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Pricey massage chair folds into a cube

The Venn diagram that drills down to the target buyer of this $800 chair must be a weird mix of people with lots of money, a tiny apartment, and sore legs. In cube form, the product “serves as an ideal footrest or stores unobtrusively in a closet.”

Increase fuel efficiency with something that plugs into your car’s DC outlet?

Interesting. For $80, Hammacher Schlemmer will sell you something that you plug into your car’s cigarette lighter to improve your gas mileage “by up to 18%.”

Fake security camera moves, pretends to keep you safe

So you want your neighbors to think that your house is an impenetrable fortress, but you don’t really feel like shelling out the hundreds of dollars needed to buy actual security cameras? Maybe you’re seen those other fake surveillance cameras in stores, but you want something that moves, damnit. Well here you go: the Hammacher Schlemmer panning Faux Security camera set.

Supine Reading Glasses to spur recumbent reading movement

Sound the nerd alert: the Supine Reading Glasses from Hammacher Schlemmer let you read a book while flat on your back. That’s right, no more holding the book above your head. Just hold it upright and let the “two optical-quality glass prisms” bend your vision 90 degrees.

Robonica Roboni-i programmable robot toy review

Life became duller ever since FedEx took away our last annoying little robot, so we got our hands on a new but less chatty plastic companion — say hi to Robonica’s Roboni-i programmable robot. Since its last Engadget appearance we’ve seen a drastic price drop from the original $299.95 to $159.95 at Hammacher Schlemmer, but the robot is no less awesome — those unique wheels alone deliver plenty of coolness already, not to mention the bunch of peculiar accessories in the box for games and even interaction with other fellow Roboni-is. Read on to find out if this bot’s a keeper.

Continue reading Robonica Roboni-i programmable robot toy review

Robonica Roboni-i programmable robot toy review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wireless magnifier broadcasts tiny text to your gigantic TV

I have bad eyes. A lot of nerds do and I can unfortunately see myself needing something like this before I leave this earth. But I’ll be damned if I pay $149.95 for it at Hammacher Schlemmer. I’d rather learn braille.

Laughably large Red Light Camera Detector proves that you should just drive safely

Just a hunch here, but we get the feeling that you’ve gone one step too far when you decide to install a red light camera detector in your vehicle that’s larger than a) your GPS unit and b) the bag phone you used between the years 1991 and 1994. For those bold enough to disagree, there’s the wild and wacky device pictured above, delivered to you by none other than Hammacher Schlemmer . Packing an internal database of 6,000 red light and speed cameras across the US and Canada, the GPS-enabled device also boasts a 1.6-inch OLED screen to show your position in relation to upcoming cameras, and of course it’ll belt out all sorts of warnings to help you avoid the inevitable. Of course, you could just follow the rules of the road , but then you’d have no excuse to burn $199.95 up front and $19.95 annually on this heap. Tough call, no? [Via NaviGadget ] Filed under: Transportation Laughably large Red Light Camera Detector proves that you should just drive safely originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read

This is a voice guided coffee maker. Yes, you read that right.

You know which sector has been aching for interactive voice command features? Coffee makers.

Robonica Roboni-i rolling robot takes aim at WowWee, holiday shoppers

Upstart toymaker Robonica has been making promises about its Robini-i programmable robot for a little while now, but it looks like it’s now not only managed to get the bot out the door, but land it on the cover of the new Hammacher Schlemmer holiday catalog as well. Headed up by a former Hasbro exec, the company is clearly taking aim at the likes of WowWee, but hopes to one-up them by also letting its robot with a “serious attitude” become an avatar in an MMO of sorts when it’s not tormenting your pets. What’s more, the Robini-i can also apparently interact with other bots both online and in person, and the more adventuresome folks out there can also take advantage of some basic programming capabilities provided by the included software (Windows only, for the time being). Slightly less entry-level, however, is the $299.95 that Hammacher Schlemmer is charging for the kit, although it appears that could drop to $250 as it rolls out to other retailers.

Read – Hammacher Schlemmer
Read – Xconomy, “Robonica President, an Ex-Hasbro Exec, Hopes to Put Boston Back on Toy Industry Map with Rolling Robots”

[Via IEEE Spectrum, thanks Ken R.]

Filed under: Robots

Robonica Roboni-i rolling robot takes aim at WowWee, holiday shoppers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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