Gadgets

It might look ridiculous, but this mask does serve a useful purpose. The Hushme uses masks your voice during phone calls, letting you make private calls without prying ears listening in. It can also cover up sounds with everything from Darth Vader to a squirrel.

A USB charging cable with a combo plug that supposedly works with both Apple’s Lightning port and microUSB ports. The cases of Magbine’s connectors are also magnetized for easy storage, while the cable itself has a braided sleeve for durability.

Researchers at EPFL looked to the soft wings of insects to create a drone that could solve one of their biggest problems. Its frame is made of 0.2mm fiberglass, which makes it soft and flexible. The rotors attach to the electronics with magnetic joints for added resilience.

A user-friendly Internet solution for large households. Plume consists of multiple small routers that plug into a socket in each room. These tiny routers learn and adapt to your usage, and let you manage connected devices through a dead simple app.

Joto is a modern take on an X/Y plotter that displays pictures, screenshots, notes and more by drawing them on a whiteboard marker, then erasing them when it’s time for a new image. With support from developers, it can integrate with apps like Twitter, Slack and Spotify.

Shinola turned its Runwell watch design into a timeless wall clock. The clock has a zinc case, domed glass cover, and aluminum dial and hands. Available with a white, black or navy dial. An optional stand lets you set the clock on a tabletop.

A flat speaker that’s meant to sit and disappear under your big HDTV. It’s meant to serve both as a home theater speaker and as a music playback device just like other Sonos speakers. It has six mid-range drivers, three tweeters, and one woofer. Drops 4/4/17.

A big honkin’ waterproof speaker. Perfect for tailgating or job sites, with up 100w of power, Bluetooth, AM/FM, and analog audio sources. Its battery can deliver 75 hours of sound per charge and can juice up gadgets. A telescoping handle and wheels make for easy transport.

Designed by Paolo Cappelo for Newblack, the Luciano is a handmade ceramic Bluetooth speaker that’s beautiful enough to be a centerpiece. It has a 3″ full range driver powered by a 15W amplifier. Available in different colors, as well as plated in 24k gold.

BioLite upgrades its signature product to produce 50% more power than its predecessor. The CampStove 2 also has an improved LED dashboard, four fan speed settings, and a detachable 2600mAh battery, all while keeping its original weight and price.

The Xperia XZ Premium has an HDR-enabled 5.5″ 4K touchscreen. Its 13MP front camera and 19MP rear camera both have optical image stabilization. The rear camera also has a 960fps slow motion mode, and can automatically take photos so you can catch fleeting moments.

The Xperia Touch projects a 23″ to 80″ 720p image on tabletops or walls, and has USB C, micro-HDMI, and microSD ports. It uses infrared light and a camera to detect touch input. It isn’t just a projector. It’s a full Android device with personal assistant features.

LG’s Android flagship packs a 5.7″ QHD+HDR-capable touchscreen in a 5.5″ form factor, thanks to its all around narrow bezels. Its 18:9 ratio makes it easier to multitask and use its two 13MP rear cameras. It’s also water- and dust-resistant and has a microSD card slot.

A kegerator for growlers. The Growler Chill keeps up to three different 60oz growlers chilled and pressurized right on your counter. It also has a “virginator” that lets you purge oxygen out of the growler before you put it in.

A coin-sized standalone voice recorder. Senstone lets you record your thoughts or conduct interviews pretty much anywhere. Its note-taking app lets you share your recordings, add location tags, and convert speech to text in a variety of languages.

Since his paper books have been replaced by digital ones, 17-year-old Blake Hawkins didn’t have much use for his school locker. So he built a soda vending machine that fit the cabinet perfectly. It has two dispensers that can hold up to six cans each. Instructions here.

The Netgear Nighthawk M1 is the world’s first LTE router that delivers up to 1Gbps downloads and 150Mbps uploads. Its battery lasts up to 24h per charge. It has an Ethernet port, dual-band Wi-Fi and a USB-C port. It will debut on Australian telecom Telstra for ~$270.

A 27″ 1080p matte digital video frame with a 2W speaker. It comes loaded with 10 high resolution videos, with more available on its store, as well as live streaming from cameras located around the world. It also has alarm clock, Google calendar and weather apps.

A mechanical keyboard with a charming design. The Lofree can be used wirelessly or with a cable, can be paired with up to three devices at once, and has three backlight settings. It’s based on the Apple keyboard layout but you can use it with any PC or mobile device.

Podo’s tiny adapter not only adds Bluetooth compatibility to practically anything with an aux input, it can also pair with another Jack to stream audio to two devices at once. It has a built-in clip and lasts up to 12h per charge.

Bacon is one of the most delicious foods on the planet, but it’s difficult to cook properly and without making a mess. This kitchen gadget perfectly cooks up to six strips of bacon on a non-stick grille, keeping it from shriveling up, and catching all the grease in a tidy drip tray.

Take advantage of the battery on-board golf carts, lawnmowers, ATVs, tractors, and other vehicles without charging ports with this handy gadget, which clips to any 8-24VDC vehicle battery and gives you a pair of USB ports. Hyjax gets bonus points for the amusing commercial.

Computer Direct Outlet’s Volta V is a custom-made PC that houses high end components in a compact bamboo or walnut chassis. It has liquid cooling and magnetic dust filters to keep it cool, clean and quiet, and comes with a lifetime warranty.

Invented by Mike Neilson, the Switcheroo is an adapter that wirelessly reroutes switched outlets (outlets that are toggled by light switches). You can make Switcheroos pair one to one, or have one control many Switcheroos at once.

The ASUS PG27UQ is the world’s first 4K monitor that refreshes at 144Hz. The 27″ display also supports NVIDIA’s G-Sync technology for variable refresh rates when using NVIDIA GPUs, as well as HDR 10 technology. Now we just need a graphics card that can run it.