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Crapgadget: Ca-d'oh edition
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. That's probably because it's Christmas. A time when the diet goes out of the window, everyone but you is wearing a hilariously ironic knitted sweater and the festive Crapgadgets rear their ugly heads. Yes, the sort of technology that tries to dupe unwitting relatives to buy you "something for your eyephones" from the bargain bin at Best Buy, this collection of aesthetic anomalies, taste travesties and electronic errors will have you praying for the cold, hard glare of January.
Brando gives the world the sub-$200 glasses-free 3D tablet it demands
We wouldn't be entirely shocked to see a handful of 3D tablets pop up at CES next week. In the meantime, however, Brando's got a pretty good hold on the market, with the clunkily-named GADMEI T863-3D Tablet. The Gingerbread slate offers up 3D images and video on its eight-inch display, without the need for glasses. You'll also get HDMI out, a microSD slot and a front-facing camera on the thing. With 512MB of RAM on-board, this $199 tablet won't be the quickest one around, but at least you'll be able to brag about being the first person on your block with a 3D slate, for whatever that's worth. Video of the tablet in action after the break.
USB Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer III makes leaving your basement apartment even less appealing
"Get up and go" is for the birds, man. But in the off-chance that your PC, home entertainment system and various gaming consoles weren't enough to keep you inside for days at a time, check out the upgraded version of Brando's USB Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer. The third iteration of the temperature gauging device gives you the sort of accuracy you just can't get from TV and internet forecasts. The thermometer can give you instant readings without having to install extra software -- you just hold down the caps and number lock keys and it will copy the current temperate to your clipboard. It can also send you the temperature via text message, for those times when you can't be bothered to start up the computer. The price of such glorious slothfulness? A mere $32, American.
Engadget's back to school guide 2011: fun stuff!
Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Since the weekend is finally upon us, we figured now's as good a time as any to sit back, relax, and have some fun. Play along with our fun stuff picks -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back -- at the end of the month we'll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides -- and hit up the hub page right here! It's Friday, and that can only mean one thing: two days of parties, sleeping in, and seeing your campus transform from a vehicle of intense education to a spring break-like haven of drunken delight. We've rounded up a few toys to help you relax before you head back to class -- a memory card reader that doubles as a pocket mirror, an Arduino-powered car that can stream video from the dorm hall, and an electric-powered sports car that can drive you and a friend far from campus for a pricey weekend getaway -- so kick off the shoes and prepare to embrace these 48 hours of freedom. And when it's time to get back to the books, we have the gear for that too -- and we're giving it away! Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win, and check out our giveaway page for more details.
Crapgadget: 'after school special' edition
School can be tough, especially when you're different. So what better way to keep the bullies at bay than to get your craptastic accessory freak on. In this special back to school bonanza of creeper tech, Hong Kong-based watchmaker o.d.m. mashes E.T. with a gummy bunny for a wrist-rocking return to infancy, Strapya World takes you by the baby's hand for iPhone 4 case comfort, while Dane-Elec's E-Razor USB stick goes undercover in a block full of erasing rubber. And if you're looking for a soundtrack throwback to match the solar-powered butterfly you've stuck in your Jansport, Brando's got you covered with its USB Cassette Capture & Player. Take a gander at the roundup below and make sure to vote for the crapgadget most likely to not succeed.
Brando's USB optical mouse doubles as a digital scale, for when you really need it
That shady character on the corner just sold you a plastic skull keychain with fiery orange eyes. He assured you it weighed 25 grams, but how do you know you're not being ripped off? Fortunately, Brando has come out with a USB optical mouse that has a built-in digital scale, designed, apparently, for this precise situation. Just lift up the cover, calibrate the reader and weigh away. Pencils, lint, small animals -- the list of measurable items is endless, as long as your goods don't exceed 500 grams. To get the good times rolling, hit the source link, where you can grab one for $22.
Gadmei P83 PMP does glasses-free 3D for $179
A no-name PMP selling for $179 at Brando -- purveyor of all things inexpensive, electronic and often USB-powered -- may not ordinarily make the grade for us, but this so-called Gadmei P83 device has one somewhat notable trick up its sleeve. It packs an 8-inch, 1,280 x 768 display that's able to do glasses-free 3D video. Of course, you're left to yourself to actually hunt down or provide your own compatible video files, and the PMP itself is decidedly ordinary otherwise: 4GB of storage, an SD card slot for expansion, and the usual media playback capabilities and nothing more (no one's going to confuse this for a tablet). Still curious? Head on past the break for a video that offers a slightly more accurate depiction of the device than the image above.
