As seen on UK-based online gadget shop Red5, this cool, new and awesome-looking heat sensitive wall calendar that gives you informative trivia every day.

The calendar sports a number of squares that represent each day. When one of the squares is rubbed by one’s finger, the black cover disappears to reveal a historical fact that happened on that day. Heat from the fingers reveals these and when a square cools off, what’s written fades away.

“The On This Day Calendar collates the awesome, the inspiring, and the game changers, and puts them all into small nuggets of information,” wrote the product description from Red5.co.uk. “For example 27th January in 1880 Thomas Edison patented the light bulb and from that point on candle sales plummeted! To reveal the fact of the day, simply press and hold the black diamond and the heat sensitive patch will disappear revealing the text (when it cools the black returns hiding the text once more).”

Aside from looking nice and bringing fun facts, the calendar also has room to write notes or reminders on the day itself.

The On This Day heat-sensitive calendar is suitable for all ages and comes in a protective card tube.

via: Red5.co.uk

Heat-sensitive calendar reveals fun facts for the day is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

How Does It Work?

Well, it makes tea and recharges USB devices obviously. As well as that there is an alarm clock built into it. The recharging slot is on the back of the Teasmade Automatic Tea Maker with USB Recharger and the water goes in the…ok, so you can work that part out for yourself. You can pre set the tea maker and also operate it from your smartphone. These functions should make it easier for anyone who enjoys a cuppa to start the day but who doesn’t like getting out of bed too early in the morning to make it.

It certainly carries out all of its functions well and it also comes in a sturdy case which should ensure that you get a lot of use out of it. The Teasmade tea maker also comes in a variety of bright and fun colours which means that you should be able to find one which suits your personality easily enough.

Should you get one?

If you love tea and love to recharge things then this is a fine choice for you. It would also make a pretty novel gift for gadget heavy friends. All in all it looks like a winner and it might even help tea making and USB devices to become a more popular combination in the future.

Teasmade Automatic Tea Maker Arrives in 21st Century with USB is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

The BabyPing is the first device that offers a reassuring alternative to traditional baby monitors by using the newest and safest technology to keep parents informed about the baby’s situation. Also, with the monitoring app, the device offers a number of security features that include alerts to inform the parents if the baby cries or if the connection is lost.

The device features a built-in microphone, a color video camera that captures 640 x 480 resolution and super fast Wi-Fi connectivity. The British version of BabyPing has unique features, including the Smart Filter technology that cuts out excess noise and static that can be found on traditional baby monitors and the Constant-Connect technology that instantly notifies parents if the connection is lost or the baby is upset.

BabyPing uses Wi-Fi connection to transmit data to your device, avoiding other costs and delays from streaming online. It is also the only baby monitor that has invisible infrared night vision, offering visibility at night.

“We saw customers trying to use our existing Y-cam products to monitor their babies, so we set ourselves the task of creating a revolutionary baby monitoring system around the best features of our cameras, combined with additional technology and cutting-edge app development to create a safe and secure Wi-Fi baby monitor,” explains Devin Chawda, co-creator of BabyPing.

The company has not yet revealed its price or when it will be released, you can check its website for updates.

BabyPing iPhone and iOS Baby Monitor – Peace of mind on your iPhone is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

Smart Astro Lava Lamp – In the box

- welcome document

- lamp base

- lamp top

- lamp bottle

- transformer

Design

The Smart Astro Lava Lamp maintains the shape of the original Astro while taking lava lamps to new heights. It has a sleek aluminum casing and has a steel Smart button on the base which folds underneath if you feel the need to tuck it away.

The lamp looks attractive when on and even off, it’s timeless design hasn’t been hindered by all the gadgetry inside it’s hand lathed metal body. Instead of using a traditional lightbulb to heat the lava, Mathmos’ Smart Astro uses what the company calls the new “Smart” lava lamp technology. The technology combines a computer chip, heating plate, temperature sensor and LEDs to provide a customizable lighting experience for many. It also has automatic temperature regulation, so the lava formula of Mathmos will always flow at the right temperature and never overheats. Because there is a separate heating plate, the LEDs will not heat up the wax.

Functionality

The lamp is switched on using the touch sensitive metal tab attached to the base. Not only does this power on the lamp but also allows you to set a static colour of your choosing, you have to get the timing just right to ensure you hit your favourite colour but this is an awesome feature which sets it apart from traditional one colour lava lamps. The Smart Astro is available in three colors: green to yellow, which phases through orange; blue to red, which phases through pink and purple; and blue to green, which phases through sea green.

The self regulating heating ring doesn’t heat up the lamp any quicker than a traditional bulb, so you’ll have to wait an hour and half before bubbles start to appear. The build up is equally interesting though as weird alien shapes start to appear as the wax is super heated. The colour changing makes the experience all that more exciting and sometimes eerie.

Getting one

The limited edition hand-made Mathmos Smart Astro Lava Lamp is priced at £84.99. For more information about the product, visit the Mathmos website or compare the price at Idealo. Here is our gallery showing our Lava Lamp Heating up, the box contents and packaging:

Mathmos Smart Astro Colour Changing Lava Lamp Review is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

Now, for those people who love gummy bears, a new home decor has been unveiled by Jailbreak Toys that will surely tickle their fancy. The Gummylamp is a giant gummy bear that is not only for adults who enjoy snacking on these cute gummy dudes, but also for kids who want something cute as their night light. Also, since most kids are afraid of the dark, the Gummylamp is perfect to make them feel safe at night.

