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Coolest gift guide

• Sep 26, 2010 from PcNewsy(Pc Newsy) in Technology
  Here is our selection of what we think are some of the coolest gifts to give this Christmas season, some passed winners of coolest gadget of the week and others are new cool entries.
  
  CableDrop Cable Clips $9.99
  
  Place the CableDrop Cable Clips behind or on your desktop, even onto a facing wall anywhere you wish to have cables temporarily held yet easily removable or extended. CableDrop gently grasps your power and peripheral cords so they do not fall off your desk every time you unplug your laptop. Cabledrops unique design makes cable management fun and can also be used as a general purpose clip in a multitude of creative ways.
  The CableDrop Cable Clips is available from Think Geek for $9.99.
  
  
  
  Motion Sensing Alarm Clock $34.95
  
  Unlike traditional alarm clocks that can leave you blindly groping for buttons, this clock radios alarm turns off with a simple wave of your hand. A motion sensor on top of the unit detects your hands movement, and switches the 1 1/4 H LED display from time to temperature to radio with each successive wave. The display can be set to remain dark until activated-eliminating distracting lights that can disturb your sleep-then shuts itself off 15 seconds later
  The Motion Sensing Alarm Clock is available from Hammacher for $34.95.
  
  
  
  Slanket Blanket $45.50
  
  The Slanket Blanket The super soft, cozy, oversized fleece blanket with sleeves! Welcome to the world of Slanket- your mission: find the nearest couch and get cozy with it! A sick day from work, movie night, lazy rainy sunday, or late night insomnia? Whatever! All we ask is that you get comfortable, smile and enjoy! Machine wash cold on gentle cylce Non pilling
  The Slanket Blanket is available from Amazon for $45.50.
  
  
  
  Powermat Home & Office $99.99
  
  The Powermat Home and Office mat is a slim, sleek charging mat for home or office. Whats a charging mat, you ask? Good question. Powermats Wireless Charging System offers a clean, simple way to keep all those personal electronic devices charged, without a mess of cables. With the Powermat system, you choose a mat and then choose the receivers to match the devices you want to charge. Each mat includes a Universal Powercube receiver that allows you to charge hundreds of devices. You can also purchase receivers custom designed to fit on your devices, so you never need to remove them to use your device.
  The Powermat Home & Office is available from Amazon for $99.99.
  
  
  
  Lilliput Mini USB Monitor $99.99
  
  Looking for that extra bit of screen real estate to get you through the busy workday? Problem is, an entire secondary monitor comes with its own needs like a separate power or an additional video card. The Lilliput Mini USB Monitor changes this equation completely. A single USB connection from your computer gets you an instant high-resolution secondary display. This handy display is perfect for your IM client, widgets, PC gaming tools, your email, a spreadsheet, your PhotoShop tools, or even video.
  The Lilliput Mini USB Monitor is available from Think Geek for $99.99.
  
  
  
  Voice Activated R2-D2 $189.95
  
  This motorized replica of the headstrong little droid from the iconic Star Wars films responds to voice commands, navigates rooms and hallways, and makes any home feel like it has been transported to a galaxy far, far away. R2 obeys more than 40 voice commands (Turn around! Move forward two units!) and he plays games like tag, using an infrared sensor to search for people in a room. His sensor helps him follow behind you, or it can be set to detect motion, turning R2 into a room sentry that sounds an alarm when a secured area is invaded. R2s lights, swiveling dome top, and distinctive happy and sad sounds faithfully mimic the real thing, right down to his occasional bad mood.
  The Voice Activated R2-D2 is available from Hammacher for $189.95.
  
  
  
  Roomba Robot Vacuum $129+
  
  Cleans routinely, so you dont have to. 500 Series robots offer the latest innovations from iRobot with unprecedented efficiency, coverage, and cleaning performance.
  The Roomba Robot Vacuum is available from Amazon for $129+.
  
  
  
  Kindle Wireless Reading Device $259
  
  At Amazon, weve always been obsessed with having every book ever printed, and we know that even the best book reader is useless without the books you want to read. We are fortunate that we have tens of millions of book customers at Amazon, and as a result, we know the books customers want to read and we prioritize getting those titles. Today, the Kindle Store has more than 360,000 books available, including 101 of 112 New York Times Best Sellers, plus top newspapers, magazines, and blogs. Our vision for Kindle is to have every book ever printed, in any language, all available in under 60 seconds.
  The Kindle Wireless Reading Device is available from Amazon for $259.
  
  
  
  iPod Video Projector $379.95
  
  This is the pocket-sized device that projects a 60 image from an iPod, iPhone, or any video source with composite outputs. About the size of a candy bar, the unit...

Mint Robot Mop Reviewed: Tasty and Refreshing, Scares Our Swiffer

• Oct 11, 2010 from switcheddotcom in Technology
  What it is:
  The robot cleaning revolution apparently has arrived. Years after the first Roombas were introduced into homes around the world, Neato stepped up to the plate with its impressive XV-11. Now, just a few months later, Evolution Robotics has launched its own proprietary floor-cleaning robot, the Mint, and it has some solid sweeping skills of its own.
  
