Pads & Panels

Product: Nintendo Skyward Sword Cap

Company: ThinkGeek

Review by: Archie Easter

As far as gaming series go, Zelda is a fairly cherished and storied franchise, so when Nintendo decides to release merchandise for the series, it’s usually pretty good.

This cap released by the company for the series’ newest game, Skyward Sword, is no exception. This fitted cap is all black with a golden Skyward Sword and Triforce logo emblazoned in reflective paint across the front. The effect works fairly well, as the logo practically glows when worn in direct sunlight. (more…)

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Product: Electric Paper Airplane Conversion Kit

Company: ThinkGeek

Price: $19.99

Review by: Archie Easter

The  electric paper airplane conversion kit from PowerUp promises to add a working motor to paper plane creations. And what person wouldn’t want to turn a boring paper glider into a genuine ruler of the skies? (more…)

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Product: Batman Adjustable Baseball Cap

Company: ThinkGeek

Retail Price: $16.99

Review by: Bill Jones

I’m not a huge fan of adjustable baseball caps, compared to fitted ones, but there’s something that works really well with the entire design of this six-panel hat from ThinkGeek. The front two panels and top of the brim are white, with a “splatter-painted” Batman insignia embroidered on the front and a gunmetal thread that gives it a bit of a raised texture. (more…)

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Title: Digital Artists Master Class: Character Design

Publisher: Ballistic Publishing

Edited by: Daniel P. Wade

Artists: Anne Pogoda, Kekai Kotaki, Gonzalo Ordonez

Review by: Archie Easter

Ballistic Publishing is beginning to become a household name when it comes to digital art publications. After creating a number of wonderfully received art books for games such as God of War III and Uncharted 2, Ballistic has now followed up on its impressive array of books in its Digital Artists Master Class series with a book focused squarely on character design. Three artists headline this particular volume: Anne Pogoda, Kekai Kotaki and Gonzalo Ordonez; each of which displaying different approaches in terms of character design and art style. Each artist’s section features an interview with the artist, a gallery that includes commentary on each piece, a selection of focused tutorials, and finally an invited artist gallery that includes numerous works from many other talented artists. (more…)

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Product: Avatar S Gaming Mouse

Company: NZXT

Price: $39.99

Review by: Archie Easter

To the average computer user, a good gaming mouse may not seem like a worthwhile investment; but to a dedicated PC gamer, it can sometimes mean the difference between glorious victory and digital destruction. Though NZXT’s Avatar S is billed as a gaming mouse, casual users need not fear, as it strikes a delicate balance between offering precise control options and features for hardcore gamers while still being comfortable and budget friendly for everyday use. Sporting a maximum 1600 DPI, 5 programable macro buttons and a sleek ambidextrous design, the Avatar S is more than capable of talking the talk, but can it actually live up to the standards set by other gaming peripherals while still being easily affordable? (more…)

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Product: Wet Circuits – Water Resistant Power Strip

Company: ThinkGeek, www.wetcircuits.com

Price: $69.99

Review by: Bill Jones

Wet Circuits is billed by its Taiwanese manufacturer Shohero Technologies as a “super safe” four-outlet power strip that is water resistant, child safe and four times as durable as the common power strip, as well as having overheat and spark prevention features. It’s also nearly $70 retail, and only features four outlets.

We elected not to put ourselves or any of our hardware at risk by personally testing the strip for its water and child safe features, as there are already plenty of independent videos on YouTube whose proprietors are ready to put themselves at risk for us. (more…)

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Product: Star Trek Enterprise Pizza Cutter

Company: ThinkGeek

Price: $29.99

Review by: Matt Peters

Getting this out of the way first — yes, it does cut pizza. In fact, the blade is fairly hefty, which may have been either good design (as we Star Trek fans consume larger pizzas), or simply a necessity of accurately portraying the scale. Either way, it really gets the job done and belongs with your other kitchen utensils. Speaking of accuracy, it’s definitely the order of the day, as even the famous Starship registry is etched onto the wheel. (more…)

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Product: C5 In-Ear Headphones

Company: Bowers & Wilkins

Retail Price: $179.99

Review By: Bill Jones

The technological advancement of mp3 players has made listening to our favorite music on the go easier than ever, but at what cost? The mp3 files we play are essentially compressed music files, so we lose a bit of quality in the playback. And those white earbuds that come with Apple products are actually pretty decent, but they’re far from perfect. So companies have offered their own solutions for audiophiles looking for something more from their portable tunes.

Bowers & Wilkins is the latest in the line of manufacturers to offer its take on the solution to that very problem. The company has made a name for itself over the course of more than four decades with its hi-fi audio designs, catering to natural studio sounds. But the company has only previously offered one headset, in the noise-isolating P5s. So the in-ear design of B&W’s latest, the C5, is a first for the company. Luckily, the company was nice enough to send a pair of headphones our way to give them a try. (more…)

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Product: Batman Money Clip

Company: ThinkGeek

Price: $39.99

Review by: Bill Jones

Batman has always been a man of gadgets. With the seemingly infinite wealth of Wayne Enterprises behind his nighttime crimefighting, Batman has a gadget for nearly every situation. So it stands to reason that with all of the money, the man probably uses heavy duty clip to keep it all together.

ThinkGeek and DC Comics present their version of the Batman Money Clip, a miniature batarang that bends in half to hold the money, with the aid of two powerful magnets. It’s the metal of the batarang itself, though, that makes it so cool. It’s a heavy die-cast metal that’s coated in a black rubberized finish. So the money clip has a hefty weight to it, but feels relatively smooth and soft to the touch. (more…)

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Product: Bioplastic Phone Cover

Company: Bioserie

MSRP: $34.95

Review by: Sarah Kumley

Getting an expensive mobile device often leads to another purchase: protection for it. Often covers, screen films and carrying cases are bought to protect iPods, iPads and iPhones. Getting tired of one cover and purchasing a new one often means that the old cover is thrown out and ends up in a landfill. However, with Bioserie’s new Bioplastic Covers, when one is done with the case it is recyclable or compostable. It would also have a much smaller impact on the environment if it did happen to be taken to a landfill.

The covers that Bioserie is producing are the first in the world to be made entirely from plants rather than petrochemicals. Corn grown in the USA is used to create the biopolymer Ingeo, a renewable resource, unlike the oil and natural gases used to make regular plastic covers. Because of this, Bioserie covers contribute less greenhouse gases when they are produced and do not pollute the environment when discarded. Don’t take that to mean that these covers are flimsy or ugly. They are still incredibly lightweight, durable, functional and stylish. They are even washable (with cold water and mild soap) if they get dirty. Bioserie offers a variety of colors and also has printed styles available for the iPhone 4. (more…)

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