Gadget Master

We are more than overdue, I feel, for some aspirational browsing of cutting edge consumer electronics. Time, I think, for another Gadget of the Week!

As always, let's get a few eye-catching-but-rather-frivolous non-contenders out of the way... How about, for example, Angry Birds Speakers and Helmet Pig iPod Dock, or a Star Trek Enterprise Light-Up Baby Feeding System...

Rather more seriously, but still very gadgety, how about a digital watch that packs a micro-generator for power? The Sparc MGS watch apparently stays powered for 45 days, says Slashgear, and features an LED backlight, but it also features a price of $5,250...

Or how about a couple of gadgets addressing the need to keep cables untangled. First up is the Budwrap, flags CraziestGadgets:

The Budwrap is a simple yet functional idea- a silicone bracelet that can hold your earbud style headphones. It was invented by a teacher from Texas named Mark Williams, who combined two popular things he saw at the high school he works at: earbuds and rubber bracelets. You can wear them around your wrist of course.

Second up is the new Jupitris phone charger, created by the Japanese designer Jin Kuramoto for IIDA, says Technabob: IIDA makes accessories for phones in the Japanese market. The adapter comes with an integrated cable management system, so your wires will stay untangled. The cord is retractable and you'll find a microUSB port at the other end.

Or how about this one? It is the "World's First Consumer Light Field Camera" from Lytro (see right, and check out their picture gallery and how you can focus images post shooting). They say "Since you'll capture the colour, intensity, and direction of all the light, you can experience the first major light field capability - focusing after the fact."

Also, a couple of gadgets for cyclists. Check out the GoPro HD Hero2 helmet cam, and also the ingenious bike lock in a bottle". "The Küat Bottle Lock ($34, below) is a standard water -bottle (it will fit in most holders) includes a 5' internally coiled 8mm cable that locks back into itself, as well as a compartment underneath for storage of keys and other small items," writes LikeCool.com (see below).

Rather more prosaically, in the flash world of shiny gadgets, we should also mention the Canon's new Pixma Pro-1 inkjet printer. TechRadar writes:

"Canon has launched a new flagship printer to sit at the top of its Pixma range, and is the world's first A3+ model to use 12 separate inks. The new 12-ink system helps to expand colour gamut in most areas and features new Chroma Optimiser for increased black density and glossiness."

In other weeks these may have been contenders for the top tip, but Apple will have to settle for second place for its new 13in , 15in and 17in models of its MacBook Pro laptops.

MacUser writes:

The graphics chips on the 15in and 17in models have been upgraded too. The entry 15in model now has an AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB RAM, and the faster 15in and 17in machines have a Radeon HD 6770M with 1GB RAM. Storage on the 13in MacBook Pros has been boosted to 500GB and 750GB.

But it is now time to reveal the product in pole position for this week's Gadget of the Week. No major surprises - especially given this post's title - that's its the headline grabbing, Ice Cream Sandwich munching Android 4.0 phone from Samsung, the Galaxy Nexus.

Headline features of the "Ice Cream Sandwich"-based Nexus is a 4.65in HD Super AMOLED display technology, with 720p resolution (1280x720), running on a 1.2GHz dual core processor.

With a redesigned Android user interface, the phone integrates into Google+ for social networking, features a 5 megapixel camera, with single-motion panorama mode, 1080p video capture, facial recognition, reduced shutter delay, and effects including silly faces and background replacement, says Samsung. 

Read more here - Samsung Galaxy Nexus first Android 4.0 smartphone

See also - Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich unveiled