With all these ‘smart’ devices out there, one glaring component has been sorely overlooked in the electronics-with-a-brain category: the charger. Yes, the little thing that delivers your phone’s precious juice has been an afterthought… until now. The Powerslayer is billed as a smart USB charger that intelligently powers up your devices while eliminating energy waste and improving long-term battery performance. Thanks to the embedded software, Powerslayer powers off and on automatically, delivering energy only as needed to protect against over-charging. It’s made in California and they have some pretty smart people there if you subtract the Clippers management.
Category: Tech
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Solid Gold iPhone 5s: Can You See Me Now?
How does one stand out in a sea of similar S4s and identical iPhones? You go for the gold. Goldgenie’s solid gold iPhone 5s ($3,289) is made from pure 24-karat gold and that will definitely get Siri jealous, so watch out for that. You can also choose from platinum or rose gold, and each phone is unlocked and comes in an elegant box Cherry Oak finish box. It’s not the absolute greatest use of solid gold we’ve ever seen, but it’s damn close.
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Omate TrueSmart Smartwatch 2.0: The 1st Complete Wearable?
Whether it’s the Pebble, Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, Qualcomm Toq, or any other number of new smartwatches, it seems each one always has (at least) one chink in its armor. But here comes this little Omate TrueSmart Smartwatch 2.0 ($249), and it appears to have just about every box checked. First off, the thing is actually a phone. Yes, you can make and receive calls on it. There’s a 720p camera on the side for photos and video, it’s got Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, there’s a slot for a SIM card slot, and wait… hold on… yes… we canfrim this… it has PONG! Or at least a Pong screensaver. Either way, when you have cutting edge 21st tech on your wrist and Pong, you’re doing something really right.
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Go Green with the McIntosh MT5 Turntable
Vinyl sales have mounted a comeback that rivals any hail mary in sports. Unlock their superior sound quality with the McIntosh MT5 Turntable ($6500). Powered by a Swiss-made motor, two magnets suspend the silicon acrylic platter. This wizardry prevents the extraneous noise lower end turntables produce. Marvel at the trademark bright green McIntosh glow against the black glass beneath. Definitely not a turntable left out for when the drunk frat bros wanna play dj.
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Motorola CEO Apologizes for Moto X Cyber Monday Site Outage
Those of you hoping to get the $349 Moto X on Cyber Monday instead received a full day of site outages and fail. It’s like Motorola’s site saw the upcoming onslaught of customers, curled up into a ball and whimpered ‘no mas’. The well-received phone was set for a huge Cyber Monday discount of $150, bringing the contract-free versions of the 16gb and 32gb phones down to a respective $349 and $399. Great deal considering the specs.
Unfortunately, much like many of your hopes and dreams, it was not meant to be. However, props to Motorla for realizing their situation and correcting it. Their CEO, Dennis Woodside, came out today and issued an explanation and apology for the Cyber Monday snafu.
“I want you to understand what happened, and what we are doing to rectify the situation.”
“First, we misjudged the overwhelming consumer demand for Moto X, which was far greater than we expected.”
“Second, our pre-sale site testing was not sufficiently extensive. Testing failed to reveal weaknesses caused by large volumes of concurrent orders flowing through the MotoMaker customization engine.”
“Thus, when we opened the promotion this morning, an extraordinary spike in concurrent orders caused our website to go down. We couldn’t fulfill orders. The site became unstable. While some orders were filled, many customers tried all day to place their orders, unsuccessfully. Customers were left frustrated.”
They’ve decided to reschedule their promotion and add an additional day to buy, doubling the number of devices for sale (although how many is uncertain) and extending their 30% accessories sale.
So for all you Moto X fans out there, you’ll have twice the number of chances to score a great phone at a great price.
We reached out to Motorola for a technical explanation on the site outages, but didn’t receive any response at this time.
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PowerUp 3.0: The Smartest Paper Airplane We Know
Paper airplane crashes are funny, but they also can hurt–on the inside. When you see your aircraft nosedive into the carpet, it’s a harsh reminder that you mastered neither real physics nor the fun goof-off kind of physics in college. But the PowerUp 3.0 ($40) aims to make any chump a champ as it’s the world’s first smartphone-controlled paper airplane. All you have to do is fold a piece of paper into a plane, attach the PowerUp 3.0 (there’s a propeller/rudder in the back and the Bluetooth tech and rechargeable battery are in the front), and let ‘er rip. It’s built tough and said to be crash-proof, so even when — at its max speed of 10 mph — it hits the pavement, you’ll feel good about giving it the old college try again.
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Petchatz: Talk Doggie To Me
Need a Fluffy fix at work? Wanna fire off a treat to Fido? This is all now possible with PetChatz ($350). Just mount it over any electrical outlet in your home, connect it to your Wi-Fi network, then shirk work all afternoon as you see and talk to your little critter from your computer or smartphone. You can remotely trigger an all-natural goodie to drop from the dispenser, and even release your pet’s favorite scents from the device. Better double up on the Dog Ass capsules.
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LOCK8: World’s First Smart Bike Lock
Now that we’re not 7-years-old anymore, most of us have stopped getting our bikes stolen from us in-person. I say ‘most of us’ because I must admit, Butch, the neighborhood bully, actually did swipe my Huffy the other day. But this story isn’t about me, nor the ethically-challenged Butch; it’s about those other crafty thieves that prefer to do their dirt while we’re not watching. Lock8 is the world’s first GPS-tracked, siren-alarmed, sensor-enabled bicycle lock. This thing is bad news for those guys. There’s no key involved here, just use your smartphone to lock and unlock the device on your bike. And if your bike still does get stolen, the GPS will tell you exactly where it is. (Probably at Butch’s treehouse, FYI.)