AA – NerdBeach

Contest Alert – Energizer raises the battery bar and Nerd Beach has a free battery stash to celebrate

Energizer Bunny

Yes, Nerd Beach (along with Energizer®) is indeed giving away a battery stash consisting of 5 packs of the new Energizer® Advanced Lithium® AA batteries to a lucky reader (these are not your standard batteries). No registration required – read on for details.

Nerd Beach loves gadgets. That much is probably apparent if you have visited many pages on the Beach. But with a love of gadgets there is always a dose of reality to keep you grounded. In most cases, one of these practical facts is battery life. Simply put, there is never enough.

Energizer® is introducing a new weapon against the battery blues with their Advanced Lithium® battery line. The specs on these new batteries read like a wish list:

Last up to 4x longer in digital cameras (versus Energizer® MAX®. results vary by camera)
Lasts up to 20 hours longer in wireless gaming accessories. Results vary by play and/ or usage patterns.
Last up to 30% longer in personal audio devices (versus Energizer® MAX®. results vary by device)
Weigh 1/3 less than standard alkaline
10 year storage life
Leak resistant construction

We like those numbers – four times the battery life of the previous champ Energizer® MAX® with 33% less weight. That will keep your bunny running longer (and the rest of your gear, for those who do not actually carry bunnies with them on a regular basis).

Now for the giveaway. To celebrate the new battery line, Nerd Beach is teaming with the Energizer® folks to give a lucky reader five (yes, 5) packs of the new AA batteries. Now you ask, how do you get the swag? Simple, send an email to Nerd Beach at [email protected] (or submit it as a comment to this article, both sources will be judged equally), stating your favorite Energizer® story, comment, unique use, or something else that involves the batteries. The one that has the best entry (to be judged by the staff at Nerd Beach) will get the goods. Simple as that.

The Legal part: You can enter only once, and please note that for whatever you send as part of the contest entry (stories, pictures, etc.), you are giving us permission to publish it on Nerd Beach. The contest is open to anyone, no purchase required. The contest deadline has now passed.

As an additional bonus for Nerd Beach readers, we have another gift from the Energizer® folks – a free ringtone. Now you can be alerted about a call by the thumping bunny in your pocket – so you CAN carry your bunny with you. You can download the link here:

EnergizerRingTone.mp3 (237.92 kb)

(Right click and do a save as. Please download the ringtone, do not link to it.)

The contest is over, and we have a winner. It was a close contest with a lot of very good entries ( and some curious ones), but our winner is William Evans. Thanks to everyone who participated. Don't forget to check back to see what is happening at Nerd Beach, since we will be having more contests featuring more gear in the coming weeks.

Electronic Airplane Launcher Kit

Greg Chaffins

Have you ever built what you thought was the perfect paper airplane, only to have flounder about for a few brief seconds in the air before crashing to the ground in a miniature re-creation of a major air disaster? At those times, were you sure that it was a design problem or a launch problem? Well, maybe the Electronic Plane Launcher can help you with that ever burning question.

The Electronic Plane Launcher ($22, iwantoneofthose.com) comes as a kit, designed by Middlesex University. Basically it is two wheels spun by independent motors which grab the paper airplane and throw it forward, launching it into the great blue yonder in the process – at least that is the theory. Now, if you have ever played with the power drive unit from a hot wheels track you already know the mechanics involved, only thinner for paper airplanes (and other customed designed projectiles of varying deviousness).

The launcher is reported to launch at speeds of around 31 MPH, so if your paper rocket (well, glider) has much lift in the design, it should launch pretty well with the device. Other wise it will probably function somewhat like a paper wad thrower, all guts but no glory.

Another interesting way to use the launcher is to have quite a few paper airplanes lined up on the virtual taxiway, and feed them into the launcher in a quick manner. Bam – you have a flying brigade performing aeronautical assaults on the ~~victim~~ target of your choice. You can imagine the cloud of paper bombers as they take to the tiny skies, bent on a mission to provide you with air superiority or fold up trying.

The actual kit itself appears to be simple enough to assemble, and the 18 x 13cm (approx) launcher requires 2 AA batteries for its power source. This means that, once constructed, you can take the launcher into the field (or up on a high launching vantage point) and get into the game properly. The project should go fast, and it should be a project that gives back a lot of fun for its builder, if you are so inclined to build paper airplanes.

Of course, we suggest that you use such a device with caution, not launch projectiles (including planes) with hard pointed tips, and watch where you are point it. Naturally, within reason.

The Classic Dart Paper Airplane

To use the Electronic Airplane Launching Kit properly, a paper airplane design that can fly fast and far is probably a good starting design. The Classic Dart might be a good choice for a start.

The folder should leave a middle mark. This can be accomplished by putting the paper vertically and bending the left part of the paper to the right so that it overlaps the other side completely. The folder should then mark the fold.
The folder then should un-crease the sides again and fold the top-left corner of the plane so that it and what was formerly the top edge left of the centre crease touches the centre crease. Repeat but now on the right side of the plane. Do this again to both sides, folding the diagonal edges towards the mark.
Re-fold the central crease, and lay the plane flat on its side. Fold so that the top edge on the top side is folded down towards the centre crease, so that they touch and a crease runs from the tip of the plane to the area between the centre crease and the edge of the plane on the trailing (back) edge. Flip over the plane and repeat on the other side.
Because this plane has a pointed front and may be damaged by repeated flying, you may decide to fold the front tip so that it is inside the fuselage. Add wing flaps if needed.

source: wikipedia

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Portable laser light show for your iPod

Greg Chaffins

So, you have an iPod, but you are in to laser light shows. What are you going to do? Well, possible scenario is that you get the iPod Laser Light Show Speaker from the Hammacher Schlemmer website ( $64.95 ), and you merge the two worlds together in perfect harmony (more or less).

The red laser light creates patterns in sync with the iPod music, and you can adjust the projection angle. You can also turn off the light show and use it as a regular speaker for those times you just want to listen to your iPod. You can even take the show with you, since the laser projecting speaker can run on AC or four AA batteries.

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Buffalo Announces Solar Powered Wireless Keyboard

Greg Chaffins

buffalo_keyboard_070908

Having a wireless keyboard is certainly handy and flexible, but the batteries do run down. Buffalo has announced a wireless keyboard that is solar powered, assuring that a flat battery will not be an issue. If you do all of your computing in the dark there is an option for 2 AA batteries, but they are not required.

The Buffalo BSKBW01SB will be priced at $120, and should be available soon. More information can be found on the Japanese Buffalo Website .

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