Tag Archives: Mobile Tech

Clicks iPhone Attachment Adds A Physical Keyboard

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Do you miss having a tactile, physical keyboard on your phone? Then set your time machine dial to 2006. Or you can buy Clicks, an iPhone attachment that adds a physical keyboard to the bottom of your phone. In addition to allowing more screen real estate while in use, the keyboard also allows shortcuts and dedicated keys. My productivity is going to skyrocket!

Billed as the first ‘creator’s keyboard’, the Clicks is currently available for iPhone models 14 Pro and 15 Pro ($139), and 15 Pro Max ($159) in two colors: BumbleeBee (yellow) and London Sky (dark grey). The keyboard features a backlight that can be toggled on and off for night use, and appears to make your phone long enough to pass as a handheld metal detector. That alone is worth the price in my opinion.

Make more space for apps and content by moving the keyboard off your screen….Real keys make typing feel so natural, you can tackle more tasks than ever on iPhone. …Fly through tasks with keyboard shortcuts and dedicated keys that give you ultimate control of your phone.

Admittedly, I do miss having a real keyboard on my phone. Of course, I also miss owning a pager. They say technology is cyclical, will both keyboarded phones and pagers make a comeback? I can dream, can’t I?

[via LaughingSquid]

Man Creates Folding iPhone from an iPhone X and Motorola Razr

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Because dream it and you can achieve it, Chinese YouTuber 科技美学 has created the iPhone V, a folding iPhone he built using parts from both an iPhone X and Motorola Razr. That’s cool; I’ve also bent an iPhone before. Granted, it wasn’t on purpose, and it cost me $900 to replace, but this time I got the insurance.

The video walks through the process in which the phone was Frankenstein’d together, which looks slightly above my expertise level. And by slightly, I mean vastly. I can barely put a protective case on my phone without breaking something.

There are rumors Apple is going to release its own folding version of the iPhone. Are they true? No clue; I don’t participate in gossip. But if other phone companies are making flip phones and they’re selling, I suspect Apple will as well, then claim they invented them in the first place. When are pagers going to make a comeback?

[via MacRumors]

Butt Be Dry Waterproof Seating Pad: So Long, Soggy Pants!

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Because nobody likes a wet butt (I only face forward in the shower), the Butt Be Dry (affiliate link) is a portable seating pad to prevent the back of your pants from getting soaked while sitting on a wet seat. Perfect for sports stadiums and the great outdoors, it probably won’t prevent you from getting wet if you decide to sit in a pool, just to be clear.

The 18″ wide pad rolls up to just 3″ when not in use and can be worn around the waist like a fanny pack for hands-free transportation. Available in blue, light blue, green, and camouflage, I can’t recommend buying the camo version unless you want to lose it on a camping trip. I could have sworn I set it on a tree stump around here somewhere!

Alternatively, do what my wife does whenever she doesn’t want to sit on a wet seat and sit on my lap. Why should two people have to suffer when only one can, and that person be you – that’s her motto. Such an angel.

[via DudeIWantThat]

Man Builds Remote Controlled Bed So He Never Has to Leave It

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I’ve heard of couch potatoes before, but never bed potatoes. But here to prove there is such a thing, a 39-year-old man from China named Zhu Jianqiang went and built himself a joystick-controlled bed so he never has to get out from under the sheets to go about his day. Talk about a genius!

The bed moves about as fast as a walking human and gets an impressive 30 miles to a full charge (there’s plenty of room for a large battery). It can tackle steep grades thanks to its large tires and braking system and includes a motor for raising the incline of your head and a canopy for staying out of the sun. Now it just needs a mini-fridge and I’ve found my dream bed!

In the video, Zhu even takes the bed down to a pond to do a little fishing. That’s cool. At least until he accidentally steers himself into the water. Then it’s less cool and more cold and wet. Unless, of course, it can transform into a submarine bed the way James Bond’s would.

[via TechEBlog]

Finally, A Bicycle Ping-Pong Table

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I was just thinking the other day how crazy it was that nobody had made a mobile ping-pong table; then today, I wake up and see this: Le vélo table de ping-pong, an art piece constructed by Benedetto Bufalino. It’s a ping-pong table built on a bicycle for ease of movement between games, or DURING games, although you’ll have to play around the bicyclist. Or just try to hit them in the head; it’s really up to you.

You may recall Benedetto’s previous work of turning a bus into a pool, or, if you’re anything like me, you may not even remember what you had for breakfast this morning, or even if you had breakfast this morning. At least I remembered to put pants on today. I’m chalking that up as a win.

Between Forrest Gump’s running ability and ping-pong skills, I would NOT challenge him to a game on this thing. He’d probably run circles around me, both figuratively and literally. I feel like challenging my nephew would be more of a fair contest because he isn’t that coordinated yet and can’t stand for long periods either.

