30 Day Lantern

Do you love the great outdoors? Is camping one of your favorite past times? Well, if you have answered in the affirmative, then you might want to check out what Hammacher has in store for you, especially for those who love to prepare for the unexpected.

The $59.95 30 Day Lantern should be made a compulsory purchase for just about anyone who would like nothing better than to get away from the concrete jungle and spend their time in the great outdoors, just like how Calvin’s dad does in the comic strips, more often than not being left awash in a downpour.

The 30 Day Lantern is special, because as its name suggests, it is capable of delivering up to 30 days of reliable light, and you will not find Iron Man’s arc reactor powering this puppy, as all that is required is a single set of batteries to get it going.

The lantern itself sports a trio of 1.4-watt LEDs that sip but a fraction of the energy required by traditional bulbs, hence enabling it to produce 720 consecutive hours of light on its lowest setting with a mere three D batteries. Talk about being power efficient, no? It even comes with a green LED which will flash whenever the device is turned off so that you can locate it easily in the event of a blackout.

Cordless Personal Massager

There is nothing quite like having a lovely massage after a particularly long day at work, but sometimes, your other half is unable to press all the right pressure points despite you giving verbal directions, and your limbs are not that flexible as that of a gymnast and neither do you have the kind of superpowers that Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, has.

I guess this would mean it is a case of “if you want something done, you have got to do it yourself”, and this is where the $39.99 Cordless Personal Massager comes in handy. It is said to offer flexible spot-on relief alongside cordless freedom, thanks to the clever use of rechargeable lithium ion batteries within.

The Cordless Personal Massager is said to be of the ideal shape, where it is comes with a medical-grade silicone massage head that not only feels smooth but is also soft against your skin. Despite doing its bit to soothe away the day’s aches and pains, it will go about its job in a quiet manner, thanks to an extra quiet and powerful massage motor.

You will be able to choose from a quartet of programs – namely Soothe, Pulse Low, Pulse High, Energize, with different intensity levels to boot. Just to make sure that it does its bit to conserve energy whenever possible, the Cordless Personal Massager will shutoff itself automatically after 20 minutes. [Via]

Flexit Ultra Thin Flexible Magnetic LED Light

There are times when you love nothing better than to snuggle up in bed after a particularly long and difficult day at the office, with a good book in hand that will have you turning its pages until you discover that dawn is breaking. Thing is, reading in your bed is fine and dandy if you happen to be living alone, but if you are already married, then your other half would most definitely appreciate it if he or she could sleep with all of the lights turned off.

Hence, what are you supposed to do – go out to the study and read? Here is a short cut afforded by the $29.99 Flexit Ultra Thin Flexible Magnetic LED Light, where you can more or less call it the flashlight version of Gumby.  The Flexit Ultra Thin Flexible Magnetic LED Light will be able to attach itself to metal objects with magnets, where you can opt to hang it, loop it, or leave it as a freestanding device, now how about that? The flexible body is capable of shaping just the right amount of light for your reading needs, and it would also double up as a handy gift for that handy person in your life. With three power settings to choose from at a brightness level of 128 lumens, the three AA batteries that power it ought to deliver up to 70 hours of non-stop use. Heck, it is even water resistant that adds to its overall desirability. [Via]

Cell Phone Call Clarifying Telephone

“Yes? Hello, I cannot hear you. Can you speak up please?” might be the phrase or statement that you hear rather frequently if the reception in your area does not exactly live up to its promise when you signed that spanking new two year agreement, and neither does it represent what the ads of that particular mobile carrier promise.

Perhaps you might need some assistance from the outside, and this is where the $199.95 Cell Phone Call Clarifying Telephone comes in handy. The Cell Phone Call Clarifying Telephone, as its name suggests, is an amplified cordless telephone which will go about its duty to amplify and enhance the clarity of cell phone calls.

All incoming cell phone calls will be routed sans wires using Bluetooth technology to the cordless telephone, where a single touch of a button would further amplify and clarify the caller’s voice through the clever use of elevating high-frequency sounds and dampening distracting background noise.

Apart from that, this telephone will enable users to increase the call volume up to 50 dB, as well as adjust the tone for optimal clarity. There are LEDs located on the base and cordless handset which will flash to signify incoming calls, while the unit’s ringer volume can be turned up to 95 dBs.

