XM Snap SiriusXM Satellite Car Radio
February 13, 2012 by mintgadgets
Filed under Car Gadgets, Satellite Radio Gadgets
There’s a good chance if you own a newer model car in the US, you already have a satellite radio included with the automobile. But what if you have an older model car and you’d like to enjoy the convenience of XM and Sirius satellite radio no matter where you travel in your car? The XM Snap SiriusXM Satellite Car Radio is the absolute easiest satellite radio you can find to enable your older model car with satellite radio.
The XM Snap SiriusXM Satellite Car Radio, just like the product name suggests, is an absolute snap to install and setup straight out of the box in your car. You simply plug the XM Snap satellite radio into your vehicle’s cigarette lighter or power adapter socket, connect the antenna and you’re all set! Then you simply tune your car’s FM receiver to a pre-set station and you’re able to listen to the full spectrum of SiriusXM satellite radio stations right through your car’s existing radio. Of course, you’ll also need a subscription to SiriusXM (not included with the XM Snap satellite radio).
XM Snap SiriusXM Satellite Car Radio Features and Specifications
- Super easy to install, simple controls make it a snap to operate.
- Listen to your favorite SiriusXM satellite radio stations through your vehicles existing radio.
- Now you can listen to SiriusXM satellite radio wherever you travel in your car.
- Easily store your favorite satellite radio channels with one-touch access on the display panel.
- The flexible stalk is fully adjustable with a swivel that allows for convenient placement in your vehicle . Makes it easy to place the satellite radio for convenient access to the controls and to view the display.
- You can view the artist’s name, song title, program title and channel information on the easy-to-read, high contrast XM Snap satellite radio display.
- Simply adjust the arrow keys to navigate through the satellite radio categories and the use the rotary knob to change the channels.
- The XM Snap satellite radio requires an FM Radio or Aux-In capability on your car’s existing radio (this covers 99% of all the car radios out there). You can use the included Aux-In Cable if your vehicle radio has Aux-In capability for good performance.
- Power Requirements: 9-16 V DC, 500 mA (max)
- Operating Temperature: -4°F to +140°F (-20°C to +60°C)
- Audio Output: 1.0 VRMS (max)
- XM Magnetic Mount vehicle antenna type
- SMB female, right angle connector
XM Snap SiriusXM Satellite Car Radio Dimensions
- Aux-In Cable Connectors: 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) stereo male to 1/8 inch (3.5 mm) stereo male
- Cable Length: 4 ft (1.2 m)
- Radio Control Unit: 2.7 inches in width, by 3.13 inches in height, by 0.6 inches in depth
- Flexible Stalk: 0.43 inches in diameter by 3.1 inches in length.
- Base/Mount: 1.3 inches in width by 4.4 inches in length
- Weight: 5.3 oz (151 g)
If you’ve been looking for an easy way to provide satellite radio in your car, the XM Snap SiriusXM Satellite Car Radio is the perfect solution.
Available: CompUSA
Price: $49.99
Electronic Snap Circuits SC-300 by Elenco Will Inspire Your Child’s Imagination
January 22, 2012 by mintgadgets
Filed under Electronic Gadgets, Toy Gadgets
At Mint Gadgets, we’re on the hunt for the latest innovative gadgets and gizmos of all kinds, anywhere we can find them. So where do all these great gadget ideas and inventions come from anyway? Well, we like to think that educational toys like the Electronic Snap Circuits SC-300 by Elenco play an important role in inspiring our kids of today with the knowledge and skills they need to grow up and create the great gadgets and inventions of tomorrow.
So we think the Electronic Snap Circuits SC-300 by Elenco qualifies as a world class toy gadget that will entertain, educate and thrill your kids through the discovery of electronics. With the Electronic Snap Circuits kit, you can provide your child with an exciting and valuable introduction to electronics. Who knows, you may be paving the way for a brilliant electronics engineering future for your child.
The Electronic Snap Circuits SC-300 kit includes over 60 color-coded electronic circuit components that snap together to create actual functional electronic circuits and devices. The kit is recommended for children 8 and older and right on the package it lists the suitable age range as 8 to 108. I guess that’s another way of saying “suitable for kids of all ages” and that includes the kid in all of us!
