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Stainless-Steel
Apple Shuffle |
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Sometimes
you just want to listen to music without all the fuss of tapping
tiny volume and selection buttons. Apple's iPod Shuffle, with
simple controls right on the earphone cord, allows you to do
just that. The 4 GB stainless steel Shuffle is not just the
world's smallest music player, but it also runs with the big
boys, holding up to 1,000 songs. We'd call that a triumph of
design.
Price: $99
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Etre Gloves |
The problem
with using touchscreen devices during winter is that tedious
task of sliding gloves on and off just to answer the phone or
check e-mails. Etre's Touchy gloves are without thumb and index
fingertips, giving those coveted phalanges the necessary freedom
to operate all manner of devices. They're fashionable too.
Price: $33.29
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Quiksilver Cypher
PS+ Heat Vest System |
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The bitter
cold of winter is slowly creeping up, and no matter how many
layers we pile on, the chill seems to cut right through. Made
for surfers, Quiksilver's Cypher PS+ heat vest system uses far
infrared fibers, which throw your body's heat right back at it,
to keep your core warm.
The flexible heating pads placed over
your kidneys are helped by a rechargeable battery. So you don't
paddle through the frigid waters off Patagonia? The Cypher PS+
is also perfect for early morning jogs or games at Lambeau
Field.
Price: $199.95
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Nook |
Out with the
old and in with the new. Barnes and Noble's nook is quickly
supplanting Amazon's Kindle as the must-have e-reader. Not only
is it the first e-book device that's 3G and wi-fi enabled, but
it also features a digital-lending capability, allowing you to
share e-books with your friends for up to 14 days. Better still,
that feature is not limited to other nook owners.
You can share
e-books with any device that has the Barnes & Noble eReader app,
which includes PCs, Macs, BlackBerrys and iPhones. Also, the 3.5
in. color touchscreen LCD at the nook's bottom is a snap to
navigate.
Price: $259
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Chrome Soyuz bag |
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Unlike other
laptop bags, Chrome's Soyuz doesn't sacrifice any technical or
functional characteristics just because you can slide your
laptop into it. The dual compartment rolltop backpack features a
fully waterproof main chamber, weatherproof urethane coated
(nice to the touch) YKK zippers, industrial metal cam lock
buckles and four weatherproof external pockets to store your
gear.
Also, contents in the main compartment won't ever seep
into the laptop compartment, so don't worry about transporting
your bottle of green tea along with your tech gear.
Price: $180
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PlayStation3 |
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We're not
pledging allegiance to any one gaming camp, but it's hard not to
love the updated PS3. It's still one of the best Blu-ray players
available, and it now also streams Netflix movies and TV shows,
just like that other guy.
It even comes with built-in wi-fi, so
you can browse the Web out of the box. Game-wise, it has a
number of exclusive titles, like Uncharted 2, Ratchet and Clank
Future: A Crack in Time and Katamari Forever. The new PS3
console has shed a few pounds and, more irresistibly, slashed
its price.
Price: $300 (120 GB) to $350 (250 GB)
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Darth Vader
Robotic Arm |
Next to a
life size Stormtrooper replica or an authentic lightsaber, the
Darth Vader robotic arm from Uncle Milton is quite possibly the
coolest Star Wars related toy we've seen this year. Vader's arm,
which comprises 45 pieces (you build it yourself), is fully
controllable, but it's not powerful enough to force choke your
enemies not unless your midi-chlorian count is as high as Anakin
Skywalker's.
Price: $30
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Nerf N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35 |
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Forty years
ago, Nerf introduced the "world's first official indoor ball."
The company's come a long way since then. Its latest toy is the
N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35, a pump action automatic dart
gun that packs a 35 dart rotating drum magazine and two firing
modes: automatic slam fire for multishots and the single-shot
slide mode. Either way, neither human nor pet will be safe from
the foam dart wielding menace.
Price: $30
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Spawn HD-720 |
Think of the
Spawn HD-720 as the gaming equivalent of a Slingbox. So when all
the TVs in your house are occupied, Spawn HD-720 still lets you
play a video game by connecting to your game console (Xbox 360
or PS3) remotely through your laptop.
Install the Spawn Player
application to your computer, and it works from the next room or
from thousands of miles away as long as you have an Internet
connection. Unlike the Slingbox, the Spawn HD-720 doesn't take
over your home TV from afar, just the game console. You can even
remotely participate in multiplayer matches.
Price: $200
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VholdR ContourHD |
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Capturing
your own daredevil shenanigans in HD has never been easier.
VholdR calls the ContourHD the "world's first and smallest
wearable HD video camera," which is mountable to your goggles,
helmet, handlebars or any other place that has a good view of
your extreme activity of choice.
The camera has a simple one
touch record button, a 135 degree viewing-angle lens and an
anodized aluminum body, which ensures it can take a tumble or
two whether your body can too is your problem.
Price: $300
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BlackBerry Bold 9700 |
It's not
only the newest, but possibly also the greatest BlackBerry to
date. With an optical track pad, added memory and a high
resolution screen, the Bold 9700 is the fastest and smallest
fully featured BlackBerry available to T-Mobile and AT&T
wireless customers.
A 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS and wi-fi are a
few of the key features that round out the latest 3G device. And
for T-Mobile customers only, the Bold 9700 has UMA support,
which allows users to avoid incurring high roaming charges while
traveling abroad by enabling data and voice connections over
wi-fi instead of foreign telecom networks. What more could you
ask for?
