Gadgets & Gizmos
One for the Road
Drinking and driving might be prohibited, but there’s nothing against drinking and cycling. In fact, judging by the midnight swerving of most bikes in Shanghai, the practice is downright commonplace. For those wanting to take their drunken joy riding to the next level, we have three words: Beer. Can. Cage. One of these handmade leather bad boys is sure to kick your boozing into high gear.
Price: RMB 517. Web: www.etsy.com
Here Comes the Sun
In the world of portable computing, power is a precious commodity and the territorial jousting over power plugs at airports and coffee shops is the stuff of modern legend. Eton’s Mobius solar powered iPhone cover aims to bring the rays of the sun into the equation. Letting your iPhone bask in the sun for one hour gives you an extra 20 minutes of internet or 145 minutes of audio playback. Prepare to fight for your place in the sun.
Price: RMB 504. Web: www.shopetoncorp.com
Whittle Away the Time
Want to make your own chess set? Got a thing for doll furniture? Need an army of action figures fast? Roland's iModela takes model making into the 21st century. Instead of spending hours whittling your own models, this milling machine crafts your thimble-sized masterpieces in minutes from wax, wood, plastic or foam using your own designs made with the iModela Creator software.
Price: RMB 7,320. Web: www.icreate.rolanddg.com
Desktop Pillaging
Your plans to build a robot army and achieve total world domination might be lagging, but you can still dream, can't you? Desk Pets' Tankbot is a fully functional mini tank that you control from your iPhone or Android phone. When your tankbot runs out of power after terrorising your desktop, you can use the built-in USB to charge it up.
Price: RMB 243. Web: www.mydeskpets.com
It All Pans In
A picture is worth a thousand words. A video, 10,000 maybe. But 360 degree video? With that you’re ready to become a photographic novelist, capturing scenes in their entirety. Kogeto’s panoramic lens attachment for your iPhone lets you shoot dizzying HD 360 panoramic video with ease. Complete with a free downloadable app, you can share your head-spinning masterpieces with the world.
Price: RMB 498. Web: www.photojojo.com
It's All in the Wrist
Fanatic fitness buffs and convalescing couch potatoes alike all want to keep track of their fitness goals. The NIKE+ Fuelband aims to make doing so easier with information on time, calories burned and steps taken displayed on its slick LED-laden, iPhone-syncable wristband. For the occasion, Nike has even invented a new fitness measurement, Nike Fuel, a normalised version of calories, adjusted for height, weight and gender.
Price: RMB 946. Web: www.nike.com
A Drop in the Bucket
It’s the nightmare of every smartphone owner. Be it poolside chatting, texting while doing the dishes or flashing pictures of an oncoming tsunami, once your baby touches H2O, it’s a no-go. California-based Liquipel claims to have wielded the wonders of nanotechnology to coat the circuitry of your smartphone, giving it the water resistance you need for peace of mind.
Price: RMB 435. Web: www.liquipel.com
App of the Month:
Charadium II
For the stickman artist in all of us comes Charadium II, blending the excitement of online chatting with picture charades. Chatters take turns drawing according to given prompts and are awarded points and rank for drawing and guessing successfully. There's also a turn-based version for perfectionists. Our bet is that this app is going to draw a lot of attention.
Price: Free or RMB 13 to unlock all drawing tools.