Blue Ridge Camping Hammock

This isn't your typical backyard relaxation spot. The Blue Ridge Camping Hammock ($140) is instead made for use in rough terrain, with a nylon pack cloth bed, nylon rope, aluminum alloy poles, and no-see-um netting.

It's also ready for bad weather, thanks to a nylon rain tarp and two interior pockets to keep your stuff dry, and it weighs just 4.25 pounds, so you won't need to stop for the night quite as early.

[Via]

Flip Alarm Clock

Waking up in the mornings can be rather difficult to do, especially when you happen to have a sleepless night before that. Of course, it does not help that you have a highly stressful job to attend to each weekday. I suppose having the right kind of alarm clock might do the trick, as some of us tend to sleep through the ringing of the alarm. Enter the £28.99 Flip Alarm Clock, which as its name suggests, is flippin’ brilliant, coming in blue, lime, purple, and red colors.

The Flip Alarm Clock is so easy to use, that it does away with the need for complicated settings and control panels. Not only that, it comes in a lightweight and colorful form factor, making sure that things remain simple at all times.

Sporting a big bold design, there will be a couple of sides to this timepiece, which have been embossed ON and OFF for obvious reasons, so all you need to do is flip it to the side that you want, as the bits and pieces within will then be able to tell just which way it is facing, and alert (or not) you as requested. [Via]

Nokia Into the Microwave Business Now

Well, well, what do we have here? It seems that Nokia, the smartphone company from Finland that used to dominate the mobile phone market, is about to take the plunge into the home appliances market with a microwave, of all products. I say, why not? After all, the humble microwave might not be a centerpiece in your newly renovated kitchen, but it sure as heck is one of the most important pieces of the kitchen puzzle.

After all, it is the microwave that helps you heat things up in the blink of an eye, making sure that those TV dinners which you bought would taste absolutely delicious in a matter of minutes. This microwave is called the Nokia 5AM-TH1N6 Constellation, which happens to be a touch-screen microwave oven – perhaps it is a sign that expertise from their Windows Phone 8-powered smartphones being handed down?

The Nokia Constellation will set itself apart with a superfast, water-cooled 8-core high-voltage transformer, where it is capable of delivering a combined performance of 5,000 watts to end-users, allowing one to heat up turnkey meal solutions in a matter of seconds. Olavi Huhtikuu, Nokia’s director of household innovation, said, “Nokia has a proven track record and extensive IPR in working with microwave radios, so for us this was a logical next step. We can attack our competition in their core business. That’s why we developed the highly innovative 5AM-TH1N6 Constellation, which will revolutionize everything from single households to canteen kitchens”

Other innovative features in the new Nokia 5AM-TH1N6 include eye-tracking technology that ensures food will stop rotating whenever you look at it, and it will even be able to adjust the temperature automatically, depending on just how hungry you look. Expect the Constellation to ship from Q2 onwards at a suggested retail price of €399 a pop.

Just in case you were wondering whether this sounds way too good to be true, or that it is just a hoot to hear the Finnish smartphone company venturing into the consumer electronics and home appliance segments of the market, do remember that today is April 1st, and what you have just read is, indeed, too good to be true.

Solar Powered Window Socket

With all of the gadgets we are constantly toting around we need to find an easy way to keep everything charged, while still being conscious of the environment of course. The Solar Powered Window Socket is the perfect device for such a chore.

Designed Kyuho Song & Boa Oh, this socket easily attaches to any window socket, and converts sunlight into electric energy through the built in converter. While the product is still in the dreaded concept stage (we say dreaded because we often times see great products that never make it out), but this thing could have some great use in the real world if it prevails. [Via]

Denim Smartphone Handset

If there is one thing that I have learned about fashion throughout my relatively short life here on earth (I am right now going through what they call the middle of the second half of my two score years), it is this – fashion statements get recycled from time to time, so if you happen to have this hot fashion item back in the days of your youth, do not throw it out! It might eventually return to style one of these days, and who knows, by then you might have a vintage piece in your closet.

