Summary of posts 23/3/2011

Rollerphone Concept – Weird or Wonderful?	Genius releases two new wireless mice for travelers	Creative ZiiO 7-inch Tablet Gets Tuned to Android 2.2 Version
Cobra Tag – Tag It and You Won’t Lose It!	Pro Defender Golf Bag Alarm	LED Shower Head – Hot, Warm or Cold?
The iHolder Stand	Nokia X2-01 Edition –More Functional and Easy to Operate	iPad Alarm Clock
iPad Keyboard Portfolio	Oil Cleaning Guard that Feeds on Oil	The New Easy to use UI of LG KM 710
Dolby updates their 3D Glasses	Sony A55 SLT-A55V and A33 SLT A33 DSLR Cams – Always Provide Clear Pictures	The Slotless Toaster

Cobra Tag – Tag It and You Won’t Lose It!

If you are rather forgetful (like me), and sick and tired of misplacing important items like a phone, keys, or wallet then this could be the gadget for you. Guaranteed to bring an end to those dizzy retracing your step moments, the Cobra Tag is a smart piece of kit.

This loss prevention gadget uses a Smartphone app coupled with Bluetooth technology to a small key fob to monitor the distance between the phone and the Cobra tagged item. A user must first download the Cobra Tag app to their Smartphone, after that simply tag your item with the Cobra and away you go.

Other features to the Cobra Tag are that it can record GPS details of where and when the tagged item got separated from the phone. This data can be sent to the user via email, text message, or even to an individual’s social network, e.g. Facebook.

Before you ask what happens if you lose your phone, don’t worry the designers have already thought of that. Simply, press the button on the key fob and the Smartphone will ring allowing you to determine its hiding place.

Watch this space, expected release date is July 2011 and estimated price is $59.99.

5 Spy Gadgets I Would Use

If you are anything like me then you will be a bit of a James Bond addict, well I’m not really a James Bond idol but a fan of the spy gadgets and gizmos he has used in the 22 or 23 films that I’ve seen. Having written about some spy equipment before here at Mintgadgets.com, I thought it would be a good idea to pick 5 items I would choose if I was to spy on someone.

1. Spy Sunglasses

Although these may look like chunky sunglasses, they are in fact a pair of UV400 polarised flip-up lens sunglasses with a built in 1.3mb digital camera.  Operation of the camera is easy, the user has two choices, either pressing the button located on the side of the sunglasses, or using a wireless RF remote to conspicuously catch your suspect. To retrieve the pictures, a USB 2.0 interface allows up to 1GB (thousands of pictures) of data to be transferred from glasses to a storage device. Battery life is pretty good on the spy sunglasses, the unit uses a Li-ion rechargeable battery that gives 9 hours usage time before it needs to be recharged; this is done via the USB port.

To help pass the time as your waiting to catch your suspect on camera, an MP3 player is included along with embedded ear buds for playback.

2. Porta2030 Spy Backpack

Moving on from the spy sunglasses we now have the Porta2030 spy mobile backpack.  Whereas the spy sunglasses allowed for image capture only, the Porta2030 spy backpack allows both static pictures and videos to be captured.  Now if you are taking pictures and videos of something you shouldn’t be (Area 51 comes to mind), and you get caught then you will probably get your equipment confiscated whilst they delete any data that has captured, this is where the Porta2030 comes in handy. Not only does it capture the images and videos, but it streams the data to a website via a webcam so no data can be destroyed locally.

3. Spy Camera Lighter DVR
 

Next spy gadget on my wish list would be this one, the Spy Camera Lighter.  Now you could say the camera in the spy sunglasses may have been detected, you could say the backpack was unusual and would have looked suspicious; however anyone that identifies the camera in this spy lighter deserves a medal. Within this lighter is movie camera and microphone, not only that but it uses motion detection, night vision and a wireless transmitter to ensure secret video spy surveillance is maintained during covert operations. Powered by an Lithium-ion battery, the unit can record data on a 8 GB micro SD card for up to 8 hours.

4. SpyCobra Computer Logging Device

Ok so we have covered spy sunglasses, lighter, and backpack to take pictures and videos, sometimes I guess as a spy you would want to see what your suspect is getting up to on the computer, and well this is where the SpyCobra would come in handy. This small USB device when plugged or when the software is uploaded is able to monitor the activity on a computer. Classed as a computer surveillance gadget, the SpyCobra looks very similar to any other USB memory stick which may aid its effectiveness at not being found.  However, even if it found and removed, once the logging software has been uploaded, the software will begin to record key strokes, internet history, and take screenshots during the usage of the computer. This data can then be gathered and examined by the spy.

5. The Movement Spy camera

The 5th spy gadget on my list is this, the Motion Activated Wall Switch spy camera. What looks like a normal bog standard switch is in fact a camera that captures videos when the 2.0 Mega Pixel CMOS motion sensor detects movement in the room (within 3 m of the sensor).  The Spy switch is able to record video and audio onto MicroSD, T-Flash Cards and MicroSDHC up to 8GB.  One of the most useful things about this is that it can be left for long periods (Litium-ion battery life 13 days) to gather lots of evidence before the battery requires a recharge. Why else would it be useful? Well if you are unable to get near a target to gather the evidence required then positioning the Wall Switch Spy Camera in a room you know a suspect will frequent may help you hit the jackpot.

So these spy gadgets may not be the most sophisticated state of the art technology that you can find on the internet or see on tv, but they are gadgets that would be handy if you wanted to spy on someone. I will be looking to do a follow up post on this with some more spy gadget, if you have any ideas please post a comment, message me here or at twitter.

Gallery of posts up to 01-28-2009

Stop Snoring Mouthpiece	Samsung W7900	Bubble Wrap Key-Ring	USB Typing Speedometer
Stealth Switch	Gravitonus WorkStation	Fast Fingers Keyboard	Walkie Talkie Star Wars Watches
Bandai’s Diorama Speaker	SpyCobra Computer Logging Device	Spiderman USB Webcam	RobotiKits
Trebuchet Toaster	iShovel	Motion-Powered TV Remote Control	AeroPonics Accelerated Indoor Garden
Mini Hydro Clock	LGs Touchscreen Watch Phone	Acer Aspire One 10-inch	Lego Digital Box Kiosk

SpyCobra Computer Logging Device

I think here on Mintgadgets we write about more USB gadgets then any other kind of gadget. This gadget is another one and quite a sneaky Spy Gadget one at that. Its called the SpyCobra (cool name eh?) and is basically a device which when plugged in can monitoring the activity on a computer. Described as “the next generation of computer surveillance”, the SpyCobra is classified as the new and improved version of the KeyShark USB Keylogger which was released last year.

Potential uses of the SpyCobra may be for parents who want to keep an eye on their kids internet activities, managers who suspect their staff are up to no good during work time, or even for private investigators who need to gather data on individuals internet habits.

Although the device when plugged in appears to be like any other USB memory stick it also contains some logging software that can be installed on any computer in very little time which will record activities even if the SpyCobra is removed.

Data can be gathered and examined by uploading inserting the SpyCobra into another computer and folders containing keylogging data, internet history, and screenshots can be reviewed.