August Gadgets

We continue our column about the most interesting gadgets.

Now, to see a high-tech laser show, you don't have to go to a club-equipment trade fair — you can put on the same thing at home with the Red Hot Laser Show device. The compact gadget is wireless, so it's convenient to use anywhere, even outdoors. It will surprise you with a set of laser effects that can be synchronized with music — for this, a special microphone is built into the device. The gadget's appearance matches its capabilities. It's shaped like a flame and painted a beautiful shade of red. This underlines its purpose. The Red Hot Laser Show costs just $24.95. And you can buy it here→. Throw your own party in the beams of the Red Hot Laser Show!

In 2007 the Korean company NTI Comodo→ released an interesting device for DJs — the DJ Mix 2000. It's designed for creating your own podcasts. Palm-sized, this gadget surprisingly boasts a full standard set of features. The device is compatible with the Windows 2000/XP/Vista operating system. This product is unlikely to interest professional DJs, but among internet-radio-broadcasting enthusiasts it's sure to find its fans. The gadget is equipped with a USB port, tools for adding/removing an echo effect and LED indicators. There are three modes: voice only, music only and mixed (voice with music). The DJ Mix 2000 comes with special software supporting the MP3, WMA and WAV formats. In South Korea this device costs about $140.

The watch pictured here is interesting in that it's a genuine mobile phone! The device is presented by the company Hyundai→. Its small size has in no way affected the unit's functionality. The Hyundai W100 phone has a touchscreen display with a 1.3-inch diagonal. A miniature stylus is hidden in the watch strap. The gadget is equipped with Bluetooth technology, a 1.3 MP digital camera, an MP3 player — which is undoubtedly important for those who love to listen to music — and even a video player. All of this implies that the phone has a large amount of memory. But here too a quick solution to the problem was found — the unit has a slot for MicroSD memory cards. The Hyundai W100 comes in black, white and pink. The kit includes everything you need: a battery, a charger, a stereo headset, a set of cables for the computer. This device isn't officially supplied to Russia, but you can order it online, for example, here→. It was also found on the online auction www.ebay.com→.

The Swedish company Tonium→ has released an interesting device for DJs — a "pocket" mixer called the Pacemaker. The gadget has a hard drive with 120 GB of memory and an excellent equalizer, and supports many popular audio-file formats: MP3, WAV, AAC, WMA and FLAC. With it you can mix tracks and apply various effects, as well as record the resulting mixes to the hard drive. The Pacemaker is equipped with a touch panel through which it is controlled. This mixer has everything for building a real DJ set! You can find more detailed information and the gadget's price on its official site www.pacemaker.net→.

The super-umbrella by designer Mikhail Stavsky (Mikhal Stawsky) will become an indispensable accessory for you in rainy summer weather! Built into the handle of this unusual umbrella is a Bluetooth adapter capable of working as a wireless hands-free device. Everyone is probably familiar with the situation where, in pouring rain, you have to manage to hold the umbrella, a bag (or even several bags), try not to get soaked, and then, without fail, someone calls, and there are no free hands to fish the phone out of the very deepest little pocket. With the Bluetooth umbrella all problems are solved in an instant. The device is equipped with a touchscreen display, a microphone, a speaker and even a radio receiver! The only downside is that the umbrella has no headphone jack, so your phone conversation may be overheard by passersby. Buying the umbrella is impossible at the moment, since for now it's only a concept. Source: www.yankodesign.com→.

This summer a cute MP3 player from the Korean company INNO Design→ went on sale. The gadget was given the name "INNO-BO" and the shape of a small badge. This MP3 player will be of particular interest to girls, as it easily doubles as an accessory in the form of a pendant around the neck. What matters is that the player's colors are quite varied, and everyone can find something for themselves among pink, white, orange, brown and coffee shades. On board are 1 GB of memory and the basic functions of playback, pause and switching between tracks. In Korea the gadget is priced at around $60.

Outside, summer is in full swing. The season of holidays and seaside trips. Now fans of seaside relaxation have a unique opportunity to swim and relax to their favorite music right in the water! The original waterproof MP3 player uCan by the company Ubanana→ will be an excellent helper in this. No long wires or headphones that would cause a lot of discomfort in the water. The gadget is made as a single unit that attaches to your head. It's capable of working at depths of up to 3 meters. The player has 1 GB of memory and can delight you with music playback for 15 hours without an extra recharge. What's more, this player is hard to lose, since it doesn't sink! You can buy it on the site www.u-banana.com→ for 99€. Enjoy your holidays, everyone! Enjoy the music!

To be continued…