Price: Not yet priced
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Zune HD |
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This is the
third iteration of Microsoft's handheld entertainment device
since the Zune launched in 2006, and it's the strongest
competitor on the market to Apple's iPod Touch. The gorgeous 3.3
in. organic LED (OLED) touchscreen puts every other portable
device to shame.
Access to HD radio channels ensures a
radio-listening experience equal to that of CD-quality sound.
Built-in wi-fi gives way to the Zune Marketplace, where with a
monthly $15 Zune Pass you can stream and purchase your choice of
more than 6 million tracks through the Zune HD or Web browser. A
multitude of videos, podcasts, games and apps are also available
to help occupy your time.
Price: $219.99 for 16 GB; $289.99 for 32 GB
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NPR Radio by Livio
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Does the
start of your morning coincide perfectly with the start of NPR's
Morning Edition? Do you remember a time when you listened to Car
Talk while you were actually in a car? It doesn't matter
anymore, because NPR now offers its own Internet radio: a stand
alone box about the size of an old fashioned tuner that streams
programming from more than 800 NPR stations and 16,000 Internet
radio stations throughout the world. A dedicated NPR menu allows
listeners to navigate to their favorite bookmarked programs and
record up to two weeks' worth of programming. It even works as
an alarm clock if you still need one of those.
Price: $199.99
Gunnar Optiks Digital Performance Eyewear
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We all spend
a fair amount of time in front of our computers, and whether
we're taking in news from around the world or the latest viral
video on YouTube, chances are it's taking a toll on our eyes.
Gunnar Optiks' i-AMP technology lenses are engineered to reduce
eye fatigue and crafted with enough style to keep you from
looking like a Poindexter. If the amber tinted lenses make too
much of a statement, go for clear and prescription-cut lenses to
mask your high level of nerdism.
Price: $79-$150
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Samsung Series 8 LED 240-HZ HDTV |
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Whether
you're into sports or the latest Blu-ray release, Samsung's
Series 8 line of LED HDTVs offers some of the best features and
picture quality available today. Because they're LED based, the
Series 8 sets consume far less power than LCD and plasma
televisions. They're also wafer thin, at 1.6 in. deep, and
Samsung's Auto Motion Plus 240 Hz reduces motion blur during
sports and fast-paced chase scenes. It's the ideal TV for movie
night and your upcoming Super Bowl party.
Price: $2,999.99-$4,499.99
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Powermat |
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In a perfect
world, we'd never have to plug in our handheld devices to
recharge them. That gadget-reviving utopia is still a few years
away, but in the meantime, Powermat offers the next best thing
with its Portable Mat and Home & Office Mat.
Just place your
worn-out gadget on the mat, and it starts rejuicing. Each mat
can charge up to three devices using only one power outlet,
eliminating that unsightly mess of cords cluttering your desktop
or night table. You'll need to purchase Powermat receivers for
each device (BlackBerrys, iPhone or iPod, Nintendo DS) or pick
up the Powercube universal receiver, but it's worth it for a
simple system that's one step closer to a completely wireless
recharging solution.
Price: Starts at $99
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Sonos S5 |
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Sonos is
best known for its multiroom networked streaming-music hardware,
but the company now offers an all-in-one solution with the
ZonePlayer S5. The five speaker system streams not only the
songs stored on your home network but also music from last.fm,
iTunes, Napster, Pandora, Rhapsody and Sirius, as well as the
25,000 plus Internet radio stations scattered throughout the
world. It's ultra-portable, so you don't need to invest in
multiple ZonePlayers for each room in the house, and for added
portability there's even an iPhone app.
Price: $399
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WD TV Live HD Media Player |
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Physical
media haven't gone the way of the dodo yet, but those
visionaries who have already converted their video libraries to
digital now have an effective solution for viewing said digital
media on their television. Western Digital's WD TV Live media
player plays numerous video formats in both standard-definition
and full HD video.
Whether they're stored on your home network
or an external hard drive, this device is a simple and
inexpensive way to access all your digital videos regardless of
what format they're in. You can also use it to view pictures
from Flickr, stream music from Pandora or watch videos from
YouTube.
Price: $149.99
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Leatherman Freestyle CX |
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Bring on
those holiday gift blister packages because now you'll be duly
armed. In fact, you'll be ready for just about any challenge
requiring you to cut, snip or grab. Leatherman has been crafting
multi-tools out of Portland, Oregon since 1983 and the Freestyle
CX packing two pliers, two cutters and knife will likely outlive
any gadget you receive this year. Also, the stainless steel
bodied 5-in-1 tool is so compact that it can be opened with one
hand and slipped into any pocket. Just don't forget that you
have it on your person when en route to the airport.
Price: $72
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FLO TV Personal Television |
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With hectic
work schedules, it's hard to be near a TV at the exact time our
favorite shows hit the air. FLO TV is about to change that with
the FLO TV Personal Television. You may have seen FLO TV-enabled
mobile phones on AT&T and Verizon, but the PTV is a dedicated
mobile TV viewing device.
The 3.5 inch touch screen PTV streams
live programming and previously aired content from the likes of
ESPN, Comedy Central, MTV, NBC and CNN for up to five hours.
Channel surfing on the PTV is as easy as swiping your finger up
or down, and the built-in stand saves you from having to hold
the device for extended periods of time.
Price: $249.99 with 6 months of FLO TV service
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