Gadgets & Gizmos: October 2012
Romancing the Mixtape
Long ago in the age of analogue, there existed a mating ritual where an interested party would record some of their favourite songs onto a magnetic tape for the one they sought. Well, dinosaurs of the digital age, you can now relive your glory days with Makerbot’s Mixtape. This cassette shaped MP3 player hooks up via USB to your computer to let you upload up to 2GB worth of MP3s, which your amour can then plug into the built-in headphone jack and swoon along to.
Price: RMB 247. Web: www.makerbot.com/mixtape
Health Keyboard
The ‘Shift’ keys won’t shift. There are spaces near the ‘Enter’ key that nothing can enter. The space bar is longing for space. All those days of lunching at your desk have certainly upped your productivity, but your keyboard has become a gridlocked biohazard. Logtitech’s Washable Keyboard makes this a problem of the past; with laser printed, UV coated keys and waterproofing of up to 11 inches of water, giving your keyboard a rinse down after Barbecue Day in the office has never been so easy.
Price: 169. Web: www.logitech.com.cn/en-cn/keyboards/keyboards/washable-keyboard-K310
Well Dressed
You may think you’re Mr Health Nut, putting everyone to shame with those daily salads, but all that store-bought salad dressing you’re dumping on top of that fresh fruits and vegetables is chock full of sugar, preservatives and chemicals with unpronounceable polysyllabic names. Still, don’t worry. Now you can lose the store-bought stuff once and for all with the battery powered Prepara Dressing Whiz, letting you blend your own homemade salad dressings in a snap.
Price: RMB 190. Web: www.prepara.com/dressing-whiz
Taking Lapse
As a jet setting executive and avid smartphone videographer, you’ve done everything possible to steady your hand while panning over mountain vistas, epic meals and super sweet hotel rooms to share with the folks back home. But still that shakiness of the video ruins the ability to inspire awe, doesn’t it? Enter The Camalapse, an affordable way to get professional time lapse photography on either your camera or smartphone.
Price: RMB 158. Web: http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/camalapse
Marshalling the Music
Those dreams of rock stardom may have never really materialised, but man, if you don’t rock hard while strutting down the streets to tunes on your iPhone. Amp up your grooving to the next level with these Minor FX headphones from Marshall. Complete with an Apple certified microphone and remote, a set of four interchangeable silicone earpads and the iconic Marshall name emblazoned all over them, these earphones will make you the king of air guitar in no time.
Price: RMB 602. Web: www.marshallheadphones.com/product/minor-fx
Symphony in 8-Bit
Those who can remember playing the classic 8-bit game Tetris will never forget the theme music. Just a few seconds of that Russian-sounding motif are enough to bring a smile and possibly induce hallucinations of block shapes falling from the sky. For better or for worse, the Pianocade synthesiser lets you relive the sounds of your 8-bit past again in the 21st century.
Price: RMB 1,624. Web: www.pianocade.com
Talk to the Hand
Spending a day out skiing, but still want to take calls? Want to chat with the family while on expedition in Antarctica? No problem. The folks at Hi-Fun have really put their finger on something, literally. Hi-Call gloves not only are snug, but they have a microphone in the pinky and a speaker in the thumb that let you talk on the phone wirelessly using Bluetooth technology.
Price: RMB 409. Web: www.hi-fun.com/en/accessori-iphone-ipod-ipad/hi-call
App of the Month: China Taxi
Sure, you love all the old classics like Mario, but don’t you wish there was a version that played on those impressive China surroundings? Now there is, with this side scrolling game China Taxi that allows you to lose yourself in the world of Ancient China as a rickshaw carrier while avoiding obstacles and collecting coins. It’s a fare play indeed.
Price: RMB 6. Web: www.keyloft.com/game_chinataxi1.html
