Like many hobbyists, I rely on a good soldering iron. I’ve been soldering since the 3rd grade, and I’ve had quite a few soldering irons over the years. I’m currently using a Weller soldering station that I’ve had over 20 years (still going strong), so when I had a chance to try a new Weller soldering iron with built-in LEDs, I jumped at the opportunity. I received the 25W Standard Duty soldering iron.
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Looking to take that FPS (First Person Shooter) experience to the next level? Are you tired of dropping the enemy like every other gamer out there? Do you want to have the baddest @ssed looking game controller in cyberspace? The the Delta Six game controller may be what you need to add to your gaming arsenal. The Delta Six is a FPS game controller built to look and feel like a real weapon. The Delta Six has the ability to know when you lift the controller to aim or move it to melee, it uses motion control as well as other technologies to achieve this level of sophistication. The Delta Six is built on the Arduino platform and is open source so developers can interface with it. The Delta Six is a Kickstarter project by David Kotkin and is seeking funding until June 7, 2013 with an estimated delivery in Dec 2013. This controller is compatible with the PC, XBOX and PS3 and will be upgradeable to the next generation systems via a downloadable patch. Funding options start at $1 and run to $500 with $159 getting you a Delta Six game controller.
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I was finally able to kick my daily 20 oz Diet Coke habit several months ago by using a 24 oz. Bubba Brands Hero insulated steel bottle. I fill with 5 ice cubes from home and when I get to work, I fill it with cold water and 2 Twinings Cold Brew iced tea bags. By noon I have perfect ice cold iced tea. That works great for lunch time, but I’ve been looking for an alternative to hot tea or plain water for the rest of the day. I think I have found what might be the perfect gadget solution with Zing Anything Aqua Zinger water bottles. The Aqua Zinger features a double walled stainless steel bottle with a BPA free plastic cap and special grinder section that screws to the bottom where you place pieces of fruit, mint, etc. When you twist that section, it grinds the pieces into pulp and allows the extracted flavors to travel through a fine-combed mesh screen to infuse the water. This results in a flavorful water, without sugar or chemical additives. Zing Anything offers 3 other Zingers including one made specifically for use with citrus and one for making salad dressings. Prices range from $16.99 – $25.99. They have sent me a few samples, so look for a review soon.
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I once saw a TV show where a woman was walking down a busy sidewalk, not doing anything in particular, not even bumping into the people she passed. She seemed innocent, but she had a RF reader in her bag that was scanning the RFID-enabled cards inside the wallets of everyone she passed, and she was able to use the information she gleaned walking down the street to make purchases against other people’s cards. Who knows what information about you is floating around out there just because you have one of those easy-pay credit cards or keychain fobs or because you are carrying your passport. I’ve written a lot of news posts about various RFID-blocking wallets, but most of those seem to be designed for men. This Card Case from StewartStand is in their Women’s line, and it, like their other accessories, incorporates stainless steel in the design to protect your information from RFID readers when you don’t want it read. How well does it work? [click to continue…]
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If you like to use fresh herbs in your cooking but you’re tired of how quickly those expensive packets from the grocery store wilt, you need the Herb Savor from Prepara. The Herb Savor has been proven to keep herbs fresh for up to three weeks. You just place the herbs in the basket with stems pointing down, rinse them, stand the basket in the base that’s been filled with fresh water, and place everything in the refrigerator. The Herb Savor also works to keep asparagus fresh. It’s available from Prepara (at the above link) for $29.99 or from Amazon for $27.89 (and eligible for Prime shipping).
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Friday’s LogicBUY Deal is the configurable 14″ Dell Inspiron 14Z Core i5 Ultrabook, starting at $549.99. Features:
$888.99 – $289 instant savings – $50 coupon code = $549.99 with free shipping. This is the lowest price ever found by LogicBUY for this product.
This deal expires May 22, 2013 or sooner. Check the above link for more details on this deal, and check the LogicBUY home page for other deals.
