Latest Posts on Coolest Gadgets

This concept aircraft carrier is mostly made of ice
The Augmented Reality Fitting Room, the VIPodium
This gaming technology shows what it feels like to get shot or stabbed
Razer courts Xbox 360 community with ultimate arcade stick
LG Marquee sprints to the fore
Children’s Night Vision Monocular helps kids live out Spy Kids fantasy
Harry Potter Illuminated Wand Pen

This concept aircraft carrier is mostly made of ice

Posted: 15 Sep 2011 10:33 AM PDT

During World War II, there were a lot of technologies proposed that seem outlandish by today’s standards.

One of them was by a British inventor named Geoffrey Pike, who wanted to build an aircraft carrier that was mostly composed of ice. He wanted to build it using Pykrete, a material that is 86 percent ice and 14 percent sawdust.

You might be thinking that the only place to build a carrier made of ice would be in Arctic regions. There might not be a reason to defend this cold area, but this ice carrier is actually made for warmer waters, too. Yes, it would begin to melt, but it can be repaired while at sea using the waters around it. Don’t ask me how it is supposed to do that.

If Pyke’s HMS Habbakuk was ever constructed, it would have been one of the largest crafts at sea. It would be 2,000 feet long, 300 feet wide, and 200 feet tall. It could hold 200 fighter planes or 100 bombers, with a crew of about 3,700. It would have been pretty impressive, but only a 60-foot prototype was made. I’m guessing that it didn’t go off very well.

Anyone want to try and actually make another Pykrete vessel? According to my Source, only the Mythbusters guys have tried it.

Source

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[ This concept aircraft carrier is mostly made of ice copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

The Augmented Reality Fitting Room, the VIPodium

Posted: 15 Sep 2011 09:50 AM PDT

There is nothing that I like more than the application of augmented reality technology. What better way to use it than a virtual fitting room?

This is the VIPodium, and it uses Kinnect technology to show what clothes look like when on your person, without you ever having to put them on. You can see in the video after the jump how it works, but the clothes look rather super-imposed.

However, it is impressive that someone can turn around and see what the outfit looks like at all angles. So now you don’t have to ask whether or not this dress makes you look fat.

You can see in the video how the user selects an outfit from a scrolling menu, and can get information about it by touching a certain “i” button. The VIPodium even has social sharing tools so that users can share with their Facebook friends the outfit that they love so much. It also has a “Fit Communication” tool that has a quick electronic automatic interchange of garment-sizing measurements between the clothing retailers in order to get a perfect fit.

I wonder if we will ever get to the point where this technology will be so good, it will be like we are looking at ourselves in a mirror, but will have an entirely different outfit. We shall see.

Source

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ The Augmented Reality Fitting Room, the VIPodium copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

This gaming technology shows what it feels like to get shot or stabbed

Posted: 15 Sep 2011 09:12 AM PDT

I have seen video-game accessories that give the user haptic feedback in the form of small vibrations, to indicate that he or she has been hit.

This research group at the University of Electro-Communication takes it one step further as it wants to show users what it is like to be stabbed or shot.

I don’t believe that this is done in a way that actually feels as painful as being stabbed or shot, but the effect is done with vibration. Here’s how it works: if two separate points on the skin are stimulated in the same way at the same time, then it can occasionally feel like the space in between these points of contact is touched.

As you can see in the photo, there are two vibrating motors on the top and bottom of the hand. With the right frequency and intensity and vibrations, it will feel like you are being crucified, I guess.

Yeah, I’m not certain how much I really want to learn what it feels like to have something go through me. Assuming that one could perfect this technology, I suppose that it would cause some gamers to play a little better in order to avoid the unpleasant feeling of being wounded. However, it definitely takes the debate on video game violence to a whole new level.

Source

Conference Calendar – The global conference and expo finder.
[ This gaming technology shows what it feels like to get shot or stabbed copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Razer courts Xbox 360 community with ultimate arcade stick

Posted: 15 Sep 2011 06:30 AM PDT

Razer is an old hand when it comes to rolling out gaming peripherals, and you know by their pedigree that they do follow a no-nonsense procedure when churning out quality products. Well, this time around, it would be the Xbox 360 community who is set to benefit from what Razer has in mind – the company recently introduced a major closed beta program that intends to encourage community feedback on the design of a highly-customizable arcade stick for the Xbox 360.

Yes sir, it sounds as though Razer wants to endow Xbox 360 owners with an arcade stick that is set to stand the test of time – design-wise as well as in terms of build. This arcade stick will be developed with pro-gamer feedback, where it currently resides at the prototype stage.

Before the product is ready for commercial release, however, there will be more than 200 specially selected top-seed Street Fighter IV pro-gamers, influential modders, and members of the arcade enthusiast community to test out this arcade stick, sharing their feedback with Razer so that perfection can be achieved in the end. You know the drill – if it is good enough for them, it should be more than good enough for the average layman on the street.

