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.

Read rest of entry

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.

Read rest of entry

Review » Crazy 3x3x7 puzzle will challenge you Rubik’s cubists

Our friend’s at Brando, who have created many fun gadgets in the past, have now created the Simplity Cubic 3x3x7 IQ Brick.

I think the company is trying to avoid the word Rubik’s Cube due to copyright infringement. It really is the same basic principle, but instead of the 3 x 3 x 3 cube that you must solve, this is a 3 x 3 x 7 Cube. At least it’s not the 17 x 17 x 17 puzzle we reported about before.

As you can see by the illustration, it looks like a regular Rubik’s Cube from the 80′s, but two of the “layers” (for lack of a better word) have three layers to them. Gee, I really hope that this makes sense, because I can’t figure out a better way to describe it. Hopefully this image from the Brando website makes it clear.

You can make some seriously strange turns with this puzzle cube. I am guessing that if you can turn it certain ways, that you won’t be able to turn in certain other ways. Again, I really hope that I’m being clear in my description.

Maybe you should try out this cube for yourself. Just go over to the Brando site and lay down $26.90 USD for it. Any Rubik’s Cubists game? We’ll see how long it takes to solve this one.

Read rest of entry

Review » DIY Magnetic Levitating Sculpture Kit

Have you watched David Copperfield in action back when he was the magic superstar of the world? Well, he certainly did mesmerize plenty of folks with his collection and repertoire of tricks in his bag, including making the Great Wall of China disappear, but surely some of the seemingly more basic tricks have caught your attention too, no? For example, the trick of levitating an object or a person is still something that I have quite yet to figure out, but perhaps with the $49.99 DIY Magnetic Levitating Sculpture Kit, things might change for the better. This is an easy to assemble kit, allowing you to suspend a magnet in mid-air.

Gravity vs electromagnetism – a battle that can be won by either, depending on the delicate balance and placement of objects. This unique DIY kit will boast an extremely powerful magnet at the top of the sculpture that will pull the magnet cube up, and when the forces of gravity and electromagnetism are balanced, the magnet cube will remain in mid-air, spinning around to keep you and anyone else who looks at it mesmerized.

Read rest of entry

Review » c-Jump Computer Programming Board Game

Some parents wish that they could live out their dreams through their kids, for instance, a pilot might want his son to enrol in the same school that he did when he was a wee lad, charting the son’s life path before he even knows what a Pokemon is. I say let your kids discover for themselves what their lot in life is, you cannot simply force someone to live out your life as it would make the entire growing up process a painful and difficult one. If you want to know whether your little one could be the next John Carmack, then playing Doom is not the answer, but rather, purchasing the $24.99 c-Jump Computer Programming Board Game.

This unique board game will let you learn the basics of computer programming, where the main objective is to race down the mountain – by thinking like a computer programmer. Pretty cool, don’t you think so? How about programming a portal to open up on one end with another at the destination to take a short cut? This unique board game targets middle school aged geeklings as well as the older ones who are new to the world of programming, where it teaches basic programming language commands such as “if”, “else”, and “switch”, while introducing the variable “x” concept. Have fun while learning, that is what life is all about.

Read rest of entry

Review » Lightnight Reaction for some shocking gaming sessions

If you want to develop lightning quick reflexes, training with an enraged snake (the more poisonous the better, since it will up the ante) will definitely do that, but for a far less risky venture, you might want to check out the $29.99 Lightnight Reaction. This particular shocking party game will see the losers get a nice zap to their hands, definitely not a feeling that any of us would like. I guess it is also a deterrent for those who have hatched plans to perform some nefarious deeds down the road which might result in the electric chair, no?

Parties need to be fun, and when you couple a free flow of booze with the chances of getting shocked, you know you’re in for a smashing time. After all, drinking alcohol will slow down your reflexes and perhaps dull your senses, increasing the chances of you “losing” at this game. Basically, four players will participate in this game, where each of them will grab a controller from the base unit. When the light in the middle of the base illuminates, make sure you are the first person to press the button on your controller – and get this, only the FASTEST person will be safe from any shocks.

The shock factor can also be adjusted, depending on how much of a hero(ine) or wuss you are.

