Gadget Freaks

After the carnage of the Australian F1 Grand Prix where millions of dollars of damage was inflicted in rather slight racing incidents and looking at our USB dongle graveyard we decided to look into indestructible gadgets. So we set to work to bring you the kind of gadgets that would survive a nuclear holocaust and be found in thousands of years by future archaeologists.

Of course following any nuclear destruction of our civilization you will be needing a communication device. You know, something to call around and see who’s left. The Sonim XP1 mobile phone is reported to be indestructible and has been tested by being shot by a 9mm Glock and a Swedish newspaper, Metro, shot it with a Remington Rifle. Hmmm we want one!

As I mentioned before we here at Gadget Freaks have collected what amounts to a ‘Dongle Graveyard’. Old dongles that no longer work because they’ve been dropped or put through the wash or the dog got to them etc etc! When will someone make the unbreakable dongle? Ask no more! ‘From Russia with Love’ comes the Titan USB dongle that can withstand 2000LB of pressure. It is constructed of a space age graphite/aluminium then cased in titanium. Limited to a production run of 100 they come in 1 0r 2 GB models with the 2GB selling for around US$247. Yikes…not cheap but seemingly indestructible. Just don’t lose it!

However, if you don’t want to fork out the big bucks or you are a DIY kinda gadgeteer you may want to check out this clever chap’s solution to the USB Dongle dilemma. Engineering student Russel Jones has come up with a very cool aluminium casing( that be aluminum for those over the big pond) that is fabricated around an existing USB disk. Very gadgety indeed!

Another gadget that could possibly survive a nuke is this ‘Wireless Silicone Keyboard’. We’ve seen the wired version in pubs and they seem to take the punishment handed out by Lagerists ( people who specialize in drinking copious amounts of beer) without problem. You can roll it, you can fold it, you can stuff it, you can wash it, you can squash it!. It is strong and flexible and wireless and whoa look at that colour, we call it Atomic Blue.

Ok so imagine this. You are sitting in your post-holocaust hovel with your indestructible gadgets and there is a cruel nuclear winter going on outside. However, we need to get food and water but it’s glowing green out there! Luckily for us we have a very smart beast of burden we can send out to gather what we need. Due to the ‘predicted’ fact that cockroaches will increase ten-fold in size and rule the post-nuked planet we innovative humans are already at work developing ways to exploit this future resource.

This Sci-Fi scenario is taking shape in Tokyo as scientists are removing the antennae from cockroaches and replacing them with PEE( Pulse-Emitting Electrodes) that can be controlled remotely via a miniature backpack carried by the roaches themselves. Researchers are even developing micro-cameras to equip the mighty roaches with. The range of applications for this technological marriage between Homo sapiens and Anastatus tenuipes is mind boggling. It sure has us here at Gadget Freaks a tad more boggly than normal! Read more………

Do you love gadgets but long for the style of old when things were made to last. Televisions made of wood and steel, bakelite radios? Remember when things were heavy, big and bulky? Well like all things everything old is new again. Retro gadgets are now bigtime. Some are way cool and functional but some just make you ask, “Why?” However,I must admit to being just a little more than fascinated with the genre as a whole.

It’s like talking to a kid about the days before the internet or explaining the intricate use of an old dial phone. If you equate technological advancement over time it all does seem like a long time ago. Just shy of the industrial revolution according to one young dude I recently spoke with. But never fear Retro Gadgets are here and it’s not just the old schoolers getting into them.

One set of Retro stuff that has caught the eye of we Gadget Freaks are these minature replicas of 1940’s style bakelite table radios. Although they only house an AM/FM radio (no MP3 here) they are still quite cool. A great gift for old and older school friends and family.

As I mentioned before the idea of large phones has been a laughing point for many in the past few years. Looking at old movies and TV shows and seeing all that old technology is quite a trip. The old handset with a curly cord and the brick mobiles of the 80’s can bring a wry smile to many young Gadgeteers. Well smile at this junior!!

What can you say about the Phobile ? I’m putting this one in the ‘Why Bin’. The Phobile is and old style handset equiped with Bluetooth technology. Yup! That’s right, get a call on your new high-tech cell phone and you can take the call on this vintage handset. One word……..!

However, not all retro-gadgets are as perplexing and seemingly useless as some.Take this Cassette style MP3 player. It slots into any old cassette player to play your MP3 files giving new life to an old car or portable cassette system.

All I can say is….” Let The Good Times Roll.”