Gadget news

Why can't every dull domestic task involve a ridiculously cute appliance like this one?

I would actually look forward to pulling on the gardening gloves and clogs if I had this shiny white toy to play with. I mean, it's an electric lawnmower-slash-mulcher shaped like a bubble. With neon green accents! Sigh.

Alas, the Droplet Electric Mower/Mulcher is but a prototype created by Australian designer Ashley Marsh-Croft. Ash-Design.com says the Droplet is designed with small spaces in mind and meant to improve the gardening experience. Check aaaand check. I'm sold. Can they just please make … Read more

Here in America, we like to see cause and effect. Use a gun--go to jail. Sixteen tons, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.

Joining this pantheon of maxims is "Buy a phone, get some money off your next purchase." First Circuit City came up with a $99 notebook. It costs $399 ordinarily, but if you sign up for 12 months of Vonage, you get the notebook for $99.

CompUSA, Motorola and the main cellular carriers will come out with their own formulation this Friday, according to an ad scan at Black Friday 2006… Read more

That chill in the air means two things: the holidays are approaching, and the height of sports gambling season is upon us. The upcoming slate of college bowl games, the Super Bowl, and March Madness always warms the heart of even the casual gambler.

But this year, techies can get in on the fun. A sports betting site called Bodog.com is taking bets on the launch date for Apple's long-rumored iPhone. Bodog's using the money line system to gauge whether Apple will introduce the iPhone by the end of April 2007, or whether it will introduce the … Read more

So here's the deal: Wired magazine has handpicked its choices for the hottest gadgetry of the 2006 holiday season, rented out a cool space in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood (the same space where Sony held its PlayStation 3 press preview a few weeks ago), and filled it with those gadgets--which ranged from a $19.95 Zero Blaster toy gun to an Infiniti G35 sport sedan.

Plus, Wired's publicity crew threw a reception Thursday night so that members of the press could check out the selection and enjoy refreshments courtesy of Budweiser and Yellow Tail. Here are a few … Read more

We're not fond of cliches here at Crave, but this really is one idea that's so crazy it just might work. Making it even more interesting, the product is made in China and distributed by company based in Chile (definitely un-cliche).

It's a lighted toothbrush. Don't laugh. We're not talking about just any blinking gizmo toy, but a toothbrush with a "high-intensity LED white light" and a built-in mirror on the back of the bristles that distributor Ribalderrama says can make brushing and oral self-examination much easier.

The Chilean company isn't stopping … Read more

What could be more annoying than a remote-controlled mosquito helicopter? A flying alarm clock that buzzes like one, as seen on Newlaunches. Think about it: Not only would you have a foreign object bouncing off your bedroom walls and ceiling, but it would be blaring its irritating alarm the whole time.

If this were in our house, it would only go off once. After that, it would be thrown out the window--open or not. So if you absolutely must have a flying alarm clock, we recommend this one instead. As Shiny Shiny points out, it's tethered to the ceiling … Read more

You may have seen something like this at a hotel or airport, but now it could be coming to your home (if you have an understanding spousal unit or significant other).

The Ronda Media Chair has a built-in computer with a router integrated into the frame and a power cord in the back. As Coolest Gadgets points out, no prices are available without asking the company directly.

The Ronda also includes optional creature comforts such as a matching two-seater bench or end table. If they can figure out a way to build in a coffee maker and a fridge, we'… Read more

Dinosaurs are known for a lot of things, but cuddly emotionalism isn't one of them

Ugobe will try to change that next year with "Pleo," an animatronic robotic dinosaur that reacts emotionally to its surroundings. If you talk cooingly to it, Pleo becomes more responsive, wagging its tail and offering to shake hands. But if you're curt, it can get depressed (the back slumps, it emits a mooing sound, the tail wags plaintively).

"You can consider it more of a lifelike creature than a toy," said CEO Bob Christopher in an interview in our … Read more

We make sport of robots here at Crave on occasion, but it's all in good fun. We'd like to state that for the record, now that we're afraid they may some day rule the world.

The latest fodder for our paranoia comes not from watching too many episodes of Battlestar Galactica, but from a reputable periodical. Science magazine is reporting today that mechanical engineers at Cornell University are working on a robot that can recover from injuries--we're not talking Terminator just yet, but it's definitely limping in that direction.

Cornell's four-legged prototype can, … Read more