Christmas Supplement: Gadgets & Gizmos
Instant Proof
Still a true believer in Santa Claus? This Christmas when Saint Nick comes slinging down the chimney make sure you're able to provide photographic evidence to the naysayers. The Polaroid Z340 Instant Digital Camera makes sharing your candid shots of Chris Kringle both fun and easy with the ability to preview and crop pictures before printing them out instantly. Best of all, utilising ZINK® Zero Ink® Printing Technology you won't have to hem and haw awkwardly while waiting for the proof to develop. No shaking required!
Price: RMB 1,900. Web: store.polaroid.com
Ready to Wear, Ready to Feast
For many, the holiday season means one feast after another. Honey-glazed hams, mashed potatoes, thick gravy, stuffing and, of course, turkey all make their way onto the table and down your gullet by the plateful. Sure, you could guiltily try to compensate for your over-consumption by hitting the gym, but why not opt to embrace your gluttony with a fashion statement instead? And we're not talking wider pants (although you might need a pair of those, too). It's a turkey-shaped tuque! What better way to arrive to a feast than with turkey on the brain?
Price: RMB 190. Web: www.fredflare.com
A Gamer's Salvation
Last year around holiday time you bought yourself a brand new iPad. You were the talk of the office, the envy of the subway. You procrastinated with more style than anyone else, flicking through the finest of apps on your giant touchscreen, sniggering at everyone else with their puny smartphones. But now that they've caught up, what can you do? Check out Ion Audio's iCade, a retro-styled arcade where you can dock your iPad and play games using a full-sized joystick and eight buttons. It even comes with a free download of the Atari Greatest Hits app on the iTunes store to get you started. You'll be wasting time in no time.
Price: RMB 635. Web: www.ionaudio.com
Heading Off the Relatives
Going home for the holidays is a pleasant time for most of us, but for some, spending time with family can be a difficult and arduous affair. Luckily TV can help whittle away the time and keep moments of discomfort between relatives to a minimum. Of course, if you're looking for a real audio-video distraction, it's tough to beat Sony's HMZ-T1. This sci-fi approved, visor-mounted 3D TV system features two HD OLED displays ready to beam directly into the eyeballs of you or your most rascally of kin to effectively immerse them in a virtual world.
Price: RMB 5,080. Web: store.sony.com
Vicarious Video
The kid in all of us remembers the days of playing with Hot Wheels, slinging die-cast matchbox cars around loop-de-loops, catapulting them across the room through circuits almost as harrowing as Shanghai traffic. In the information age, this exhilarating experience has reached a new level. With the Hot Wheels Video Racer, you can film up to 24 minutes of video and audio footage from the point of view of your matchbox car all ready for upload and editing. The racer also comes with a sticky Velcro strap allowing you to attach your racer and use it as a stunt cam for whatever crazy maneuver you want to broadcast to the world, even braving the streets of Shanghai.
Price: RMB 350. Web: www.hotwheels.com
No Turtle Doves Here
As the millions of purchasers of the application Angry Birds can attest, it's a game that will quickly take over your life. When away from your mobile device, you'll be dreaming up strategies to pass the newest level by flinging your bird at just the right trajectory. For the uninitiated, beware. No part of your life is immune. At work, while driving and in bed with your significant other, you'll be thinking about Angry Birds. For those wishing to embrace their passion for this avian time drain this holiday, be sure you grab a set of 16 Angry Birds Christmas tree ornaments, ready to help you spread the cheer and maybe provide inspiration on how to beat the newest level.
Price: RMB 160. Web: www.amazon.com
The Next Dimension in Printing
It's gift buying time again, and truth be told, we are rarely faced with finding a gift for someone who has everything. Chances are more than likely that we'll be trying to buy a gift for the person who wants everything. Lucky for you, the gift of giving it all is now possible thanks to the wonders of modern technology. The Makerbot Thing-O-Matic is a 3D printer that can make just about anything (in miniature, at least). The machine works by spitting out layer upon later of hot plastic according to a design which can be self-made or downloaded from a website like the modeling forum Thingiverse.com. The result is the ability to custom make in plastic just about anything you could ever want.
Price: RMB 8,250. Web: www.makerbot.com
Anyone Can (Really) Play Guitar
There was once a time when aspiring, yet unmotivated would-be guitarists would have to stick to air guitar when doing their rendition of 'Jingle Bell Rock'. Then Guitar Hero came along and legions of the musically untalented thought themselves savvy by clicking away on miniature guitars. Still, actual guitar players could rest easy knowing that mastery of the instrument came from hard work far away from a video game. However, the coming of Rocksmith looks to change all of that. This recently released video game from Ubisoft allows you to plug an actual guitar into a USB port and play along through songs until you reach mastery. Prepare for some real 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree'.
Price: RMB 500. Web: rocksmith.ubi.com