The Electronic Snap Circuits Kit includes over 60 electronic pieces and components. With these discrete kit components, you can create over 305 different electronic projects. The kit contents include:
- Snap Wires
- Slide Switch
- Resistors
- Microphone
- Capacitors
- Transistors
- Diodes
- Integrated circuits
- Amplifier
- Lamps
- Audio Speaker
- Antenna Coil
- and more …
And you can build exciting and entertaining electronic projects like …
- Two transistor light alarm
- Voice controlled rays of light
- Space war radio
- Musical motion detector
- Radio music alarm
- Water detector
- Battery polarity tester
- Adjustable metronome
- Laser light
- NPN emitter – motor
- NPN collector – motor
- Lie detector
- Delayed action fan
- Time delay circuits
- AM radio
- Burgler alarm
- and more …
The projects are easy to follow and assemble. Each electronic component easily snaps together on the block circuit grid board, no soldering required and no tools needed. The component pieces are numbered and color-coded to make them easy to identify. And each project includes a large color illustration with simple directions that make learning about the fundamentals of electronics and circuit construction easy, fun and educational.
The Electronic Snap Circuits projects are presented in order of complexity from the most simple to the more complex. This helps kids build their skills and understanding of electronics as they proceed through the manual, step by step. Once kids have begun to master some of the fundamentals and skills, they can actually use the kit components to experiment on their own and build customized electronic circuits and devices. There are also a series of Snap Circuits accessories and upgrades to extend and expand the capability of the kit and add additional projects.
The Electronic Snap Circuits SC-300 kit even has a feature to connect the electronic circuits that you build to your PC computer, and with the supplied software, turn your PC into an “oscilloscope” so you can see the electrical activity between any two points in the circuit. Now that is very cool!
As a parent, the Electronic Snap Circuits SC-300 kit is the perfect opportunity to introduce your child to the wonders of science and provide an education in the fundamentals of electronics and electronic circuit design. And you’ll have hours and hours of fun interacting with your child through the creative learning process. It’s no wonder that Electronic Snap Circuits SC-300 by Elenco has won several awards including the “National Parenting Center-Seal of Approval”, “Dr. Toy 100 Best Children’s Products”, and “Dr Toy Best Educational Products”.
Available: Amazon
Price: $30.33
The Smartphone Controlled RC Helicopter
January 14, 2012 by mintgadgets
Filed under RC Helicopter Gadgets, Smartphone Gadgets
At Mint Gadgets, we love radio controlled helicopter gadgets. Here’s a new twist that caught our eye, a remote controlled helicopter that is controlled by a smartphone.
The Smartphone Controlled RC Helicopter works with your iPhone, iPad or Android smartphone device. You simply download a free app to you iPhone, iPad or Android and your smartphone becomes a remote control that communicates the remote controlled helicopter using the built-in wireless radio. Your smartphone wireless radio is able to control the helicopter up to a range of 60 feet.
The remote control app for flying the Smartphone Controlled RC Helicopter uses the motion-sensing accelerometers that are built into your smartphone device. This allows for easy and natural remote control by enabling the simple tilt and pan of your smartphone to precisely control the radio controlled helicopter’s forward, backward, left, right, up and down movements. The remote control app also provides a visual direction and speed indicator, and a convenient swipe of your finger controls the throttle.
The Smartphone Controlled RC Helicopter has a horizontal tail rotor that works in tandem with the two contra-rotaing coaxial main rotors to keep the helicopter balanced during flight. This innovative design enables easy flying and remote control, no more frequent crashes typical of many RC helicopters.
The Smartphone Controlled RC Helicopter comes with a rechargeable battery that provides approximately five-minute flight times from a 60-minute charge using the included USB charging cable. Suitable for kids ages 14 years and up.
