Gadgets

We have reported on the Eco Pod before, and I got a chance to try out the Rugged All Terrain Speaker Case for myself.

For those who aren’t familiar with this product, I’m not certain whether “Rugged All Terrain” is an adequate adjective for it. I mean, you can use your mobile device in any terrain where you can get a signal, really. The Eco Pod is designed for those who want to take their iPod, iPhone, or other smartphone in the rugged outdoor conditions of the real world.

It is IPX7 certified to stay within 3 feet of water for 30 minutes without any leaks. The Eco Pod includes some IPX7 ear buds so you can listen to your music in watery conditions.

The Eco Pod is a polycarbonate case with two reinforced clamps. It has a two inch detachable carbiner clip for travel, as well as a slot to keep it in your belt if you like.

Now here is the bad news. When your smartphone or iPod or whatever device is in the unit, you cannot access the touchscreen. In other words, once you hook it up in the case with the 3.5 mm jack, close the cover, you had better have it set to a big playlist or a radio if you want to hear some music.

This is the price you pay for protecting your mobile device in harsh conditions. The price that you will pay for the Eco Pod is about $49.95 on the Grace Digital web site.

Related Posts:

• Eco Extreme All Terrain Speaker Case
• Impervious iPod Speaker Case
• 3-in-1 All Terrain Robot
• DTV Shredder gets your adrenaline pumping
• Green Power Sliding Speaker for your iPod

Take a look at any cigarette pack these days, and chances are your eyes will be greeted by a Surgeon General’s warning on how smoking is hazardous to your health. I suppose it is not so much of all the gunk that you are accumulating in your lungs, but rather, what happens when you have a cigarette that you left on the table while you went away to do something else, only to return and find out that a small fire has already started? This is where the £7.50 Fire Bucket Ashtray comes in handy, where you don’t use a bucket to fight fire with sand and water, but rather, bring a pre-fire (the cigarette) to the Fire Bucket Ashtray instead. Heck, even the bucket comes complete with a packet of sand to boot.

Remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT)? Yes, that cartoon sparked off at least one movie on the silver screen, a whole slew of toys as well as comics, it has yet to die off assuming this $4.99 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Keychains was something new – and not dusted off some warehouse after years of being forgotten. These heroes in a half shell will feature their own sewer platform, complete with crazy fighting action for instant gratification? All you need to do was to toggle the control switch, and they will go into a fighting frenzy sans batteries. To get the whole bunch, you will have to fork out $20.

I suppose those who have gone to some countries in South East Asia would definitely have come across a snack that most people might find repulsive – that would mean eating insects. Good to know that these insects are not caught fresh from the fields, but rather, they are baked to perfection.

At £6.99 per packet, you will be able to chew on baked crickers that are farm-raised, and they certainly make for an interesting alternative to fatty crisps and salty nuts, don’t you think so? If you’re rather pissed off that your mates tend to take some of your snacks all the time, then why not gross them out with a packet of these Insect Snacks so that you can have it all to yourself?

Air fresheners tend to smell nice and lovely, hailing some sort of herbal or floral scent. Well, there is another kind of scent that is sure to get most people up and awake in the mornings – that would be the smell of perfectly toasted bread right out from the oven. This alternative air freshener will boast a couple of (fake) slices of perfectly toasted bread that hail from a retro-looking toaster. All you need to do to smell like a bakery is to hang one of these in your car or closet, and you’re good to go. Surely $2 isn’t too much to ask for testing one of these?

I’m not quite sure about this ribbon, but if your kid were to gift you the $6.99 #2 Dad of the Year Prize Ribbon, how should you react? Would you think that your wife was seeing someone else who is #1 in your kid’s eyes? Or to be less dramatic, do you take this on your chin, and start working on your strategy to become #1? After all, your kid might just get you this for a laugh, knowing that there is always room for improvement. Dramatic.

I guess this more or less ends the series of air fresheners that we have covered in the past few days, and in case you do not want your car to smell like fresh toast or macaroni & cheese, perhaps a cherry pie might be more up your nostrils. It looks so good that you might actually eat it – so I would say keep it out of reach of children as they might be fooled into thinking that something which looks so good is going to taste really nice. Ah well, $2 to find out how good it smells is not too much to ask, is it?

Love all things gaming, and want to geek out your pad even more? Surely you cannot go wrong with the Portal 2 Warning Sign Coasters – where each $19.99 purchase will net you a set of 8 coasters that feature testing chamber warning signs. Granted, all the uncles and aunts who drop by your place probably won’t even notice the extra geekiness oozing at the bottom of their cold drinks, but I am quite sure your mates would appreciate this nice touch. This is an officially licensed Portal 2 collectible, but don’t expect it to end up being a collector’s item in due time – the chances are higher that your IKEA table would still be worth more at the end of the day…

Life is not always a bed of roses, and if you love nothing better than to spend the whole day at the golf course, then surely you can’t wait for the time you can retire (preferably when still young) with a more than healthy bank account balance, so that you can finance your personal worldwide golf tour. Unfortunately, life does not always work out that way – which is why there is this $30 Desktop Golf device that helps you get your golfing fix even though you’re bound to your desk and chair. Boasting a patent-pending variable putting surface which enables you to change the pitch of green and putt a different hole every time, you can opt to practice alone or have a go with co-workers. Even better is you need not hire a caddy, and it can go everywhere with you. Just make sure your boss does not catch you in action with this.

Who says that creativity is dead? This is one unique kitchen timer that ought to elicit some laughs for the more light hearted – the $13.99 Matzah Ball Timer. This round nugget will rotate on a 60-minute dial that is located atop a stack of Matzah crackers. Of course, this is nowhere near being edible, hence being rather cruel in some sense, but it might actually prove to be the inspiration for the ladies on the kitchen to start whipping up some delicious Matzah Balls all the more often. Just make sure whatever you’re cooking does not need to remain atop the stove for more than 60 minutes – otherwise the Matzah Ball Timer won’t be able to handle that kind of timing.