The globe-shaped SnowFlake from Blue Microphones – touted as the first professional mobile USB mic – is designed with portability in mind as its nifty stand can either sit atop of a desk or mount on a laptop’s screen. Unfold the mic and you can easily store the USB cable inside the recessed compartment.
The high-quality
transducer with a frequency rate between 35Mz to 20kHz is ideal for portable podcasting, audio sampling, field recording, video narration and alike. And as a USB audio class device, the microphone is naturally cross-platform compatible, which works with Garage Band, Logic 7 and Adobe Premier Elements right out of the box. Blue Microphones is asking for $59.99 for the the SnowFlake.
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Want to expand storage capacity without cracking open your new laptop? Large capacity thumbdrives are out of the question as the dongles could break too easily, and external hard drives are a chore to always carry around. In this case, your under-appreciated ExpressCard slot maybe just the key.
With A-Data’s 32GB USB-based ExpressCard SSD, you can slot the card in and keep it tucked inside your lappy knowing it will always be there when you need the extra space. We also recommend
mounting the so-called USB drive into a sub-folder on your main C: so it appears there’s an extra 32GB in the folder. As a bonus, the A-Data ExpressCard SSD doubles as a USB drive with its mini-USB port through which you can always access the data on any desktops with the bundled cable. The
32GB is available for $129.99 while a
16GB version goes for $65.99.
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Let’s say an user has an automobile parts catalog as thick as the phone book. Shipping the new catalog out all the time is expensive for both printing and shipping. Many shops don’t have internet access in the garage just at the front desk, thus he needed a USB drive with parts catalog mechanics could use at their diagnostics station.
With the Copy New and Newer function of the new
Nexcopy USB copier, the customer duplicates 2,000 drives for distribution. The drives are mailed back quarterly for updates. The COPY NEWER function allows him to update only those files which are Newer than what’s previously on the USB flash drives. So, the
USB200PC is more than a simply data duplicator, but a flash drive management tool.
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Logitech has provided yet another update to their mobile mouse line. The new V450 Nano wireless is now equipped with the storable Plug-n-Forget nano receiver – an exclusive term Logitech used to tout its micro USB dongle. Similar-sized dongles are also found on Logitech VX Nano laptop mouse and Kensington Micro Bluetooth Adapter. Logitech said the V450 Nano can last for an entire year with its 2 AA batteries before a replacement is needed. Ergonomically, the V450 Nano sports a sculpted design with soft rubber grip which you can position your fingers naturally. The MSRP begins at just $49.99, and you’ll even get a USB extension stand
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You can now have your very own weather station with the capabilities to observe atmospheric conditions and record historically recordings of temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind direction and precipitation amounts. The USB Wireless Weather Forecaster comes with two parts – a station and a large 23 x 14.5 x 3.5cm LCD touch screen – that connect together wirelessly with a max. range of 200 ft. The bundled software allows you to program the LCD panel to your preference, and to download stored data for your own weather history.
The
station itself has a built-in thermometer, barometer, hygrometer, anemometer, wind vane and a self-emptying rain gauge. While the whole package is a little overkill, you cannot beat the price at just shy of 80 pounds.
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Most laptops usually have about 3 USB ports to begin with, yet there are many more we like to plug in. Naturally, USB hubs are often the preferred choice. Should you want something more ‘integrated’, Area Powers (from Japan) has a new USB 2.0 add-on card for laptop that doesn’t get in the way. The new CardBus solution has two slim built-in USB 2.0 ports, which are in contrast to the dongle-design that is prone to breaking in a drop.
The only caveat is that CardBus cannot supply enough juice for 2 full-powered USB devices so an auxiliary cable is ironically needed to draw electricity from a notebook’s USB port. The extra pair of ports in the end is ideal for
mouse,
micro Bluetooth adapter and alike. If you already have an ExpressCard laptop, move on. Rest of us will have to wait for imports of this 2000 yen ($20 USD) card.
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Earlier the Japanese came up with a SATA HDD USB Rack that lets you insert a 3.5″ or 2.5″ drive like some old-school SEGA game cartridge. The product was generally well received, and had been imported by a few American accessory companies. Now, it appears Marshal, another Japanese company, copied the idea and gave it a new trick – JBOD. Their new “HDD Toaster Hybrid” can mix and match between 3.5″ and 2.5″ disks of different sizes to combine them into one logical drive. You can also go with the standard mode where each disk is treated as a discrete drive letter. It’s still uncertain whether the Marshal HDD Toaster will be weighted to keep it from tipping over; and will come with an eject button for mounting drive on-the-fly. Marshal is asking for 5300 yen or $51 USD for this JBOD USB Rack.
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Mousepads come in all shapes and sizes. What you see before are aimed at gamers while some others are simply an excuse to put in a USB hub. The Thanko Numpad Mousepad is no different. In addition to being a highly precise pointing surface, the mouseing accessory doubles as an integrated numpad that is most likely unsuitable for lefties. There’s also a what looks like a comfy wrist rest, and a 3-port bus-powered USB hub is located behind the numpad for more connectivity options. The Thanko Numpad Mousepad unlike all the other USB pads doesn’t glow for show, but it certainly qualifies as a versatile tool for the number-crunching folks.
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The mighty iPod might be able to handle just about anything except getting wet. So, any music-loving swimmers will tell you the new Ubanana uCan waterproof MP3 player is their new best friend. The uCan – made specifically for water sport – has a behind-the head design so that the gadget doesn’t get into the way while doing laps. The DAP can float on water for easy retrieval, and it can survive up to 10 feet underwater in case you decide to do some free-diving.
uCan’s controls are all on the back along with the USB rechargeable battery that can last for about 15 hours. The player is also screen-less, but we reckon few would need to check the ID3 tags during the full-body workout. $150 may seem very steep for a mere 1GB even with its waterproof & nifty design. In any cases, uCan won’t ship until shortly after Independence Day.
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