sound is great -Bose MusicMonitor .

When it comes to music systems, Bose has always been up there on the top. But after reviewing the MusicMonitor, the audio giant feels like an also-ran.

MusicMonitor, with a silvery aluminum finish, could be influenced by the Apple look and will set you back by over Rs 21,000.

With stiff metal to help dampen vibrations, each silver-grilled speaker measures a little over 4-and-a-half inch - quite comfortable for a desktop.

Inside each speaker are drivers and a pair of opposing passive radiators - woofers that move in opposite directions - making your bass and mid frequencies spread horizontally, while the drivers shoot the higher frequencies to the front. With its sturdy cage, and a DSP chip that again beefs up the bass and the highs, this combo is out to give you clear and full sound even at top volume.

Set up is very simple: Plug the left speaker's audio cable into the back of the right speaker, which also houses the power input. A proprietary connector that allows you to station the speakers about 6 feet apart - your desk can't be bigger than that! You can also hook up any audio source to these speakers via the 8-to-8 inch audio cable.

The included remote control is a simple three-button job. It handles power on/off and volume up/down.

Overall, sound is great and not bad for movies if you are ready to pay the price. We give it a 3.5.

RSStroom Reader.

According to TrendHunter magazine, "The RSStroom Reader makes a lot of sense - most news is crap, anyways."

Yi Tien Electronics has just made a computer printer that prints the latest RSS headlines directly onto your toilet paper as you visit the throne! It is even news customized especially for you as it reads you weight when you sit on the toilet seat and then personalizes the RSS source for you.

Self-Serve Toilet Seats

Have you ever had an argument with your "significant other" concerning the position of the toilet seat. The answer to bring that marital bliss back to the relationship is, the Self-Serve Toilet Seat.

This seat takes care of the problem itself, approach the toilet and the lid automatically opens. Stand there and the seat rises, too. When you leave the seat automatically closes and the toilet automatically flushes. No more unwanted gifts will await you in the "executive reading room" with this beauty. A must have for any happily married couple.

The Toilet Tunes System

"When ‘musical fruit' just isn't soothing enough in the bathroom, the Toilet Tunes Automatic Bathroom Entertainment System will step in. Your bathroom experience will never be the same."

This system works with two units, one placed where ever you choose, and the other placed on the back of the lid. This is so that when the lid is raised a sensor will let the other unit know it is time to start the music. You can choose from all kinds of musical tastes, ranging anywhere from jazz to even various nature sounds. A wonderful way to truly relax.

Atech iLounge Toilet Paper Dispenser with iPod Dock

Ever get bored with the quiet solitude you feel when you enter that certain place of rest, fondly known as the loo. Now you can enjoy the companionship of your iPod, and have the enjoyment of your favorite music or recorded reading material. Navigation buttons allow you to control your player with ease. A USB slot for your iPod is on top of the speakers that are housed within the arms that support the toilet paper holder. Sing along if you like, every thing is better when you have a song in your heart.

* Shiny Shiny: Atech iLounge Toilet Paper Dispenser with iPod Dock
First, we told you about the MP3 playing toilet available only in Japan. Now, the rest of us can go one better. I wouldn't have believed it, but I saw it with my own two peepers at MacWorld this past Friday

Next big app - local search

Think local, act local... but is it local enough? That’s the gap Shriram Adukoorie looked to fill when he launched AskLaila - a local information website in 2007. After a successful year in Bangalore, laila is now available in five major cities. And even on your mobile phone.

Shriram Adukoorie, co-founder, AskLaila, says: "We still feel that a vast majority of people don't go online to search. They end up asking friends/ family. We feel that there is lot of potential in the market, which is currently underserved at this point of time.

Eyeing this potential, new players like Yulop (pronounced You Loop) are redefining the meaning of local. In addition to local search, youloop offers a Bangalore community citizen portal, a Kannada book store and a site on local events in the city. Sridhar, CEO, Yulop, is not getting caught up with the profitability of the venture and wants to first build a strong user base.

