Home and Kitchen - The Gadgeteer

Forget About the Nest Thermostat, Check out the ColorTouch from Venstar

By Julie Strietelmeier / May 18, 2012 / News / Home and Kitchen, WiFi, Wireless / 19 Comments

The ColorTouch from Venstar looks like the ultimate gadgeteer’s thermostat. First of all, it is compatible with Apple iPhone, iTouch, iPad, Blackberry, Android, Mac and PC devices, which allows you to easily change settings remotely. Who knew that the ability to customize your home thermostat was important to people. It must be because the ColorTouch has interchangeable […]

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Plugbook – A Power Strip That Thinks it’s a Book

By Julie Strietelmeier / May 16, 2012 / News / Home and Kitchen, Power / 7 Comments

I’m sure most of us have a few powerstrips in use around our homes. They aren’t the sexiest looking devices and aren’t the easiest to store when not in use. A new Kickstarter project hopes to change that. It’s called the Plugbook and it offers 2 power recepticals with a retractable cable in the convenient

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Osram Cuby Light – Cute and Cuby

By Ian Lim / May 12, 2012 / News / Home and Kitchen, LED lamp, LED Light / 2 Comments

The Cuby Light from Osram is a cube shaped LED light producing 20 Lumens and due to its flexible and bendable clip can be used for such things as a reading lamp or attached to bars or handles for accent lighting. Made from dirt resistant rubberized silicon the cubes are light and shockproof. Rather than using

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Choc Edge 3D Chocolate Printer

By Ian Lim / April 15, 2012 / News / 3d printing, Do-It-Yourself, Home and Kitchen / Leave a Comment

Just a little too late for Easter, but Choc Edge has just released their 3D chocolate maker. We’ve covered 3D printers before but most of those just make inedible plastic models. Using CAD/CAM software you can extrude 3D chocolates into whatever shape tickles your fancy. The first 10 machines will be auctioned on Ebay and

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Sushibot – Feed an army of hungry Sumos

By Ian Lim / April 12, 2012 / News / Food, Home and Kitchen, Robot / Leave a Comment

The kids and I love making Sushi rolls, but it can be a tedious and slow process. The Sushibot was demonstrated at the World Food and Beverage Great Expo 2012 in Tokyo. Produced by Suzumo, a company that specialises in sushi making machines from domestic to commercial, the machine is capable of making up to 300 rolls

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DYMO LabelManager 500 Touch Screen Label Maker Review

By Julie Strietelmeier / April 11, 2012 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen, label maker, Printer / Leave a Comment

I’ve been a fan of DYMO label printers for years. I still use their Twin Turbo label and stamp printer which I reviewed 6 years ago (see related posts at the bottom of this review). They recently asked if I would be interested in reviewing their LabelManager 500TS. The TS stands for touch screen. Let’s see if

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Tervis Tumbler 24oz Water Bottle Review

By Julie Strietelmeier / April 8, 2012 / Reviews / Beverage, Health and fitness, Home and Kitchen, Outdoor Gear / 42 Comments

I have loved Tervis tumblers since discovering them during a vacation to Sanibel Island Florida one year. They have become my go to idea when I need to find a gift for someone and are pretty much all we drink from at my house. When the folks at Tervis contacted me to see if I might

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Kebo – One Handed Bottle Cap Opener

By Julie Strietelmeier / April 8, 2012 / News / Beverage, Home and Kitchen / 4 Comments

I don’t drink beer or other beverages that tend to come in glass bottles, but for some crazy reason, I want to grab a cold bottle of Smirnoff Ice, a Kebo and pop the cap. The Kebo is an interestingly designed bottle cap lifter that can be used with just one hand. It’s made of

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Chopstick + Foon = Kung Foon

By Julie Strietelmeier / April 7, 2012 / News / Camping, Home and Kitchen, Outdoor Gear / Leave a Comment

The Kung Foon is a barbed spork style eating utensil available in titanium or stainless steel. In addition to being able to use it as a fork or a spoon, it also has a unique feature that allows you to insert a chopstick to turn it into a long handled ladle for stirring or serving. You

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Anytone AT-400C CDMA Cellular Repeater Review

By Bill Kuch / April 2, 2012 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen / 13 Comments

