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Sports fans can easily find the live stadium experience to be paradoxically out of touch compared with the instant stats, superior commentary, and HD replays available to home viewers. DVRs, HDTVs, and smartphones can't follow you to the live game. At stadiums, it's hard to get any smartphone to work properly. Streaming radio apps black out live game broadcasts, unless you're using Sirius. As for video, unless you've got some portable TV with an HDTV antenna converter box, you're out of luck.

This is the promise that NFL FanVision offers to a seasoned fan. At first glance, the device--a dedicated ruggedized handheld with a 4.3-inch screen formerly used at Nascar events--looks like a castoff from the early '00s, some idea of a personal media player from the early age of iPods. Purportedly waterproof (though we didn't test it) and boasting a 6-hour battery life for streaming, it's a bit too big to pocket and hangs from a lanyard around one's neck. Sure, it's not nearly as elegant as an iPhone. What it does, however, bears consideration. A live TV feed of the current game (plus audio commentary), multiple viewing angles, instant multi-angle replay after every play, plus live video of other games around the league, the NFL Red Zone channel, and stats...it's compelling for a hard-core fan.

How it works Others might ask, why not just watch the real live game in front of you? That's a valid point, but not for me. I'm a New York Jets fan, and my dad has been one for 45 years. We know the players, and we like to know what's happening down to the fine details. FanVision's audio commentary and stats offer more than what's given via the minimalist PA system and the infrequently updated HD megascreens. And instant replay, the killer app for the home user, is offered up at the press of a button.

Even better, FanVision seems to be set up to be overload-proof. FanVision works via a dedicated local UHF channel that's licensed to broadcast in the stadium and the parking lot area. The device is really a higher-tech TV, one that can receive up to 10 channels of digitally compressed video and stat data and cache highlight videos for replays. Once booted up via a small power button, the device locates the nearby broadcast tower and downloads team-specific data and channel programming. After a few minutes of initialization, the device is up and running. By avoiding Wi-Fi or 3G, FanVision's broadcast concept shouldn't suffer from slowdown.

It all sounds great on paper, but we wanted to test it for ourselves.… Read more

If you're a Miami Dolphins fan, FanVision might not be news. The handheld device, which rocks a 4.3-inch screen, was available to Dolphins fans all of last year, because it's Dolphins co-owner Stephen Ross' company. An attempt to answer back to high-quality HDTV feeds and interactive tools available at home, FanVision is an NFL technology debuting in a handful of stadiums starting with the imminent 2010 season. So far it'll be available in only 12 stadiums (for Cardinals, Bills, Dolphins, Broncos, Browns, Bears, Vikings, Jets, Eagles, Redskins, and Seahawks fans, specifically), in addition to being offered … Read more

Aside from selling inexpensive Android tablets, little-known company Abiko had another interesting gadget at its booth at Comex 2010 in Singapore--a bladeless fan. Yes, the electric fan trying to impersonate a lollipop from British company Dyson (read our hands-on coverage here) has been cloned.

Abiko doesn't use the fancy "Air Multiplier" moniker, but that doesn't matter since its version is indistinguishable from the original. The fan turns and tilts the same way, and the feel and position of the buttons all mimic Dyson's expensive table fan exactly.

The company is selling it at $223, $73 … Read more

After months or years of use, it's not uncommon for computers to become cluttered with unneeded and duplicate files. This not only takes up space that could be used to store useful data, but also contributes to poor performance. Disk Space Fan allows users to see exactly what's taking up room on their computers and eliminates the space-wasters. Although the program works just fine, it's definitely not the most intuitive we've ever seen.

The main problem that we encountered with Disk Space Fan is that it tries a little too hard to be cool, favoring sleek … Read more

A year ago when I first noticed a green dot had appeared on my PowerMac G5's display I was a bit disappointed, but not fully surprised because LCD pixels are known to die, go dim, or get stuck in a specific color. Not thinking much of it I dismissed it as a common issue and continued to use my computer; however, these dots were going to soon become a larger problem for me.… Read more

Eric Franklin once again invades the Crave podcast and is more than happy to provide his opinion on how unrealistic our latest Lego obsession is. Jasmine, on the other hand, is utterly unimpressed with the DIY power laces that aim to mimic the sweet Nikes from "Back to the Future II." But the tone turns hopeful when we get to Donald's army of beer-o-matic robots, and we're all a little taken with two sweet keyboards that take two totally different tacks.

Despite the fact that everyone else is talking about it, Donald and Jasmine can't help but be a little repetitive and froth at the mouths over Hulu Plus, a new app and premium service from the popular video-streaming provider. And of course, no Crave podcast would be complete without a little robotic action, and we're particularly fond of Emily. Also on deck: a tiny hypercolor man and a DIY Hello Kitty gadget that's sure to send Japanese teeny boppers screaming for the hills.

This week, Donald and Eric debate the dangers of robots, geodesic playgrounds, and real-life lightsabers. Plus, we take a look at some invisible cables, giant air multipliers, Catan for Microsoft Surface, and the e-reader's race to the bottom.

Last year, Dyson attracted a lot of attention with a couple of blade-free fans that used something called Air Multiplier technology to blow a nice, even stream of air to cool you down. Those 10 and 12-inch models aren't exactly cheap, costing $299.99 and $329. But instead of making more affordable fans, Dyson is coming out with two larger higher-end models that will cost $450.

The AM02 Tower (pictured left), available in iron, blue and silver, or just silver, stands 1m tall and measures 19cm wide, whereas the AM03 Pedestal fan is even larger and pumps out more … Read more