iLaunch Thunder loves your iPhone » Reviews

Feel like you are the President of the US with the £79.99 iLaunch Thunder – imagine you hold the “nuclear football” in your hands, and you have already been sent all the relevant launch codes to send a reply to North Korea’s recent nuclear attack on one of your country’s military bases – all it takes is a single press of a button, and a retaliatory missile is sent all the way back to North Asia. Of course, this is nowhere near as serious, and does not endanger a single human life, but it might help you experience a feeling of power albeit momentarily.

No longer do you need to throw bits of paper or rubber at your colleagues to irritate them (or paying tit for tat), but all you need to do is adjust where this sleek missile launcher is supposed to point at, where its air-powered pistons will then get to work, shooting safe, spongy projectiles up to 8 meters away. Of course, the iPhone is not the only device that enables control of the iLaunch Thunder, as the iPod Touch and iPad will get the job done as well. Bluetooth connectivity is what delivers the commands over to the iLaunch Thunder, and sporting a rotating angle of 270 degrees with the ability to tilt up or down through 45 degrees, you have quite the weapon on your desk.

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Review » Pinoky brings stuffed animals to life!

Bringing stuff animals to life can either be cute, like in Mary Poppins, or horrifying, like in Akira.

The Pinoky is really nothing more than a claw with a magnetic grip which has the power to shake a part of stuffed animal. This includes an arm, a leg, or, if you are a snake, the whole body.

I will let you decide what the effect of the Pinoky is, but there is a video after the jump if you want to see it for yourself.

The Pinoky is designed by Yuti Sugiura, as a project of Keio University. I’m not certain if the end product is to make something therapeutic, or if someone really is trying to make stuffed animals wave. If so, it looks pretty fake, as I can see the Pinoky claw!

As you can see from the video, the Pinoky can be programmed to record a certain movement. There can even be a remote control, as well as accelerometer motion in place as well.

So, are we in for a Pinoky future? Will every teddy bear be wearing a Pinoky cuff soon, just so we can get them to wave? Well, I suppose that we will see, but I personally see a cool toy commercial for the Pinoky as soon as this is marketed.

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Review » iControl Helicopter

We saw the iControl Ferrari the other day, so here is something which is far less grounded – a helicopter, so to speak, that will take to the skies while your iOS or Android-powered device functions as the controller. The iControl Helicopter will ship with a Smart Link Control which will make it plug into any iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or Android device, giving you full and total control of the toy helicopter as you manipulate the simple touchscreen controls to move the Helicopter around in the air. Of course, just as how all roads lead to Rome, so too, can you ditch touchscreen controls and tilt your device instead – forwards, backwards, left and right to make sure it is capable of ensuring the Helicopter goes in the direction of your choice.

With a three channel control, you and another two friends will be able to fly the iControls together, where built-in advanced gyro directional stabilizers are there to make sure that they are a cinch to control. You can juice up the iControl Helicopter after a long, hard day of flying via USB. Just bear in mind that infrared technology is in use here, making this a purely indoor flying experience since a combination of wind and short transmission range might eventually lead to a loss of control.

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Review » iControl Ferrari costs a fraction of the real deal

I know, owning a Ferrari probably ranks tops on the list of any boy’s wish list, after all, who would not want to have one of these rare Italian exotics, with so many ponies available at the tap of your foot, that you can smoke just about any car at the next red light? Unfortunately, the world does not work in a way where it panders to our every whim and fancy, and most of us will probably be unable to afford one of these mean machines – unless, of course, it has been steeply discounted to the point of the £29.99 iControl Ferrari. This particular model has been scaled down by 50 times, and is an RC car with a difference – it will use your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad as the remote control of choice thanks to an included dongle so that you can ‘drive’ your Enzo around in style.

At least the app is free, and if you happen to use an iPhone, your device will rumble as though you were starting the engine when you fire it up. The array of controls on your touchscreen display are said to be responsive enough for a fun time with this AAA-battery powered devices. Tilt your iPhone, and this sleek little sports car will turn in the corresponding direction as well. At least there is no speeding ticket to pick up with this puppy…

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Review » HELO TC Touch-Controlled Helicopter uses your iDevice

Since toys are always a popular seller this Christmas, you might as well get something that big kids can play with with the Helo TC Touch-Controlled Helicopter.