Sridhar says: On the mobile and web, you eventually got to be going with ads but for that to happen, we focused on getting the content first. You got to follow the rule. Get the users first, and business follows you.

Players like Asklaila and Yulop will take on biggies like Google and Yahoo, which have launched their own local search websites. Yahoo says the market is still very nascent as users are still getting used to the local search model.

Sridhar Ranganathan, business head (local & maps), Yahoo! India, says: "We are still in early days. We are still waiting for traction in terms of user need. We are seeing a lot of uptake in terms of the features we are showing...."

Using the yellow pages for getting local information might soon be a thing of the past as Internet and mobile companies are aggresively marketing their services. They are even choosing to ignore monetising their services for now to purely focus on scaling up.

Samsung i550: New GPS navigator

If you thought Nokia was the only one to offer you the GPS navigator, you might be in for a surprise...

The Samsung i550, the new GPS-enabled smart phone, has already caught attention....

Smart and simply black - Samsungs i550 is one of the slimmest smartphones around, and it is quite light and pocketable. It is also taller than most phones, and its plastic body may not appeal to all but it makes it a sturdy piece.

The large 2.6-inch screen is bright, and the information is fairly visible in sunlight. It has a track ball similar to the Blackberry Pearl - this one accepts only a single input every time one rolls a finger on it.

The keypad buttons are very thin and well-spaced, and there are hot keys for the internet and for GPS.

While the Symbian OS in this smart phone will make Nokia users feel right at home, one of the highlights is the GPS module with its built-in maps. Its Route 66 mapping application is similar to the one available in the Nokia 6110 Navigator.

The navigation interface is clearly visible even from a distance and voice prompts help you while driving around.

There is a 3 megapixel autofocus camera and video recording and you have a microSD expandable memory slot to up the existing 150 MB storage.

Connectivity is taken care of with wi-fi and EDEG, and HSDPA enables a 100MB file to be transferred in 23 seconds. Headphones can be plugged in to the 3.5mm jack to listen to FM radio, and the battery lasts for a little over two days, but continuous use of GPS will exhaust the phone in three hours.

Comparatively speaking, Nokia N95 is available for the same price now. The N95 wins in the imaging section since it is armed with a higher-resolution 5-mega-pixel sensor. The Samsung i550 is slimmer and has a better battery life.

For a smartphone with a good GPS mapping capability, and general multi-media usage, we give it a 4.

Ban cellphone use by children: Renuka

New Delhi: As cellphones stir some government and parental unease over its safety for children, Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhary wants a total ban on use of mobiles by school kids.

Chowdhary feels children have no business to use mobile phones as it makes them vulnerable to the bad effects of the outside world.

"The HRD Ministry should write to schools about banning the use of mobile phones. I am an orthodox in such matters. The children have no business of using mobile phones," she said.

Chowdhary was speaking to reporters here today at the inauguration of the facilitation centre of the Women and Child Development Ministry.

Chowdhary said it was high time the society took to traditional ways of parenting and stop the kids from using modern day gadgets like mobile phones.

"Use of mobiles by school kids solves no purpose," she said.

The minister laughed away a suggestion that mobile phones helped in ensuring the safety of the school kids.

"What safety does a mobile phone ensures of a child. We can think of other measures to ensure safety of the kids. I appeal to all parents to stop giving mobile phones because it would help them only not us."

As Minister of 'Child' Development, she said, "I believe in child's overall development and I am against all such things which distracts a child's mind."

Advergaming - the next focus

New Delhi: India is adding over five million mobile phone users every month. With over 250 million mobile users in the country, the race is on among marketers to grab the next customer...

Coca-Cola, which launched the kholega to bolega initiative, has got 1.7 million responses within a month. According to company officials, it is the highest-ever achieved by any initiative undertaken by the beverage giant.

Companies like Coca-Cola, Domino's and ITC have used the medium by advergaming i.e advertising through gaming, which can be downloaded from the telecom operator's website to your web-enabled handsets.

While creating a game would cost about Rs 3-4 lakh and distribution cost between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakh, the brand route works out to be much cheaper than other mass medium.

