More from Today I’m toying with
It’s the one that got away — from Star Wars toymaker Hasbro, that is! Hasbro acquired the rights and even patented it around the world, then abandoned it. It’s no “real Disney lightsaber,” but it’s the first to scratch the same self-retracting itch.
I don’t need a lot in a folding Bluetooth keyboard. It just needs to support multiple wireless devices, plus USB-C direct connect, and not get all floppy on my lap! Would you believe there aren’t a lot of keyboards like that?
$99 is pricey — and at 36Wh capacity and 40W PD output, it’s for small gadgets (1.5 charges for Z Flip, nearly full charge for Switch Lite). It only charged a Steam Deck 25 percent while playing 40 minutes of Animal Well. And the cable’s bead-like port covers kind of bang around.
But where else can you get charger, battery and cable in a single tangle-free package? Nice strong magnets, too.
I’m not saying you should go crowdfund a Bionic Bird X-Fly, as you’ll hear in my hands-on video below. I’m just saying that biomimetic ornithopters are surprisingly fun — and way less disruptive than your typical whiny quad-propeller drone!
My wife takes work calls that I can’t hear or see. She wears earbuds and doesn’t always speak. I’d often ask her questions without realizing she was busy!
But now, we have a red light that means “NO TALKING,” yellow for “LISTEN-ONLY CALL” and green for “CLEAR” — thanks to a $16 cube that took mere minutes to set up with WLED!
I am so torn. The Anbernic RG35XXSP — which I’ve mentioned here before — is a beaut. I love handhelds, I love emulators, and I’ve got my own Game Boy cartridges and access to a GB Operator so I can (legally?) back ‘em up.
On the other hand, Anbernic is shipping these with truckloads of pirated ROMs! Didn’t ask for those; I’d happily buy without.
I’m not actually playing Duck Hunt with darts on an OLED screen, of course, but this blaster did shoot that suction tip dart! The free files are designed by Gemeneye, and I’m really digging the inline clip mod that gives it three short dart shots.
It’s now on my wall next to the telescoping Master Sword.
They even come in their own jewel cases! My test results surprised me: I really thought I’d prefer the green one with built-in cables, but the yellow’s my winner. They’re roughly $20-25 on AliExpress.
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Deckmate was one of the first mounting systems for the Steam Deck, born from the maker community — its creator still lets you print most files for free.
But I will gladly pay $25 for its new Phone Mount, because it’s much more than that. It’s a do-anything mount with a magnet so strong, you can play on your fridge. Switch, Ally, and PlayStation Portal mounts available too.
I swear, I did not dress my daughter in Mario duds just so she could do real-life Mario Kart! It’s too perfect, I know, but she picked them out herself hours before she ever saw the toy.
(If you’re looking for the product, it’s here: note that if you buy something from that link, Vox Media might get affiliate revenue.)
I’m a big kid. I play with amazing toys. Recently, I discovered the joy of sharing minute-long videos of them with you.
Now, I have a Bluesky where you can freely subscribe to my vids, get alerts for new vids, and ask me anything.
This self-transforming Megatron? There’s a lot more where that came from.
Webster already wrote about this, but I’m seriously wowed at how easy it was to turn an iPhone into a retro console for my TV. Once you add a gamepad, everything but joystick-sensitive games (sorry, GoldenEye fans) feels playable!
Delta dev Riley Testut tells me he’s “definitely open” to adding joystick sensitivity adjustment. For now, it uses Apple’s default calibrations.
Spyra recently sent me its new $54 SpyraGo electric water blaster, so I decided to bring back a literal blast from the past: a 1998 Super Soaker CPS 2500, one of the most effective hosers ever made.
Below, see how they perform against the flagship $179 SpyraThree and the $15 X-Shot Epic Fast Fill, one of the best budget soakers you can buy!
Where can you battle a toaster with a waffle iron? Wield a barcode scanner for fun? Navigate a digital character through a real-life paper pop-up book?
The Game Developers Conference Alt.Ctrl showcase, that’s where. It’s my happy place at GDC, and this year I wanted to share some of the zany magic with ya’ll.
It’s from Gulikit, the company that’s popularizing drift-resistant Hall effect joysticks. With hidden pockets for microSD cards and its docking cable, I could definitely see traveling with this instead of a USB-C hub! It’s $45; not terrible for a 4K60 HDMI dock with 100W PD and Gigabit Ethernet.
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Remember Lego Masters Australia finalist Nick Lever’s amazing custom Nintendo Game Boy MOC? I built one to personally confirm its excellence.
But Lever wasn’t done: his new v7 instructions lets the D-pad move, the contrast knob spin, and reduces the bill of materials. Enough to justify opening mine up again, I’d say.
Oh, BTW... he’s now got Lego Game Boy Color MOCs too! Check one out at the end of my gallery below.
I’ll have a bit more to say about this printer later in the week — but I wasn’t going to miss showing off the Cocoa Press for Valentine’s Day!
ICYMI, we discovered the founder of Leia is using a Red Hydrogen as his daily driver. The phone was one of our flops of the decade, and made our list of the worst gadgets we’ve touched. But... the maker of its screen is not only alive, but thriving! Take a look:
I would totally use the new Asus ZenScreen Fold that’s on display here at CES 2024 — if the price were right. I’d hook up my Steam Deck and work laptop. Asus did not tell me if the price was right. Any bets?
Imagine no more: one of Samsung Display’s two new folding flip phone concepts at CES 2024 does that: the Samsung Display Flex In&Out.
The other is the Flex Liple, which I hear stands for “light” and “simple.” Since they both ditch the cover screen, perhaps it’s a way to manufacture less expensive flip phones, too.
I’m not even a little embarrassed a robot helped me walk around CES 2024. I kind of want to do it more!
The WiRobotics WIM is a $2,500-ish belt pack with fold-out roboarms that gently lift your legs up and down as you walk. It made me feel lighter, and only weighs a few pounds itself. The company says it reduces walking energy by 20 percent. Maybe when I’m older.