It is similar to the Dexim AppSpeed, a miniature iPhone controlled truck, but it takes to the air. It has a twin-rotor remote design for a stable controlled flight, provided it is indoors.

As you might have guessed, there is an app for this. You can download it for free, and the Helo TC app has an interesting ability to record and store up to three Flight Plans so you, or another pilot, can easily repeat a favorite flight pattern. You can plan routes around the furniture with missions to fly and obstacles to avoid, in order to replay them.

Just to let you know, you have to plug your iDevice via headphone jack into a Helo TC Flight Deck, and this Flight Deck and the copter itself take 2 AAA batteries each. I’m not certain why Griffin decided to go with 4 AAA batteries instead of USB charging, but you can always buy rechargeable AAA batteries.

If you want to get in on this copter deal, it is available on the Griffin site for $49.99. Considering that there are an abundance of low-priced RC helicopters available on the market today, I will leave it up to you whether or not this is a good deal.

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Review » Dexim’s AppSpeed is a miniature iPhone-controlled monster truck

I have covered products from Dexim before, they usually make products that give more power to iDevices.

One of their newest products is the AppSpeed, a Gyro Controlled RC Monster Truck. The AppSpeed allows an iDevice user to control a two-inch tall monster truck by tilting their compatible iDevice, provided it has iOS 4.0 or later.

The App Speed comes with a custom-built RF Transmitter that fits in the bottom of the iDevice. The moment that contact is made with the 30-pin connector, the iDevice user is prompted to download the application necessary to control the AppSpeed Monster Truck.

As for the little monster truck’s power, it comes with a USB cord that you can connect to your computer or a wall (if you have a USB wall adapter). It also has a quick battery charger that requires 3 AAA batteries (not included) for when you need some power on the go.

The user also has a choice for the type of control as he or she can shift from gyroscope power to touch sensor mode. It also has some preset stations that allow the user to ZigZag, Spin, or Dance one’s vehicle to music.

You should be able to purchase the AppSpeed for about $69.90 on the official Dexim site.

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Review » Rotating Targets Infrared Shooting Gallery

Feel that you have it in you to be a Top Shot winner, but never really made it to the show, let alone applied? You can either get some practice in even when you no longer have money to purchase bullets – that is easily done with the Rotating Targets Infrared Shooting Gallery. Yes sir, this shooting gallery will definitely challenge players to quickly hit three rotating targets – all using a harmless infrared gun.

There will be three two-sided targets that rotate randomly on an infrared-sensing base, where they will reveal themselves to either be an image of a wolf, bear, or mountain lion, while a fellow hunter is imprinted on the reverse of each. I’m quite sure you know the drill by now – take that precious minute given to you to down as many prey as possible with the infrared gun, while trying to avoid your fellow hunters (although when you think of them as outlaws, everything else is fair game).

A “reloading” sound will play back whenever you pump the infrared gun to add to the realism level, and there are three modes of play to choose from. You will need a mixture of AA and AAA batteries to get the entire setup going, so we would recommend rechargeables.

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Review » Russian Arm responsible for your favorite car chase scenes

If you like movies with car chases as much as I do, then you should know the invisible star of them is the Russian Arm.

The Russian Arm looks like a tank with a gun with two swivels. It is a gyroscopically-stablized camera crane that is responsible for action shots in car chase scenes like Transformers, The Fast and The Furious, and others. The crane of the Russian Arm is designed to keep steady while its SUV mount is moving at high speeds, even if the pavement is uneven. It can even go off-road.

The Russian Arm was developed by Filmotechnic, which was begun by the Oscar-winning Anatoliy Kokush. As you might have guessed, the Russian Arm can swing freely around the vehicle, which can make for some pretty cool sweeping shots. It can go about a foot off the ground, or as high as 14 feet above it. The camera head can also pan 360 degrees in about six seconds, tilt along a 200 degree axis, and roll along a 270 degree axis.

The Russian Arm is operated via joystick, and the film’s director communicates with the crew with an iCom system. Images from the camera can be displayed on eight monitors inside.

The next time you watch a film with a car chase scene, watch for the use of the Russian Arm. I know I’m going to watch The Fast and the Furious again just so I can find Russian Arm shots.