Read rest of entry

Review » NERF Vortex Disc Blaster

Summer is out and school’s in, but that does not mean you still cannot have some fun with your family in your backyard at the end of the day and during the weekend, right? With the new $19.99 NERF Vortex Disc Blaster, this unique disc blaster will be able to carry a payload of 5 discs, blasting discs towards your opponent instead of darts. Somehow, there is just this psychological feeling that a disc is going to cut you right through just like Wolverine’s adamantium claws, but since these are made out of the same material as NERF darts, they won’t even scratch your skin.

Capable of firing long-range, high-powered discs at over 40 feet, reloading it is a cinch as the side loading blaster will drop down at the flick of a switch. The single tactical rail will function with all NERF tactical rail accessories, but of course, those accessories will need to be purchased separately. Granted, 5 dics aren’t going to get you too far in a game and it will be over all too quickly, but at least its a start in a father-son bonding session, no?

Read rest of entry

Review » Origo, the toy 3D printer that makes more toys

In the future, every household will have a 3D printer like they have a 2D printer. You will note that I didn’t put a year on this, because I’m not stupid. Every time I read a sentence that starts with “by the year” it hardly ever comes true.

However, this Origo 3D printer could bring 3D printers into households sooner than later. The Origo is currently a concept from designers Artur Tchoukanov and Joris Peels, and it can turn any drawing into a 3D object.

I have no idea how it can translate a 2D drawing into a 3D figure, but here is the real cool feature of the Origo. After a child has created his or her toy, he or she can recycle the material and make another toy.

This 3D printer will be very simple to use as the Nintendo Wii or the Xbox 360. While we are on the subject of the Xbox 360, you should know that this thing is “as big as three Xbox 360’s and as expensive as three Xbox 360’s”.

It is an odd size and price comparison, but I still believe that the Origo is the future. I can imagine that they will be available in many colors by the time they will be sitting on the shelves at Wal-Mart.

Read rest of entry

Review » Stretch Screamers make Halloween more fun

So you’ve seen stress balls before (and perhaps used them), but how many of them will actually scream? Enter the £22.99 Stretch Screamers, where you will be able to choose from Mummy, Frankenstein or Ghoul characters. These are rubbery figures that will howl and moan whenever you give them a good stretch. Torturing the undead does not seem to be the wisest thing to do, no? After all, they can’t die, and who are we to say that they will not exact their revenge on you ala Chucky when you fall asleep?

Just like all other horror movies you’ve watched, these rubbery characters are full well able to take quite the beating, as they tend to come back for a whole lot more punishment after you’ve given your best shot. Even more realistic is this – each character will feature their very own pop out item, be it a brain or an eyeball. Of course, they will fall silent once the two AAA batteries inside run out of juice. These don’t run on human brains for sure!

Read rest of entry

Review » Mindflex Duel up for sale

ThinkGeek has finally brought the Mindflex Duel to the market – never mind that in January this year, we reported that Mindflex Duel is already available for pre-order over at Amazon. Well, I suppose ThinkGeek made a rare mistake by calling it “Mindflex Dual”, but that’s just semantics talking here. What we’re more interested in is some sort of wizard-like powers you and your opponent will wield, where EEG technology is used to figure out your concentration level where the strongest mind will prevail.

Basically, each of you will strap your respective headbands, and your concentration will be focused on the ball – it rises as you concentrate, sinking it when you relax. All you need to do is force the ball into your opponent’s end zone and you’ve scored a point. The entire $109.99 setup will come with a couple of headsets, a quartet of balls as well as different parts to set up mind games.

This seems to be a rather heavy eater of batteries though, so rechargeables are recommended if you’re going to play it in the long run. A quartet of C batteries will be required for the console, while a trio of AAA batteries will power each headset.

Read rest of entry

Review » Star Wars Force FX Removable Blade Lightsabers

I guess the world just cannot get enough of George Lucas’ space opera, Star Wars, with the Blu-ray version of Star Wars: The Complete Saga breaking all Blu-ray sales records in the blink of an eye. Well, having said that, even if you already own all sorts of lightsaber replicas and toys with no more room left to spare in your basement, chances are you would also find the $119.99 Star Wars Force FX Removable Blade Lightsabers enticing, much to the chagrin of your other half.

