Awesome Tech

We have to admit the Climbatron is utterly pointless (and likely annoying), but it is pretty cool. Using suction cups, it climbs on vertical surfaces–great for driving friends up the wall.

Ashley Payne’s Zune Bug is a modern take on the nightlight. The concept is actually a speaker that streams music from your Zune; it adjusts its volume based on ambient lighting.

Logitech’s Illuminated Keyboard has backlit laser-etched keys for working at night. Only 9.3 mm thin, it also has laptop style scissor-switch keys for crisp, low-travel typing.

It’s not a DSLR, but the Olympus SP-565 UZ’s anti-blur tech and impressive 20x wide-angle optical zoom make this perfect for “close-up” shots–the non-peeping kind, of course.

Just launched: Google’s brand-new browser, Google Chrome. It aims to minimize memory bloat (you can selectively shut down tasks) and is lightweight, with a 500KB install file.

First there was the Voice Changer Helmet, and now there’s the Talking Dalek Alarm Clock. Nothing like flashing LED lights and “Exterminate” to get your butt out of bed.

Sony Ericsson’s C905 Cyber-Shot is packed to the gills: it features an 8.1 MP camera, geo-tagging, accelerometer, GPS and Wi-Fi. All this, plus quad-band support and an FM radio.

A marvel of efficiency, the Desktop Stirling Engine uses an alcohol burner to expand the air in a glass tube; this spins the attached flywheel at speeds of up to 5,000 RPM.

Bowers & Wilkins’ Zeppelin iPod Dock isn’t just an eye-catcher–its shape disperses sound efficiently, easily filling rooms. Bonus: shielded wiring makes this iPhone friendly.

Notebook Reviews has a positive review up of the Acer Aspire One. The netbook scores high in terms of build quality and overall value, although the battery life could be longer.

The Lomo Fisheye is a 35mm camera with a built-in fisheye lens and viewfinder. The “B” shutter takes night photos; the multiple shutter switch crams several shots into one frame.

The 2.4″ QVGA screen is lackluster, but the Nokia N79’s swappable Xpress-On covers will appeal to style hounds; the 5 MP Carl Zeiss lens and FM transmitter are icing on the cake.

This latest MacBook Pro mockup by Miguel Suarez (his Nano is here) looks like an enlarged MacBook Air. With these leaked case pictures , there may be some truth to his design.

Finnish designer J. Saaranen’s Reppo II is a 21st century boombox: In its hardshell case is an integrated amp, coaxial speakers and enough room for a six-pack of Bud.

Formerly known as as the EcoBook, the Asus Bamboo Series of notebooks target green users with a bamboo case and efficient power usage; choose from 11.1 and 12.1 inch models.

Marka27’s 16″ tall Minigods have an ace up their sleeve chest — these limited edition vinyls also double as speakers, with a mini-jack and battery-powered internal amp.

There are iPod docks, and there’s Alesis’ TransActive Mobile: despite packing only 22 watts, this speaker is ideal for outdoor parties. No outlet? It runs on a rechargeable battery.

The Shuttle Atom is low cost entrant to the nettop category (Intel Atom powered mini desktops); it consumes only 23 watts when idle, is whisper quiet and still squeezes in 4 USB ports.

The ESA continues to handily best NASA in terms of style with its ExoMars Rover, which has more bling than an Escalade at a Lakers game. It’ll arrive at the Red Planet in 2014.

Sony’s Walkman S-Series is like a Zune flash with brushed metal and the same price points. The 2″ screen and 7.5mm thickness are nice, but that may change with the new Nano.

Despite its hideously technical name, the LG DVS450H is a surprisingly stylish DVD player with full 1080p HDMI out; we also like that you can hook up external drives to the USB port.

The Samsung X360 is the latest 13.3″ ultraportable to target Apple’s Macbook Air, and at 2.8 lbs bests the Air in terms of weight; it also lacks an optical drive but gets a 7-in-1 card reader.

Philip’s Essence LCD TV is only 38mm deep and flat on the back for easy wall-mounting. It’s made possible by housing all the tuner and processing hardware in a separate hub.