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Review » Driver Ejecting Bumpercrafts look fun

Want to teach your kids the impact that an accident can have on people in a car who do not wear seat belts? Apart from bringing them to a crash test dummy site, there might be a far more fun way of imparting such a lesson – through the $59.95 Driver Ejecting Bumpercrafts. Yes sir, the name itself says it all – these remote controlled bumpercrafts will see two players being pitted in a bitter duel, where the objective is to literally unseat an opponent driver.

Since each bumpercraft has an impact area button on its left and right, whenever the button is struck by an opposing bumpercraft, there is no bargaining with the built-in spring as it ejects the craft’s driver out of its seat. Your remote control will allow the bumpercraft to move forward, backward, left, and right, as long as it remains within a 10 foot radius.

Needless to say, it would be best to play this on smooth, level surfaces, anything rougher than that and it is going to get stuck all too easily. You might want to stock up on your collection of AAA batteries though, since you will need 10 of those puppies to power each set.

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Review » R/C Battling Robot Dinosaur

Back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, they battled it out with each other in colossal fights, literally throwing their weight around to gain the upper claw. Well, all it took was a wayward meteor to end their reign on earth, and fast forward to today, we have dinosaurs that come in the form of robots. Far smaller than their original ancestors, these still retain their mean streak, and do not take too kindly to another dinosaur roaming around their fields.

Of course, since the R/C Battling Robot Dinosaurs come with a remote control, it would allow you and your mate to settle a dispute without shedding any blood at all – yes sir, we’re talking about driving this robo raptor around the home to have it roar as well as attack another robo raptor, or if you prefer to go for the jugular, target your human friends instead. Don’t want to control it and see how its pea-sized dino brain works? Just turn on the autonomous mode and have it move around the room to defend and hunt by itself.

IR beams are used in a “battle” between two robo raptors to see which will emerge the victor, and at $39.99 a pop, just make sure you have a healthy supply of AA and AAA batteries (rechargeables are highly recommended here) if you do not want the fun to stop halfway. The R/C Battling Robot Dinosaur itself will need four AA batteries, while the controller runs off a trio of AAA batteries.

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Review » App Control Desk Pets

“My dog ate my homework” used to be one of the more cliched excuses kids give their teachers whenever they mismanaged their time at home, but I suppose this excuse has not worn itself out just yet. If that is the case and you are a teacher, why not purchase the App Control Desk Pets for the cheeky yet delinquent child and exchange his/her dog for it, momentarily? This is one pet that will not eat anyone’s homework, leaving no room to wriggle out of a tight spot in the future. Who says playing does not help someone learn?

The App Control Desk Pets will come in different flavors, which include the Tankbot (that is obviously more sturdy than the rest), the Trekbot (the Speedy Gonzales of the group) and the Skitterbot (that looks rather scary). All of them have three different operating modes, where the first sends your Desk Pet beeping and flashing away in a world of its own, oblivious to its surroundings; the second mode lets you turn your own smartphone into a remote control; and the third lets your Desk Pet discover the world all on its own!

The inclusion of advanced optical navigation technology enables these Desk Pets to find their way around obstacles – a primitive version of a robotic vacuum cleaner, if you will, and you won’t lose them simply because they have light-up eyes and emit sound – unless they run out of juice, of course. Even more interesting is the fact that your smartphone will function as a remote control. The law of diminishing returns apply here – 40 minutes of juicing up delivers 15 minutes of play time. The Tankbot is the cheapest of the lot at £24.99, while both the Skitterbot and Trekbot will retail for £3 more.

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Review » Maze Racer tickles the mind

There is nothing quite like a brain teaser to get the good ol’ grey matter going, especially when you are in the middle of the work week and need to look towards other sources of inspiration if you happen to hit a road block mentally at the office. Why not take five with the $19.99 Maze Racer? Of course, this is actually meant for small kids, but at least you can get rid some of that pre-road rage out of your system before you actually get behind the wheel.

Your little one, whether a boy or a girl, would most probably want to get behind the wheel when dad or mom is not around, never mind that their legs can’t even touch the pedals when they’re seated right out in front. With the Maze Racer, they will be able to wreck their brains trying to find a way to guide the trapped marble out of the fiendishly difficult maze. You will need to go through a bunch of twists, turns, loops, and drops with techno music blaring in the background while the timer makes its way to the finish line.

Best of all is, the Maze Racer will log your best time so that others will always attempt to challenge your high score.

