Crapgadget: USB embarrassments shame Intel's rock stars
By Darren Murph 
posted May 24th 2009 2:32AM
posted May 24th 2009 2:32AM
Read - USB SD card reader with flashlight
Read - Sparkling USB bracelet with no purpose or dreams
Read - USB Notebook Pocket Cooler puts 'Huffing' and 'Puffing' out of work
Read - Pepe, the USB Parrot
Read - 4-port USB hub gains a mirror... because it can
Read - Jewel Rose Pin USB Flash Drive: perfect for Great, Great, Great Grandmother's Day
Read - USB U-Shape i-Speaker just looks disturbing
Ajay! you let me down!
usb dog , ya know the one that will hump your laptop.
That parrot seems like it could be fun. Except that it's probably hackable from a remote host.
Thank you for NOT putting a picture of one the crapgadgets. I love crapgadget, but the one that wins is inevitably the one pictured.
And having said that... The flashlight one is actually useful while the "logo" hub is for OEMs. So I award this crapgadget to... the fan. Of all the pointless crap in all of crapgadgets, this one actually serves no purpose what-so-ever. It doesn't speak to you, it can't be worn, it has no storage, no connectivity. It does NOTHING and its $17?!
Its the only one thats slightly tempting - as i have a hot running laptop its almost, but not really, useful to me.
@Slick
I'd recommend taking a look at _the_ laptop fans, which also serve as laptop stand (support, prop, stay, rest; saucer; pedestal - you name it). I have one because my laptop can get VERY hot at times and this thing really helps cooling it. But, since I have a plastic one, I highly recommend NOT saving money and getting a metal one with a huge cooler. They're quiet, cool and don't look like they're going to fall apart as soon as you touch them.
As for mentioned "pocket" cooler - I have yet to see a pocket that can hold that thing... voted for it. Parrot can be fun as a present :P
Totally agree with nak and Shinagimi, I hate this specifically because it´s trying to be a real product but is crap.
How about "Other"? I vote for the stupid Obama one.
You do know that isn't Ajay Bhatt, don't you?
But he plays one on TV.
Thats the rock star!!!
No-one cares....
A large team of engineers from Intel, Compaq, Microsoft, Digital, IBM, Northern Telecom were responsible for USB.
Ajay is just a small fish in a large pond.
Pepe the parrot looks pretty sweet actually.
I agree. You could even plug it in to a wall adapter and have it sit somewhere else. Pepe is badass.
Whoa, what?! An Engadget poll that doesn't have a final option that completely destroys the results of the poll?!
i know! i had a really hard time choosing, they are all so bad
I can tell you all, off the record, that you can expect a crazy third-person-shooter starring Ajay Bhatt, in which he destroys the USB abominations with a large variety of guns, coming Q4 2009. However, I'm sure he could destroy them all with just a single wink.
That commercial is hot.
Engadget should separate out the USB crapgadgets and name them the "Ajay Bhatt awards for innovative use of the USB standard"
Also known as the "Bhatties".
I wanted to vote but unfortunately you left out the option for "All of the Above"
or should I say "NONE of the Above" lol
I really like that usb parrot... I really thought about buying it, would without a doubt make a great gift.
The guy in the picture is not Ajay Bhatt. I work in intel and I have met him.
This is his profile, where you could take a glimpse at his picture as well :)
http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/bios/abhatt.htm
I wish you were joking, but your not. Leave it to Intel.
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they faked it..!!
guess what.. they've been doing the same with the processors as well :D
They didn't fake anything, guys. They hired a bunch of actors to do the commercial, what's the problem? I'd be actually surprised if Ajay starred himself in the ad!
Who the hell designs a notebook that required additional external cooling???!??!?!?!?
ummm... dell for one.
I had a c640 that needed external cooling in order to run 24/7
Acer? Apple?
Ajay is innocent!
Hi, I like to add USB pencil sharpner
i like to add usb sex toys
the card reader with flashlight might actually not be all that bad of an idea - i.e. if you have a camera that uses SD cards and want a photo-bag-worthy tool that can also multitask as a flashlight for some light painting. Just sayin'....
has anyone seen that guy playing Ajay in another commercial recently, I could swear i have.....
Yes he was in the Wendy's commerical too. I guess the real Ajay Bhatt couldnt dance or something :)
The guy that plays Ajay is Sunil Narkar...
http://www.sunilnarkar.com/myclips.html
The Parrot is daft, the bracelet is tasteless as is the mirrored hub but what is wrong with the cooler or speaker ?
By the way this is Ajay http://www.ixbt.com/editorial/idf7p/d0a/d0a.jpg ever heard of Google, Engadget ?
I'm sure Ajay and Intel are disgusted with all that licencing money, stop making USB devices you bastards we don't know what to do with all this money !!!
The parrot is the most useless.
A few years ago, the tech consumer community was clamoring that devices would come with USB charging ports instead of ready-to-be-lost specialized chargers. Now some manufacturers deliver that, and we call them crapware, embarrasments to USB forefathers.
It has to be the parrot because it just sits there, consumes energy and tries to be as annoying as possible
People, you've got to be kidding me! I don't even think some of you looked at the crap before you voted. I could at least conceivably see my girlfriend having the bracelet and asking to plug it into my computer but the jewel rose pin?!!!!!!! It screams crap gadget for old people! and even a well-oiled cougar wouldn't own one!
It looks like the woman in the background is going to bite this dudes arm.
The bracelet would be ideal for girlfriends who have a tech savvy feel to them.
gfhg
are you guys kidding, the usb parrot is awesome! It REPEATS what you say randomly!!!
I am so buying one for everyone I know who works at a mcoffice at their mcjob ... oh wait, they've all been fired due to the economy.
I actually go for the Jewel Rose Pin because "it is also a kind of fashion decoration" (straight from the product page).
Yeah, it is a kind that sucks.
The title makes no sense. It's like blaming the inventor of the TV for shows like "Americas Next Top Model."
I can imagine hipster nerd girls ironically rocking the jewel brooch. Probably with the connector flipped out so everyone can see the multiple layers of hipster irony they are rocking.
Ugh.
I kinda want the parrot.