toaster

'Pop Art' toaster: Close, but no (pirate's) cigar

Pretty much every one of my friends has been subject to hearing one of my many lamentations about why the insanely awesome pirate toaster is only sold in Europe. It's tragic, really, that us statesiders can't experience the joy of morning toast with a skull and crossbones branded into it.

But recent developments show we may be headed in the right direction. An item on Notcot.org has clued me into the fact that you can, in fact, get toasters in the U.S. that will brand your bread with various symbols. They're called the 'Pop Art' … Read more

If Captain Jack Sparrow had a toaster

I'm not really sure what this gadget's product page is saying, because it's all in German. But regardless, I want this toaster. It's sleek, black, and printed with a skull-and-crossbones as well as a bizarre Guns & Roses reference ("Sweet Toast of Mine") and get this--it'll brand your toast with a skull-and-crossbones as well.

Then your toast can have a pirates-vs.-ninjas battle with your Wee Ninja. Arrrrr!

(Via Notcot.org.)

Invasion of the (boring) robots

There are so many robots coming onto the market nowadays--both serious and not--that it's getting tough to tell which ones are even worth mentioning.

The "Omnibot2007 i-SOBOT," slated to come out by year's end, is another example. Takara Tomy's latest entry can walk, dance and respond to voice commands, according to Akihabara News, but those functions are hardly groundbreaking as we've seen with other bots.

The one distinguishing feature may be its built-in camera and Wi-Fi connection, but even that has been done before. Which reminds us: We've got to get rid … Read more

Huge sound on your fingertip

With gadgets and their components getting smaller all the time, it makes sense that amplifiers should join the trend. But this is ridiculous.

Oki Electric Industry, according to Fareastgizmos, has debuted a chip that includes a "stereo-playback-capable DAC (Digital Audio Converter), 3D surround functionality and speaker amp"--and can easily fit on a fingertip with plenty of room to spare. The amplifier can improve sound quality on any number of portable devices, ranging from digital dictionaries to cell phones and GPS navigators.

All this is well and good, of course, but we ask you: Can it really compare … Read more

Yes, it's a toaster amp

Every once in awhile, Crave comes across an item that fulfills our mission in life. What, after all, could a gadget blog want more than a photo of a toaster turned into a guitar amp?

Thanks to "Hottie Amplifiers," we need look no further. These musical accoutrements, which Red Ferret says sell for $150, are made of the vintage twin-slot toasters of our youth. (Back in the days when toasters actually lasted more than a few months--yes, boys and girls, it's true.)

The only thing we wish it included was a USB connection. That way, we could … Read more

A Porsche that makes breakfast

A lot of over-designed household appliances we've seen are just silly, but the toaster is one that deserves royal treatment. Why? Because toasters have been an icon of the personal computer since its Dark Ages, as far back as the 1980s. Yet the brick-and-mortar version of this domestic staple has been largely neglected.

Finally, though, someone has come to the rescue of the lowly appliance, and it's truly a knight in shining armor: Porsche. The brushed-aluminum, quartz-heated toaster--manufactured by Siemens with a Porsche design--looks as good as a Carrera, with an appropriate sticker price of $224, according to … Read more