Puchi Puchi - the sound of bubbles popping

The Japanese have come up with yet another invention you didn’t know you needed until you heard about it: Puchi Puchi – the everlasting bubble wrap simulator.

Everyone loves popping bubble wrap and it’s a great way to relieve stress and tension, but the problem with it is that it runs out, and there’s not always a sheet to hand when you need it. But if you have a Puchi Puchi on your keyring or in your pocket, you can pop away to your heart’s content, safe in the knowledge it’ll never run out!

Why ‘Puchi Puchi’? Well, according to Japanese people, that’s the sound that bubbles make when they pop! Puchi Puchi feels just like the real thing and is tactile and satisfying to handle and pop. Each time you press one of the ‘bubbles’ it makes a realistic popping noise, but at random intervals this is replaced by a surprising and cute sound! There’s no need to be stressed out or tense when you’ve got your Puchi Puchi everlasting bubble wrap handy, simply pop away to relieve the tension!

Already a huge sales success in the Far East, Puchi Puchi looks set to be the next big craze over here too!

Watch Puchi Puchi in action!

Click here for more info.

Lighting up the Dark Knight!

As many of you no doubt know, this year the caped crusader returns in the new movie titled: The Dark Knight. To help bring a little light to the darkness will be Thumbs Up’s new Batman light-up t-shirts.
The traditional Batman logo which has been a classic piece of iconography ever since the first movie is making a comeback in electro-luminescent form.

Featuring heavily in this new movie will be Batman’s arch-nemesis – The Joker. For those of you who are going to be rooting for the bad guy – because, let’s face it, he’s more fun than grim old Batman, there’s also a light-up Joker t-shirt that’ll be just the thing to show who you support.

These high-quality shirts are made from 100% cotton and contain a small battery pack that powers a flexible panel on the front of the shirt to give amazing effects, ranging from a gentle glow to a pulsing strobe. Great for night time parties, clubbing or to just attract some attention!

Officially licensed from Warner Brothers to celebrate the launch of what’s set to be one of 2008’s biggest movies, these new light-up t-shirts are a great new twist on a classic design.

Falcon MVIX called a ‘Streaming Dream’

Early reports on the Falcon MVIX from the UK audio-visual media have been extremely positive. Expect to see some more detailed reviews soon.

Stuff TV called it ‘a streaming dream’.

What HiFi were impressed with how it bridged the gap between TV and PC.

Falcon MVIX Media Centre

Have you got a really big, flashy new TV but find it’s going to waste as most of what you watch these days is downloaded, so you’re sitting in front of your computer to watch it, or struggling to get a decent picture outputted from a laptop? If so, then this could be the answer to your problems.

The Falcon MVIX brings all of your digital media files and content to anywhere in your home via WiFi and is also compatible with peer-to-peer file sharing networks – which you should, of course, only use legally, okay? Got that?

Able to stream video over a WiFi network in High Definition, it’s a giant leap forwards in terms of making downloaded content or digital files even more accessible, as it works with pretty much any media file or video format.

The MVIX supports all commonly used media formats, and virtually all of the more specialised ones too. And what’s more, you can use it to display your photos as a slideshow whilst playing music too. It does all this all from an internal hard drive, an external USB drive or it can stream from any computer on your network. It’s the ideal solution for storing or backing up absolutely all of your software, images, music, films or documents.

Compatible with all major computer platforms, including Windows, Mac OSX and Linux, the MVIX is firstly a drive enclosure, so that you can add your own IDE or SATA hard drive and use it to store your media files. It also connects to your home network either via Ethernet or WiFi to share and stream content. And it’s actually a media player itself too, which can connect to TVs or digital projectors via composite, component, S-Video or DVI with a crisp, clear picture quality. The MVIX also benefits from an HDMI port so that you can attach it to an HDTV to ensure the highest quality transfer possible.

All in all, the MVIX is the ideal way to make the way you store files compatible with the best ways of viewing them.

Click here to find out more.

Highway to the Dangerzone! RC Top Gun Microfighter

Fully licensed from Top Gun, this high performance fighter is just the thing for anyone who dreams of being another Maverick or Iceman. When it’s time to take the highway to the danger zone and relive all the excitement of the movie’s dogfighting action, the Micro Fighter R/C Plane offers Top Gun style fighter performance in a tiny package!