Brando's iPad 2 telescope is perfect for watching the next Apple keynote
If you're like us, you've spent entirely too much time wondering how the movie Rear Window might have played out differently, had someone just handed Jimmy Stewart's character an iPad to play with. With the introduction of the Super Gear Telescope, it seems that the plot would've been mostly the same, just as soon as he finished beating Angry Birds. The Brando add-on brings 6x zoom to the iPad 2 and generally looks far less awkward than its iPhone predecessor. All in all, $26 seems like a small price to pay to see what the neighbors are looking at on their own iPads.
Brando's Bombshell MP3 player gives the TSA something new to balk at
Nah, grenade and bomb-shaped PMPs aren't anything new, but we'll confess to never seeing anything quite like this. Hosted up at the always-unpredictable Brando website, the USB Bombshell MP3 Player acts as a portable speaker, a radio and a markedly volatile MP3 player. There's an inbuilt USB port and SD card slot for loading up your favorite Rise Against albums, and the integrated Li-ion battery pack should keep it ticking for an undisclosed amount of time. 'Course, sneaking this one past airport security could be an adventure unto itself, but those willing to live life with the pin pulled can get one headed their way for $43. [Thanks, Lawrence]
This year's hottest pocket mirror is also a USB 3.0 multi-format card reader
We always knew that the worlds of technology and popular culture were on a collision course of epic proportions, and if this isn't proof... well, you might say that proof simply doesn't exist. Brando's newest gizmo has an identity crisis that Charlie Sheen would simply salivate over, but if we had to guess, we'd surmise that a USB 3.0 SuperSpeed card reader -- complete with support for CompactFlash, SDXC and M2 cards -- does a lot more #winning with a mirror slapped onto the side. Pre-order yours today for the tidy sum of $25, or alternatively, a vial of #tigerblood.
Brando's SATA HDD dock makes the obligatory leap to USB 3.0
It had to happen at some point, so why not now? After a startling -- almost terrifying -- year-long gap between Brando SATA HDD docks, the company is finally outing another. For those who've been camped out under the nearest boulder for the past few years, these external HDD docks allow users to plug any 2.5- or 3.5-inch SATA hard drive in, and then have said drive mount on the desktop of a connected computer. It's pretty handy for those running diagnostic tests or looking to clone a drive without a dedicated machine, and now it's taken the expected leap to USB 3.0 -- a move that rival Sharkoon made back in 2009. You'll also find a trifecta of SuperSpeed USB ports on the rear, though this gem will set you back a full $140 if you buy in today. Yikes.
Brando's USB mailbox lights up, thrills your heart when email arrives
Is the plastic heap you're peering at above anywhere near as cute as the notifying papercraft Wall-E we spotted late last year? Not even close, but it's equally captivating. Crafted by the geniuses at Brando, the USB Mail Box Friends Alert works with Windows-based machines that happen to have an open USB port. Simply plug it in, install the software and link your Facebook, Twitter or email account; when a new message arrives, the mailbox lights up, a sound can be emitted and the flag can even raise to alert you. Never mind the fact that the flag should only raise when you've got something in the outbox -- you know you're dropping $18 on this, anyway.
Brando has the $100, VGA-res, interchangeble lens camcorder you're looking for
Sure, Sony's new series of camcorders with interchangeable lenses might look nice and have "good specs," but are they available right now for under $100? No, but this thing is. Running just $99 from everyone's favorite retailer of the cheap and bizarre, Brando, this Vivikai-branded camcorder boasts an impressive VGA resolution, 32MB of built-in memory, an SDHC card slot for expansion, and a single interchangeable "telescope" lens, which promises to add 8x the zoom and 8x the crazy. Hit up the link below to get your order in -- assuming you didn't already dash off to do so at the first sight of it.