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As someone who loves music, is a wannabe musician, iPad mini owner and The Gadgeteer, I love any gadgets or apps that allow me turn my tablet into a musical instrument. We’ve seen apps that convert your iPad into a piano, guitar, ukulele and even a drum set. Using your fingers to play piano, guitar and uke apps feels pretty natural, but using your fingers to play a beat in a drum app just feels a little wrong. Drummerz Drumsticks are now available to bring a new level of realism to your tablet beats. These capacitive drumsticks are safe to use on your tablet’s display without fear of damage. Get a pair today for $34.99
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Surge protectors are a necessary part of a gadget-lover’s life, but they aren’t the prettiest equipment you own. I have an ugly gray surge protector peeping out from under my TV cabinet now. It doesn’t blend in with the shadows under the cabinet, and it certainly doesn’t match my hardwood floors. It could if I had an Invisiplug surge protector. They come in three hardwood finishes to help them blend in with the appearance of your hardwood floors or baseboards. The Invisiplug has a 3-ft grounded cord, master power switch, 15A circuit breaker, and is protected to 90 joules. It’s also wall-mountable. It’s available in light natural, medium cherry, or dark oak from Amazon for $15.99 (eligible for Prime shipping) or Lowes for $19.98.
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The majority of earphones today are just that – earphones. However, some audio companies have recently been creating music player apps that are tuned specifically for their particular earphone. When I first got a glimpse of the new EarPhone-12 from XTZ, I wondered if their digital sound processing (DSP), developed in conjunction with Dirac Research, would be as magical as promised. DSP has been XTZ’s main selling point for the EarPhone-12; it’s all over their marketing. In the end, I’m both impressed and disappointed in the thinking behind these audio beauties.
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With this 30-pin accessory, you can watch live TV broadcasts on your iOS device. You don’t need WiFi access, and you won’t use your data plan minutes, either. You do need to be in certain geographic areas in the US to use the Dyle mobile TV unit from Belkin, though. Dyle mobile TV broadcasts live local programming from major TV networks and uses the ATSC-M/H standard. To find out if you are in a coverage area, check Belkin’s coverage map. (Belkin says they will be adding new areas.) Dyle has a extendable titanium antenna for the best possible signal reception, and it has a microUSB port that can be used with an optional cable and charger that can recharge your iPhone (4/4S) or iPad (original, 2, or 3rd gen) as you watch TV. The Dyle is available now at Belkin for $129.99.
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Thursday’s LogicBUY Deal is the 27″ Dell UltraSharp U2711 LCD Monitor for $599. Features:
$999 – $400 instant savings = $599 with free shipping.
This deal expires May 17, 2013 or sooner. Check the above link for more details on this deal, and check the LogicBUY home page for other deals.
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If you’ve been keeping up with my recent gadget diary posts, you’ll know that I’ve been interested in wirelessly charging my Samsung Galaxy S3. After a couple different cradles and a custom ROM, I’m happily charging without wires using the Qi wireless charging standard. That’s why my interest was piqued when I heard the news that the 2014 Jeep Cherokee and Toyota Prius will be offering Qi wireless charging cradles built into these new vehicle models.
The Qi standard for wireless charging is the only wireless charging standard in cars today and more are expected in the near future. Phones like the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4, Nexus 4, Nokia Lumia 920, HTC Droid DNA and many others have Qi compatibility. With Qi’s installed base growing, car companies increasingly are interested in offering Qi charging in their cars so drivers can finally get rid of their charging cords.
Before someone points out the fact that the image above shows an iPhone, and iPhones do NOT have Qi charging capability, I know this. This is the image the Qi people sent me that is supposed to be from the 2014 Jeep Cherokee. Maybe it means wireless charging will be built in to the iPhone 6 
Full press release after the jump.
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A bored kitty is a destructive kitty. With the Solar Powered Cat Tantalizer from Hammacher Schlemmer, your cat will be too entertained to have time to shred the toilet paper and up-root and chew your potted plants. Stick the toy in a window or glass door with the industrial-strength suction cups, and the solar panel on the back will activate the toy when it receives direct sunlight. The unpredictable bobbing and swaying of the feathers and dangling plastic ball will keep Muffin’s attention so she’ll have plenty of opportunity to exercise and practice her hunting skills without killing anything. You can remove the rod for interactive play with your cat, and you can turn it off when the cat (or you) needs some quiet time. It’s $39.95 and will begin shipping 5/20/13.
