(Credit:
Kitty Hell)
Pink Gundams. Hello Kitty Imperial Stormtroopers. What next? How about Darth Vader in pinkish white with a Hello Kitty badge? One can almost hear the collective shrieks of outrage from hard-core fans condemning the blasphemous culprits to a special kind of hell.
But hey, even Sith Lords get bored with the same old wardrobe year in, year out. And you gotta hand it to the power of Cute over the Dark Force. Will Kitty assimilate the Borgs next? It may very well be that resistance is futile.
(Source: Crave Asia via Kitty Hell)
OK. So we promised you on last week's episode that we would do a single-purpose gadgets episode this week. Turns out, promising that type of thing in advance isn't such a good idea as we actually had to work to find gadgets that fit the theme. So we made it, but admittedly by the skin of our collective teeth. It's all worth it for the segments, though. Patience, young grasshopper!
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EPISODE 149
Sony responds to Kindle onslaught with Reader Touch and Pocket
Pancake machine churns 200 flapjacks per hour (thanks, Peter Lee!)
Multiblade pizza slicer guarantees perfect-sized slices
Lava Lamp returns as Mathmos Fireflow
A Propos (of) Nothing
The Wall-E USB drive is too cute for even baby talk to describe
This week in hello kitty
Hello Kitty limited edition Casio Exilim EX-Z2
It’s About Time
Darth Vader clock radio has no patience for your sloth
PRETTY
Bugatti Diva espresso machine inspires poetry
Potty Time
Public urinal lets you pee into the wall
Kill Me
Sony’s new “Girlz Play Too” campaign
Pink Watch (Kill Me Edition)
ChicBuds “by women, for women”
Command your own fleet of nerds with this replica of the original Star Trek communicator, and guess what? It also happens to double as a VOIP phone, meaning you can use it to actually talk to another human being using Skype, AOL Instant Messenger, iChat, etc...
Bad news, though: unfortunately, the device does not have built-in Wi-Fi, so you must use USB for connectivity...worst. communicator. ever. Good news, though! Whoever designed this replica had the foresight (and the fear of vengeful Trekkies everywhere) to include buttons that play sound effects from the original series and a real mesh flip cover, just like the original!
Since I'm not cool enough to make a relevant joke about the authenticity of this device, I asked a co-worker for his thoughts and he scoffed in my face, telling me he'd rather wait for a badge communicator from TNG (The Next Generation) that works as Bluetooth speakerphone. Transport beam should be available for $20 more.
The Star Trek USB Communicator is available now for $75.
(Credit:
Geeks are Sexy)
With companies downsizing in the current economic crisis, and the lucky pool of survivors having to shoulder their absent co-workers' load and slog it out, there's never been a greater need than now to flog the whip, ah, motivate the office geeks.
Thanks to the site Geeks Are Sexy, inspiration lies close at hand. Enter the original Man in Black, who's been known to enforce inspire unquestioning obedience teamwork wherever he treads. Motivation on a poster has never looked so geekily sexy.
(Via Crave Asia)
(Credit:
Gizmodo)
Non-Star Wars enthusiasts may find these items utterly tacky on their desktops, but the official R2D2 and Darth Vader USB hubs were designed for hardcore fans who are in a galaxy of their own, far far away. In addition to the four USB ports, the R2 hub turns its head, lights up, and whistles the signature sounds associated with the droid. The Vader model features its own sound effects and glowing red eyes.
Unfortunately, the USB hubs appear to be located in a particular region of the universe called Japan, at least for now. Though we're sure that with so many Star Wars devotees patrolling our galaxy for such paraphernalia, it really shouldn't be too hard to find one popping up on online stores and auction sites soon enough. Gizmodo says both the R2D2 and Darth Vader USB hubs will retail for $66 each starting in July.
(Source: Crave Asia)
(Credit:
PlayStation.Blog)
(Credit:
StarWars.com)
It's perhaps telling that, when it comes to Star Wars products, representatives of the Dark Side are often far more popular than their counterparts from the Jedi portions of the galaxy. (All the evidence one needs can be found in the Darth Vader hot-air balloon.) Today will prove no exception when Sony distributes a limited-edition Darth Vader PSP to accompany the release of Renegade Squadron, the new installment of the Star Wars Battlefront series. The specially designed PSP is part of the Battlefront Entertainment Pack, which Wired says will also include a Han Solo case, though only for the first 200 die-hards waiting at the Sony Metreon event in San Francisco. We suspect there'll be some familiar faces in line.
(Credit:
ThinkGeek)
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there were nowhere near as many in-car distractions as there are these days. However, unlike cell phones and DVD players, here's one almost anyone will welcome with open arms.
The Star Wars Talking Dashboard Statues (take your pick from Darth Vader, Yoda, and C3PO) are one of the latest offerings from ThinkGeek. The awesomeness is priced at $9.99 per statue.
Part hula girl, part spiritual GPS guide, the statues blurt out famous Star Wars quotes every time you press a button on its base or hit a pothole.
It's a little disappointing that there's no Obi-Wan Kenobi statue, but I guess Yoda has all the Jedi training quotes covered. What's more, any sadness caused by Obi-Wan's omission is overshadowed by the sheer joy at the lack of a Jar-Jar Binks statue.
ThinkGeek also has a YouTube video of the Darth Vader statue in action.
(Credit:
Footurama)
Since when do sneakers qualify as gadgets? They don't--that is, unless they have anything to do with Star Wars. Then, of course, they're fair game for Crave.
And as we all know, if an item involves Lord Vader even in the slightest tangential way, it get double points. (Triple if it's posted by Declan McCullagh.) So what exactly, you might ask, are we talking about today? Feast your Jed-eyes on this pair of Darth-themed sneakers reportedly in the works by Adidas to commemorate this year's 30th anniversary of the day Chewbacca stomped his way into our hearts.
The leather shoes and their laces are all black, naturally, with pale gold logos and lettering, according to GeekAlerts. No pricing or release information was available, but we're sure they'll end up on eBay if nowhere else. We just hope, for their sake, that they do better than the $79 high bid for those Apple shoes.
Why is Darth Vader still the baddest of the bad? It's not because he has USB keys and hot-air balloons in his image, it's because he doesn't put up with jerks on their cell phones.
This commercial played Monday before a special screening of Star Wars for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
(Credit:
Amazon)
Star Wars merchandising has always been hot, of course, and everyone's favorite--the "Lightsaber"--is always at the top of the list. Witness the Lightsaber remote, phone and MP3 player, just to name a few. But we had no idea that there would be competition in a subcategory like Lightsaber umbrellas.
Uber-Review notes that the latest entry to this coveted market is no ordinary bumbershoot, belonging to none other than Lord Vader himself, in all his dark glory. Amazon describes it as "an incredibly limited edition item" from Japan that's "40 inches across and features an automatic telescoping action." (Only two were left as of this writing.)
All of which begs an obvious question, of course: Why would someone wears a helmet 24/7 need an umbrella, much less one from Amazon that costs $100? It makes us wonder what's on his wishlist.
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