Lithium Archive

  • Iwatani Corp has an electric motor-bike that will never be released

    Iwatani Corp has an electric motor-bike that will never be released

    Posted on March 10, 2010 | No Comments
    Man alive, Twitter is blowing up right now at the expense of Real Madrid. That has nothing to do with the following story, but it had to be mentioned. The real story is: an electric motorbike! Is that any more exciting than Real Madrid being the laughingstock of Europe? I'd say no, but maybe six of you have any idea what I'm talking about. Back to the bike, then.

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  • Mini wireless keyboard with touchpad and laser pointer

    Mini wireless keyboard with touchpad and laser pointer

    Posted on March 5, 2010 | No Comments
    The promises Brando makes about the “Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard” make it sound like a hug wrapped in hot chocolate wrapped in a puppy. There’s the “dazzling bright LED” backlighting, the world’s first touchpad that can be used in both the horizontal and vertical positions complete with advanced “capacitive sensing technology, comparable to a real notebook touchpad,” and the “innovative design of the navigation keys” that’ll make you “feel the thrill” of being able to play games wirelessly.

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  • LED flashlight records nightvision video

    LED flashlight records nightvision video

    Posted on March 3, 2010 | No Comments
    Ghost hunters, rejoice. Not only does this $150 LED flashlight record 640x480 video at 30 frames per second, it’s also got an eight foot nightvision range that allows it to record in complete darkness.

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  • The long wait for a toilet speaker is over

    The long wait for a toilet speaker is over

    Posted on March 1, 2010 | No Comments
    A tiny speaker shaped like a toilet may already exist but the thought of searching Google for “USB Toilet Speaker” just makes me want to crawl back into bed. It’d be a new low for my career. Oh, who am I kidding? I just searched and it already exists. In several colors, even.

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  • Rechargeable wireless keyboard knockoff takes cues from Logitech’s diNovo Edge

    Rechargeable wireless keyboard knockoff takes cues from Logitech’s diNovo Edge

    Posted on March 1, 2010 | No Comments
    If the $180 price tag of Logitech’s diNovo Edge wireless keyboard is a bit too high to stomach, Brando will sell you an $86 knockoff. It’s called the “Rapoo 2900,” which has to be one of the worst product names in the history of consumer electronics.

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  • RoboCar G: Japanese venture to sell electric robot car (videos)

    RoboCar G: Japanese venture to sell electric robot car (videos)

    Posted on February 26, 2010 | No Comments
    We covered various products from Tokyo-based robotics venture ZMP in the past, including a mini robo car, but we never had the chance to blog about an actual robot car (from any company actually). Granted, it's just a one-seater and not really "robotic", but the so-called RoboCar G [JP], which is an electric vehicle, doesn't look too bad and might be the beginning of a new trend.

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  • Electrical vehicle concepts running rampant

    Electrical vehicle concepts running rampant

    Posted on February 24, 2010 | No Comments
    Couple of things to talk about, Honda just announced that they are going to showing off an electric concept vehicle, and a Hungarian company is making a concept car that's capable of splitting in to two separate vehicles.

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  • Brother Japan to release a $1,100 “document reader”

    Brother Japan to release a $1,100 “document reader”

    Posted on February 11, 2010 | No Comments
    In March last year, we covered the SV-100, a monochrome, A4-sized "document reader" made by Brother that never found its way outside Japan. Mainly targeting business users, the device went on sale in this country in June 2009 for $1,450. And next week, Brother is going to roll out the SV-70 [JP], a new version, which is again Japan-only (at this point, at least).

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  • Traveling with batteries and ordering gadgets online could soon get pricey

    Traveling with batteries and ordering gadgets online could soon get pricey

    Posted on February 6, 2010 | No Comments
    Here are two totally unrelated things I like to do: order gadgets and smartphones online, and travel with loads of spare batteries. Well, perhaps they’re not all that unrelated. Both offer a lot of convenience and save a good amount of cash, but with a new proposal from the U.S. Department of Transportation, that could [...]

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  • Daily Crunch: Smash Edition

    Daily Crunch: Smash Edition

    Posted on February 5, 2010 | No Comments
    The future, to go: Heinz reinvents the ketchup packet Concept bike from Peugeot looks amazing, but is it practical? Science continues to improve our lives with new unbreakable pint glass

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  • New technology extends lithium-ion battery life

    New technology extends lithium-ion battery life

    Posted on February 4, 2010 | No Comments
    A Japanese company called Eamex claims it has found a way [JP] to increase the life of high-capacity lithium-ion batteries (that can be used in electric vehicles). Eamex says the new batteries can be charged and discharged over 10,000 times. Apparently, they can last about 20 years, too.

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  • Video: Meet Palro, Fujisoft’s mini humanoid

    Video: Meet Palro, Fujisoft’s mini humanoid

    Posted on February 1, 2010 | No Comments
    Most of the robots we cover on CrunchGear have been built for research or entertainment purposes, but some of them do become available for the general public at some point. And today we can give you the Palro (Pal+robot) [JP], a soon to be marketed humanoid developed by Tokyo-based Fujisoft. The little guy stands 39.8cm tall, weighs 1.6kg and boasts a whole range of features: 20 joints, five mics, voice recognition, mono speakers, a 3MP camera, Wi-Fi IEE 802.11 b/g/n, a USB port, an Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor, 1GB internal memory, 4GB flash memory, Ubuntu OS, a gyro-sensor, a three-axis acceleration sensor, eight pressure sensors in his feet, a distance sensor in his head, and a 7.4V/2,800mAh lithium ion battery as his power source.

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  • Battery-powered heat socks

    Battery-powered heat socks

    Posted on January 26, 2010 | No Comments
    Battery-powered socks that help keep your feet warm? What may sound a bit like overkill at first does make sense when you think of motorcycle riders or people having to work outdoors for long hours during winter. Made by Tokyo-based Bionics Japan, the so-called Heat Sock EX [JP] heats your entire foot by incorporating conductive carbon fibers.

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  • Thanko’s Spy Button Camera gets an upgrade

    Thanko’s Spy Button Camera gets an upgrade

    Posted on January 15, 2010 | No Comments
    Tokyo-based USB gadget maker Thanko gave us a video camera button last July, which was basically a mini camera for your shirt or jacket that could be used for secretly recording video. And today the company started selling the second version [JP] of the Spy Button Camera whose main new feature is the sound recording function.

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  • The Chevy Volt 200 degrees test

    The Chevy Volt 200 degrees test

    Posted on January 14, 2010 | No Comments
    This test is no doubt neat. I mean, automakers test the exterior to make sure every piece can withstand extreme temperatures and they should. But how about the test where the Volt’s battery is heated up to 200 degrees. Where is that video? I’ve sat in a few cars after they baked in the sun [...]

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