Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Saltasia luxury salt spa in Japan

lydia — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:39:16 -0500

Did you know that salt has anti-aging properties and promotes relaxation? Me neither, but luxury Japanese spa, Saltasia, is based entirely on the idea that women (at least those for whom money is no object) would gladly pay a premium to spend time in rooms lined with hexagon-shaped salt tiles with fancy colored LED lights behind them. Joining fees are between $1,000 and $25,000, so this is no regular day spa; it's a long-term investment in peace of mind. I would love to see a menu of treatments.

Via Trends in Japan.

Prepare for global warming with deodorant suits for men

lydia — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:33:51 -0500

Despite the general acceptance of the idea of casual dress for work, I see plenty of people still wearing suits, even on hot, humid August days. Apparently, in Japan, men's suits with deodorant properties are selling like hotcakes, along with deodorant socks, underwear, and t-shirts. Priced at 60,000 to 70,000 yen (about $545 to $635), the suits are popular with middle-aged men for fighting "kareishu," the Japanese term for a kind of body odor particular to middle-aged and older men.

Question: Why just for men? I think women care more about how we smell, no?

Via The Nikkei Weekly (subscription).

----------------------------------------------

Digital Gaming Headset from Creative

Evan — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:13:37 -0500

Want to play like a pro gamer? Then you have to have the right gear. We already told you about the realistic X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty sound card; this is what you need next.

The brand-new Creative Digital Wireless Gaming Headset HS-1200 ($99) is an X-Fi powered headset but uses a 2.4GHz radio frequency. With the advanced 2.4GHz technology, multiple wireless headsets can operate at the same time while supporting both audio and voice streaming simultaneously. The powerful 40mm Neodymium drivers deliver realistic in-game audio and life-like vocals so you don't miss any gaming cues, and the noise-canceling microphone is capable of blocking out ambient background noise to capture your voice only.

Get up tp 8 hours with each charge; compatible for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications (so you can use with Skype.) For an interactive demo, click here.

Play nice.

Now $80 at Amazon.

America's Best Restroom: 21C Museum Hotel, Louisville, Kentucky?

Hoyun — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:59:25 -0500

No joke, you can vote for 2008’s best public restroom and help crown the King of all Thrones. The nominees are in, and the swank 21C Museum Hotel tops the list. Since it opened in Louisville, Kentucky, the hotel has grabbed the media’s attention with its innovative concept: a 91-room hotel dedicated to world-class luxury and contemporary art from living artists, exhibited throughout its galleries and public space.

Read full article by The Informed Traveler.

See Popgadget's most popular toilet post.

Green lingerie

Evan — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:15:08 -0500

We have green everything today, from gadgets to re-usable shopping bags, but organic lingerie? Eco-Chick ("Because Mother Earth is a Women") turned us on to this French company, g=9.8, which makes the first underwire bra that’s made from recycled pine fibers.

Starre, who runs Eco-Chick and is just as glamorous as the name implies, swears it's comfortable.

Check out the lovely French site, buy some pretty under things and feel good about sustainable development. That's what we call a Win/Win.

PosePrints - Create yourself online

Evan — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:00:28 -0500

This is me, . . . weeell, on a really good hair day, with make-up and clothes (instead of the PJs I usually write in.) PosePrints made this up for me, to demonstrate their unique, personalized stationary.

Usually, I scoff at look-alike characters, avatars and such, but I have to admit these gals captured something of the real me. Or else, I'm just flattered.

The mother-daughter team created an easy to use website where you can design yourself step-by-step. Just click on the "design " tab, and once you decide on a design you like, click "personalize this design with my pose" and you will be taken to the sketch page. Here, use the arrows to scan all of the available facial variables and accessories, and customize your person by clicking on specific features. When you are happy with your "pose," click "Save Model" and you will then be prompted to "Personalize Message" (if they are invites, thank you cards, or snappy notecards, like mine).

