Gadgets and Gizmos

Bistro, the creation of a Taiwanese group of cat lovers come entrepreneurs, is a cat feeder that will provide much-needed monitoring of your cat's eating and drinking behavior when you're not at home. You'll understand why it is necessary when you consider that its inspiration came from a cat who was very ill and had not eaten for days... but the owner did not realize it.

It is totally the age of the selfie. We used to take them with film cameras, but they never seemed very satisfying since you couldn't see it until you had the film developed. And people thought we were into instant gratification back then! Well, what else can you do with a selfie these days besides sharing them on Facebook and Twitter? How about having your favorite emblazoned on your morning toast? It is called the Toasted Selfie.

It's always good to have a lantern while camping. It's always good to have a fan while camping in the spring and summer. It's best to have both in one gadget. That's exactly what the Coleman Lighted Tent Fan CPX 6 is--a lantern that doubles as a fan.

The DIY (do-it-yourself) trend is still thriving, as the two largest home-improvement franchises -- Home Depot and Lowe's -- go toe-to-toe (or should we say tool-to-tool) in competing for a large demographic of consumers - namely the self-made 'handyman.' Of recent date, however, another market of interest has emerged that both of these large chains find just as appealing, namely the opportunity to tap into the burgeoning IoE . . .

Although I enjoy traditional gaming controllers, they aren't so great for immersion. There's no sense that you're actually in the game; you aren't really physically interacting with anything. That's what the folks behind the ATOC Gaming Gun are trying to address - and they're doing a very good job.

Tattoos are awesome, but they require committment... a life time of commitment. Whatever you get, you're stuck with, which means that dolphin you thought was a good idea at eighteen will be there when you're eighty. An April Fools joke from Think Geek challenged that. By combining programmable technology and tattoos, moodINQ lets you switch up your design. Get that ink without commiting your life to it. This needs to be a real product!

Iron out the rough spots with the portable USB Handy Iron from Japan's Thanko. Whether plugged into your computer, laptop, tablet or mobile battery, or used “wireless” via three internal AA-size batteries, this snappy new pocket-sized iron is sure to in-crease your chances of promotion!

As a parent, I want my kids to have some freedom to explore their environment, but they are little and I also want to be able to see them while they roam. I don’t want to hover, but I need visual confirmation that they are safe and nearby. If you’ve ever been at a busy park or a crowded store and lost sight of your young child, you know the panicky and heart pounding sensation of worry. BiKN (pronounced bee’-kin) takes away some of the worry by allowing you to electronically leash, page, and find the things you never want to lose. Like your kids.

The Ha Uchiwa Leaf Fan from Japanese design house Koncent uses no power – well, maybe Flower Power – to keep you cool this summer. It's the nearest natural air conditioning solution to waving around a big ol' tropical plant leaf and it lasts MUCH longer.

Device makers will soon have a powerful chip with which to build Android L-based 64-bit smartphones and tablets on. Leaked specs are suggesting a respectable feature set within MediaTek's latest.