Time for another update of our super-prolific Goddess of Cute. This time, the lipless feline puts her face to an air purifier which, apparently, dispenses negative ions when plugged into either the mains or even the cigarette lighter port in your car. All of which leaves you feeling even more, ah, positive toward Sanrio's best export. This being all about kawaii-ness, the bow in her hair lights up when in operation. Cue for fans to gush. Paris Hilton certainly has a thing or two to learn about merchandising from this pussy cat. Reoow!
Can somebody enlighten us why it's called the Voko Clock? Other than the odd choice of name, if you're a huge fan of the incomparable Stephen Fry (think the voice in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the unfortunate TV host in V for Vendetta), you'll be able to wake up to an utterly delicious Brit accent every morning, full of admiring Jeeves-like pleasantries designed to rouse you from slumber and put a smile on your face. A "madam" version for the gals is apparently on the way. But meanwhile, rise and shine to one of 50 sound bites to fortify you, including "there is a gentleman from Berkeley Hathaway to see you, sir. He says he wants to offer you a position based in the Bahamas at a salary of $72 million a year, sir". We wish! But any way Fry says it, we love it.
Price: 25.95 pounds (US$50.90) Availability:Voko Device: Clock Specs: 110 x 110 x 85mm, 50 wakeup messages
Fancy a smoke-free cigarette? We can almost hear the real smokers gasp raspily, the horror! The good news is that with the NicStic, you can light up and still get your nicotine fix without being booted out of smoke-free zones. What's more, this kit vaporizes tobacco instead of burning it, which leads us to sans smoke, sans tar, arsenic, cadmium and formaldehyde found in regular cigarettes. All good for your lungs, sort of. The cigarette case works as a battery charger where you pop a ciggie into a special opening in the case, filter up, and wait 20 seconds till the battery is charged. Once ready, it can fire up to about 20 fume-free smokes. Watch this with the hilariously tarred Thank You for not Smoking.
Price: 80 euros (about US$100) Availability: More info here Device: Cigarette kit Specs: Plastic heating case, three voltage adapters, carton of 10 filters, 3.7-volt Lithium battery required
It's amazing just what's out there for the spazzed out, disorganized or OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) types, including this, ah, cutting-edge device. The Lazer Scissors which could almost be called the Lazy Scissors uses a built-in laser pointer that shows you just where to cut in a straight line. Goodbye to markings, creases and crooked lines. Whatever will they think of next? Lazer Scissors to laser cut the paper as well?
Talk about taking the idea of plug-and-play into a whole new realm. We've already seen USB drum kits, guitars and keyboards. Now there's a USB wind instrument that lets the PC do the playing. Looking like the old school recorder we kids used to huff on in saliva-induced musicality, crossed with a clarinet, the bundled synthesizer software won't turn you into a Kenny G, but should put the power of an entire orchestra at your finger tips literally, from woodwind to brass, to percussion and even string. Carnegie Hall, here we come. (Not!)
Price: US$199 Availability: At Ion Device: USB instrument Specs: USB computer connectivity, touch-sensitive keys, touch-sensitive octave rollers, touch-sensitive pitch bend plates, virtual sampler software, w oodwind, brass, percussion, string, synthesizer and percussion instruments included in software, battery power (AA x 2) or optional AC adapter, includes 32MB CompactFlash card, power cable