This post brought to you by Fellowes. All opinions are 100% mine.
Although my ID hasn’t been stolen, my husband’s debit card number has been stolen twice in the past few years – once at a fast food place and once at an outdoor ATM that someone had put a skimmer on. Luckily, the credit union was on the ball and recognized some questionable purchases before they got through in both cases. So you can understand that I’m very concerned about all the pre-approved offers that show up in the mail daily, bills, and other personal information that could fall into the wrong hands. I’ve had various shredders before, but most of the ones I had cut wide, long strips that could easily be reassembled by a determined thief. They were constantly getting jammed, and I was afraid I’d lose a finger trying to dig out all the clogs. I was very happy to be selected to try out the Fellowes 79Ci shredder when one was offered to The Gadgeteer. No more jams sounds great! [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
shredder
Gadgets and Gear is offering a bottle opener that would make a great gift for people who shave with “old-fashioned” double-edged razors like my husband, Butch. (Or like Ian Lim, one of The Gadgeteer’s writers.) The Bottle Blade Bottle Opener is made of brushed stainless steel and measures 4.5″ X 2.25″. You can pre-order it now for $9.99; shipment will occur in early March.
Tagged as:
bottle opener
Julie last did a review of the Eye-Fi photo-transfer SD cards in May 2010 . There’s been a few changes since then so having just obtained a Connect X2 SD card with wireless photo and video uploads from Eye-Fi (with assistance from Julie), I thought I’d cover some of the features not covered in Julie’s older review either because they weren’t available or because it was a function she didn’t use. I’ll also try and answer some of the comments from the old review that were never answered. Read on after the jump.
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Tagged as:
Photo transfer,
Wireless
Urban Outfitters is offering a portable speaker from Edifier that can travel with you. The Audio Candy (MP15) speakers have both a 3.5mm audio input and an SD card slot for your music, and there’s a lithium-ion battery inside that lets you play that music for up to 6 hours. The MP15 speakers charge via USB, and they come with a wrist strap and a travel pouch. They’re available in black or red at Urban Outfitters online and at all their 170 stores for $40.
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Portable speakers
Power by Gen has created what can safely be hailed as just the most adorable Android charger on the market. Meet Andru, a 2.5″ tall charging assistant for your Android phone or any USB-powered device. When not in use, he has his own stand and you can move his arms and bend his antennae, but when needed he can be pulled from his base and plugged directly into an outlet. While charging, his eyes will glow blue and when in standby mode they glow white.
Andru comes with his own matching micro USB cable for charging your phone and has a full size USB input for any other device. He’s available for $25 through Power by Gen.
Tagged as:
USB charger
Hercules announced their new HD Twist webcam during CES this past January in Las Vegas. With a suggested retail price of only $34.99, this webcam features 30fps, a 720p sensor that provides 1280×720 video resolution, 5 megapixel photo resolution, and a built in microphone with noise reduction. The unique thing about this webcam is its flexible silicon base that can be formed to adapt to any computer screen. The Mini HD Twist will be available later next month in your choice of six different colors.
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Webcam
Friday’s LogicBUY Deal is the 24″ Dell ST2420L 5ms 1080p LED-backlit HDMI LCD monitor for $199.99. Features: full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, 250nit brightness, 1000:1 contrast ratio, tilt adjustment stand, glossy front bezel, DVI-D (HDCP), VGA, and HDMI connectors.
$259.99 – $60 instant savings = $199.99 with free shipping.
This deal expires February 27, 2012 or sooner. Check the above link for more details on this deal, and check the LogicBUY home page for other deals.
Tagged as:
Deal of the Day
I’ve been playing with several different kinds of GPS tracking devices for a while, including the nu.m8 GPS Child Locator Watch. The nu.m8 GPS tracking system used a GPS receiver to determine location, and would “report” it’s location when “pinged” via SMS or computer to give the latest position. So for the most part, it wouldn’t give a “James Bond/secret agent” style blinking dot on a map, moving in real-time like you’d see in the movies. However, when I was told the SilverCloud Real-Time GPS Tracking System from LandAirSea gave updates every 3 seconds, I got excited.
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Tagged as:
GPS,
tracking
A couple of days ago, we told you about the new Sony PlayStation Vita. Gaming gear can take a lot of abuse, and Decal Girl is ready with some skins to protect your Vita. Decal Girl skins are made of premium automotive-grade cast vinyl; the adhesive resists the formation of air bubbles during application and removes with no residue left on your device. There’s a variety of designs for the PS Vita Skins, and they’re available with a fingerprint-resistant matte finish or a high-gloss finish that rivals the shine of glass. You also get screensaver/background art that completes the design on the front of your device. PS Vita Skins are $12.99.
Tagged as:
Gaming gear
At this point in time Amazon will only ship the Kindle Touch WiFi to Australia. Up for preorder now on both BigW and Dick Smith is the Touch WiFi for $185AU for release on March 5th and the Touch 3G for $249AU for release on the 13th of March.