With the ability to fly at impressive speeds over 25 km/hour this mini-fighter can push the envelope to perform flawless banked turns and outrageous stunts.

Suitable for intermediate to advanced level RC Pilots due to its advanced digital throttle and directional control, it’s capable of performing extreme loops and real-fighter style aerobatics. With the massive levels of thrust offered by its twin engine design advanced take offs and landings can be achieved too.

The Micro Fighter has a dual channel digital proportion control allowing up/down, left/right and forward speed control. Powered by a Lithium Polymer battery flights of 10+ minutes can be achieved on a single 30 minute charge from the controller.

 

 

 

And the prize for quickest blog on the draw goes to…

Craziest Gadgets!

These guys were the first people online to feature our new T-Sketch T-Shirt.

The new T-sketch t-shirt from the Elektro range features an amazing new technological development – whatever you write or draw on it will be converted into an illuminated message or design!

Anything that’s drawn on the wipe-clean panel activates a glowing light beneath so that it lights up. You can also change the flashing sequence to suit your preference – from a gentle glow right through to a pulsing strobe.

This hugely innovative garment lets you send out your own message or display any logo or picture that you feel like drawing.

Causing a flap - the i-Bird

Here’s another fascinating flying toy from Silverlit that Thumbs Up are distributing -the i-Bird.

With realistic flapping wing flight, the new Silverlit i-Bird looks and flies like a real bird!

 

Many scientists and engineers have attempted to create machines that mimic the way a bird flies, from Leonardo Da Vinci all the way through to the ‘birdmen’ who strap wings to their arms and jump off piers into the sea. Most of the attempts don’t even get off the ground, but now Silverlit has perfected mini-ornithopter technology and the result is the i-Bird – possibly the smallest RC flapping-wing model in existence.

 

Packed with state of the art technology, it’s one of the latest generation of RC flyers that provides an unparalleled level of control and stability both indoors and out. Simple and fun to fly, the i-Bird is ready to soar straight out of the box and ultra-tough to survive the roughest landings.

Here’s a video of the i-Bird in action:

Gadget blogs have also been picking up on the i-Bird already. Here are some links to coverage:

Gizmodo

Crave.net

GeekAlerts

 

Poledancer Alarm goes Nuts!

Nuts magazine, one of our favourite reads, is featuring the new Poledancer Alarm Clock in their new issue. Just goes to show they’ve got impeccable taste.

Getting Steamy!

Here’s something a bit different - a portable home Sauna!

Are public saunas a bit too extrovert for you? And maybe you’re not sure exactly what goes on in your local ’sauna’, as from time to time it seems to get raided by the police? Well, once again Thumbs Up has an answer, if you want to experience the health benefits of getting all hot and steamy without having to sweat away in front of people you don’t know.

Constructed from hi-tech fabric on a flexible frame, the Steam Spa can be assembled in a small space and stored away conveniently when not in use.

With a choice of timer and power settings, and double cut-off protection the Steam Spa is a safe and effective way to take advantage of the beneficial properties of steam to help relax and unwind. Aromatherapy oils can also be added to the water to enhance the experience even further.

The video below is a bit cheesy - thank our American friends who make it for that, but it’ll help you get the idea.

 

Click here to find out more.

 

 

 

Swooping out of the darkness - the i-Fly Vamp

Spooky radio-controlled vampire bat takes to the skies! – the i-Fly VAMP

Now on sale in the UK, this scary-looking bat is right at the bleeding edge of toy design. Packing state of the art technology, it’s one of the latest generation of RC toys.

The Vamp differs from most other flying toys because it’s an ‘Ornithopter’ – which means it flaps its wings to fly through the air – just like a real bat. Not for the faint-hearted, the flapping wings and glowing red eyes give the eerie illusion that it’s a living (or undead!) thing, swooping through the darkness, for a truly terrifying sight.

A lightweight battery that charges up from its controller gives approximately ten minutes of flight time from a 20-30 minute charge. Once in the air a unique steering system and digital proportional radio controller means that the Vamp is hugely controllable and able to keep its altitude even whilst making the sharpest of turns.

Supplied ready to fly right out of the box, with no assembly required, the Vamp is ultra-tough to effortlessly survive even the roughest of landings and is even immune to crosses and garlic!

So, if you feel like freaking someone out, the i-Fly Vamp is the perfect thing to fly past their window on a dark spooky night!

Here’s a video of the Vamp in flight:

 

Click here for more info.