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Review » R/C Air Swimmers Flying Sea Life

Sharks belong in the water, don’t they? And they need to continue swimming in order to stay alive, even when they’re asleep. Well, most of us know that, but to have a shark “swim” in the air? That certainly sounds out of whack, but this is what ThinkGeek offers with the $39.99 R/C Air Swimmers Flying Sea Life. Yes sir, made out of durable, high-quality nylon material, this unique piece of fun equipment can remain inflated for weeks while it patrols the airspace in your home for hours on end with enough juice remaining within.

The AirSwimmers RC flying sea creatures will also come in a clownfish format for a less threatening experience, but either way, it is still a wonder to look at. All you need to do is fill up the AirSwimmer with enough helium, and it will get to work straight away – you might take some time to master the controls in order to have it go up, down, and even 360 degrees around. With a working range of 40 feet, I suspect you will have hours of fun on just four AAA batteries with the R/C Air Swimmers Flying Sea Life.

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Review » Griffin Technology announces HELO TC remote controlled helicopter

Griffin Technology knows that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, which is why they have decided to go ahead with the release of their HELO TC remote controlled helicopter. What makes this remote controlled helicopter different from the rest that we have seen in the past? For starters, this particular model will be able to be controlled through any iOS-powered device via its touchscreen display. To put it in a nutshell, your iOS device is actually a remote control for the HELO TC – making it an even more indispensable part of your life, no?

Let us check out just what the HELO TC is able to bring to the table. For starters, this will be a twin-rotored, indoor helicopter that has been constructed using a lightweight metal frame complete with a black polycarbonate body. Equipped with a Flight Deck infrared module, you will plug that particular bit into an iOS device in order for it to transmit control signals to the helicopter.

You will be able to choose from two different flight modes – Touch Control, where we suspect most people would have a field day with it since it will rely on the multitouch display in order to control the HELO TC’s throttle and joystick, while there is the Tilt to Steer mode that relies on the iOS device’s accelerometers to get the navigating job done. For instance, if you tilt the iOS device, it will move the helicopter forward, back and side to side. Heck, the app is even able to record and store up to three Flight Plans so that you (or other “pilots”) can repeat a particular flight pattern in a jiffy.

The HELO TC comes with a built-in battery which can be juiced up from just about any USB power source, and that includes your computer’s USB port. As for the Flight Deck module, that will require a quartet of AAA batteries, where it will remain plugged within the iOS device’s headphone jack. Expect to fork out $49.99 for the HELO TC if you’re interested, where it ought to arrive in time for the holiday season.

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Review » Shadowhawk UAV, one tiny copter that could come after you

What you are seeing here is no toy helicopter, but the Shadowhawk UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle).

This helicopter is about 49 pounds, and you probably want to watch the video after the jump to see it in action. According to my Source, the Shadowhawk is already being used to track pirates off the Horn of Africa. Apparently, it is also used to enforce law on U.S. streets.

It also comes with the option of turbine or piston engines, thermal cameras, range fingers, and laser pointers. For those who want some weapons, it is also possible to install 37 mm or 40 mm grenade launchers, 12 gauge shotgun rounds, or even taser batons.

Seriously, this thing is a miniature flying arsenal! You can watch on the video and see that it can travel at speeds of 50 miles an hour. You can also see what looks like a guy being tailed by one. I’m surprised he doesn’t try to throw a rock at the Shadowhawk UAV.

Man, I never want to be in a position where I have these things chasing after me! This would be like those spiders from Minority Report, but these Shadowhawks can fly. They can also bring me down with some grenades, live rounds, and possibly tasing me.

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Review » Silverlit I/R Spy Camera Helicopter

Are you a good pilot? If you want to hone your skills as one, then you would definitely need to obtain a license, but prior to that, attend lessons and be proficient at it. Of course, there are others among us who fly helicopters without a license – simply because we’re using remote controlled helicopters that are “commanded” using I/R (infrared) beams from a controller some distance away.

What’s so special about the £69.99 Silverlit I/R Spy Camera Helicopter, you ask? Well, this chopper will let you have an eagle’s eye view of the proceedings below, thanks to a 1.3-megapixel camera that has been integrated into the lightweight body. All you need to do is launch the chopper and watch it’s camera get to work right away the moment you press the corresponding button on the remote controller. The Silverlit I/R Spy Camera Helicopter will come with a bunch of internal gyroscopes to ensure it remains incredibly stable in the air, so that your amateur attempts at being a papparrazzi will be decent at the very least.

