charms

Accessorize with a vegetable garden

Growing a vegetable garden is hard work, but for on-the-go gardeners, the "Green Capsule" makes it easy to tote greenery around, one sprout at a time.

Created by Masaki Engineering & Consulting in Japan, the traveling miniature garden can become a necklace, earring, cell phone charm, or bag accessory.

The kit comes with seeds for peppers, cabbage, sweet basil, and cherry tomatoes, plus soil to start the portable garden.

Once the sprout grows big enough, it can be transplanted into a pot or garden bed. It's hard to say whether the little plant can hold up while … Read more

'Gribbits' joins the 'Jibbitz' parade

It was inevitable. Just as we predicted with those "Budclicks" clip-on adornments for earphones, the "Jibbitz" craze of Crocs fame is becoming a cottage industry in accessories of all kinds, gadgets and otherwise.

How so? It doesn't take a brain surgeon to glean the similarities with a company called "Gribbits," which makes charms for venues as diverse as pencils and stethoscopes, as well as earbuds.

Chip Chick can't decide if these are adorable or ridiculous, which pretty much sums up how we feel about the whole trend. But no matter what, they … Read more

Self-destruct button should be blown to bits

The first self-destruction button was mildly amusing when it came out last year, and it actually served a useful purpose as a USB hub. But a miniature successor, a phone charm seen on Akihabara News, is just plain silly--all it does is flash a red light and play a recording that sounds like an explosion. Even that we could live with, but its $27 price tag is nothing short of offensive. We're tempted to buy one and use it for target practice with a .44 magnum, then post it on YouTube as an instructional video.

Mobile phone gets hitched to (fake) DS Lite

In the pantheon of phone straps and trinkets, this one stands above the rest on so many levels. This "DS Cell Phone Charm" is a miniature replica of Nintendo's DS Lite, complete with functional clamshell lid and navigation buttons, but it opens up to reveal a geek's version of an old-fashioned compact mirror. In place of the real thing's double LCD screens is a "Double Mirror" that will come in handy, as GeekSugar says, so "you can check and make sure your lip gloss is popping before making a call." Or, … Read more

Groovy, baby: Lava lamp cell phone charm alerts you to calls

I am not one for cell phone charms, but I also realize it's a way to personalize your handset and make a statement about yourself--whether you're a straight-up baller, fashionista, or boozer. However, a U.K. company called Mathmos has come up with a way for a cell phone dangle to be, err, somewhat cute and useful. The charm--available in lava lamp (blue or red) or light bulb (blue or white) models--detects the radio frequency emissions that come from your phone when you receive a call and will alert you to the incoming call by lighting up. Gimmicky? … Read more

Phone in your purse? No problem

I've missed plenty of calls when my cell phone has been in my pocket, so I can imagine that people who carry a phone in a purse or bag have the same problem. But with the Phoneflasher line of charms, missing calls can be a thing of the past.

Simply clip the trinket onto your purse and whenever you receive a call or text message, the charm wirelessly picks up the signal and flashes. The Web site offers no specifics on how this works, so you'll have to take the company's word for it.

You can choose … Read more