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Read all posts matching 'color changey' in Crave

January 23, 2008 3:44 AM PST

Colored orbs of light and sound

by Mike Yamamoto
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(Credit: Moonlight)

From the bathtub to the bed, it's usually not hard to make sport of pointless mood-lighting products. Much to our surprise, however, we've encountered one that we might actually like.

Moonlight's "360-Degree Sound System" does more than just add a Barry White atmosphere; it also has speakers that can handle up to 200 watts of amplification in all directions, according to Technabob. If you combine these with Grundig's "Audiorama" speakers, you'll have sound in every molecule of your abode. As if that weren't enough, the audio orbs can also be equipped with LED bulbs--qualifying them for Caroline McCarthy's color-changey status.

November 29, 2007 2:13 AM PST

The Barry White of lightbulbs

by Mike Yamamoto
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(Credit: ThinkGeek)

Why did this LED lightbulb catch our eye? Three simple reasons: 1) We like LED stuff; 2) we like weird remotes even more, and 3) Caroline McCarthy demands that we post anything that might vaguely qualify as "color-changey."

Naturally, this multi-color LED lightbulb with remote was a no-brainer. The bulb, which we saw on the Gadgets Weblog, has 16 colors that can be adjusted at various brightness intensities and includes "transitions effects" such as longer times on particular colors and slow fades in between. Perfect to create the right mood, per orders from the The Ladies Man.

August 11, 2007 6:00 AM PDT

If Rubik's Cube morphed into a speaker

by Mike Yamamoto
  • 1 comment
(Credit: Discovery Communications)

Given that Rubik's and even Tetris cubes are particularly popular among Cravers, we thought this "Color Cube Speaker" might be an especially appropriate gadget to feature. The audio specs are fairly unremarkable, but that's forgivable because a product like this is all about the visuals, as indicated by its description: 48 colors, 16 multi-color cubes, 4 color patterns--you get the idea.

Oh, and if you happen upon a particular combination that strikes your fancy, you can freeze the colors in that pattern forever. But that might disqualify it as a "color-changey" objet d'art, which would undoubtedly upset our colleague Caroline McCarthy to no end.

June 8, 2007 2:05 PM PDT

Pimp your bathtub with this color-changing hub of pointlessness

by Caroline McCarthy
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(Credit: NCSX)

When it comes to bathtime, bubbles aren't just good enough anymore. You either need a floating music player, or maybe light-up disco balls for your bath salts. But even that might not suffice in today's cutthroat bathtub-gadget culture.

Enter the Aqua Rain, which does all of the following: 1) lights up via LED to illuminate your tub in soothing, color-changing hues, 2) plays waterfall noises, and 3) creates a mini-fountain of water. I'm normally a fan of things that change color, but really, I don't see any point to this whatsoever. And it's $40.

Next, please.

(Via Technabob)

May 21, 2007 6:00 AM PDT

ICFF Field Report: Testing out the trippy Transport sleeping pod

by Caroline McCarthy
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A few months back, the Transport pod created by Alberto Frias gained some serious blog buzz, and with good reason--what self-respecting tech blogger wouldn't want to write about a space-age sleeping pod equipped with speakers and color-changing LEDs that pulse along with the music?

(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET Networks)

Consequently, while wandering around at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in NYC on Sunday, I spotted one of the cocoon-like Transport pods on display and more or less squealed. Frias himself was there to show it off, and the first question I asked was, "Can I go inside?" I wasn't expecting Frias to say yes, but he did, so I promptly kicked off my sneakers and dove in.

The view from inside. That's my right leg, for the record.

(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET Networks)

Well, here's what it's like. First of all, it's super comfortable. I mean, really sink-in-and-immediately-fall-asleep comfortable. The LEDs aren't too bright, and cycle through a sequence of soft colors that are indeed very soothing. Frias recommended that I stare at the ceiling because the colors would dilate my eyes and start to create a sort of 3D illusion--tough to explain, but it did actually happen. Very trippy indeed.

The only negatives: it's a little bit tough to climb in and out, and additionally, there does appear to be strong potential for whacking one's head on the ceiling. Nevertheless, I'm totally enamored by it. Prices start at around $10,000. Who wants to buy me one?

