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Tengu Black ready to rock your world
Did you know that some pseudo-scientists pinpointed January 18 as this year's most depressing day? As we gaze out from the Engadget mansions at the leafless trees and listless mood outside, we can't help but agree that January's a bit of a downer. So to pep yourself up geeky style, why not grab an all-new Tengu Black? It seems a faithful reproduction (i.e. identical but for the color) of the white Tengu, a USB plug-in device that listens to your music and tries to lip sync to it with its LED array contorting into "over 14 different facial expressions." Let's face it, with the Robot Apocalypse all but assured, we should be practicing our love of inanimate objects as much as possible. A video reminder of how the older Tengu does its thing awaits after the break.
Swann's MovieStick begs to be used for nefarious ends
With all the layoffs we've been seeing lately, it looks like an increasing number of tech professionals will be going mercenary in order to pay the bills. Of course, Engadget does not condone industrial espionage in any way, shape or form -- but if you do happen to find yourself "in the cold," as Le Carré used to say, you might consider Swann's MovieStick. This thing is small enough to fit inside a packet of gum, includes a lithium-ion battery (rechargeable via USB) and can store up to 2.5 hours of video on a 2GB MicroSD card (not included). There is no word yet on release date, video quality or battery life, but we're sure that this $119.99 (retail) beauty is just the trick for all those patented industrial processes you plan on stealing. But don't steal them. For realz.
USB webmail notifier lights up your life when you've got mail
The reams and reams of spam found with every check of our inboxes here at Engadget HQ have quashed the surge of emotions we used to experience when that new-mail notifier started blinking. So, we went looking for something to help get our e-mail groove back, and we've found it: the USB webmail notifier. It's a little box with the iconic envelope design on the front that lights up in green, blue, or red when you receive mail. The color indicates either the location of the received message, for those of you who rock Outlook for work and Gmail for personal, or the volume, for those who need some encouragement to clean out that inbox. It is somewhat less useful than other multi-purpose USB indicators we've seen, but its simplicity, and its $17 price tag, make it our choice to bring back that lovin' feeling.
The roll-up USB chess set
Many a USB-powered gadget hath crossed the Engadget editing desk, yet we simply cannot rest until we're convinced that every single manufactured object has its obverse USB-powered version. Luckily, Tech Digest managed to uncover the D-isomer of ye olde chess set in this roll-up portable set with sensors on each of the squares so your computer can track the moves you make. You can get your Kasparov on and play against the computer (and get hints if you can't take the heat), or go head-to-head with another human via online multiplayer mode. Despite the fact that we're hard-pressed to come up with a compelling reason to allow this unit to waste precious luggage space when there's no shortage of options for simply playing chess online on via a desktop app, we'll still give you +3 to nerd cred for owning one.