Jeans and denim, however, rarely go out of style, and if it is good enough for Steve Jobs, it should be good enough for everyone. Style just called with the £39.99 Denim Smartphone Handset, where it sports a classic ‘telephone-style’ design, being covered in high-quality denim. There is also a 0.25” audio cable that will plug into the headphone socket, and the Denim Smartphone Handset plays nice with all smartphones that are in the market at the moment. This is definitely the device or accessory to tote around when you want to make a fashion statement, telling the world that you are an ’80s kid. [Via]

Bluetooth BBQ Thermometer

They say that cooking is an art, and for those of us who happen to burn the pot while one is boiling water, it goes without saying the kitchen is a whole lot better off without you in it. The thing is, you have this passion to tinker around the kitchen much to the chagrin of everyone else living under the same roof as you, but thank goodness technology has progressed to such a stage where it is able to help out even the most clueless of chefs.

Case in point, BBQs are fun, but it is an art to know whether that slab of meat, or row of sausages are well cooked right to the inside. Enter the $79.99 Bluetooth BBQ Thermometer to help you get the job done. With the Bluetooth BBQ Thermometer, no longer do you need to hang around a hot grill in order to check on the temperature of the food being cooked constantly, leaving you time and opportunity to chat up that sweet young thing whom you have had your eyes on for the longest time already.

The Bluetooth BBQ Thermometer would come across as a grilling, cooking, smoking thermometer, where it will work in tandem with an app on your iOS-powered device, or other compatible smartphones. A dual temperature probe will monitor a couple of different meats simultaneously, even up to 200 feet away, and will alert you the moment your food has reached the temperature you set on the base station. [Via]

Night Owl Motion Light

Are you a night owl, and are simply far more productive whenever the moon makes an appearance, breaking through the clouds at night, while others are busy sleeping and snoring away? If that is the case, and you do not live alone, then it would be prudent for you to have the relevant tools around to help you get up and going without stubbing your toe against the edge of a bed or cupboard. The $16.95 Night Owl Motion Light is here to help you out.

The Night Owl Motion Light is basically a motion-activated light for those who get up in the night, where all you need to do is place it at the side of your bed, or hang it from a doorknob or walker, hook it over a stair rail or hang it from a towel rack.

Regardless of where you think it is most effective, it would come in handy in a dozen places. Each time the sensor detects motion, half a dozen bright LEDs will turn on, illuminate the area, and remain lit at your command. You are able to choose from 20, 60 or 90 seconds, or set the dial for “continuous”, in addition to adjusting the LED brightness for day or night sensitivity.

Portable Tabletop Mosquito Repeller

Love spending most of your time outdoors rather than indoors? If that is the case, then chances are pretty high that you are used to being mosquito fodder, considering the kind of healthy blood that you carry. Well, you can never quite take your chances with mosquitoes as some of them do carry a potentially life threatening disease, and slathering yourself in mosquito repellent is only half the job done.

Enter the $29.95 Portable Tabletop Mosquito Repeller that does according to its namesake – offering you (and those sitting around it) ample relief from the airborne, blood sucking pests whenever you and your family members or mates are in an outdoor setting. The Portable Tabletop Mosquito Repeller would come across as being a wee bit larger compared to your regular soda can, where this cordless device would stand in an unobtrusive manner, never mind that you have placed it on a patio table or picnic bench.

It will still be able to work regardless, automatically emitting the safe, subtle floral scent of geranium, peppermint and lemongrass, which so happen to be plant-derived essential oils which naturally repel mosquitoes, gnats, and midges. This does away with the need for them nasty chemical-based sprays, while its integrated fan would help distribute the repellent in order to provide protection from mosquitos across 15′ sq. of space. A couple of AA batteries would keep this puppy going for up to 8 hours.[Via]

Maximum Minimum Voltage Indicator

This circuit indicates which of three voltages in the range from about about -4V to about +4V - at A, B and C - is the highest by lighting one of three indicator LEDs. Alternatively, it can be wired to indicate the lowest of three voltages or to indicate both the highest and lowest voltages. Op amps IC1a, IC1b & IC1c are wired as comparators, while the three indicator LEDs and their series 1kO current limiting resistors are strung across the op amp outputs to implement the appropriate logic functions.

Circuit diagram:

Maximum Minimum Voltage Indicator Circuit Diagram

For example, LED A will light only when pin 8 of IC1c is low (ie, A greater B) and pin 7 of IC1b is high (ie, A greater C). Similarly, LED B will light only when pin 8 of IC1c is high (ie, B greater A) and pin 1 of IC1a is low (ie, B greater C). LED C works in similar fashion if the voltage at C is the highest. Note that if all the LEDs and their parallel 1N4148 diodes are reversed, the circuit will indicate the lowest of the three input voltages. And if each 1N4148 diode is replaced by a LED, the circuit will indicate both the highest and lowest inputs.