To customize even more, such as "I want a different hair-do, my Baby Phat pants suit for clothes, and a unique background design," then they charge an up-front $50 for Jen's customized artwork, plus the cost of cards and shipping. For me, they used a photo (which they took from my Facebook page) for more likeness.

For weddings, dinner parties, or baby showers, etc, you could do a cute silhouette card, like this:

$50.00 for 25 cards. A deal for such a unique gift.

A surprising new source of renewable energy: Kites

diane — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:29:47 -0500

Yes, I'm serious. Yes, I am now singing "Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest heights" in my signature off-key way.

The Guardian newspaper reports that scientists from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, one of Europe's top research institutions, were able to harness wind energy by flying a 10-sq metre (107.6 sq feet) kite tethered to a generator. They produced ten kilowatts of power, enough to power ten family homes. And I bet they had a great time, too!

The scientists now have plans to harness even more power from an even bigger kite. Could we soon see fields of kites flying high, instead of the traditional wind farm? Let's hope so.

One tweet or two? Drink your coffee from a Twitter mug

diane — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:51:45 -0500

You know you spend waaaay too much time on Twitter when, anytime something even vaguely interesting happens, you immediately think "I have to Twitter that!" (I am one of these people).

And you know you're getting a little obsessed when the idea of adding some of your favorite "tweets" (Twitter messages, for the uninitiated) onto a mug seems like the best piece of tech news you've seen all week. (I am also one of these people).

But seriously, how fab is this? It's the Twitsig mug, costs just $13.75 and it's almost cute enough to make me start drinking coffee.

But what tweet should I add? So far, my favorite is my mom's first message on the social networking site:

"I'm Twittering! Am I?"

Via Shiny Shiny

Didj - custom gaming system from Leapfrog

Evan — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:42:13 -0500

Ever see a gadget designed for a child and secretly want to buy it for yourself? I actually have one - a child that is - so I have a good excuse.

Take the new gaming handheld from Leapfrog called Didj, which has a unique feature that allows the users to customize the gaming and learning experience through the computer. While it looks like a DS Lite, it allows me, uh, Mackenzie, to add effects, action, characters, music and more.

Designed for grade schoolers aged 6 to 10 years, the Didj system offers the action-packed, big-graphics game-play that kids expect, but cleverly combined with a learning system. Take it anywhere and learn with favorite characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants, and then go online to trade the points earned for more modifications to make it your own. Even better, create your own Didji characters in the online Didjerator.

Parents can choose the math and spelling skills they'd like the games to focus on, for example, spelling or multiplication. Sneaky, eh? For example, the Super Chicks! game allows the user to customize the game online with the math facts they've learned.

With the USB connection, parents can also see their children's progress in recent games, get detailed updates on the skills, and feel good about all the game time. At $89.99, it's cheaper than the Nintendo DS Lite, and the 10 titles are $29.99 each. Gaming system and games are available at Amazon.

Just don't tell the youngsters it's good for them, or that you're playing it while they're asleep.

Spray to make gizmos completely waterproof

Kanchana — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:31:42 -0500

The death of my very first and favorite PDA (Personal Digital Assistant, as they were called during those days) came quite suddenly. I remember coming back from work one evening and being completely shocked to find the PDA dripping with water as I took it out of my bag. I swore to never put a water bottle and my gadgets together again, but repeated the mistake soon after, this time with my cell phone. Perhaps I could have saved ‘em fellas if the Golden Shellback Splash Proof Coating had been available back then - assuming I were rich enough to afford it.

This spray (rumored to be priced at $1000) can apparently protect electronic gadgets such as iPods, laptops, and cell phones from liquid, making them completely waterproof. For example, once you spray it onto your cell phone and drop the phone into water, the water-resistant coating ensures that the liquid stays completely out of your phone electronics. Which means that the phone is going to be functional as before, even underwater!

