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.

Angry Birds Flash Drives

You know the old saying, a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. Well, with the Angry Birds Flash Drives, it is worth 4GB worth of storage space on the go. You are able to choose from King Piggy, Red Bird, White Bird and Yellow Bird designs. Throwing these around are not going to help you in any way though, as the data inside might just give way to your anger, so toting these in your pocket or notebook bag is the best way to travel.

       Made out of high quality rubber, these unique avian friends and a porker would be ideal to stash away all of your crucial information or even family photos, music videos, movies and MP3 files. It does not matter, really, although we would have liked to see the Blue Bird design and see each of these split into three different flash drives magically when you plug it into your computer. Of course, that will not happen, but it would be cute nonetheless. The Angry Birds Flash Drives will retail for £14.99 a pop. 

Japanese Wrist-Mounted Finger Piano

Here is a way to play the piano like a boss – the Japanese way, of course. After all, who wants to lug around a really huge and heavy piano, and a keyboard is a poor substitute when it comes to the actual warm sound of a piano? Enter the $39.99 Japanese Wrist-Mounted Finger Piano to save the day – this new musical instrument hails from the Land of the Rising Sun, and all you need to do is slip it on your wrist, coax your fingers into the tiny enclosures (which will comfortably cover your fingertips), and you are good to go.

       Just how do you play it though? Individual finger bits will play a note when you press it on a hard surface, and when you add a trio of buttons/notes to the top of the wrist unit, you end up with an entire octave of fun. There are three volume levels and a trio of sound banks. The latter, its sound banks, are what makes the entire Japanese Wrist-Mounted Finger Piano really special. You are able to play piano (sound 1) or bells (sound 2), as well as the third sound – cat. Who wants to play cats all the night through? 

Concord Keystone ECO Booster 2.0 portable battery pack

       Owning a whole lot of portable devices these days is the norm for many of us, and if there is one bane of modern electronics, it would be battery power. Or rather, the lack of it. Concord Keystone knows this, and hence decides to step forward and offer something that will definitely appeal to frequent travelers – the Concord Keystone ECO Booster 2.0 portable battery pack. This is an extremely slim and lightweight 2,000 mAh Li-Polymer portable battery pack which will cater for smartphones such as those from the Android and iOS front, more or less doubling battery life in the process when plugged in.

       At the moment, the Keystone ECO Booster 2.0 can be said to be the only portable battery pack which features a built-in retractable microUSB charging cable. That is great, as it translates to carrying around one less cable, and will also help save space in your luggage whenever you travel. All you need to do is pull out the retractable microUSB cable when your device needs charging, and a blue LED indicator will light up to inform you that charging is taking place. Apart from that, it will also show off the remaining power level in the battery pack. Measuring a mere 0.4″ in terms of thickness and tipping the scales at 2.5 oz, it is the perfect traveling companion.

Thumbs Up Ear iPhone case

 

If you happen to be one of the millions around the world who owns an iPhone, then surely you would not have left it at that – all alone without a case at all, nor a protective screen cover of sorts to make sure that no scratches will mark it when you drop your precious phone or knock it against something else by accident.

Well, why not make a meal out of the entire situation with the Thumbs Up Ear Case for the iPhone? This is definitely not the chic-est case out there, but it will definitely be able to draw attention towards you whenever someone stumbles upon you talking on it. 

Star Wars Death Star Electronic Attack Shirt

The Death Star is one of the most feared “weapons” in the hand of the Galactic Republic – I mean, something as large as a moon which could destroy an entire planet with a single blast of energy? I wonder what kind of fuel that puppy runs on, certainly nuclear is not the way to go considering the amount of juice it pumps out to obliterate a planet. Wear this symbol of fear on your chest with the $29.99 Star Wars Death Star Electronic Attack Shirt – where it will work out a blast sequence that includes the superlaser power-up and fire.

       Glowing EL technology and an embedded white LED will be there for added final blast effects, and no pixie dust is used to get the sound out, as a wired speaker box does the job just as well, albeit it is hidden inside the shirt or it can be stored in your pocket. Powered by a quartet of AAA batteries, I am not sure how many blasts that would take before the batteries run out of power.

Eye Asteroids requires no hands

 

Some of you might remember Asteroids, a game where you control a triangle that shoots at some oblong shapes that become smaller oblong shapes until they are utterly destroyed.

Yes, we have come a long way from the Vector graphics of eighties games of the past, and this new version of the classic game, also known as Eye Asteroids. Eye Asteroids requires no joystick, but all the controls are the player’s eyes.

       You can watch the video after the jump of the eye-controlled game in action. You will note the graphics are more advanced, and the user plays a giant planet instead of that triangle that was supposed to be a spaceship.

       All that is required is looking at what you will shoot, and in case you are wondering, it does work for gamers with glasses. The game is created by Tobii, which is only planning on making 50 of these machines at $15,000 each. In case you are wondering, that is pretty expensive for a stand-up arcade game.

       I suppose that this could be a whole new beginning of eye-controlled devices. What I hope that I never see are real eye-controlled guns. In a video game like Asteroids, you have to hit everything just to survive to the next level. In real war, shooting accidents happen. 

Swivl automated mobile device

Swivl – the name itself is very modern and forward looking, and I am happy to say that it is already available for pre-order. Just what is the Swivl? It is rather hard to tell at first glance, but this is in essence, an automated mobile device which will allow you to capture your movements on your mobile device, without having to keep your hands occupied. All you need to do is to let it hold your iPhone, iPod touch, Flip camcorder or even GoPro camera, where it will then follow both horizontally and vertically in order to maintain your presence in the frame.

       This is made possible thanks to the inclusion of a sensor marker inside. As long as you own a device like an iPhone or Android handset that is under 11mm in thickness, it is good to go, while there is also a tripod option to mount pocket cameras like the Flip and GoPro. The Swivl is slightly biased towards Apple devices though, since it can be juiced when docked. Place your pre-order for one now at $159.99, where it will ship in North America from early next year onwards. 

BookBook for iPhone

Want to read a book? You might be able to do so by loading up an e-book on your iPhone, assuming your precious Apple smartphone is encased in the rather odd looking £49.99 BookBook for iPhone case. Yes sir, this unique addition intends to spruce up your smartphone life by merging the convenience of a wallet and a phone holder in a single offering. This genuine leather case will not only offer adequate protection for your iPhone against any knocks and scratches, it also doubles up as a wallet to stash all your savings for the future iPhone 5 purchase.

      
       Not only that, it comes with all the bells and whistles of a wallet such as the relevant segments for credit cards, a clear window for your photo ID, as well as a space to stash notes – just in case, you know, your iPhone runs out of battery and you desperately need to jot down a particular figure. The iPhone will fit in nicely into the specially-designed pouch, and I guess you would do well to use a Bluetooth headset with this, unless you don’t mind opening and closing the BookBook often if you’re a busy person. 

Your iPhone 4S's proximity sensor's working overtime -- thank Siri (video)

As far as assistants go, Siri can be rather demanding. In fact, she apparently requires that your iPhone 4S's proximity sensor be on whenever the handset's screen is activated. That's the conclusion iFixit arrived at, upon discovering that, unlike previous generations which flip on the sensor upon firing up a phone call or Skype conversation, the 4S kicks on the infrared detectors whenever the screen turns on. The change would allow Siri to detect just how close your face is as you speak to her without the handset pressed up against your face. More details in the video after the break.