Author: Andrew Partridge - Copyright: Silicon Chip

Rechargeable Snow Blower

You know what they say –the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. How any people do you know wish that they stay in an area where snow is in abundance? For folks who happen to live in such an area, you know the hassle of life when it snows really hard, and nearly every single day during winter to boot. A snow blower would make plenty of sense actually, which is why you might want to check out the $599.95 Rechargeable Snow Blower.

The Rechargeable Snow Blower is touted to be the only snow blower which will be powered by a rechargeable battery, hence doing away with the need to refill a gas tank, or perhaps to untangle a power cord. A 40-volt lithium-ion battery would run proceedings fro within, where this emission-free, environmentally friendly blower can throw powder for up to 40 minutes at a stretch before exhausting its battery reserves.

It works best in clearing out small outdoor spaces like a patio or walkway, where the single-stage blower is more than capable of handling 10″ high drifts and clear an 18″ wide path in a single pass. Want to do all of the snow clearing after dark? Not a problem, since the blower features a bright LED headlight that makes it a snap to do so even when the sun has gone down. [Via]

Remember Shelf

While we try our best, we can’t remember every small detail we’re supposed to keep track of. There’s gadgets to charge, groceries to buy, things to clean, appointments, meetings, and much, much more. While you can set reminders on your phone, that’s often not enough to make sure you accomplish whatever task lay in front of you in the appropriate amount of time. As the saying goes, “If you’re early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late.” Of course, if you’re late, it’s completely unacceptable.

We need calendars that hang on the wall, notes on our hand, and post-its on everything. If all that isn’t enough, then the Remember Shelf can add to your collection. This is a a whiteboard where you can write down those appointment times and grocery list. It can also hold your keys, phone, and wallet. Possibly the most unique aspect of this is that there are switches on the right hand side where you can doodle little pictures of things that you still need to do.

That can be anything from turning off the light to locking the back door. It can become the best departure checklist for going out the front door before your day at work begins…well, if you remember to check it and update it regularly. This will cost you around $35, and won’t take up much space on the wall as it only measures 34x21cm. [Via]

Heated Furniture Cover keeps everyone warm this winter

Heated Furniture Cover keeps everyone warm this winter
During winter, one ought to maintain a careful balance between keeping everyone at home warm and cozy, alongside making sure that the electric bill at the end of the month does not throw your monthly budget out of whack. Having said that, it is pretty nice to indulge once in a while, and for some of us, we tend to cozy up to our favorite couch with a nice, thick fleece blanket covering us to keep us nice and warm underneath. That is fine and dandy if you want to sleep, but what happens when you still want to read a book and yet keep most of your body warm? Enter the $159.95 Heated Furniture Cover.

This particular heated furniture cover will be able to offer an instant cozy place to sit during the cold winter months. It is made out of soft microsuede, where the quilted cover will drape over the back, seat and arms of furniture, while sporting a textured backing to make sure that it remains in place. The cover itself will be able to produce an even, all-over warmth which will go a long way in reducing home heating costs simply by targeting heat directly at a room’s occupants. Not only that, thanks to its generous polyester filling within, the embedded heating elements are virtually undetectable for a comfortable lounging experience. There is a tethered controller that lets you play around with the temperature settings; while an auto shut-off feature will turn off heat after four hours.[Via]

Timebrick Concrete Clock

It’s not a normal concrete block, but a unique clock that shows you accurate time. If you like this kind of solid design, let’s go on checking the Timebrick concrete clock. The Timebrick is a pretty cool desktop timepiece that measures 8.5 x 8.5 x 5.3cm and weights 486g.

As we can see from the images, the desktop clock features low-profile and stylish design, most importantly, the timepiece comes with a unique casing made from concrete along with bold accents including hexagonal screws and squat hands for extremely durable construction and personalized design.

Inside, there is a German Quartz UTS movement in order to show you accurate time, moreover, the concrete clock is powered by an AA battery. The Timebrick concrete clock is available in 6 colors, each one is priced at $49 USD. If you’re interested, jump to TouchOfModren online store for more details. [Via]