Is your current wireless mouse not up to snuff? If that’s the case, you may want to take a gander at the Logitech Touch Mouse M600 that lets you do your navigating via a touch surface instead of those ol’ clicky buttons. The peripheral is outfitted with the company’s Flow Scroll software that touts a similar feel to scrolling on your touchscreen smartphone of choice. From wherever your fingers contact the top of the mouse, you can scroll and swipe in order to keep powering through those Photoshop files. The M600 works just as well for lefties once click areas are reconfigured with Logitech’s SetPoint software. If you’re thinking about taking the leap, get ready to shell out $69.99 later this month.

Ever since Amazon unveiled its cheap-as-chips Kindle Touch, the thing’s been selling like mad here in the US. However, our friends on other continents haven’t been able to enjoy swiping and tapping its multitouch E Ink display — until now, that is. Amazon failed to alert the masses with a press release, but a quick gander at the WiFi Touch’s product page shows there’s an option to ship one just about anywhere on the globe. Unfortunately, people in parts of the world with country-specific Amazon portals like Germany, France and the UK must still settle for the button-dependent Kindle 4.

SOURCE via Amazon

You love your smartphone — and who can blame you, really? There’s seemingly no limit to what it can do. But ask yourself this: does it look enough like a gun? The answer is almost certainly a big, fat “no.” Thankfully, the Xappr is on its way from Metal Compass, set to help smartphones everywhere live up to their full laser gun potential. The company tells us that the accessory will work with iPhones and Android and Windows handsets (though only iOS and Android games are available, at present). Metal Compass expects to ship the thing in June, but you can pre-order one now, if you dare, for the low, low price of $30 excluding shipping cost.

SOURCE via Xappr Gun

Dutch researchers are looking to catapult crime scene investigation into the 21st century through the use of augmented reality (AR). The prototype system, designed by the Delft University of Technology, employs a pair of AR goggles, two head-mounted cameras and a portable laptop rig to allow investigators to build virtual crime scenes by tagging evidence and placing objects they are viewing. After mapping an area, additional law enforcement personnel can review the investigator’s work and request additional information — asking the CSI to define or place additional objects. Researchers hope that the 3D renders will be used as court-admissible evidence in the near future; the technology is set to be tried on a real Dutch crime scene later this year. We can see it now: Lieutenant Horatio Caine whips off his shades and tosses on a pair of (equally stylish) crime-fighting goggles… YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

SOURCE via New Scientist

You can forget about hanging it from your belt, because this miniature sun—masquerading as a flashlight—is heavy enough to need two hands to operate. And with 15,000 lumens, the XM18 is bright enough to illuminate a small planet.

As you can see, it’s actually composed of 18 smaller LED flashlight components, all wrapped in a custom housing powered by 32 lithium batteries and cooled with its own fan. LEDs are definitely more efficient than incandescent, but 15,000 lumens worth still produces a lot of excess heat.

What’s even crazier is that the $2,500 photon cannon (built only as a custom order) is shaped like a hexagon so multiple units can be easily mounted together. Because apparently the company is worried that 15,000 lumens might not be enough for their most discerning customers who need to blind entire herds of deer at once.

Outlined during Microsoft’s CES keynote earlier this week, gaming app Cut the Rope has had its journey to the world of HTML5 published for the masses. Tying together features like CSS3 styling and canvas-rendered graphics, the blog post details in cheery technical detail how creators ZeptoLab and Pixel Lab (not related) transferred the game from Objective-C to JavaScript. Check the game for yourself down at the source and expect to see some extra levels designed especially for the browser platform. We’d love to play through those new levels, but boss is around so…

SOURCE via Cut The Rope

Themaltake and BMW’s DesignworksUSA are apparently a design-team match made in PC gaming heaven. After previously partnering up for the elegant (and functional) Level 10 modular PC case, the two are back it again — this time with a focus on peripherals.

While details are sparse, the Level 10 M mouse concept you’re looking at is the first of the bunch to be revealed, and it’s said to arrive sometime during the spring. It’s not exactly a shoe-in for MadCatz’s Rats, but considering the wire and an aggressively breathable design, it’s clearly aimed pro-gamers.