Available: Hammacher
Price: $99.95
The Virtual Laser-Generated Keyboard
January 10, 2012 by mintgadgets
Filed under Android Gadgets, Desktop Gadgets, iPhone Gadgets, iPod Gadgets
iPads and iPhones are wonderful devices that have achieved enormous popularity. But while these devices strive for perfection, they do leave a bit to be desired for those of us that sorely miss the keyboard. If you’re like so many users that really do prefer a keyboard when you have to get some serious work done, then have a look at this cutting-edge new innovative keyboard device for the iPad and iPhone as well as Android Phones.
The Virtual Laser-Generated Keyboard is the latest keyboard invention that projects a laser-generated keyboard image onto any flat, opaque surface. A Class II laser draws a full-size 9 3/4 inch wide by 4 inch high keyboard and renders 3/4 inch square keys with a bit of drop shadow for visual depth.
The Virtual Laser-Generated Keyboard has an optical sensor that detects your finger placement at different locations on the keyboard in three dimensions. And an infrared horizontal plane is projected just millimeters above the surface which detects the actual contact your finger makes with the keys when the infrared plane is interrupted.
The virtual keyboard device translates the detected key strokes into the appropriate character code and sends to your iPhone, iPad or Android device via the Bluetooth radio interface, so no wires or cables needed.
The Virtual Laser-Generated Keyboard can keep pace with even the fastest typists, able to track typing speeds up to 400 characters per minute. The rechargeable battery provides up to 2 1/2 hours of typing from a 1 1/2 hour charge using the included USB/AC adapter. The virtual keyboard device dimensions are 3 inches high by 1 1/2 inches wide by 1 1/4″ deep, and a light weight 2 1/2 oz.
Available: Hammacher
Price: $199.95
Syma GYRO S107G Mini RC Helicopter
January 5, 2012 by mintgadgets
Filed under RC Helicopter Gadgets
One of our absolute favorite category of gadgets at Mint Gadgets are the RC toys or radio controlled toys (sometimes referred to as remote controlled toys). Maybe these ingenious little remote controlled devices just bring out the kids in all of us. Of course, that is if you can pry these RC wonders away from your kids long enough to play with them yourselves.
RC technology has improved as manufacturers are able to miniaturize and pack more capability into these devices. One of the truly exciting RC toys we’d like to feature here at Mint Gadgets is the Syma GYRO S107G Mini RC Helicopter. This is one of the newest, smallest and most light weight RC helicopters you can find!
The Syma GYRO S107G RC Helicopter is about 7.5 inches in length. As you can see from the picture above, it literally fits in the palm of your hand. But it’s the gyroscope technology that makes this new generation of RC flying helicopters really exciting. The gyroscope technology makes this RC helicopter much easier to fly and maneuver. No more constant crashing and losing control which winds up damaging your RC helicopter. And this means far less need to constantly order all those replacement parts to keep your RC helicopter flying.
The Syma GYRO S107G Mini RC Helicopter is perfect for people of all ages and skill levels. The RC helicopter features a coaxial rear rotor for precision maneuverability and a GYRO for significantly improved stability whether your flying with a forward motion or just hovering in place. This improved stabilizing gyroscopic technology allows you to focus on flying and having fun, rather than the constant struggle of just trying to avoid a crash. And if you do run into a bit of trouble, the helicopter has a strong, light weight metal body so no worries about something breaking if you happen to land just a bit too hard.
The Syma mini Gyro helicopter charges directly from a USB cable supplied with the kit, or from the radio controller which holds six AA batteries. Radio controls enable you to move forward, backward, up, down, left and right as well as hover in place.
The Syma RC Helicopter is ready to fly right out of the box, no assembly necessary. Simply place the six AA batteries into the transmitter/charger, charge up the RC helicopter and you’re ready to go!
Now the best news. The reason the Syma GYRO S107G Mini RC Helicopter is one of the most popular sellers on Amazon is because you get this great performing RC helicopter at a fantastic low price. RC helicopters in this class are usually much more expensive. But you’ll be able to pickup the Syma S107G RC Helicopter for under $30. Now, what are you waiting for?
Available: Amazon
Price: $25.90 (super discount, save $104, over 80%)