P.S.: I'll be posting a few more ICFF recaps over the course of the day. Want more? NOTCOT blogger Jean Aw has been snapping lots of photos too.

May 14, 2007 5:44 AM PDT

Do you want your music to emanate from psychedelic eyeballs?

by Caroline McCarthy
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(Credit: AudioCubes.com)

You do? Good. Then these are perfect for you. The Toyo I-Lit TwinSpin speaker system, a Japanese import, is a set of desktop speakers that do look peculiarly similar to eyeballs. But that's not all. They've got LEDs in them that pulsate to the beat of your music, and said LEDs change color along with the volume. They're $69.

Never mind that it's a little bit creepy to have a set of giant eyeballs on your desk playing music. It's a bit Big Brother-ish, even. But I suppose we can all deal with that.

I know you want them.

(Via Technabob)

April 24, 2007 7:03 AM PDT

Just a fiber-optic jellyfish in the ocean of your pool

by Caroline McCarthy
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(Credit: Frontgate)

There are certain gadgets that make me wish I had a swimming pool. Namely, pirate ships, remote-controlled water cannons, and Robo-Shark. Then there's this one, the floating jellyfish pool light.

They're pretty much completely awesome; the top lights up and changes color, and the tentacles are made of glowing fiber optics. They'd be the perfect decoration for all your pool parties! Unfortunately, they aren't remote-controlled, nor do they squirt water at people. That's why I classify them as "pretty much completely awesome" rather than "completely awesome."

The price, at $59 a pop, is also not particularly ideal. Oh, well.

But on an unrelated note, when I think of "jellyfish" and "parties," I typically think of that String Cheese Incident song that describes the aftermath of a tequila-infused night with the lyrics "now all I really want from life is to crawl back into bed/on account that my brain is just a jellyfish in the ocean of my head." Kind of profound imagery there.

(Via Uber-Review)

April 13, 2007 5:05 AM PDT

If this shower were a shoe, it'd be a Louboutin stiletto with diamonds

by Caroline McCarthy
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(Credit: Signorini Design)

At Crave, we're all about living the high life, or at least pretending we can--it sure beats Hello Kitty sometimes. You know, flying cars, Ferrari phones, and speaker-equipped cocoon beds. Basically, if it's gorgeously yet somewhat-obnoxiously designed, we're all over it (vicariously).

Consequently, we are totally drooling over this shower from Signorini Design (yup, it's Italian). Not only does it pour water forth from a sleek metallic block rather than a typical shower head, but a set of colored lights can illuminate the water in your shade of choice. Which means--yes!--it's color-changey. That basically seals the deal for us...er, maybe just me.

(Via Geeksugar)

April 10, 2007 4:56 AM PDT

A simple way to bring LED love into your life

by Caroline McCarthy
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(Credit: Lounge Light USA)

The Lounge Light Projector might resemble a can of WD-40 more than anything else, but it's actually a lamp affixed to a battery that can keep whatever-you-want lit up for 150 hours. (That's the battery life. The bulb itself lasts a whopping 100,000 hours.)

Plus, to use one of my favorite expressions, it's color-changey! But if that annoys you too much, you can push a "color hold" button on the Lounge Light Projector to "freeze" the gadget on a color that you like.

It'd be cool if you could get a plug-in version of these, but for now, it looks like they're battery-only. But that's OK. The light itself only costs $15.95, and a pack of six refill batteries will also cost $15.95. Not bad at all.

(Via Technabob)

April 5, 2007 10:08 AM PDT

Yet another astro-gadget: the Aurora Borealis simulator

by Caroline McCarthy
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Recently we've been digging astronomy gadgets around these parts (and astro-mashups on Webware). Most of the time, they deal with plain old stargazing or the simulation thereof. This Japanese import, however, deals with recreating the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) on your wall, ceiling, or projector screen of choice.

The gadget in question is a 6-inch-tall lamp, retailing for the Japanese equivalent of slightly over $60, which runs on AA batteries and even comes with a sleep timer so that you can use it as a sort of visual lullaby. It obviously isn't an exact scientific reproduction, but for those of us who don't get to see the Northern Lights on a regular basis, it probably has a cool novelty effect. And as always, don't underestimate its potential as a party gadget.

(Via Technabob)

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