The only question I’ve got is why ? To grab a Touch WiFi direct from Amazon is only $150.98US shipped, which is even less in $AU with the Aussie Dollar so high at the moment. I suppose it’s for those people who aren’t internet savvy or don’t like buying online and would rather support local suppliers. The $30AU+ difference could certainly purchases a few Kindle Books 
Tagged as:
australia,
Kindle
NAEB500 Noise Isolating In-Ear Earphones from Nyrius are a refreshing departure from the run of the mill $10 in-ear earphones one usually runs into. They’re priced at $49.95 but are widely available around $30, and as such they cost about as much as 2 or three of those knock-off earphones you’ll find in the big-box store. What you get for that premium are earphones that are built like wee-little tanks, and that provide (after a bit of fiddling and fitting) clearly better sound than those cheaper options. Thanks to the “deep” in-ear/angled design the NAEB500s provide a decent amount of noise blocking as well. [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Headphones and earbuds
Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts [affiliate link] is a handy cheat sheet for the Google Chrome browser that lists keystrokes that perform specific actions. Surf more productively by keeping your hands on the keyboard instead of going back and forth with your mouse. This cheat sheet comes at a good time for me because I actually just switched to Chrome last week. I’ve been a LONG time Firefox user, but I was getting tired of how slow it seems to be. I switched to Chrome and was blown away at how much faster it is. If you haven’t tried it in awhile, definitely check it out.
There are a few hoops to jump through to get this guide, but it helps The Gadgeteer to earn some affiliate fees that can help us to bring you more cool product reviews.
Although I use my iPad 2 everyday, I don’t always carry it with me when I’m out of the house. When I do want to take it along, I usually have to carry a second bag because I don’t want to wedge it in my normal handbag that’s already loaded up with my stuff. I’ve long admired the Sena Borsetta purse/iPad 2 case combination. It’s a folio-style case for the iPad 2 with a front compartment to serve as a minimal purse – just what you need to carry your essentials and your iPad 2 in one compact bag. I was happy to be selected to give it a try when Sena Cases offered one to The Gadgeteer. [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Case and stand,
iPad 2
I’m currently looking for an extension speaker for my Thinkpad Tablet as the in-built speaker is pathetic (yes singular). That being said, I don’t want it connected all the time – only when I want to share watching a movie and the like. I want it portable and rugged enough to take with me wherever I go, just in case. The Zooka Wireless Speaker is a Kickstarter project that’s already fully funded. The Zooka is a Bluetooth speaker with rechargeable battery and a silicone exterior. It can clip onto most tablets and notebooks, and the silicone exterior means you don’t have to worry about scratching your precious device. The battery will support up to 8 hours, it includes a 3.5mm jack for non-Bluetooth devices and comes in 6 colors (plus an exclusive glow in the dark model).
Retail price will be $99, and though fully-funded, there’s still some pledge options to get one before they go retail.
Tagged as:
Speakers
The Kisai Stencil LCD Watch was originally a concept submitted by Heather Sable, a math teacher and fan of Tokyoflash Japan watches from the USA. The Stencil shows time with the “negative space” on the LCD screen. The display is always on, and there’s an electroluminescent backlight for night use. The Stencil displays the time and date and has an alarm mode. The case is stainless steel and measures 1.3″ X 1.85″ X 0.4″ thick. The leather watch band is available in either black or white and fits wrists between 4″ and 8.26″. The LCDs are available in either mirror or green, blue, pink, and red colors. The Stencil is even water-resistant to 3 atmospheres. The Kisai Stencil will sell for $139, but Tokyoflash Japan is having an introductory price of $99. The introductory price ends at February 23rd at 11:30am (Japan time). The above watches show 06:57 (left), 12:04 (middle), and 05:44 (right).
Tagged as:
Watches and Clocks
“One Charger. For All Your Devices.” The ChargeAll Wall Charger combines a wall wart-type plug with about six feet of cord and ten built-in tips along with ‘fast charge technology’ that allows this one device to charge literally hundreds of different devices – phones, MP3 players, hand-held game systems, etc. – without additional tips or cords to lose or forget.
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Tagged as:
universal charger
I used to have a cat some years ago. Rio lived more than 18 years, but I worried she wouldn’t make it to 5 years because of her habit of chewing on electrical cords. I wish CritterCord cord protectors had been around back then. The clear tubing slips over the electrical cord to provide a protective layer. They are heavy-gauge, so they resist even the most determined chewer. They’re also infused with citrus scent and a bitter taste that won’t wash away that should make the cords less attractive to your pet. They are sized to fit standard outlet cords or USB and smaller computer peripherals cords. Each size is available in a 6-foot length; the outlet cord size is $11.99 and the computer peripherals size is $7.99.
Tagged as:
cord protectors,
Pet gear
Today’s LogicBUY Deal is the 
The LogicBUY Deal for Wednesday is the 
