Gearbox Deluxe

Nov. 21, 2007

As Santa said, one mere paragraph of Gearbox is nowhere near enough this time of year. And, although local shops are certainly chock-full of great gift options, sometimes you simply want a gift that’s so edgy and so new it hasn’t quite made it to your town yet. So here’s your Deluxe Gearbox guide - complete with top-secret internet links - to everything tech, everything cool, and everything that’ll be on the gadget aficionado’s wish list for the 2007 holiday season.


1. Time for a tee
Tired of strangers asking you for the time? No problem - the black and green Digital Clock Tee displays the time on a high-tech digital chip-like panel, and it comes complete with a stopwatch just in case you need to countdown to anything. The illuminated panel is powered by a detachable battery pack, which you’ll have to unplug when you wash the shirt, and it runs on just 4 AAA batteries. Make sure you adjust your t-shirt for Daylight Savings Time, though - otherwise you’ll be sending those around you into a panic, especially those who are heading for the office. www.iwantoneofthose.com
2. Binary watch
There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don’t. Sticking with our time theme, we present The Binary Watch, which (duh) tells time in binary format. This watch definitely makes a statement - one of two, actually - either, “I’m so smart that I can tell the time on this thing” or “I’m so cool that I don’t care what time it is, because the watch just, like, y’know, looks cool, right?” Whichever tactic you choose, the watch itself is made from stainless steel, has a leather strap, and is water resistant, so you can properly impress all of your scuba-diver friends. www.binaryledwatch.com

3. Sony Rolly
iPod, iDog, and all of their iPals have nothin’ on Sony’s new Rolly. I mean - have you forgotten that Sony brought us the original Walkman back in the dark ages? Now, we meet the Rolly - a digital music player shaped like an egg, with flapping wings that twist and turn to the tunes you load into it. Rolly also has colored lights that flash as it does its Rolly-dance; users can set the movements along with the music via PCs and Bluetooth devices. It’s got motion-control and sensor technologies much like those developed for robots (Aibo, anyone?), but applied to a music device. In short, it’s new, super-unique, and... well, okay, it’s still not an iPod, but it’s definitely cool. www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/rolly/index2.html

4. LCD Window Thermometer
Sure, you could step outside to check the temperature, or perhaps watch The Weather Channel; you could even purchase one of those plastic suction-cup hardware store thermometers, perhaps one with a pretty rooster or a giant sun in an unrealistically yellow color. But if you’re a true gadget fan, what you’ll really want will be one of these simple yet futuristic LCD Window Thermometers, so you can gauge the weather the uber-cool way. These thermometers are easily affixed to the outside of any window (well, any you can reach, of course) and shows the current temp plus minimum and maximum temps, which you can reset daily, and all for just $14.99. www.lacrossetechnology.com

5. LED Umbrella
And now, presenting weather gear for techies, part deux. Perfect for finding your way down Bladerunner-dark streets in a torrential downpour, the LED Umbrella’s handle lights up with the push of a button, making you both safer and a heck of a lot cooler than everyone around you, who are, of course, just carrying those boring “regular” umbrellas. It’s even available in two colors - if the red umbrella with red LED lights isn’t your style, perhaps the black umbrella with white LEDs is. Both use 3 AAA batteries, and will run you or your replicant $24.99. www.thinkgeek.com

6. Wolf claw keyboard
PD Scientific is having trouble meeting demand for this innovative gaming keyboard, so don’t be surprised if you’re put on a waiting list (Santa says this means start shopping now!). It’s both a keyboard replacement and a gaming keyboard - and it works well on both counts. The keyboard itself is quiet and sturdy, so it works just fine for daily computing use. But it’s the gaming keyboard that really makes this thing standout. Ergonomically designed for the left hand, it places the most-used gaming keys into a sensible arrangement, and adds a special key for microphone speaking. At a surprisingly low $49, this gamer’s ultimate accessory also includes two integrated USB ports and is compatible with all Windows models. www.wolf-claw.com

7. Skype cordless phone
For those computer users who have been living in a cave, there’s a nifty new-ish Internet service called Skype that allows you to talk to anyone else using Skype - anywhere in the world - for free. That’s right, free. The only catch with Skype is that it pretty much anchors you to your computer for the duration of the call - not a bad trade, considering the ridiculous cost of international phone calls, but it would still be nicer to be able to wander around your house while conversing with Stewart in Scotland or Vinh in Vietnam. Now, there’s the Linksys Skype Cordless phone, allowing you to make and receive free calls from every room you’ve got - as long as the person you’re talking to is a fellow Skype user. The handset has a color LCD to display your Skype contact list, connection status, and Caller ID, and there’s even a speakerphone as a nice extra. It all installs with the included USB base station and software for a mere $99. Order one now, and that’ll give you time to talk all of your non-Skype friends into using Skype. www.linksys.com

8. LED art fan
And now, one for the summer that we know is out there... somewhere. After the months and months and months of this Northern Michigan winter are over, chances are you’ll be looking around for a cool (both literally and figuratively speaking) fan to get you through the ever-increasingly hot Michigan summers. This is the perfect fan for the gear, er, fan. The chrome LED Art Fan has over three dozen LED lights on its fan blads, which spin and flicker to create moving, spinning, flashing images while the fan moves the air. It arrives complete with software so you can draw you own images or import animated GIF files, and has 5 megs of memory to hold up to 128 frames. It’s a little pricey at $389.99, but once summer hits and you’re mesmerized into coolness, this fan will be worth it. www.thinkgeek.com