.59 each with other bulk options available.

Product Page via 7Gadgets

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by Ryan Block, posted Jun 15th 2008 at 5:14PMThere’s still plenty of emerging details and news on the iPhone 3G kicking around, but here’s what you need to know from the minor bits floating around over the past few days:

• Jobs also told NYT that Apple’s acquisition of PA Semi was, in fact, intended to reduce Apple’s reliance on third-party chip makers. Specifically, he said, “PA Semi is going to do system-on-chips for iPhones and iPods.” So, guess that’s that.
• Per the feature showing up missing on a number of Apple’s international iPhone 3G product pages, iLounge compiled a list of carriers which may or may not planning on implementing visual voicemail. Vodafone in Europe, for example, will not have it at launch, and will delay its rollout until later this year.
• A video of a new iPhone beta build running on live hardware shows videos now in portrait or landscape modes, and includes video playlists. We’ll take it.
• Although DT’s iPhone page reads differently, German paper Welt has it that that T-Mobile Germany will be selling it for €1 — so basically free, not unlike O2’s iphone 3G launch in the UK.

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

Read - Jobs mentions PA Semi plans
Read - Visual voicemail support varies from carrier to carrier
Read - Beta build with portrait-mode video
Read - DT releasing it for €1 (see also their iPhone page)

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When I carry this bag I feel like a PowerPuff Girl - all soft, pink and feminine, but secretly kicking villain butt. Bubbles would carry the Lucy bag, in cheery pink with white piping and a large, white heart patch on the front. This bag says she’s confident, has a great sense of humor; that she wears her heart on her sleeve.

Not only is it the cutest of my new bags, it’s also well designed, with plenty of inside pockets, soft, comfortable shoulder straps, a magnetic snap outer pocket (great for travel docs), metal feet, and at 2.4 lbs, it’s also pretty light for a large computer bag. (Price: $165 for 15″ laptops, $175 for 17″ laptops.) You can also take out the computer clutch and use it for a handbag, though the 17″ model is a little big if you’re petite like me

It also comes with an adorable matching clutch & mirror included (which my daughter absconded with).

And even though it’s wonderfully soft and supple, like leather, it’s actually a kind of plastic (hence the name of the company, Plastic People.) Designer Shannon South is as bright and cheerful as her bags and, I suspect, a PowerPuff Girl in disguise.

Now excuse me while I go save the world before bedtime.

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by Ryan Block, posted Jun 15th 2008 at 5:14PMThere’s still plenty of emerging details and news on the iPhone 3G kicking around, but here’s what you need to know from the minor bits floating around over the past few days:

• Jobs also told NYT that Apple’s acquisition of PA Semi was, in fact, intended to reduce Apple’s reliance on third-party chip makers. Specifically, he said, “PA Semi is going to do system-on-chips for iPhones and iPods.” So, guess that’s that.
• Per the feature showing up missing on a number of Apple’s international iPhone 3G product pages, iLounge compiled a list of carriers which may or may not planning on implementing visual voicemail. Vodafone in Europe, for example, will not have it at launch, and will delay its rollout until later this year.
• A video of a new iphone beta build running on live hardware shows videos now in portrait or landscape modes, and includes video playlists. We’ll take it.
• Although DT’s iPhone page reads differently, German paper Welt has it that that T-Mobile Germany will be selling it for €1 — so basically free, not unlike O2’s iPhone 3G launch in the UK.

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

Read - Jobs mentions PA Semi plans
Read - Visual voicemail support varies from carrier to carrier
Read - Beta build with portrait-mode video
Read - DT releasing it for €1 (see also their iPhone page)

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Here is yet another watch to make your head hurt, only this one isn’t just a concept design. After you’ve finished causing your brain to hurt from trying to figure it out, you can run off and purchase one. The watch actually isn’t as bad as some I’ve seen, but it definitely doesn’t show time in the classic way. It features four different bars, the top two bars are hours the third is minutes and the fourth is seconds. The first hour bar shows 1-6 hours and the second hour bar is 7-12. Which means it wouldn’t be that hard to read, and the minutes bar is actually marked with 15, 30 and 45 to make things easier.

These watches from Nooka were designed by Mathew Waldman and come in several different styles and made out of all different materials. Anymore watches aren’t all that necessary since we have all kinds of gadgets that can tell the time just as easily. So any watch we do wear has to be cool in some odd way to make us want to wear it everyday. The watches with a rubber band come in pink, blue, orange and lime and are sold for $130-$140. There is also a camo series that comes in army green, gray-scale and even rainbow that are sold for $250. The leather and metal style watches are priced at $265.