If you think that you’re definitely part of the worldwide arcade community and want to participate in this beta program, then you are more than welcome to send your ideas Razer’s way. While a picture is worth a thousand words, I think that the team over at Razer would prefer you to include a short description as to why you should be considered to be part of the prototype testing process.

You can also do a favor for a friend by nominating him or her to the program, and all successful applicants around the world will see an arcade stick prototype arrive at their doorsteps in due time. No idea on whether these will make their way to eBay or not in the future, but do expect them to be of some value sometime down the road.

Press Release

Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool

[ Razer courts Xbox 360 community with ultimate arcade stick copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

LG Marquee sprints to the fore

Posted: 15 Sep 2011 06:00 AM PDT

Forgive the pun in the title, but I could not resist myself. Yes sir, the LG Marquee, also known as the LG Optimus Black if you happen to have a penchant of memorizing all the different code names and model names assigned to each phone, will be made available to Sprint subscribers, with pre-sale orders happening from September 20th onwards. Sale of the device at stores will happen in October, but if you’re one of the early birds who prefer to place pre-orders, then you can get yours by this month.

Following modern design cues of being slim and stylish, the LG Marquee certainly lends an air of elegance whenever you want to whip the handset out from your pocket – it will feature a 4" bright NOVA display that offers “better indoor and outdoor visibility” – although how much clearer that is, remains to be seen. 4″ isn’t really that large these days and can be considered normal, but we’ll take our chances.

It will have Android 2.3, Gingerbread as the operating system of choice, while your programs ought to run smoothly without any hiccups thanks to its 1GHz processor, although we would have liked to see something faster packed in. I suppose that makes it fall under the mid-range category of smartphones, no? The LG Marquee will come with easy-to-use applications, not to mention access to networks and resources with the latest Android technology featuring Sprint ID.

The entire gamut of mobile Google services are supported, including Google Talk and Gmail, but of course you can choose to set up your own range of email accounts to check on while you’re on-the-go. The virtual QWERTY keyboard works great with Swype, and I suspect that would enable you to churn out your text messages and email faster than ever before.

Other hardware specifications include a 5-megapixel autofocus camera at the back, and if you’re a sucker for video calls, there is a 2-megapixel shooter up front. Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity has also been thrown into the mix, and you can always carry around up to 32GB of data thanks to a microSDHC memory card slot.

Press Release

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ LG Marquee sprints to the fore copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Children’s Night Vision Monocular helps kids live out Spy Kids fantasy

Posted: 15 Sep 2011 05:30 AM PDT

So your kid has dragged you to the cinema to catch the latest Spy Kids instalment which frankly, is one of those movies that should never have been made. I’m serious – the movie itself is a travesty so to speak, and tack on the gimmick of 3D on a non-descript movie and you’ve got a major disaster on your hands. Well, assuming they have yet to discover the difference between a bad movie and a good one, surely they won’t mind getting some spy gear of their own – such as this Children’s Night Vision Monocular.

Retailing for $69.95, this is not exactly an impulse purchase, but it is still affordable enough to buy without causing irreversible damage to your bank balance at the end of the month. To put it plainly, this night vision monocular allows children to observe subjects in near-complete darkness, since it relies on a similar type of infrared LEDs that see action in home security cameras.

A couple of 5-LED clusters are arranged on either side of the objective lens so that it can illuminate subjects up to 50′ away without any detection, and with this, you can be sure that your kids won’t be sleeping even an hour after you’ve read them their bedtime stories. No sir, they will most probably be taking turns with the Children’s Night Vision Monocular, peering out of the window and down the street hoping for a Super 8 moment.

Coolest Gadgets UK – For all your UK centric tech and gadget news.
[ Children’s Night Vision Monocular helps kids live out Spy Kids fantasy copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Harry Potter Illuminated Wand Pen

Posted: 15 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT

I knew it – there was no such thing as phoenix feathers powering a magic want – but rather, batteries. Yes sir, batteries are the stuff of life, at least on the Muggle side of things over here. After all, cracking open the $9.99 Harry Potter Illuminated Wand Pen won’t reveal any feather of sorts inside, and I must say that this wand works differently from the rest – in fact, it might yield far more power than what you watch at the movies.

How so, you ask? Well, give this pen into the hands of President Obama and see him sign a bill that passes a certain law – will even the great Harry Potter be able to do that with all his incantations and spells at his disposal? I doubt so. Guess this is good enough to write down your spells for memorization, but other than that, the other kind of magic it is capable of is this – helping you remember very, very important dates such as your wedding anniversary by writing it down somewhere – forget that and no spell on earth can protect you from the wrath of a woman scorned.

Coolest Gadgets UK – For all your UK centric tech and gadget news.
[ Harry Potter Illuminated Wand Pen copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]