Touted by Thinkgeek to be the “most perfect lightsaber toy ever”, these new blades will light from bottom up accompanied by its unique sound, and whenever you’re done with slaying enemies as well as dispatching of the latest Sith (was it the Master or the Apprentice?), it will fade from the top down with an appropriate sound. Each swing will also trigger its own sound effect, and if it comes into contact with another person, object or lightsaber, the distinctive explosive sound will also be heard.

You can even pick up a couple more models for your collection in this round – Luke’s lightsaber from Episode IV and Kit Fisto, who fell far too easily to Emperor Palpatine.

Read rest of entry

Review » Doctor Who Time Lord Psychic Container

Are you a huge fan of Dr Who and love collecting all of their merchandise, much to the chagrin of the missus? Well, you might as well as this $29.99 Doctor Who Time Lord Psychic Container to your bucket list – this is a color-changing plastic cube that boasts both glowing as well as flickering effects, where you can choose to put into action three modes – color change, white glow and white flicker.

Having said that, you can also let your overactive imagination run wild by thinking that a Time Lord is about to send you a message, and what better way to do it than through a Doctor Who Time Lord Psychic Container? After all, it just goes to show that every single bit of the message will not be lost in translation in any way, reaching you in the exact manner it was meant to be, perfect punctuation with no room for grammar Nazis to point their fingers at.

To begin the light effects, all you need to do is tap it, and to make sure the trio of LR44 batteries powering it are maximized, it will turn itself off automatically after 10 minutes.

Read rest of entry

Review » RePro3D system lets users play with and touch digital 3D characters

This is the RePro3D system, and it is under development by Keio University in Japan.

My Source calls it a miniature holodeck, but I don’t believe that this is an accurate description. You can see in the video after the jump what it actually is, and it combines several technologies.

The user looks into this box, and projectors create a naked-eye 3D fairy character. An infrared camera tracks the users hands, and that device that you see in the photo is for haptic feedback. It reminds me of those devices we discussed yesterday that could be used for virtual video game stabbings and shootings.

The video explains how the creators were inspired by video game characters, but they seemed “lonely” inside the video screens. The designers wanted to create more interactivity in the 3D world, and you can watch someone playing with a green fairy on a tiny seesaw in the video.

The designers also hope that they will make it possible for two users to interact with a virtual character in the future. If they perfect that process, then I would imagine that these designers are going to have something bigger and better than the 3DS. I think that Nintendo needs to invest in this, and let gamers interact with Pokemon.

Read rest of entry

Review » Operation game gets a Star Wars Makeover

I suppose that the game of Operation needs no introduction. That game where players attempt to pluck out plastic things and avoid a buzzer has now been given a Star Wars look.

It is appropriate that Hasbro has put this out, as they have the rights to Operation and Star Wars toys. For some odd reason, R2-D2 is on the slab, and it would appear that C3PO is the surgeon. In all honesty, I think both of the droids sustained equal amounts of injury in the Star Wars series. I suppose this is why the players can pull things out of C3PO as well.

You should see the things that you can pull out of this thing, which include a hiccuping hologram, a bad motivator, an overweight blob of grease, and other Star Wars references. For example, there is a lodged lightsaber that would have seriously caused some trouble in Return of the Jedi if R2-D2 didn’t launch it at Luke Skywalker in time.

In case you are wondering, this isn’t the first time that Operation has had a makeover. We already covered the Hulk version, and I believe Iron Man also received its own version, based on that scene where Tony Stark removes his old miniature arc reactor.

Read rest of entry

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.

Read rest of entry

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.

Read rest of entry

Review » Pac-Man Wind Ups

Just how fast can Pac-Man go in the game? He’s not too quick on his non-existent feet as he somehow glides across the surface of the maze, and the equally feet-less ghosts are far more agile, gliding along swiftly in order to catch that pill munching yellow pie chart. Not until Pac-Man gets a whiff of the super pill though, that is when the tables are turned, albeit momentarily. If you want to simulate your own chasing sequence in the Pac-Man universe, might I interest you in the Pac-Man Wind Ups?

