20 USB Gizmos That Have No Place in the Enterprise (But You'll Love Just the Same)
In the spirit of summer, we compiled a list of 20 USB-powered gadgets with very little business value—but that still tickle us pink.
Bizarre USB Gadgets That Kind of Scare Us
Who doesn't want an android that can do the robot boogie? We couldn't help asking that question when we first saw the USB Dancing Robot. But then we noticed the crazed look in his shiny plastic eye and his inability to cease smiling. Now we're not so sure.
After loading the accompanying software, you plug the robot into a USB port and turn on some tunes. Your robot starts grooving in sync with your music, and a red LED flashes to the beat. The robot stands about 6 inches tall, the base is roughly 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches, and it'll set you back $25. You also need to be running Windows XP.
Tengu, the USB-powered block, is similar to the Dancing Robot, but instead of shaking it to your favorite tunes, the lights on Tengu's face form an electronic mouth that lip-synchs to your lyrics.
It looks like a large domino with no markings on it. And there's not much information available on the manufacturer's site; however, the page seems to say that you plug it into your USB port and then blow air at Tengu to activate it. There's also a video of a full Tengu choir belting out a tune. Tengu sells for about $38.
Perhaps the most bizarre of the USB gizmos on our list, GhostRadar is a USB mass storage device that purportedly detects paranormal activity.
In other words, the GhostRadar, which looks like an awkward handheld device made of plastic, tells you when your office is occupied by spooks and specters. It's available in 256MB and 512MB versions, and it sells for about $40—though the website doesn't specify if that price is for the 256MB or 512MB version. (Does the larger capacity detect more paranormal events or larger phenomena? We're not sure.) It also comes in both black and white.
Here's some (poorly) translated text from the GhostRadar website:
"You look at those which are not visible. Change of the magnetic field in the space and body change of the measurement person will be detected with the special sensor."
There are also a number of USB powered erotic toys available on the Web—are you really even the least bit surprised?—but we decided not to include images or links to those sites. We're not quite ready for CIO.com to be on your corporate list of "Not Safe for Work." If you're interested, do a Google search.
NEXT: Bored with that old memory stick that looks like a... memory stick?
