Video Watch with OLED Screen

Ever since I was a child, I’d always hoped for a super futuristic watch that I could talk into and watch TV on it. Or something like that. Well, by jove, it’s arrived! Sort of. ThinkGeek’s Video Watch with OLED Screen ($130) is ready to change us all into futuristic beings in an affordable way.

It’s got a 1.5-inch (128 x 128 resolution) full color screen that displays video and images, and also offers MP3/WMA playback (earphones included) and 6 equalizer modes. A built-in microphone allows recording of notes to self or conversations. The OLED screen is crisp and bright and the watch itself is surprisingly well proportioned (not thick or bulky). Battery charges via USB and sports a 7 hour play time (4 hours for video playback). Available with either 1GB or 2GB storage capacity. BUY IT

More Watches on Brandish here

Heroes of day: Bert and Ernie

Names Bert, Ernie.

Job Muppets

Special Powers Ernie’s special power is the gift of childlike mischief. Bert is much more cynical and often tires of Ernie’s pranks and gaffes – he loves Ernie really though.

Ernie said ‘You’ve got a banana in your ear!’

Bert said ‘What? I can’t hear you. I’ve got a banana in my ear…’

They said ‘Bert is evil.’ A famous website, called simply Bert is Evil, implicates Bert in a number of famous crimes, including the assassination of JFK. Say it ain’t so, Joe! Ernie is not thought to be involved in any criminal activity…

We say Bert and Ernie rule, particularly Bert’s monobrow and the pair’s taste in sweaters. 

Did you know? Bert and Ernie share an apartment in the basement of 123 Sesame Street. They sleep in separate beds, though – they are not, as some people suggest, gay.

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The MotoGP board game. Fun for all the family (and hairy bikers)

Motorbike blog Helmet Hair (great name) alerts us to this new MotoGP board game, which has to be one of the first of its kind. The rules sound pretty straightforward: choose the team you want to ride for, roll and dice and away you go. BUY IT

Click below to see a video ad for the game on YouTube…

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Apple TV – better than the iPhone?

We’ve already listed our reasons why the iPhone sucks – to be honest, we’re much more interested in Apple TV (formerly iTV), the company’s smart new set-top box. It’s essentially an iPod for your telly, coming with 720p
video output through component video, optical and analogue audio, and
HDMI ports.

It packs in a 40GB hard drive for syncing TV shows and
videos with iTunes, 802.11b, g, and n wireless networking, USB 2.0,
Ethernet, an Apple Remote, and an Intel processor. It also
streams your video, music, and pix from up to five computers. We like, a lot. Available to buy in February, priced £199. PRE-ORDER IT

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Buy your own TucTuc on eBay. It’s the only way to travel

Today (Mon 15th Jan.), from midday, you will be able to bid on eBay to buy your very own TucTuc (or motorised rickshaw – they are also commonly known as tuk-tuks). TucTuc Limited is auctioning off two of its famous TucTuc fleet,
launched in Brighton and Hove (as an alternative taxi service) in July 2006.

The Heatwave and
Daruma models (each TucTuc was painted in a unique livery) will be the first from the launch fleet to be auctioned. These are limited-edition, one-off vehicles, so we don’t expect you’ll get too much change from £5,000 if you want to ride home in one. More details after the click…

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Modern Amusement Exile Cord Jacket

Manchester’s Oi Polloi stocks a silly amount of great clothes. One of the picks of the bunch is this lovely navy blue corderoy bomber jacket. It has two neat pockets on the front, two way zipper, high neck with press stud fastening and press stud fastening cuffs. The pocket and zip also feature a cool little bird logo, which is the kind of detail that sets you apart from your average punter down the local.

The great thing about this jacket is that it could be worn whilst you’re out and about, but also worn at slightly smarter occassions, though I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a formal jacket. The price has been dropped from £139.00 to £56.00 so act quick as they’ll be selling out sharpish! BUY IT

R2-D2 home entertainment system comes with Millennium Falcon remote control

This all-singing R2 unit is a fully-working robot that features a home-cinema projector (much like the movie droid), DVD & CD/MP3 player, FM radio, audio speakers, a USB slot, a memory card reader and an iPod dock. And, best of all, the remote control is in the shape of the Millennium Falcon. Absolute genius.

It’s built by Nikko, is currently on show at CES in Vegas and is apparently going to be available in the UK in the coming months, priced around £1,500. As robot entertainment systems go, that’s a bargain. [Via Gizmodo]

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10 reasons why the Apple iPhone sucks

Alarmingly, the whole world seems to have gone crazy for Apple’s newly announced iPhone, like it was some magical biscuit made out of crack cocaine. But the man from Brandish, he say ‘no’ to crack…

1 Couldn’t you have come up with a smarter name? You didn’t call the MacBook the iLaptop, did you? Given Apple’s track record of modesty, how about the ‘iGenius’, or the ‘iReinvented The Phone, Honest’.