Comprising of Pac-Man and Blinky, they seem to be best friends here, where you wind them up and leave them on a large flat surface, seeing just who will end up eating the other. Of course, something tells me that the speed will be constant, so most of the time it will end up as a stalemate. Bummer – and don’t you think that it would be cooler if it could be rmeote controlled? Each wind-up will stand proud at 2″ tall, with a 1.5″ diameter to go along.

For some mindless fun at home or at the office, the Pac-Man Wind Ups can be yours for $9.99.

Read rest of entry

Review » Star Wars Ultimate FX Lightsaber

Hasbro, who apparently owns the rights to all Star Wars toys, sent me the Ultimate FX Lightsaber to try out. As someone who has loved Star Wars since the first time I saw it in kindergarten, I was happy to try out any replica of a lightsaber.

I will have to admit that the Ultimate FX Lightsaber is about as close to a real lightsaber as possible. It may not cut through steel, but it does light from the hilt up, and has all the mesmerizing sound effects.

The ignition sound is the same as the one from the movie, and if you wave it, you’ll hear the whirring sound as well. If you strike something with the hard plastic blade, it will make a noise, but only the noise of hitting another lightsaber. It can’t make the authentic “lightsaber cutting” noise, but I’m glad that it can’t cut anything. After all, I must have brushed up against several things with the plastic blade, and that includes my shoulder. Now I understand why lightsabers are only fictional.

I had the Darth Vader model with the red blade, but there are others to choose from as well, like Luke’s green blade from Return of the Jedi, Mace Windu’s purple blade, and Anakin’s blue blade. You can even get the Darth Maul version, which can screw together with another to from a double bladed one. This model also works as Asajj Ventress’ saber as well.

The Star Wars Ultimate FX Lightsaber is available on the Hasbro Toy Shop for about $34.99. Also included with a lightsaber is a DVD of a “Force Tech Training”, which is essentially ten minutes of footage from the Clone Wars series mixed with CG characters doing lightsaber moves.

Read rest of entry

Review » Carrera Slot Car Race Set

Toys for boys – you will definitely need something that can capture their attention in a jiffy, not to mention being made out of hardy enough a material so that they can withstand all the abuse and temper tantrums from your little one. If you want to have your kid remain mesmerized for some time without moving or fidgeting about (which you think would be a miracle), here is the $99.95 Carrera Slot Car Race Set to get you started.

This slot-car set is manufactured by Carrera, and just in case the name does not ring a bell, this is touted to be the world’s most prestigious slot-car maker…since 1963. The set boasts of 29.5′ worth of track to challenge racers’ skills with a couple of loops, an equal number of lane changes, a flyover, and a 180º high-banked curve.

Accompanying the set would be two richly detailed 1:43 Formula One Ferrari cars (granted, Ferrari isn’t on a hot streak for some years already ever since Michael Schumacher retired), and these were specially designed double-contact brush that will deliver a secure connection to the track for consistent control during a race. Handheld control delivers a boost button if you need another 25% of power when attacking loops, as well as pumping up the speed on straightaways.

To make sure no one cheats, there is an automatic lap counter thrown into the mix, while durable ABS plastic withstands years of intense racing.

Read rest of entry

Review » Pajaggle game has turned me to a Pa-junkie

Conventions like Pax Prime in Seattle are occasions that attract a lot of games, both board and electronic. One of the best games that I saw was this one, Pajaggle.

Pajaggle is a game with a plastic board, made for pieces that fit precisely in place. That’s it. The goal of the game is to simply put the shapes in the proper place, in the least about of time. By the way, the player is supposed to put the big piece in the middle of the board in last, and say “Pajaggle”.

As someone who loves it when things are in order, there is something very comforting about this game. There are other ways to play this game, like a game of triads where the Pajaggle pieces are put in groups of three.

I have to say that the game is somewhat difficult as these pieces are laser-cut to fit in their one place, and some pieces fit in other pieces. It looks easy at first, but this game of shapes becomes difficult as some pieces don’t fit in as easy as they should on the first try.

All in all, Pajaggle is fun for any age. It is available for about $29.99 from the Pajaggle online store.

Read rest of entry