Latest Posts on Coolest Gadgets

The Ice Hotels of Sweden and Romania
The Jabra PRO 930 for telephony
Portals: Like I really wouldn’t report on this
US Army tests 1.8-gigapixel camera helicopter drone
SiriusXM Lynx Portable Radio introduced
Internal Combustion Engine Kit

Posted: 30 Dec 2011 06:30 AM PST

Since today is my 40th birthday, I have decided to celebrate by spending the night at a hotel. I can’t say that I would like to spend a night at this hotel, but it would make for an interesting story about the day I turned the big 4-0.

This ICEHOTEL is an annual project in the village of Jukkasjarvi. Every suite is specially made by artists who submit their ideas and have them selected by a jury. There are fifty artists in total that create the church, icebar, reception area, main hall and rooms. Of course, like all art, it is sadly temporary, and it melts every spring in the Torne River.

I thought that this ICEHOTEL looked familiar, and you might recognize a similar ice hotel in the James Bond movie Die Another Day. The movie was not filmed there, but it was the inspiration. After the jump, read more about another ice hotel in Romania.

The ice hotel in Romania is the Balea Lac Hotel of Ice in the Fagaras mountains. It has 10 double rooms with king size beds, with a temperature of -2 to 2 degrees Celsius.

Yeah, that is very cold, but it’s better than staying at the hotel made entirely of fire.

Source1 and Source 2

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[ The Ice Hotels of Sweden and Romania copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

The Jabra PRO 930 for telephony

Posted: 30 Dec 2011 06:15 AM PST

Jabra has recently started an entry-level wireless headsets, and one of them is the Jabra PRO 930.

Normally, Jabra creates a lot of Bluetooth headsets and occasional speakers, but the PRO 930 is designed for telephony services like Skype. The PRO 930 comes with a stand that can be plugged into a computer for charging and syncing.

Not only is it good to use with an adjustable headband for a good fit, but the PRO 930 also has an earpiece that can snap on so it looks like a usual Bluetooth headset.

Other features of this device include a dedicated button to answer calls, as well as volume controls. It also has a convenient noise canceling microphone that eliminates ambient background noise, like in a busy office environment.

I recently had a chance to try this out for myself, and I made the mistake of assuming that it was a simple Bluetooth headset. Yeah, my smartphone didn’t pair with it.

I’m not really a guy for Skype, but I got it working quickly enough. If I can do it, I am pretty sure that anyone can, so I will recommend this product for those new or old to telephony.

You should be able to get the Jabra PRO 930 for a price of $199. The similar PRO 920, designed for desk phones, is available for the same price.

Source

Conference Calendar – The global conference and expo finder.
[ The Jabra PRO 930 for telephony copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Portals: Like I really wouldn’t report on this

Posted: 30 Dec 2011 06:00 AM PST

What you are seeing here is not a deleted scene from Poltergeist where the TV sucks someone else in, starting with their hand.

This is a Kickstarter project called Portals, and it has nothing to do with the popular video game franchise Portal. What you see here is exactly what you think it is: someone has made a display that you can literally reach into.

It works with a simple greenscreen and webcam. When you stick your hand in the box, the webcam records your hand against the green screen and on the display you are looking at. In the case of the illustration, the user has chosen Google Streetview.

This reminds me of one of those shoebox dioramas I used to make in elementary school. In fact, you can even put other things on the Portals display besides your hand. All it takes is a little bit of touch surface and RFID tags.

As I have mentioned before, this is a Kickstarter project, which means it requires funding to get off the ground. Designer Jayne Videheecharoen has already achieved her goal, but it looks like she only wants to make two prototypes to finish her thesis. I really hope that you can buy something like this in the future, as the neat factor is really high.

Source

Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool

[ Portals: Like I really wouldn’t report on this copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

US Army tests 1.8-gigapixel camera helicopter drone

Posted: 30 Dec 2011 05:30 AM PST

All right, the Iranians might have shot down one of those drones from the US, but we are quite sure the US Army is already light years ahead in terms of technology as well as next generation drones. In fact, the US Army recently tested a helicopter drone that would make for the perfect spy machine – especially when it sports a 1.8-gigapixel camera on it. This drone aircraft is capable of hovering around, and will not require a runway in order to take-off or land, now how about that?