One of the downsides of living rural is the lack of cellular coverage, at least in my neighborhood as I’m lucky to get a signal on my T-Mobile phone and have a weak signal on my Verizon phone in my house. The folks at MyAmplifiers.com think they may have the solution with their AnyTone AT-400C CDMA Cellular

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Eton Axis ARCPT300W Emergency Radio Review

By Mark Adkins / March 15, 2012 / Reviews / Emergency preparedness, Home and Kitchen, Outdoor Gear, weather / 4 Comments

A reliable emergency radio radio is a great idea for anyone. Something that will work even if you forgot to replace the batteries and that can get the weather bands can literally be a lifesaver in an emergency. The Eton Corporation, in conjunction with the American Red Cross, offers several radios that fit this need.

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PolarPillow Review

By Julie Strietelmeier / March 14, 2012 / Reviews / Health and fitness, Home and Kitchen, Pillow / 11 Comments

I have my thermostat set to go down to 68 degrees at night because I sleep better when it’s cool. When I was asked if I would be interested in reviewing the PolarPillow, I was intrigued by their claims that it would keep my head cool for hours without the need for refrigeration, batteries or water.

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Swann MP3 DJ Doorbell Gives Your Front Door a Ringtone

By Julie Strietelmeier / March 13, 2012 / News / Home and Kitchen, MP3 / 4 Comments

Ringtones for your phone is nothing new, but how would you like to customize the “ringtone” of your doorbell? The MP3 DJ Doorbell from Swann gives you that power. The wireless system is comprised of a speaker unit and a push button doorbell unit that attaches to the outside of your door. Insert an SD

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Amplicom TCL 200 Digital Alarm Clock with Wireless Vibrating Pad Review

By Steve Holt / March 12, 2012 / Reviews / Clocks, Home and Kitchen, Watches and Clocks, Wireless / 8 Comments

Once upon a time, a locomotive train ran through my son’s bedroom and he didn’t wake up. Well, maybe not. But if a train ever did run through his room he wouldn’t wake up. Perhaps you have a family member who would fall into that category because they sleep so hard. We have tried a

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USB Outlet Quattro from CurrentWerks

By Janet Cloninger / March 7, 2012 / News / Batteries and Chargers, Home and Kitchen, USB / 11 Comments

It seems more and more gadgets, although they may have a wall wart, are ultimately USB-chargeable. Replace a normal AC wall socket with the USB Outlet Quattro from CurrentWerks, and you’ll be able to charge up to four USB devices at once without using those wall warts. With the Quattro, you have four standard USB

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Black & Decker Laser Level BDL100AV Review

By Karen Nelson / March 7, 2012 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen, Tools / 9 Comments

The All-In-One Laser Level (BDL100AV) from Black & Decker makes it easier than ever to hang pictures, paintings, shelves, or mirrors. It can also be used to space any items evenly apart on a variety of surfaces. Let’s give it a closer look.

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Eton Rover Self-Powered AM/FM/NOAA Weather Radio with Flashlight and USB Cell Phone Charger Review

By Janet Cloninger / February 29, 2012 / Reviews / Emergency preparedness, Home and Kitchen, Outdoor Gear, weather / 3 Comments

I’ve mentioned several times that the Piedmont area in North Carolina where I live has a lot of bad weather – tornadoes, thunderstorms, and hurricanes in the summer; ice storms and sometimes even tornadoes in the winter – that can leave us without power for days. No power means no lights and no telephone service

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#FellowesInc PowerShred 79Ci 100% Jam-Proof Cross-Cut Shredder Review And Contest to Win One for Yourself

By Janet Cloninger / February 24, 2012 / Reviews / contest, Home and Kitchen / 62 Comments

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

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Open Up Your Beers with a Razor Blade

By Janet Cloninger / February 24, 2012 / News / Bottle opener, Gear, Home and Kitchen / 1 Comment

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

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Reboot Your Drinking Habits with the Ctrl-Alt-Delete Cups

By Janet Cloninger / February 18, 2012 / News / Home and Kitchen / Leave a Comment

Reboot yourself each time you have a coffee break with these cups from ThinkGeek! The Ctrl-Alt-Delete Cup Set consists of three 8-ounce plastic mugs that look like giant computer keys. They can be used for hot or cold drinks, they’re dishwasher-safe, and they sit on a “circuit-board” tray when they aren’t in use. They would

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