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Remote control cars are always fun, but the downside of the classic remote control cars is that they are fairly large and require an even larger area to play on. Then someone invented those micro RC cars that are pocket-friendly, but those RC cars only go one speed, which is super fast and right off the table-top. ZenWheels solved the super-fast speed problem and also gave us some extra features in their version of the micro cars. [click to continue…]
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Well, you’ll at least be able to stop replacing your in-car device mounts if you purchase the Innotraveler Universal Car Mount from Seidio. This mount has a baseplate and two re-useable adhesive pads to hold your phone, GPS, MP3 player, or other small device (up to a 5.5″ screen) securely in the mount. You anchor the Innotraveler to your car’s windshield or dash with the locking suction cup base on the adjustable stand. It’s $29.95 at Seidio and is available for shipping now.
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LogicBUY’s Deal for Wednesday is the configurable 18.4″ Alienware M18x Core i7-3740QM 2.7GHz Quad-core gaming laptop, starting at $2749.00. Features:
$3204.00 – $355 instant savings – $100 coupon code = $2749.00 with free shipping.
This deal expires May 17, 2013 or sooner. Check the above link for more details on this deal, and check the LogicBUY home page for other deals.
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To me, LEGO bricks represent childhood, imagination and fun. This new book from Starch Press on the other hand, does not. The 232 page BrickGun Book by Jeff Boen has step-by-step instructions for building five handgun replicas from readily available LEGO pieces. Model plans include the classic Berreta 92FS and a rubber-band-firing MAC-11. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m not a gun person, but this book just bums me out for some reason…
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The ChefPad from Archos is a full-featured Android tablet that’s been pre-loaded with the best apps for cooking enthusiasts. The tablet has a dual-core 1.6GHz CPU, a quad-core GPU, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB capacity (expandable via microSD card) and is powered by Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It also has a 9.7” 1024 X 768 capacitive screen, 2MP cameras front and back, WiFi, 1080p HD video playback, and mini HDMI. In addition to the pre-loaded cooking apps, it has HD video player, email, web browsing, news, games, eBooks, and weather forecast apps – plus access to Google Play for other apps. It will begin shipping in June for $209.99. Read the product page at Archos for more details and to pre-order a ChefPad for yourself. (The ChefPad is shown wearing the included silicone case and using the included stand.)
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Getting fit and staying fit requires daily effort that can quickly turn into drudgery if you lack motivation. I’ve found several things that have helped me stick to my fitness activities. One is the Virgin Healthmiles program that everyone at my day job (Cummins Inc.) is enrolled in. We get a simple pedometer that counts our steps and we earn points as we go along that can be traded in for cash. Money is always a great motivator right? I’m also lucky that I have a friend at work who practically drags me away from my desk twice a day to take a walk… even when I whine that I don’t want to or am too busy. If it wasn’t for him, I’d probably never get up all day.
If you don’t have a health initiative through your job or someone like my friend Bill, then an activity tracking gadget like the new Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband is another way to help stay motivated. Fitbit sent me the Flex and I’ve been using it for the past week. Let’s see how well it has performed. [click to continue…]
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Apple’s Camera Connection Kit will let you transfer photos to your iPad, but it doesn’t allow you to copy files off the iPad. It handles several image and video file formats, but nothing else. With The Only Read and Write iPad Flash Drive from Hammacher Schlemmer, you can, as you might guess, both read and write files between the drive and your iPad. It handles 35 file formats, including Microsoft Word and Excel files, PDFs, JPGs, MP4, and MP3. It holds 16GB of files that you can transfer to/from the iOS device, or you can just access them directly from the drive without copying them over. A free app handles files transfers and lets you back up your contacts or emails less than 10MB. It actually works with the iPhone (5, 4S, 4, and 3GS); iPod touch (5th, 4th, and 3rd gen); all iPad models, including the iPad mini. It requires iOS 6, and you may have to supply your own Lightning adapter for the newest-generation iOS devices. It has a USB plug so you can use it with your computer, too. It will begin shipping June 6 from Hammacher Schlemmer, and it sells for $169.95.
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