Red dot sight for hotshoes makes shooting tangos a viewfinder-free experience
If you've been playing Modern Warfare 2 so much that you've studied Arabic just to learn what the OpFor team is saying, yet you're more interested in photographing birds than capturing flags, this is the hotshoe accessory for you. Thanks to Brando it's easy to make your camera a little more lethal looking with the Tactical Four Reticle Sight, an adapter that screws into a camera's hotshoe and then enables the addition of an included sight, which has four separate crosshairs, two colors, and three laser strengths. Yes, we know people have been doing this for years on their own, but this is the cheapest ($45) and easiest way we've seen to get such a thing secured on your SLR. Oh, and "Tango sakat?" It means "tango down," duh. %Gallery-93035%
iMONO 13-port USB hub with independent power switches kills vampires en masse
USB hubs with independently switchable ports to disable vampire power draw are nothing new, but this unit from iMONO takes things to the next delightfully absurd level, with a full complement of 13 ports -- enough for an entire army of undead novelty flash drives. Of course, you could also just unplug your devices after you're done using them to save power, but come on -- like you're gonna say no to an array of switches and blue LEDs. Next step: combining this with the 49-port hub we saw last year.
Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard is perfect for your HTPC, not your Wii (video)
For HTPC owners looking for the perfect couch-borne computer keyboard, this Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard looks like Natuzzi nirvana, packing QWERTY (with function keys) and a touchpad all in a package that should fall to the hand more comfortably than that Scientific Atlanta remote your cable company has saddled you with. There's even a laser pointer, making it a snap to indicate strange shapes and symbols seen on Lost episodes -- or to taunt the cats when an episode's fifteenth plot twist leaves you disinterested. We're not sure exactly what Brando means when it says the thing has "iPhone style," but despite that we're liking it, and the $92 $49 price isn't completely outrageous. YouTube video review embedded after the break for the doubters. Update: A few bargain-hunting commenters pointed out that this is available for $48.99 over at TomTop. That's savings you can count on, folks! Update II: Seems the product page has been yanked from TomTop, and one tipster says that the company is no longer replying to requests about his order. Buyer beware.
Brando camera holster is cheap, might actually hold your camera
Say what you will about Brando, but you can always count on them to take a good idea and sell a cheaper (if not necessarily better) version of it. The latest example is the discount retailer's Camera Waist Belt Lock, which is basically a $14 version of the $110 Spider Camera Holster that we checked out first hand a few months back. Needless to say, we'd feel a bit more comfortable entrusting a $1,000+ DSLR to the weapon-like Spider, but those willing to take a chance to save a few bucks can grab the Brando alternative right now at the link below.
Brando offers USB Triple Foot Switch on the cheap
As you may be aware, USB foot pedals aren't an entirely new development, but they've largely been the domain of specialty manufactures who offer them alongside high-end keyboards and other pricey ergonomic devices. None other than Brando seems set to change that, however, as it's now offering a similar device for the low, low price of $45. Nothing fancy here, as you might expect, just three foot pedals that can control any key or key combination -- you can even use a pair (or more) of them together if you like. Hit up the link below to get your order in, and click back a page once you're there to check out the slightly cheaper two-pedal version.
Brando's USB 3.0-to-SATA adapter gives any old HDD those SuperSpeed powers
Oh, Brando -- how we do love thee. Be it random accessories we don't need at all or legitimate peripherals that make our lives all that much easier, you're always there -- steadfastly waiting for us to fall in love over and over again. Mushiness aside, the outfit's new USB 3.0-to-SATA adapter is indeed one of those remarkably useful devices, enabling any old SATA hard drive to be accessed externally at USB 3.0 speeds. Essentially, this is the pocket-friendly version of Sharkoon's latest SATA QuickPort, but rather than forcing you to carry around a dock, this simple dongle travels easy and plugs directly into the port-laden side of your spare HDD. Granted, you'll need a USB 3.0-enabled PC or expansion card in order to take advantage of the additional speed, but for $48, this looks to be an excellent excuse to get that dusty, unused drive of yours back into service.
Brando begins deluge of anonymous USB 3.0 hard drive enclosures
Hey Brando! You're awesome for being your usual self -- $49 isn't too bad for this next-gen product (also the first USB 3.0 hard drive enclosure sans drive we've seen; 2.5-inch here, by the way), and it doesn't burn our eyes either. Now, maybe those drive manufacturers can start sorting out those extortionate SSD prices? We've seen the numbers and not even the 7200rpm 3.5-inch hard drives have made it over half the theoretical speed of USB 2.0, let alone reaching ten times that on 3.0. Still, there's no harm in making the early jump -- it is backward compatible after all, and if you don't mind paying for juice you can't use, who are we to stop you?