With personalisation and interactivity its key strengths, more companies are willing to experiment with the medium.

Gautam Chatwal, associate director (marketing), Jump Games, said: "Till now, we were working with FMCG brands. Now, we are speaking with financial companies and also companies making products for children."

The key challenge in mobile advertising is that it has to be led by another campaign to create excitement to hook the consumer. Marketers, however, believe that mobile phones are an effective way of reaching your target audience as the brand is being invited rather than being pushed into the consumer's domain.

Srinivas Murthy, general manager (flavours), Coca-Cola, says: "How I make myself interesting that the consumer invites me is the big challenge..."

India will have about 500 million mobile phone users by 2010. Medium marketers cannot afford to miss on their media plan.

Japan makes robot for lonely men

A Japanese firm has produced a 38 cm tall robotic girlfriend that kisses on command, to go on sale in September for around $175, with a target market of lonely adult men.

Using her infrared sensors and battery power, the diminutive damsel named "EMA" puckers up for nearby human heads, entering what designers call its "love mode".

"Strong, tough and battle-ready are some of the words often associated with robots, but we wanted to break that stereotype and provide a robot that's sweet and interactive," said Minako Sakanoue, a spokeswoman for the maker, Sega Toys.

"She's very lovable and though she's not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend."

EMA, with stands for Eternal Maiden Actualization, can also hand out business cards, sing and dance, with Sega hoping to sell 10,000 in the first year.

Japan, home to almost half the world's 800,000 industrial robots, envisions a $10-billion market for artificial intelligence in a decade.

electronic toilet dispenser

With the technology travelling from one arena to other attic, I think it’s your toilet that is the soft-target for now.

Kimberly-Clark Professional has presented an electronic toilet tissue dispenser that uses motion detectors and a battery-operated motor. The access to this electronic device will automatically dispense a pre-determined amount of toilet paper when a hand activates the sensor.

This dispenser is being rolled out to the masses and it seeks to capture more of the $1 billion away-from-home toilet paper market.

washinmg machine cum toilet

Now…finally the world is listening to the ‘SAVE WATER’ call! I’m saying this as I’ve seen this unique washing machine-toilet combo that does the trick. An intelligent work of mind, this unique gadget fits a WashUP washing machine over a toilet.


Now, the good that this appliance does is that once the clothes are washed, the used water instead of getting thrown away stores it in the load, which is later on used to flush the toilet.

Can’t resist saying that the combo must be an intelligent mind’s brain child. A great way to save water as usually the water left post washing is wasted by letting I into the drain. But with this at service, very easily we’ll be able to put it to a very much valid use. I hope the design gets the approval of the manufacturers and soon we can see it in as many homes looking forward to saving some water.

Via: Slipperybrick

water-proof camera

The Waterproof Camera is easy to hold and even easier to operate whether in the water or on dry land. It’s watertight casing features a contour free viewing window and large ergonomic grip for one handed operation. Motor driven with a built in red eye reduction flash, the camera is water resistant to a depth of 6 metres and features a grenade style shutter release protector to prevent you taking pictures by mistake. Inside the case, the camera is compact and motorised with a 35mm lens and automatic flash. Powered by 2 AA batteries (Not included) the Aqua-Pix camera offers effortless photographs with the aid of motorised loading, winding on and rewinding, making changing films quick and easy. Now you can take some really cool holiday snaps under water with this superb value for money waterproof camera.

More Information

• Aqua-Pix Waterproof Camera with 35mm lens
• Waterproof depth rating of 6metres
• Automatic flash with red-eye reduction
• Grenade style shutter release protector to prevent unwanted pictures while swimming along
• Flick-up viewfinder for use underwater
• Motorised loading, winding-on and re-winding making changing films quick and easy
• Stylish transparent watertight casing
• Contour free viewing window
• Large ergonomic grip for one-handed operation
• Instructions included
• Requires 2 x AA batteries (not included)

Lie detector

Forget polygraph testing and truth serums the new way to extract the truth has arrived (all be it somewhat painfully…for the recipient). Shocking Liar will scare even the most stone faced porky teller into spilling the beans. Not for the faint hearted, Shocking Liar is a desktop device that has grooves cut out to fit hour hand into it. Looking like something from a Back to the Future movie shocking liar certainly looks the part but there really is no secret behind its workings. You quite simply strap your victim in (did we say victim, sorry!!) follow the setup procedure then ask away! If you lie you are in for a shock – literally!!

