Foleo Bites the Big One

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, Corporate News, Handhelds, Misc. Tech, Portable Audio / Video,

Palm CEO Ed Colligan has announced that the Foleo is to be no more. He says that his company will concentrate more of its efforts on their next generation platform and the smartphones that will be a part of it. He said that

when they work on Foleo II it will be on that same platform rather than a separate one.

Although it is costing Palm about a $10 million loss, Colligan mentioned that it was a small price to pay to

move forward. We recall wondering why the Foleo was larger than the device it was created to work with, so perhaps with this decision Palm has finally created a kind of symmetry in their part of the technological world.

Read More | Palm Blog

Female Gamers Get their Bling on with the Nintendo Necklace

Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Accessories, Wearables, Design, Video Games,

We loooove this necklace, for two reasons: One, it continues our slightly obsessive

trend of spotlighting retro NES controller items, such as the wallet and CD holder. Two, it’s made for female gamers, a group rarely targeted by anyone —except male gamers. It’s the Nintendo Necklace, featuring a lovely cherry blossom design on one side (for her “feminine” side). Turn it over, and BAM!, it’s an equally lovely NES controller (for her “kick-ass” side). Each necklace is handmade by Michigan’s Sarah Lynne, using aluminum, wire, paper and paint. Not into gaming? Check out her other designs. Ms. Lynne is currently taking custom orders for the NES necklace, for $45 USD.

Read More | Etsy via Technabob

Pepper Spray Stunning Ring Keeps Creeps Away

Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Accessories, Wearables, Misc. Tech,

We love that there are technological gadgets that help protect women from criminals…witness the No-Contact Jacket the Cell Phone Stun Gun and even the GPS Platform Sandal. Now comes the Pepper Spray Stunning Ring, which—if you can deal with the cheap-ish look of it—can protect you at all times. The ring holds a dose of pepper spray 400 times stronger than a jalapeno pepper and projects as far as 12 feet, guaranteed to burn and nauseate any potential perps. And don’t worry, the ring actually has a safety, so you won’t accidentally spray a loved one…or yourself. Available for $30 USD, with refills (yes, refills), selling for $8 a pop.

Read More | Protect Yourself Direct via Gizmodo

GPS Platform Shoes—For the Ladies of the Night

Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Accessories, Wearables, GPS, Misc. Tech,

While this item screams “Saturday Night Live” skit, it’s actually real, useful, and we love it. It’s the Platform 001 sandal, created by the Aphrodite Project, which contains a GPS tracking module, and a compartment for hiding cash and keys—all “safety features designed to meet the needs of today’s sex workers”, according to the Aphrodite website. If the prostitute is in danger, the GPS relays the prostitute’s location via silent alarm to local emergency services. If she is having a problem with the police, the GPS can relay a signal to the sex workers’ rights group in her city. The shoe also comes equipped with a piercingly loud alarm system, to ward off attackers. No word on pricing or availability (the shoe is still in prototype stage), but the shoe actually went on a world tour last year, including stops in New York and Norway, and will have an exhibition in New Jersey next month. We love it because someone realized a prostitute’s safety is no less important than yours or mine—and did something about it.

Read More | Sexy GPS Shoes via GPS Lodge

BlueAnt Shows Off Its Z9 Headset

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, Smartphones, Handhelds, Misc. Tech, Portable Audio / Video, Wireless / WiFi,

The Australian company BlueAnt has spent over 2 years developing their Z9 and received the 2007 International Innovations Design & Engineering Award by the CEA for their efforts. At a weight of only 10 grams and a length of less than 4 cm, the Bluetooth headset can be clipped to a tie, shirt, jacket or dress when not in use with its clear ear-hook for up to 5 hours of talk time and 200 standby hours. Choose between standard and advanced (max) noise reduction, made possible by their Voice Isolation technology. You can also switch between three sources such as a cell phone, PDA, and PC. The Z9 is available online for $129.99.

Read More | BlueAnt

Robot Webcam Works and Plays

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, USB, Cameras, Misc. Tech,

This Roboman Webcam stands, sits, or leans with his 6-inch tall frame and features 350k pixels and captures 30 fps. He pops into your USB 1.1 port, has an integrated mic with 11 points of articulation, and comes with a driver disc. The cam has 2 LED eyes and a 52-inch cord so he can move around at night and commune with other bots while you are asleep. We were just kidding about that part, but he does have movable arms and legs so that you can position him in ways that are really not possible in humans. Get yours at ThinkGeek for $19.99.

Read More | ThinkGeek

Inflight Power Recorder Takes to the Sky

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, USB, Misc. Tech, Transportation,

If you do a lot of flying, the Inflight Power Recorder plugs into any passenger seat audio jack and outputs regulated power to the attached USB charging cable/connector. It’s available in four units,  the basic one for $34.99, the iPod/iPhone bundle for $44.99, the Blackberry model with a mini-B tip that will also work with some MOTOs and RIMs for $44.99. For heavy gadget hogs, the Power Executive comes with with both tips for $49.99.

Read More | Inflight Power

The iPhone Shuffle is a Must Have

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, Apple, Handhelds, Misc. Tech, Portable Audio / Video, Videos,

With so many new accessories for the iPhone we can barely keep up these days, but this one about matches Mad TV’s iRack in usefulness. The Shuffle is simply one little button. Push it and it literally rearranges all your contacts, then calls one at random. Hold it down for 3 seconds and it will automatically dial another number for a three-way teleconference. There’s more, but we don’t want to spoil the other neat tricks that the Shuffle can perform with little or no effort.

We had you going there for a minute, didn’t we?

Read More | the geniuses

Sony Tabletop Remote With Wide Coverage

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, Home Entertainment, Misc. Tech,

How often do you forget to point your remote at the VCR but instead aim it at the TV? Sony’s new waterproof RM-PZ1FD with three infrared LEDs offers wider cover and is designed for tables, counters, or nightstands with soft buttons for both digital and analog transmissions. The remote also works with fifteen other brands such as Matsushita, Sharp, and JVC. At a size of 4 x 5-inches, it will be available sometime this month, and comes with the mini-price tag of ¥1,980 (~$17.00) in each of three different colors.

Read More | Far East Gizmos

Nintendo Wallet Honors the 8-bit Era

Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Accessories, Misc. Tech, Video Games,

Nostalgic about video games of yore? Strap on your Pac-Man Belt as we tell you about the bi-fold Nintendo Wallet, made of distressed leather, which holds all your credits card, ID and what little cash you have left after buying your Nintendo Wii. The cool thing? The wallet not only looks like an NES controller, it even comes in a tin case shaped like a game cartridge! A great way to get your geek on—with style. Available for $30 USD.

Read More | The Wireless Catalog via OhGizmo