2 Google Maps, yay, but no GPS functionality? Come on – if you’re going to ‘reinvent’ the phone, GPS should be in there. Several high-end phones have it, so why not the iPhone?

3 As sister site Tech Digest points out, Apple are only making one
million iPhones; Nokia sold 40 million high-end mobiles last year.
There is
going to be huge demand which Apple surely won’t be able to meet.

4 Five hours battery life for non-audio use? Wow!

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Bomberman Bakuhatu Plush Bomb Toy

Fans of Bomberman, listen up. You can now get your hands on a big fat comedy Bomberman bomb to kick and throw around your house! The Bomberman Bakuhatu Plush Bomb is a must have for Nintendo aficionados the world over.

The Japanese word "Bakuhatu" means "Explode" and that’s what Bomberman’s bombs do. These rascals sport a lit fuse on top and a sound chip inside. When the chip is triggered, various sounds roar forth from the innards of the plush which are meant to recreate explosive video game FX. This means you get the cool  "BOOM!" and "POM!" sounds which are lovingly sampled from the original games. They come in two colours and are on offer and preorders now, ready to ship in mid to late June 2007. BUY IT

Roberts Sound 23 DAB sound system

The new Roberts Sound 23 has added CD playback and SD card compatibility to a traditional tabletop DAB radio. The CD player also plays MP3/WMA from disc, SD card or via a storage device, which can be connected via USB or the auxiliary input socket. The DAB features all the usual features, plus PausePlus – allowing you to pause and rewind live radio. Plus, it’s rather stylish. Perfect for any self-respecting man’s kitchen. The only catch is the premium price tag: £250. You do get a lot of functions for your money though. BUY IT
[Via Tech Digest]

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Wethepeople Nova BMX bike

Riding a BMX is a lot of fun. OK, it may not be the most dignified mode of transport for a grown man, but who cares? Here at Brandish we don’t claim to be experts on BMX bikes, but are plenty shallow enough to know that this set of wheels, the entry-level Wethepeople Nova, looks great (turquoise is a hot colour for 2007). It’s got a 19.5in CrMo (chrome-alloy) frame, and other impressive-sounding specs that we don’t understand. BUY IT

More wheels on Brandish
Click below to watch a freakingly awesome BMX YouTube clip…

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Honda’s 2008 Acura Concept NSX is smoking hot

Honda, one of the most innovative companies in the world right now, just took the wraps off its Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept, a stunning new design for the successor to the Acura NSX. The car is designed to incorporate a kick-ass, front-mounted V10 engine and a new high-performance, RWD-based version of Acura’s catchily named ‘Super Handling All-Wheel Drive’.

Click below to check out a couple more cool pix of the new NSX. [Via Leftlanenews]

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Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair

The legendary Arne Jacobsen designed the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, as well as many of the furnishings. For its busy lobby, he created the biomorphic Egg (pictured) and Swan, which are believed to be the first swiveling upholstered chairs. The handcrafted Egg Chair is unique in that sitters can swivel toward the conversation area or away from others in its enveloping surround if privacy is desired. It’s also fitted with a cool tilting mechanism which is perfect to kicking back and relaxing. All these factors mean that the sitter can be cocooned by this ultra stylish chair.

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Hero of the day: Wesley Autrey, subway saviour

Name Wesley ‘Super Wes’ Autrey

Job Construction worker, based in New York

Special Powers Super Wes, 50, rescued a student who had fallen onto the tracks at a New York subway station. He jumped onto the tracks and rolled with 19-year-old Cameron Hollopeter into the trough between the rails at 137th Street station. Hollopeter, who had reportedly suffered a seizure, was rescued just as a train was coming into the station.

Two cars passed over the men before stopping just centimetres above them.

Autrey’s selfless, heroic act has captured the public’s imagination around the globe.

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Space chair, from Dwell

Cool online interiors shop Dwell is offering this classic Space Chair for just £69, which is much cheaper than most similar designs. It’s made from plastic and chrome and it’s available in three different colours: beige (pictured), white and silver. The chair also boasts a gas lift pump so you can adjust the height you’re sat at, which means it’s the perfect place to sit if you’re a midget vertically challenged.

Perfect for breakfast bars, space stations and futuristic sheds, and it’s way more comfortable than it looks.

More stuff for your home on Brandish