Who said lightening never strikes the same place twice… well actually its not quite as fierce as lightening but they do say that the truth hurts. Your cowering, cringing pathological liar may be able to get away with a few small lies but it will catch up with them and when it does you can watch them scream with shock!! Not for the faint hearted. Remember with Shocking liar there’s no such thing as a little white lie.

More Information

• Shocking Lie Detector
• Fitted with sensors (front and back)
• Hand strap to keep your hand firmly in place for maximum effect!
• LED’s to indicate truth or lie
• Analyser and reset button
• The Electric Shock Lie Detector is not suitable if you suffer from epilepsy or wear a pacemaker
• Requires 3 x AA batteries (included)
• Dimensions: W 160mm x H 90mm
• Crazyaboutgadgets does not accept responsibility for any marital or personal disputes!
• Crazyaboutgadgets must state in the interests of user safety that Shocking Liar is not recommended for children under 14 years of age.
• Please read the warning panel before use.
• This item is not a toy.

Voice Changer

This is less than 15 quid. A voice changer, for those who want to play some pranks on mates, or just to annoy their friends on the phone.

Click Here to see the current price and to buy it, safely and totally securely.

Ideal for the wannabee 007, this is a spy tool that lets your voice change 6 different ways. I've fooled many people with this and the results can be hilarious...would make a fantastic birthday present or gift.

Earth Day: What's missing from CE devices today

Sometimes the most popular gadgets on Crave are the simplest of all. (Who could forget those drive-in speakers or the singing theremin doll?)

Perhaps the best example we've seen lately is the "Phonofone II," a ceramic device that requires no external power source and relies on "passive amplification" instead of any digital wizardry to work with the earphones of an iPod or other MP3 player. And now it's being offered in black, a special edition of 200 available for a limited time.

Simple doesn't necessarily mean cheap, however, and this version of the Phonofone is living proof: It goes for about $600, according to Pocket-lint. Back in Nipper's day, that would have probably bought about a million RCA dogs.

TALKING TOILET ROLL

The toilet roll holder which reminds your guests of what you record on the toilet roll holder.
As for instance: "Remember to flush and wash your hands" or "Toilet Olympics 5 points" or "The best result of today".

Recording is easy and you can change the recorded message indefinately.

Fits all normal toilet rolls. Please note that your toilet roll holder must be one of those where the roll is held by a bar secured at both ends.

One of the funniest gadgets this year!

A toilet for Inspector Gadget

Did you know the average person spends 11,862 hours out of his or her lifetime in the bathroom? That's equal to 1 year, 4 months and 5 days in what's usually a boring room, absent comforts like TiVo, video games and a stocked fridge.

You could win this 'Pimped Out John'

(Credit: Roto-Rooter)

Roto-Rooter is coming to the rescue! (Thanks to BoingBoing for pointing it out.) North America's largest provider of plumbing and drain-cleaning services is offering an online sweepstakes for its "Pimped Out John," a bathroom throne for the gadget junkie.

The fully loaded Kohler commode comes with a Philips 20-inch LCD TV; Star Wars DVD; Xbox 360; Philips DVD player; Gateway eMachines laptop with robot arm, iPod with docking station equipped with a toilet paper dispenser; TiVo; stocked Avanti refrigerator with beer tap; magazine rack and subscriptions to Sports Illustrated, ESPN and GQ; bike pedal exerciser; cup warmer/cooler; and Roto-Rooter emergency service button.

What? No heated slippers?

You can register now through April 2 at RotoRooter.com. The winner will be announced on April 25, which, appropriately enough, is National Plumber's Day.

Wonder if Inspector Gadget has entered yet.