  Why it's different:
  In some ways, the Mint is a bit of a throwback. Rather than vacuum, it goes for a simpler process of cleaning your floor with wet and dry cloths. In this sense, it's competing with Roomba's Scooba floor cleaner, as it's useless without a vacuuming counterpart, robotic or otherwise. There's no spraying involved, either. You attach either a wet or dry cloth (included) to the bottom of the device, or use Swiffer dry pads in their place. The robot find its way around with the aid of the "NorthStar" Navigation Cube, which you place facing the middle of the room to help it keep track of where it's gone and where it still needs to go. The Mint approaches sweeping and mopping differently. When sweeping, it generally moves forward, turns, and repeats, and, when mopping, it moves in a back-and-forth "scrubbing" motion.
  Gallery: Mint Cleaner ReviewContinue reading Mint Robot Mop Reviewed: Tasty and Refreshing, Scares Our SwifferMint Robot Mop Reviewed: Tasty and Refreshing, Scares Our Swiffer originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments

Review: Mint Floor-Cleaning Robot

• Sep 25, 2010 from CrunchGear in Technology
  Short version: Its not for everybody, but it sure is for guys like me. This cleaning bot for hardwood floors is a dream come true for dust-haters, and its cute to boot.
  
  Features:
  
  Cleans using reusable microfiber or Swiffer cloths
  Navigates rooms intelligently using GPS-like technology
  Works around table legs and chairs
  Works in wet or dry mode
  MSRP: $249.99
  
  Pros:
  
  Terrific at collecting dust
  Quiet and cute
  Compact enough to get under couches and beds
  
  Cons:
  
  Not so terrific at mopping
  Rugs present a problem
  No way to schedule cleans
  
  Full review:
  The Mint is one of the growing number of floor-cleaning robots that evolved after the success of the Roomba. Unlike many of the others, though, the Mint works on different principles and should be viewed as separate but related, as opposed to the cut-rate or imitation Roombas out there. This is a different product.
  If you like videos look, I made one just for you!
  
  Unlike many of the other floorbots, the Mint is not a traveling vacuum. Its a traveling Swiffer. Its intended for use in houses with hardwood floors, though of course tile, linoleum, or any hard, flat surface will also work. It uses Swiffer cloths or anything that size; it comes with a few microfiber cloths (a fine one for normal use, a coarse one for mopping) which work fine, and I imagine a couple paper towels or a washcloth would do in a pinch, if you absolutely needed it to do a sweep.
  Once youve loaded it with a cloth, you just set it in the middle of the room and press the sweep button. It comes with a little cube a little smaller than a can of soup that goes in the room and which the Mint uses as a sort of beacon. The manual says to make sure the Mint can see the ceiling, so Im guessing the cube projects an IR grid up there or something.
  Once youve pressed the button, the Mint goes off in whatever direction its pointing and starts cruising around, going in a there-and-back pattern. Its very quiet, and the only noise youll hear will be the occasional bump as it finds a wall or table leg, after which it remembers its position and maneuvers around it.
  
  I was concerned that it would limit itself to whatever room the cube was in, but it scooted merrily off into a hallway and into my bedroom, from which I was sure it would not return. But it did, with a grill full of dust bunnies, and continued its job. Itll return to the same place you left it when it feels its done.
  So far, so narrative. But does it work? Depends on what you need it to do. I have a medium-sized one-bedroom apartment with hardwood floors, and since I live in the city, I get a fair amount of dust and lint traffic through my windows and off my bags, coats, etc. I try to sweep, but I end up throwing a lot into the air, and of course it takes ages if youre thorough like me. I had just swept when I got the Mint, and on its first sweep it brought back so much treasure (i.e. dust and fuzz) that I questioned my cleaning ability. Since then Ive run it every few days and it regularly comes back with a good amount of dust. If you have a dust allergy like me, or simply dont like the idea of billions of dust mites mating all over your apartment, the Mint is right up your alley.
  It navigates quite well, though there is also disappointment there: it doesnt actually remember the layout of your place. That would have been awesome. No, it starts from scratch every time, building a map and cleaning however it thinks best. Its compact body and square shape let it get right along the edges of walls, where dust bunnies tend to congregate, and at 3 tall its short enough to get under most couches. I found that the two things that gave it grief in my apartment were cords running along the floor and my desk chair, which has a part exactly at the height required to trap the robot.
  One thing to note: this little guy actually has some torque, and was pushing a small trash can around like it was nothing. Theres a risk that light or small decorations or containers could be knocked over, though the robot was gentle as a rule with table legs and walls (no need to worry about marks). It also will push open doors that arent actually closed. A virtual wall or something would have been nice.
  I dont have any rugs or carpeted rooms, but I know many others do, and its worth saying that as long as this guy can navigate around them, it will simply treat them as walls, but will not clean them. I suspect it might leave a few dustballs on the tassels.
  The mopping function is well, I wouldnt call it mopping. Its rubbing with a damp cloth. Sometimes thats a good thing, but its not going to pick up dried coffee stains or anything. Using a different cloth and a more scrubby pattern makes it good for wiping down kitchen floors that may be tacky from drops of juice and such, but it doesnt have nearly the mopping power of a Scooba (of course, its simpler and cheaper as well).
  The Mint lasts about 3 hours on a charge according to the manual, which seemed about right to me. It moves...