Hot Wheels’s iNitro Speeders..

Hot Wheels’s iNitro Speeders aren’t your typical RC car. Firstly, they’re absolutely miniature in size; 1 3/4″ long. Included is a carrying case that doubles as a charger and a remote control. Controls are of a traditional setup, with the left stick controlling throttle and the right stick for turning the car. Since the iNitro Speeders are so darn small, the wheels don’t turn and instead rotate independently much like a tank to achieve a left or right movement.

To keep with the times, and toss in a dash of pizazz, Hot Wheels also allows you to administer controls using your iPhone. You’ll just need to plug in the included infrared dongle, which is how the iNitro Speeder receives its commands.  The app includes a set of controls that mimic the physical controller, but that’s not all.  You can also draw custom paths or choose from a number of shapes, which we can only assume that the iNitro Speeder will follow to a ‘t’. There are 8 different iNitro Speeder cars and they’re each available now for $32.99.

iPocketWatch..

In the last few months we’ve seen more and more people repurpose their iPad Nano as a watch. This is in large part due to the influx of iPad Nano watch wrist bands that have flooded the market. Adding to the mix of choices is one young designer out of Australia named Edwin Conan.  From what we understand he has designed and built the first iPad Nano pocket watch case, called the iPocketwatch.

Although installation of the Nano isn’t detailed, it looks like you’ll need to unscrew 4 small hex screws.  A small caveat for anyone that regularly likes to use the Nano without a case, such as those that run.  But on the flip side the Nano will be secure, minimizing any chance that it might get lost while swung around from its 30cm included chain.  The casing is crafted from aircraft grade aluminum and comes in a silver or black finish, though the latter will cost you a few extra ducats.  While all the ports (headphone jack, 30-pin dock and volume keys) and clip will remain available , the touch controls that appear in the corner of the Nano won’t be reachable due to the casing, though you might be able to squeeze in a pinkie if you’ve got sticks for fingers.  However, that most certainly won’t possible if you attach the rounded version.  Yes, there are two facades included in the deal; a square one and rounded one.

HP Z1 Workstation..

All-in-one PCs are slowly replacing the desktops, and that’s because we can’t manage to find a suitably powerful laptop to replace our aging PC. HP’s latest Z1 workstation has found its place among professional machines that have all the power needed to run even the most intensive software.

Software

HP offers Microsoft Windows 7 Professional and SUSE Linux Enterprise operating systems but obviously you can install your own OS, obviously, which is the better course to take if you don’t need all the bloatware that the company has no doubt included in the package. The Z1 is a pretty expensive workstation when configured with the Xeon and Quadro, but its base configuration (which uses a Core i3-2120 processor with integrated Intel graphics, 8 GB of RAM and one hard drive) starts at $1899.

Exterior design

The computer looks very similar to all the other AIOPCs on the market, with the display being the housing for all the hardware and a single stand holding it in one place on your table. But the 27 inch display (2560×1440 pixels resolution with white LED backlight) is covered with a sheet of glass, and the back is made out of brushed aluminum. The stand provides a wide degree of freedom – the display can be lifted up and down by 10 cm, tilted backwards and forwards by 25 degrees and folded flat for easy transportation and access to the internal components. Underneath the stand, there’s a standard VESA mount, should you need to hang the display on a wall, for example.

Internal hardware

The most interesting feature is the easy access to the internal hardware and the way it’s all built and arranged. Once you fold the computer flat, you can open the housing by lifting the display just like you would a car’s hood (with a gas spring and all). Inside everything is easily accessible and neatly arranged. HP Z1 features server-class hardware and certifications, although the cheapest configuration has consumer-level hardware, which makes it attractive to home users, as well. The top configuration, however, is a real beast: you get a Xeon E3-1280 quad core processor, 32 GB of ECC DDR3 1600 MHz memory, the NVidia Quadro 4000M graphics adapter and up to three hard drives and/or SSDs, depending on what you prefer (there are 2×2.5 inch slots and 1×3.5 inch hard drive slot). That’s a lot of processing power in there. Other hardware specs include 1 PCI-Express X16 slot, 3 miniPCIe, integrated Bluetooth and LAN, a 1080p HD webcam, Blu-Ray writer, 6 USB ports, 1 Gigabit LAN port, a 6-in-1 card reader, audio out jacks and a Display Port for the second monitor (yes, sadly it doesn’t support two extra monitors).