This particular technology employed promised “an unprecedented capability to track and monitor activity on the ground”, where another three of these sensor-equipped drones are on track to see action in Afghanistan in either May or June next year. While Boeing was first off the blocks in building these drones, other firms are still able to throw in their bid to manufacture the rest. It will take a year of deployment in order to learn all that they can about the drone, its capabilities and limitations, resulting in a record compilation that will pave the way for a superior model down the road.

Also known as the A160 Hummingbird, this particular drone needs not a runway since it can take off vertically, and the hovering capability might see it in the battlefield far more frequent than existing UAVs. Test flights are set to commence in the Arizona desert at the beginning of 2011, before they make their way to the Middle East before the year is over. Relying on the Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System, also known as Argus-IS for short as a tribute to Argus Panoptes – the one-hundred-eyed-giant of Greek mythology. At present, the 1.8-gigapixel camera which sees action is touted to be the largest video sensor used in tactical missions.

Having said that, it boasts wider fields of view than ever before, which equals to 900 times the resolution of a 2-megapixel camera that you find on older handsets. It does not only do image stills, but videos as well, delivering real-time video streams at the rate of 10 frames a second. It is said that with this kind of technology, the military is capable of tracking people and vehicles from altitudes above 20,000 feet (6.1km) across nearly 65 square miles (168 sq km).

Source

Conference Calendar – The global conference and expo finder.
[ US Army tests 1.8-gigapixel camera helicopter drone copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

SiriusXM Lynx Portable Radio introduced

Posted: 30 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST

Sirius XM Radio has just announced the Lynx Portable Radio, touting this to be the first SiriusXM 2.0 radio which delivers spanking new features and receives an expanded channel lineup over satellite and Internet connections. Lynx is said to be the most advanced radio to date from SiriusXM, where it is full well capable of receiving the new expanded SiriusXM 2.0 channel range of commercial-free music, sports, and comedy, where among them include SiriusXM Latino – a totally new suite of Spanish-language programming.

Lynx was constructed with a flexible architecture that will pave the way for new features and capabilities that can be added via the path of software updates. SiriusXM 2.0 is said to be a major upgrade and evolution of SiriusXM’s satellite and Internet delivered service, and the ultimate goal would be to see this particular service span across hardware, software, audio, and data services.

Lynx intends to deliver more control to subscribers, especially when it concerns the area of how they tune in to SiriusXM satellite radio. This will enable them to begin a song from the beginning when tuning to a Favorite music channel, but just as how life is better with choices, one can also store broadcast content to listen to at a later time. Subscribers also have the option to restart their favorite content while remaining connected to SiriusXM Internet Radio over Wi-Fi. Thanks to the generous large touch screen display, you are able to enjoy full control of your listening experience. Lynx is also capable of streaming SiriusXM content to Bluetooth stereo speakers, headphones, vehicle stereo systems or optional accessories, where you are able to use it at home, in a vehicle or being generally up and about.

Considering Lynx’s versatility, it is no surprise to hear that it is based on the Android operating system, and can be updated without the need to tether it to a computer via a cable, since you can update it over a Wi-Fi connection. If you are interested, you will be able to pick up SiriusXM Lynx for $249.99 a pop.

Press Release

Conference Calendar – The global conference and expo finder.
[ SiriusXM Lynx Portable Radio introduced copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Internal Combustion Engine Kit

Posted: 30 Dec 2011 04:30 AM PST

Ever wondered how your vehicle’s engine worked, if you are like one of the many millions out there with a standard car? Well, if you are curious enough to find out, there is always a Flash animation somewhere online to discover, but some of us prefer touching the real thing in our hands. The $49.95 Internal Combustion Engine Kit would be able to do the job just right, where it boasts of a working 1/10 scale model of a 4-cylinder internal combustion engine. This kit will feature more than 100 ABS plastic parts that will work in unison, as long as you use the included tools the right way.

The Haynes Manual that comes with it will help guide the entire construction process to completion, boasting step-by-step instructions as well as vivid, clearly printed diagrams. The transparent cylinder block will let you check out just how the connected parts work in tandem to get your vehicle up and running, while small applications of vegetable oil provide the necessary lubrication required. As for the engine itself, it will operate thanks to a small battery-powered electric motor that runs off a couple of AA batteries. I would say that I myself am mesmerized to see it work.