Sadly, key specs like its DPI rating and details about any macro functionality are currently non-existent, however, it does appear to be of the optical variety. Here’s to hoping it’ll perform just as good at as looks to the eyes.

It may just look like a fancy, oversized Lego block, but Logitech’s Cube mouse is actually pretty nifty. There are plenty of small, portable mice out there but the Cube is definitely one of the smallest we’ve seen. On display here at CES, Logitech’s Cube is only a couple inches in length and fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. Unlike traditional mice, the Cube is sized to be used with a couple of fingers rather than your whole hand.

The Cube uses a discreet USB 2.4 GHz radio receiver that can communicate with up to six other compatible devices in just one USB port. One of the more appealing aspects to the Cube is its touch-sensitive interface. Tapping on the front or middle acts as your left and right clicks while sliding your finger along the cube activates its scrolling features.

The Cube is great for anybody looking for a portable, wireless mouse, but we would definitely suggest trying it out before purchasing. Its small size can take some getting used to, and for people who prefer the ergonomics of a traditional mouse, it may be a good idea just to skip this one. Logitech’s Cube is supposed to go on sale later this month for approximately $70, preorder yours here.

Samsung’s SUR40 has been a long time coming. The 40-inch next-gen Surface was unveiled at CES 2011, but it’s only just now starting to ship, following the 2012 edition of that gadget show. It finally went up for pre-order in mid-November for $8,400, but at the time we still had no clear date for shipments. Those of you waiting impatiently to get your table-PC can rest easy however, as the AMD-based Win7 machine should already be en route to your doorstep — provided you coughed up the cash one of course. We guess it was just a matter of finally getting that sensor-in-pixel tech worked out.

The next big thing in the evolution of mobile devices seems to be near-field communication, or NFC. This essentially allows the user to store financial information on their smartphone or tablet, and then merely tap that device at the checkout register to make an instant purchase. Google’s Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” has NFC support baked right in, but the feature can’t be used if the device doesn’t already sport the hardware needed for NFC transactions, right?

Wrong. Enter moneto, the world’s first commercially available mobile payment solution that provides iPhone and Android users a convenient way to pay while on the go. For iOS users, it’s a simple process of inserting a special microSD card, snapping on a patented, protective case, installing the moneto app, and activating the chip. Users can launch the moneto app to view their account balance, check transaction history and make everyday in-store purchases with a tap of their iPhone at any PayPass-enabled contactless payments reader at the point of sale. The moneto pre-paid account can be funded by direct deposit, ACH transfer or through services like MoneyCram and Western Union.

“As this breakthrough mobile wallet launches in the US, it not only makes mobile payments available to iPhone users for the first time but it also opens the door for consumers to adopt NFC while pushing mobile commerce forward,” said Deepak Jain, DeviceFidelity President and CEO. “We are excited to partner with MasterCard and SpringCard to break the barriers for a rapid effective rollout that will spur both consumers and merchants to adopt this new wave of electronic commerce.”

DeviceFidelity, the company behind moneto, assures consumers that it’s completely safe to use, protected by In2Play technology that securely stores the user’s PIN on the microSD card. “The sleek and durable case design protects the iPhone and the NFC enabled microSD securely stores and encrypts the card information,” the company added. “Additionally, the moneto account is backed by MasterCard’s Zero Liability, which protects consumers against unauthorized purchases.”

As for Android devices, DeviceFidelity didn’t provide any launch details, only that a number of Android models will also be supported by 2Q12. According to the FAQ, the microSD card can be inserted and used like any other microSD card, as it provides local storage in addition to NFC tech. An additional sticker applicator is required to be placed on the outside of both the Android and iPhone to “boost” the signal that originates from the special card. Unfortunately, iPhone users can’t use the moneto card as a storage solution due to Apple restrictions.

Moneto for iPhone will be available for online ordering in the US immediately at moneto.me for $79.95 which includes $10.00 of pre-loaded funds. The moneto mobile wallet iOS app is available in limited release on the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 3.