A cute feature the Gummylamp has is it just needs to be squeezed to turn on the high-powered LED light. This has been designed by Jailbreak Toys to look and feel like the real thing. It doesn’t taste anything like the real thing, though, as it is not edible.

The Gummylamp is seven inches tall and comes in a variety of colors that children will surely love. It also has an adjustable timer, so you won’t have to turn it off later.

The device can be powered by two AA-sized batteries whenever you take it outdoors. But if you want to enjoy it in your bedroom, you can just plug it in a USB slot or use the USB to 5 Volt DC cable to power it.

The Gummylamp comes in five colors: green, red, clear, orange and yellow. It is available from Jaibreak Toys for £17.9 ($28.00).

Gummylamp: a giant gummy bear that lights is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

The company’s announcement follows the expansion of Netflix to 43 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America.

In 2008, Roku launched the first streaming player in the United States. Now, it is the leading streaming platform in the country, providing more than 350 channels of content, including Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, Netflix, NBA Game Time and Pandora.

“This year has been one of many accomplishments for Roku in the U.S. In July, we introduced Roku 2 which brings casual games to the TV and last month we unveiled the $49.99 Roku LT,” said Anthony Wood, Roku’s founder and chief executive officer. “We’ve added casual games including Angry Birds and PAC-MAN, as well as premiere channels including HBO GO. And now we’re looking forward to kicking off 2012 by expanding to Europe and Canada and providing consumers abroad with the best in streaming entertainment — a natural evolution for Roku.”

To make the service available in Canada, the company is now working with Synnex Canada Limited.

Pricing and a specific release date have not yet been confirmed, but as soon as new information comes to light, we will let you know.

via: Financial Post

Roku finally coming to the UK and Canada is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

A group of researchers from Waseda University has come up with a robotic polar bear pillow that flips over a user’s head in their sleep to stop them from snoring. When a person’s head is flipped, it opens up airways that cause the annoying sleeping sound.

The pillow, which is called Jukusui-kun, features a built-in microphone that detects loud snoring, which then uses the bear’s paw to turn the person’s head sideways. This motion can help those who suffer from sleep apnea syndrome by leading them to a position where then can no longer snore, which is usually when they rest sideways.

Sleep apnea refers to the difficulty in breathing while sleeping. It is not only dangerous for one’s health, but also for relationships.

“When the oxygen level decreases in the patient resulting in the snore level increasing it triggers the bear-pillow’s hand to move towards the sleepers face,” according to Japan Trends. “Gently brushing the face causes the person to then turn from lying on their back to moving onto their side, a more conducive position for a sound, snoreless nights sleep.”

The polar bear pillow was featured last week at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo.

via: Daily Mail

Robot polar bear pillow stops you from snoring is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

Whether these will rule out the possibility of a feather filled room remains to be seen, they look a lot more fun though.

The range includes a Saracen sword, battle axe, nunchucks, death stars, grenades and  our personal favourite, the lightsaber. These themed soft implements of doom may look good but I still feel a hefty feather filled pillowcase would get the job done better, you just wouldn’t look half as cool.

Sadly this is all academic as you cannot buy them at the moment. Hopefully if enough people show interest Bryan will put them on sale.

What do you think, hardcore pillow wars or a soft play flop?

Source: Geekologie

Arm yourself with these cool Pillow Weapons is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

The Amusement Washing Machine, designed by Lee Wei Chen, resembles an arcade video game console. The funny thing about it is that the bottom half is a washing machine. Lee Wei has linked the arcade and the washing machine’s circuitry, so that the machine becomes dependent on the player’s progress in the game. If the player struggles while playing the game, coins will be needed to complete the washing cycle.

The Taiwanese student said that he wanted to be productive while having a good time. “I realised that the skills I had developed in the virtual world were useless in the real world, the 27 year old explained. “I wanted to make them useful.”

Colin Holden, Lee Wei’s course leader, said that his idea is big and original as he has chosen two recognizable objects, which can produce a new electronic device. “It’s an extremely well-executed design concept,” added Holden.

Basically, the Amusement Washing Machine works like this: you put your dirty clothes to be washed inside the washing machine, insert some coins to the slot and start playing. As long as the player is still alive in the game, the machine will keep washing the clothes, and when the player runs out of lives, more coins are required to resume the game, also resuming the washing process.

This is a new and fun way to wash you clothes, am I right?

via: Design Week

Washing machine concept: a new way to wash your clothes is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos

Designers at 10 Design have come up with a house that uses a set of hydraulic levers that pulls it into the ground when it is activated by high-velocity winds. Once the house is moved underground, the roof locks to prevent flood water and wind from entering the premises.

“Isn’t The Wizard of Oz a clear example of the awesome force that a tornado can muster?” Ted Givens, an architect from 10 Design, said. “How can Jaws drive people out of the ocean screaming when a house blown through the sky brings back nostalgic memories? Please stay out of the water, but feel free to building your home below flood level and out of cards in the wind.”

The house will be geared to reemerge from the ground automatically once the weather improves. It will rely on sensors that are scattered around the community to keep track of weather conditions and as soon as emergency strikes, it will get into protection mode.

This futuristic house will be built using Kevlar that has proper insulation between the skins, while its exterior will be fitted with solar panels that capture sunlight while letting natural light in.

via: Fastcodesign

Architects from Hong Kong design tornado-proof house is a post from: Gadgets and gizmos