With 128MB of internal memory, it ought to have enough storage space to capture footage of your choice, although we do wish it came with a memory card slot for expansion purposes. Seems like a nice way to spy on your neighbors…

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Review » AppToyz Helicopter for an ‘appy landing

Ever wished you could pilot your very own helicopter, but did not have the money to go to flying school and finish up the course? Well, sometimes in life, you win some, you lose some – and this time around, you can still get your flying kicks with the AppToyz Helicopter. This £49.99 purchase is currently available for pre-order, where you will be able to use the iPhone or iPod to control this helicopter without having to work with a standard remote control instead.

Surely, this is one of the things that most people probably won’t think that the iPhone or iPod touch is capable of when said devices were first released. Good news then, you can now bring this sucker out for a flight, where there is a tiny unit which is plugged into the headphone socket, letting your smartphone or portable media player send flight commands over to the helicopter via infrared.

You will use an on-screen D-pad to move the helicopter around, and it might take some getting used to at first for those who prefer physical joysticks. There is an 8-meter flying range with this puppy, where you can opt for the following movements – full hover, left, right, up and down.

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Review » Tie Knot Water Balloon Filler

Since summer is in full swing, it makes perfect sense if your little ones want to get involved in some outdoor activity – which is what you would want them to do anyways, instead of being cooped up in front of the idiot box, video gaming their time away on an activity that promotes dormancy instead of burning those calories outdoors. Water balloon fights can be fun, and the team which can fill up and tie their water balloons fastest should, on paper, win.

How do you achieve that then? Trust Thinkgeek to come up with the $9.99 Tie Knot Water Balloon Filler, where it allows you to fill up and tie a water balloon in under half a minute. It might take a while to get the hang of it, but once you’re able to use it even with your eyes closed, your team will definitely appoint you as the official water balloon “manufacturer”. Hopefully you won’t bear the brunt of the attacks from the opposing team after a few rounds!

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Review » Takara Tomy’s “First Digital Camera” for toddler shutterbugs

 

If you have young kids, then you know that they love mobile gadgets as much as we do. Recently, my four-year-old son has discovered my wife’s digital camera on her cellular phone, and it has quickly become his favorite toy.

Of course, my four-year-old son’s hands aren’t always the cleanest, nor is he the most careful. Fortunately, Takara Tomy has created the “First Digital Camera” made exclusively for his age group.

As you can see, the “First Digital Camera” is like any other toddler toy with bright colors, big buttons, and embellished with cartoon characters. It has a 1.44 inch LCD and an image sensor of 3 Megapixels, and is capable of up to 99 photos.

I’m not certain whether or not the parent can download the photos via USB, but that really should be a feature if it isn’t already. After all, who wouldn’t want to see life from a baby’s point-of-view?

Best of all, this camera is durable, not like your iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab. According to my Source, the viewfinder is placed above the pane, so the shot might be slightly off. I wonder if a toddler will quickly adapt to that. I’m guessing the answer is yes.

I believe this is only available in Japan, but it can be found at the Japan Trend Shop for a price of $110.

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Review » Control an R/C car with an Android phone with the Blue Drone

For those who have ever wanted a Nissan GT-R in miniature form are about to get your wish with the Blue Drone R/C Racer.

Not only is this R/C car a tiny replica of a $90,000, 530 horsepower car, but it has a very unique feature. It can be controlled by a Bluetooth-enabled Android phone or tablet.

Yes, thanks to a free application, you can control this R/C car with the use of a touch screen, or steer it using your mobile’s accelerometer. The car has a range of thirty feet, is powered by three AAA batteries, and can last for about three hours.

This is one of those Kickstarter projects, which means that it hasn’t been made into a reality as yet. The makers are looking for $200,000 to get started, and if you are willing to lay down $59, you can get one for yourself.

You can go to the project page for more information. If you go to the Source link below, you can watch a demo video of it in action.

I wonder if this is the beginning of R/C toys that are controlled by an application rather than a remote control apparatus of some type. We might as well phase out that device, as it seems rather old-school in comparison to a smartphone.

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