[via Neatorama]

Man Builds Custom Fish Tank Stroller to Take His Goldfish on Walks

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Taiwanese Youtuber Huang Xiaojie had a dream: a dream of taking his beloved goldfish for walks around town with him. So what did he do? He built himself a custom fish tank stroller, of course! I think we can all agree it was the logical decision and way better than just filling a backpack with water and hoping for the best.

The stroller consists of a sturdy metal chassis that holds a cylindrical acrylic tube for the fish, with an integrated filter system, oxygen pump, AND under-tank light for showing off his fish at night. How about that! Just make sure you don’t push them past any seafood restaurants and traumatize them.

I swear, the things people do for their pets. Take me, for instance – I sleep dangling off the side of a king-size bed because my two 14-pound dogs like to starfish right in the middle of it. Remember: healthy relationships are all about compromise. I just had no idea I would be the one doing all the compromising.

[via OddityCentral]

This Anti-Glare Umbrella for Smartphones Is a Real Product That Exists

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Because if you make it, somebody, somewhere, is going to buy it, VIVOUNITY has created the Phone Umbrella Suction Cup Stand (affiliate link), a device that acts as both a smartphone sunshade as well as a stand. Wow, what will they think of next? Hopefully, something more practical and less ridiculous looking.

The silicone suction cup stand was designed to look like a little pig (the one that went to market or stayed home?), and the umbrella slides between its buttcheeks to prevent glare and/or unwanted eyes and judgment while you lose at Wordle. Me? If I don’t guess Wordle on the first guess, I just close the window. I’m a perfectionist. Also, I’m terrible at word games.

The umbrella is available in a variety of different colors and patterns to ensure you’re able to recognize your phone after the wind catches the umbrella and blows it down the street. Or to Oz. You just better hope it doesn’t land on a wicked witch, or her sister is going to come after you with her flying monkeys. Trust me; I’ve seen movies. Mostly scrambled ones on Cinemax! Please don’t tell my parents.

[via DudeIWantThat]

Star Trek Klingon Bat’leth Multi-Tool: Pocket Space, The Final Frontier

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Because Star Trek is just as determined as Star Wars to have every product made available with their own theme, here is an officially licensed Klingon Bat’leth 6-in-1 multi-tool. The tool, available on Amazon (affiliate link), features a bottle opener, three different hex wrenches, a flat head screwdriver, a Phillips head screwdriver, a cord cutter, and a butterfly wrench. Unfortunately, an award-winning forehead is not included.

Will I be replacing my everyday-carry multi-tool with this one? I’m not sure; my current multi-tool is a 10-in-1, so that’s four more tools I wouldn’t be carrying. Plus, that one has pliers, and pliers are one of the tools I use most often. That and the tweezers. I get a lot of splinters because I don’t believe in shoes.

I do love the form factor. You know, I actually tried building my own full-scale bat’leth weapon last summer but abandoned the project when I realized there was slim to little chance it would end without me losing fingers. At least I’m realistic.

[via Gadgology]

Star Trek Klingon Bat’leth Multi-Tool: Pocket Space, The Final Frontier

Posted on by

Because Star Trek is just as determined as Star Wars to have every product made available with their own theme, here is an officially licensed Klingon Bat’leth 6-in-1 multi-tool. The tool, available on Amazon (affiliate link), features a bottle opener, three different hex wrenches, a flat head screwdriver, a Phillips head screwdriver, a cord cutter, and a butterfly wrench. Unfortunately, an award-winning forehead is not included.

Will I be replacing my everyday-carry multi-tool with this one? I’m not sure; my current multi-tool is a 10-in-1, so that’s four more tools I wouldn’t be carrying. Plus, that one has pliers, and pliers are one of the tools I use most often. That and the tweezers. I get a lot of splinters because I don’t believe in shoes.

I do love the form factor. You know, I actually tried building my own full-scale bat’leth weapon last summer but abandoned the project when I realized there was slim to little chance it would end without me losing fingers. At least I’m realistic.

[via Gadgology]

Cassette Tape Power Bank Keeps Your Music Playing Longer

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Because retro is always in, tech company Remax has created a portable power bank in the form factor of a cassette tape. That sure brings back memories, doesn’t it? I wonder if you have to stick a pencil in the reel to rewind it. I’m joking, there is no rewinding – it’s a power bank. In that case, I’d like to make a withdrawal. Joking again, different kind of bank.

Available through AliExpress, the power bank cassette is available in red and yellow, packs a 10000mAh battery, and features 18W USB/USB-C ports for fast charging, and a 22.5W USB-C for super-fast charging, allowing for a full charge in around 60-minutes. That’s not bad. Granted it’s not instantaneous, but we’re not living in the future just quite yet.

Now they just need to make compact disc and 8-track versions and the holy trinity of bygone media power banks will be complete! And if they were smart, the 8-track power bank would be oversized and powerful enough to charge the car battery and vibrating bed in a shaggin’ wagon. Groovy!