This new EV-DO interfaces from Novatel—this is the Sprint model, but Verizon got one, too—replace the bulbous lumps precipitously dangling from a laptop's USB port with slim little things no bigger than the average flash drive. And then to make it better, they add a microSD slot for an optional 4GB of memory, just for kicks. I think EV-DO and its other high-speed wireless counterparts to be one of the wonders of the modern computing age, but this is the first USB solution that I would consider using instead of a PCMCIA or ExpressCard version.

The U727 will be available for $280, or less with a new subscription.

Press Release [Sprint.com]

The "Mini Animan" is pedometer for hamsters, designed to clip onto their wheel to measure rodent revolutions per minute. Although it was discovered by the glowing Lisa Katayama on Tokyo Mango, her site about Japanese ephemera, it wouldn't surprise me if someone had made a similar product in the West.

The Hamster Wheel Pedometer [TokyoMango.com]

Vox is releasing a range of modestly-sized guitar headphone amps, each of which are designed to simulate one of three classic amps: the AC30; the Marshall; and the Mesa Boogie (probably). The "cabinet" designs, however, are all based on the AC30.

The copy for the Amplugs is a little over the top, as Music Thing points out:

Incidentally, what is it with copywriters for music gear companies? They claim: "amPlug perfectly reproduces the complex and warm distortion that is distinctive of a vacuum tube... amPlug delivers full-fledged amp sound that will revolutionize your guitar playing." Both of these claims are clearly lies (the 'perfectly reproduces' and the 'revolutionize your guitar playing' bits). What was wrong with: "Sounds OK, looks OK, costs £35, what's not to like?"

If you don't know why you'd need something like this, you've never had to buy a gift for a roommate with rock star pretensions. (They make practicing simple and quiet.)

Product Page [Voxamps.co.uk via Music Thing]

Last evening was the "Holiday Spectacular," a press-only meet-and-greet event for consumer tech folks, primarily existing as a place to schmooze over free booze with your other journo friends, avoid the Creepy Bat-Santas among the rest*, and flirt with cute PR girls who are paid to laugh at your jokes. I hate these events in theory, but find myself irresistibly drawn to them, if only to bask in a momentary fantasy land where I can be cooler than almost everyone in the room by simply refusing to wear a string of plastic Mardi Gras beads.

Most of the products on display at these things aren't new; that's okay, since the majority of the press there are from mainstream, non-tech-oriented outlets. They rightly don't care if something's been on the shelves for a while. But for the cream scrapers, it's common to find absolutely zero new products worth talking about, leaving one free to chat to PR people and wheedle out rumors like, "there's a 75% chance an upcoming version of the Microsoft Zune will support wireless headphones." A wisp, I know, but you take what you can get.

My point, now that I've completely overcharged it, is that this "Disc Painter" printer from DYMO was actually pretty great, capable of printing near-professional-looking graphics on any given printable CD or DVD in just a couple of minutes using their "RadialPrint" spinning technology. It'll be out next month for $280 and will come with enough ink to print about a hundred discs. The ink replacement, in typical printer company fashion, will be available only from DYMO for $30 a pop, per color.

That means I won't be buying one of these until the cost of the printer is cheaper than the cost of a set of replacement ink. That day will come sooner than later, I suspect.

They really did print nice discs, though. As my videographer friend Richard remarked, a nicely-printed disc is about the only thing that was keeping his DVD submissions from looking completely professional, making the Disc Painter the "last piece" in his rig.

Teaser Page [Global.Dymo.com]

* And boy are there a bunch of creepy tech journos; we are a race whose inevitable end seems to be a deflated morlock posture weighed down by too-large pockets filled with gizmos, with wild ivory hair and skin to match.

One of the people at Art Lebedev, makers of the upcoming "Optimus Maximus" keyboard with embedded OLED screens in each key, has posted this teaser shot of a full-sized version in action. It almost looks like the keys are flipped to random colors instead of having useful images on both, but it's still nifty in a sort of Logan's Run sort of way.

I won't be dropping $1,500 for a keyboard anytime soon, but it's easy to imagine keyboards five or ten years out that use ePaper on the keycaps to switch the labels without having drawing so much power (or putting tons of light in your face).

First Optimus Maximus Arrives at Moscow [Livejournal.com/Optimus Project]

Jeff Gates writes:

Joel, I noticed you posted a link for the Belkin iPhone headphone adapter yesterday. I've been in contact with Griffin as I was waiting for theirs. And it's now for sale on their site (starting today!).

They show both the black and white model but they are only selling the black one right now (I've contacted them to make that clear on the site).

Griffin is selling theirs for $10, plus shipping, putting it in the $13 range. That's not too bad as these things go, but I'm still too cheap to miss with it, not only because I think it's too expensive, but because it's one more thing to lose. (Yes, I'm that guy that will drop $600 on a phone, but not $13 on an accessory.)

Besides, what I'm really looking for is something that adds an extra line with a microphone, so that I can use any set of headphones I wish—iPod headphones don't even stay in my ears when I'm sitting still, let alone moving—along with the phone functions. I'd maybe pay $13 for that.

Here's what I did to my headphones to get them into the iPhone's goofy little headphone jack: trimmed the outside plastic with a box knife, then sealed the whole mess up with a tiny piece of heat shrink tubing.