Source: technabob

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There was a time that I would go out in the sun and never ever burn.  Then I started working from home and well, now I burn to a crisp.  I burned in the car, thankfully my car has a sun roof so its an even burn.  Frankly even before I started burning I should have been a bit more worried about sunblock and UV rays due to skin cancer or not wanting to turn into the raisin lady.  If you’re not sure what the raisin lady is, thats the person who has baked themselves to a shriveled crisp, year round, since they were five.  Once they hit 35 their skin has turned to this weird not so natural skin texture.   Now if they ever grew a brain and decided to be careful in the sun this little gadget is definitely the way to do it.

To be perfectly honest I don’t really know how much sunblock is optimal, when to reapply or what it means when there are high UV rays.  Well this UV monitor doesn’t just tell you the UV rays are particularly vicious today.  You program in your skin type the SPF of the sunscreen you slathered on and it will begin a timer for you.  It lets you know when you need to reapply your sunblock.  Be careful in the water with this bad boy though, it is splash proof but I wouldn’t go diving into the depths of the ocean with it on your wrist.  It is being sold for about $48 or £24.99.

Source: teechee

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Having 76 keys, Casio WK-3800 lets you produce your own music for any occasion. Featuring an advanced ZPI sound source, drawbar organ and stereo piano, Casio WK-3800 is an ideal musical instrument that can be played both by adults and kids with ease. You can choose from any of the 182 available rhythms and 232 digital effects of Casio WK-3800.

Features

• 3 Sensitivity Levels.
• 10 Preset Patterns.
• 4 Adjustable Bands.
• SD Data Storage.
• Touch Sensitive Keyboard.

Casio WK-3800 Advanced Sounds & Storage with ZPI Technology comes fitted with a keyboard that utilizes an Internet Data Expansion System to configure the keyboards to your particular needs using waveform and other similar data. Moreover, Casio WK-3800 incorporates a built-in floppy disk drive that supports playback of commercially available SMF data and a LINE OUT jack that allows connection to sound equipment for stage performances.

Price and Availability

Casio WK-3800 Advanced Sounds & Storage with ZPI Technology is available at a price of £ 349.99.

Source: Casio

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I’ve had it up to here (insert imaginary height chart here) with people stealing my pens! I gave it to you for three seconds, not your entire lifetime. I’m especially sick of having to high-tail it to my nearest office supply store (since Coolest gadgets doesn’t have a supply cabinet to steal from) just so I can buy a new pack of pens which will eventually be stolen.

Well, not anymore! I’m taking a stand against all of you pen hoarders. I mean, really, where do all of these pens wind up? Is there some crazy pen collector who has piles of writing utensils? Don’t get me wrong. I love pens. I used to be quite the pen connoisseur. That was until I had my Dr. Grip stolen from me one too many times. Now? I just get these “Borrow My Pen?” writing tools. Pen thievery doesn’t happen nearly as much anymore.

Each pen in the “Borrow My Pen?” set includes a brash or politically incorrect statement which makes the pen less desirable than your typical Bic. Who really wants to be known as the guy who stole the “Stuffed with Love Taxidermy, No Pet Too Small, Give Us a Call” pen? Not I. Not I, indeed.

If you’re as fed up with pen thieves as I am, you can grab your own set of “Borrow My Pen?” pens from perpetualkid for $6.99 a pop. And if you don’t have thievery issues, at least it would be a fun prank to pull on a waiter after signing your receipt, or even at the DMV. Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about! Lord knows they could use some humor in their life.

Product Page via Gear Diary

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Now you won’t have to go without watching your favorite episodes of Battlestar Galactica and Stargate SG-1. Ever. You’ll be able to download and view them on your watch. Wait. What? Watch? That’s right - you can pick up a video watch for under $100 with a nice crisp OLED screen.

With a 128×128 screen in full color, this video watch sports 7 hours of play time, has 2GB of storage and plays MP3 and WMA audio files in case you get bored watching stuff. In case you need to take audio memos, it also comes with a built-in microphone.

Transferring videos and audio files to the watch is via USB 2.0. Not a bad little gadget, and not ridiculously expensive for a pretty new display technology.

Gimme!

Price: $69.99 (currently on sale - normally $99.99)
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Posted in Miscellaneous

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by Paul Miller, posted Jun 15th 2008 at 4:50AM
Just in time for Father’s Day, ESPN’s tvCompass-built WiFi Ultimate Remote is finally available, and rapidly making its way into the awaiting, Cheeto-stained fingertips of a couch potato near you. It still costs $300, and with a good number of laptops retailing for that price these days, it’s certainly hard to justify, but forget all that… who on earth thought this packaging was a good idea? It kind of looks like a dumbell, but not. We’re really at a loss for words here. It’s almost like ESPN wants to fail.

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