Crave- Page 4223

Headgear: Not just for braces anymore

Headgear has come a long way from the days when it was almost synonymous with adolescent torment. Today, headsets and headphones are often considered fashion items--and, as with clothing apparel, that can be a good or a bad thing.

We think that Audio-Technica's "ONTO" headphones fall into the former category, mostly for their simplicity. They remind us of the early lightweight Sennheiser phones from the '70s, which were a revolutionary break from the bulky Koss-type standard of the day.

Rather than shun the headband, Audio-Technica has made one that's much thinner and, as Gearfuse says, … Read more

A remote control for your yacht

Yachting can be such a trying leisure activity. All that champagne to chill and whatnot. The last thing you need to worry about is something so proletarian as steering. The "Minn Kota RipTide Wireless CoPilot" from Cabela doesn't drive the boat by itself, but it may be the next best thing. Uber-Review says the small remote, which can be worn on the wrist or a belt, has five simple buttons that can control speeds and turns. Perhaps most important of all, the remote--yes, it's waterproof--can also float in case the party gets the best of you.… Read more

The Mario Bros.-Parker Bros. mashup

Remember back in the '90s when that PC-game version of Monopoly was released? I didn't follow its progress too well, but I can imagine that board game enthusiasts were probably up in arms that one of their favorite titles was adopting an electronic form. It must have been like Jedi defecting to the Sith, except for the fact that the Monopoly computer game didn't seem to catch on like its cardboard-and-fake-money predecessor had.

Well, now the reverse is happening. Sort of. Nintendo Monopoly, one of Uncrate's most recent featured products, brings video game characters to a board … Read more

A landline phone that thinks it's a PC

Home telephones are like TV sets of the '70s and '80s--except for the cordless breakthrough, technology has seen scant change compared with other consumer products. VTech wants to change that with its new "infoPhone" (not to be confused with the iPhone, thank you very much).

The landline handset is designed to handle many functions that most people reserve for the computer. As Gadgetell says, "The new ip8300 infoPhone uses the Internet to access information directly on the cordless handset's color LCD screen, including news headlines, weather reports, horoscopes, local directory searches and more"--all according … Read more

Keyboard as studio apartment

If you live in real-estate hell--as in New York or San Francisco--then every square inch of living space can be the difference between solvency and homelessness. That's just one practical reason for the "KB-Dock" keyboard, which Chip Chick says "tries to pack in everything but the kitchen sink."

In addition to its most obvious feature, a detachable iPod dock, the keyboard includes 14 media hotkeys and a 10-in-1 memory card reader. If it just included a Murphy bed, it could qualify as a Manhattan studio.

USB Webcam key does double duty

As much as it pains us to admit it, some of us at Crave don't have the latest personal technologies in our personal possession. One such glaring omission, for example, is a laptop with a built-in Webcam.

As shameful as this is, we hope to still be able to partly make up for this shortcoming with something like the diminutive "Volvex," a USB stick with built-in camera from Sunyang DNT. Unfortunately, PClaunches says this little combo gadget will be available only in South Korea until further notice, starting at $59 for a model with 512MB storage. But … Read more

A headset for that hearing-aid look

Boring holiday meals spent with relatives provide plenty of time for idle thoughts like this: Where do earphones end and headsets begin? The answer to such pseudo-existential questions may lie in Argard's M10 Bluetooth headset, which is kind of the missing link of headgear.

Although the tiny device looks more like a shiny earbud, Argard says it provides three hours of talk time and 100 hours on standby, according to Gizmodo. Yet, while we're all for wireless technology wherever we can get it, we might be worried about this thing getting lost in our aural canal.

Jeb Bush bids farewell, but his BlackBerry lives on

Leaving all personal opinions about Jeb Bush's legacy aside, it's worth noting, from a technology perspective, that he chose to include his BlackBerry in the backdrop of his official gubernatorial portrait in an attempted nod to his role as the first "e-governor," according to press reports.

Last week, at the close of the Florida governor's two-term administration, he revealed the portrait, in which he's standing next to a bookshelf topped with a family photo and his beloved device. Bush reportedly received tens of thousands of e-mails sent to his very public address, Jeb@Jeb.… Read more

Alarm clock for the self-absorbed

If you're ever in search of a gift for the true narcissist in your life, this may be one worth consideration. You also have our deepest sympathies.

The "Ventriloque" records the voice of your favorite egoist so that he can wake up to his favorite sound--his own voice, of course. (You can always record over the voice just to be irritating.)

Uber-Review says the clock, which is made by France's Tse & Tse Associates, also has a snooze alarm. That may come in handy, or even necessary, depending on how boring your acquaintance sounds.

Printer looks like parking ticket device

The nano-ization of gadgetry has often left printers behind--a frustration for those of us who can't seem to shake the pulp fix no matter how hard we try. Brother Japan tries to address that addiction with a super-thin "MPrint" MW-260, a hanheld printer that's less than three-quarters of an inch thick and weighs about 1.2 pounds.

Aside from its size, the printer is even more portable because it can work wirelessly via Bluetooth more than 30 feet away from laptops, smart phones, PDAs and other devices, according to Fareastgizmos. And you won't need to … Read more