Product Page [GriffinTechnology.com]

Although its single design innovation probably won't be enough to sway most, the Saitek Cyborg Rumble Pad's ability to swap its left-most analog stick and d-pad into the position of prominence is clever. Saitek's decision to make the d-pad look like the mushy, irregular d-pad from the Xbox 360 controller isn't quite so.

The Cyborg P3600 is available direct from Saitek for $35 and is PC-only.

Product Page [SaitekUSA.com via Gadget Lab via Sci-Fi Tech via Crave]

From a scan of a 1930s Popular Science which had such a nice cover illustration I had to include it:

All that is needed to attach the device to the windshield is to moisten the small vacuum cup fastener and press it firmly against the inside of the windshield, setting the candle in an upright position under the windshield wiper. The flame should be about a quarter of an inch away from the glass, and the candle may be adjusted to this distance by merely bending the metal holder. A shield keeps light out of the driver's eyes.

Can you imagine trying to sell a product today that involved fire in a moving vehicle? I wonder how well it worked. I'd expect it would get soot all over the glass.

CANDLE KEEPS ICE FROM FORMING ON WINDSHIELD (Dec, 1930) [Modern Mechanix]

NRG-brand "Phoenix Fury" potato chips are "fused with Taurine, Caffeine and B-Vitamins to deliver a fiery energy kick that will revitalize." Because nothing primes you for serious exertion like some deep-fried starch!

Also, while I am not a trained flavor physician—my PhD is in "chunkiness," a related snack discipline—I am fairly certain I never want to know what "fury" tastes like.

You can mail order NRG chips from manufacturer Golden Flake (the official potato chip of the Talladega SuperSpeedway!) for a surprisingly reasonable $30 for a case of 30 1.75-ounce bags, plus shipping.

Product Page [NRGSnax.com via Dosenation]

The Inflight USB Power Unit pulls power out of your in-seat audio jack and bridges it to a USB connection, allowing you to charge any device that can be charged over USB. I have to admit, I'm a little surprised an audio jack on an airplane would have enough oomph to recharge even small gadgets, but I suppose as long as it's enough power to trip the internal "I'm getting juice" switch, good enough.

The basic model is $35, although they'll sell you ones with custom tips for $10 more. (Just bring your cable from home and get the basic USB model.)

Anyone have one of these who can testify to its effectiveness?

Product Page [InFlightPower.com via Lifehacker via Windows Fanatics]

Bang & Olufsen may be one of the more interesting electronics companies out there. Not because I think they make great stuff—it's so ridiculously expensive that I never even consider buying it, something which I'm sure breaks their hearts—but because they exist in a rarified stratosphere somehow exempt from traditional good taste and design.

In the strange fairy land of high-end retail, products like the Beo 5 remote control are allowed to flourish, despite glaring deformities like an awkward screen perched on a spindly neck, like a lolling Hapsburg prince too rich to be quietly sequestered but too ugly to be seen.

I do like the round body, though. I bet it's got heft, like a baseball or a hunk of cheese. I bet you could bean a pauper real nice with that.

No price yet. If you have to ask...

Bang & Olufsen shows off Beo 5 remote control [EngadgetHD]

The "Darklite" DVD remote is a surprisingly nice-looking piece of kit, putting the most commonly used functions on the outside while saving secondary buttons for a slide-out keypad. It doesn't even use batteries, instead recharging via USB. (Although I suspect that might mean it chews through a lot of power.) And it's cheap, too, at just $30.

Problem is, it's only for use with the Playstation 3. Foiled!

I don't quite understand how some things can look so nice when coated in "piano black" plastic, while others look so shit. My guess is the lighting for the product shots, cunningly devoid of fingerprints.

Product Page [Play Messiah via CrunchGear]

Dan Rutter takes a gander at the "HUMP NF01" and "NF02" desktop speakers from Unique Hardware and finds—to everyone's surprise, including his—that the little desktop units and their USB amplifier actually put out a set of decent sound waves for not too much money.

If you don't need little tiny super-portable speakers, you don't need the NF01s. If you still need a USB audio solution, there are umpteen super-cheap "USB sound cards" on eBay. Get one of those, plug it into any old amplifier and garage-sale speakers, and you'll be golden.

If you want pocketable speakers that don't sound like wet mud and/or the audio leaking out of someone else's headphones, though, the NF-series speakers are an absolute revelation, and definitely worth the money.

Unique Hardware sells their product directly via eBay at the moment under the name "humpunique"; Prices are in the $65 range, plus shipping. You could get speakers just as nice for less, but probably not as small. If you think you might want to use these with something that doesn't have a USB port—an iPod, say—then you'll want the HUMP NF02, which includes a 3.5mm line in. (Although if I'm not mistaken, you'd still need to be plugged into a USB port for power.)

Unique Hardware NF01 and NF02 USB speakers [Dan's Data]

If you're the sort of person who records conversations, there's still some merit to having a discrete voice recording device on hand, if for no other reason than being able to set it on a table to indicate that you're about to start recording. (Which can be distracting to some, of course, but when you're interviewing people you have to use whatever techniques work best to get them talking.) I've used various voice recording applications for smartphones over the years and while some work better than others, it's nice to get something solid state.

This new "Card R" voice recorder from Narae Inter is just 6.5mm thick and includes 1GB of internal memory (enough for 72 hours of recording) and a built-in USB cable, as well as a headphone jack. No details on price or availability; I suspect you won't see this one outside of Korea for a while, if ever.

6.5mm-thick card-type voice recorder [Aving.net via Gearfuse]