More from Today I’m toying with

I forgot to bring my USB-C SD adapters to CES last year — but now that the $25 BaseQi lives inside my notebook, that won’t be a problem!

It’s the prize pack I just boxed up for the second winner of our Today I’m Toying With giveaway. I’m drawing for the third winner right now, and you can enter to possibly become the fourth winner starting today! BTW, anyone need whistles? Those bags in the background are full of ‘em.

Everyone asks Verge reviewers if we get to keep the gadgets, and the answer is no — but I can give them to you! Our third Today I’m Toying With giveaway is live, and I’m making it a regular Wednesday thing. You have to enter to win each time; I do a weekly drawing. US residents only (sorry!)

ICYMI, here’s my story, and I have new impressions indoors: Beni is… not great at tracking people inside my dim house, but obstacle avoidance works. When I held the joystick forward (after setting speed low), Beni automatically navigated my hallway. At walls, it automatically U-turned and kept going instead of getting stuck.

Our second Today I’m Toying With giveaway is live — I’m hoping to give away gadgets every week now! You have to enter to win (before July 15th), but you still don’t have to use Instagram or TikTok if you don’t want to. Find email entry instructions in the official rules.

It’s a delightfully nerdy new handheld gaming podcast from The Full Nerd Network and Retro Game Corps… and I’m the first-ever guest! What’s that in my hand?? The episode airs Saturday at 9am PT (Update: you can watch it embedded below). I bring a future Today I’m Toying With item on the show, too!

It’s the Clear Drop Soft Plastic Compactor, and it’s not exactly adorable. But it’s fun to feed unrecyclable plastic into the machine and have it spit out bricks! Justine and I teamed up for a hybrid report and review of the somewhat flawed creation. You can even see and hear what happens to the bricks.

It’s so thin! Watch me hit it with a huge mallet, charge it via its deconstructed USB-C port, and shine bright light though the paper to reveal the flexible circuits within. Then, go read my colleague Andrew’s story: he interviewed the creator!

Friends and colleagues keep asking things like: “Can I pay you for some of those 3D-printed whistles to fight fascists so I can hand them out too?” But they are free! Request free whistles right here. Also, I’ve got an extra-long Bluesky thread with more inspiring quotes.

Today I toyed with the Lego Smart Brick, touted as the “most significant evolution” to the Lego system in 50 years, and I came away impressed. I have a whole hands-on preview story coming Wednesday, but here’s a whirlwind two-minute video tour of what it can actually do. (Also on YouTube.)

What if you could charge double-As with the same cord as your phone? That’s a thing, and these 1.5V lithium-ion Zepath batteries are surprisingly good! Don’t throw away your Eneloops yet, as NiMH is likely safer and can last longer in low-current applications. But these last way longer in my modded GBA.

The viral sliding gamepad designed by a 19-year-old is nearly here — with big differences from last year! Satisfying snap, nice controls, pairs with lots of devices including Switch 2. But it’s $150, and thick. I also had slightly peeling magnets, but Ohsnap says that’s fixed for mass production.

I brought our Quest 3 to Valve’s offices just in case we’d be seeing the Steam Frame, formerly known as Deckard — and it paid off! I didn’t have time to directly compare optics, but I’d say comfort is superior. It’s noticeably smaller, with controllers that are bigger.

Since people seem interested on our social media channels: Valve really does have a giant valve at HQ! A huge red wheel that spins in place on a huge screw, anyhow. It’s fun to throw, heavy, lots of inertia keeps it spinning. No word on what happens if you let the Steam out.

That was fast! I slapped down my $29 the day we wrote about Hallmark’s new ornament and it’s already here. Watch when I press the power button — and see how it compares to my Sega Genesis one Hallmark released in 2022! There’s an NES, SNES and OG Xbox too.

When Liz wrote that an officially licensed Haribo gummy bear battery was taking over the ultralight backpacking world, I just knew I’d have to toy with it for you. What else am I supposed to do with my shiny new USB-C power meter, after all? Links: Haribo, Iniu, Nitecore.

You know how Sony’s quietly building a PS5-grade handheld? GPD’s kind of already done it — by stuffing the monster AMD Strix Halo chip in the Framework Desktop and ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet into a handheld that needs SO MUCH electricity. Preorders are live at Indiegogo.

The brick version is even better than I imagined: an incredibly faithful, fun, and clever build. You can press every button, spin every wheel; designers nail the curves and recreate almost every label. For $48 at Costco (in-person) or $60 at Amazon, it’s even relatively affordable. (I bought it myself.)

a double-sided magnetic ring grip and stand I don’t have to remove when I use MagSafe car mounts. Or those double magnet rings I introduced you to before, which now serve as stands in my house. It’s from Syncwire, and it ranges from $17-$25 on Amazon. Sound on if you want to hear the satisfying ratcheting swivel!