The coating itself is only one-thousandth of an inch thick, making it quite inconspicuous on your gadget. Pretty nifty, huh. Got to tighten those purse strings up until the latter half of the year if you want to lay your hands on this one.

Via Gizmodo.

LG announces Blu-Ray box with Netflix streaming, too

diane — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:03:22 -0500

Oh, this is nice.

It's the LG BD300 Network Blu-Ray Disc Player and it's the link between the old way of watching films and the new. Blu-Ray may be crisper and clearer than traditional DVDs, but there's no doubt that streaming video content is the future, especially for companies like Netflix, where people pay to borrow a product. With the LG BD300, you will be able to stream whatever you rent from Netflix onto your TV. I think this is a fabulous evolution of Netflix services, and should ensure that you get to see that hot film you've been waiting for, instead of getting that backlist crap you only listed to make up the numbers. Plus it'll place less strain on their business and on the postal service, and thus the environment: win-win-win.

Existing Netflix users won't have to pay any extra for the service, but they will have to shell out for the hardware, and no prices are yet available. Crave reports that rumors are it will be well under $500, though.

Star Wars MP3 player is not for Jedi Knights

Jenn — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:57:12 -0500

Oh, come on. No self-respecting, Force-wielding Jedi (or Jedi wannabe) would ever rock out to the swooshing sounds of various light saber duals on something like this Star Wars MP3 player from the Forbidden Planet International. 512MB of internal memory, no expansion card to speak of, Darth Vader design, and a £40 (about $80) asking price?

Hmm. It sounds like Jar Jar Binks had something to do with this.

Via Reg Hardware.

Play the slots on your iPhone

lydia — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:30:50 -0500

I have a whole page of iPhone apps that are simply digital substitutes for mindless activities like twiddling my thumbs or whittling, a number of which also have the potential to entertain a small, restless child during dinner at a restaurant. I figure a three year-old can easily pass 5 minutes popping bubbles on the screen, another 5 minutes playing tiny drums with his fingers, maybe 2 minutes pouring digital milk over my head, and another 3 minutes slashing the air with a tiny on-screen lightsaber that changes colors and makes nice sound effects (watch out with this one, though, my iPhone went flying out of its case the last time I waved the lightsaber around like a maniac).

If you're a fan of slot machines - or even if you're not - Lucky 7 Slots from Griffin Technology might amuse you for a few minutes while waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store. The game starts you off with 1,000 credits, and you play 1 to 3 credits per spin (with sound effects), while it tallies up your winnings. It's just $1.99, about the price of a candy bar, which you can also pick up while waiting.

Rumors of a new, slimline Nano are as yet unconfirmed...

diane — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:21:11 -0500

But rumors that I would cry a little are true. I looooooooved the new Nano design (below) so much: it's just so cute and square, and sleek. Why would Apple want to mess around with it?

Yet lots of other tech sites are saying that in order to fit in a bigger screen, the next generation of Apple's hugely popular player will be longer, more like a Zune.

But Microsoft have always been one step behind Apple on the MP3 player front, so I'm not sure why they would want to copy their design. I hear good things about the Zune, and it does look nice, but there's no denying it also looks Apple-inspired, so this seems like a very retroactive step.

Now Do This: When you don't want to think for yourself anymore

diane — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:15:04 -0500

Last week, we introduced you to Slydial, a service which means you never have to talk to anyone you don't want to, ever again. (Unless you run into them in the street, but that's easily solved: don't go out.)

This week, we have Now Do This, an online do-do list which allows you to save paper plus see what you need to, er, do. It's very simple, as you can see.

But... I just know it would make me rebel. I mean, sometimes I write things on my to-do list, and then get a phone call or an email and have to deal with something else, or I spontaneously mix things up. I hate being micro-managed (one of many reasons I'm a freelancer) so my computer barking "now do this" would rub me up the wrong way.

But if you have less problems with authority and love that feeling of achievement when your list is empty, this might be the site for you.

Via Lifehacker.