Nostalgia is always a good marketing tool and sometimes you stumble across something that you can only label as genius. Behold the USB Typewriter. Available on Etsy for US$75 for the DIY kit and US$300-$400 for the actual product, memories just don’t come cheap these days. Of course, some might argue memories are priceless (Mastercard ad anyone?) Check out the video where the USB Typewriter is attached to the iPad giving a nice contrast between the ancient and not so ancient.

This one’s for the boys. Are you always losing your USB thumb drive? Check out these USB cufflinks. For the smartly dressed (no T-shirts for this guy), these USB cufflinks boasts 2GB per link. Perfect as a Father’s Day present (how on earth is it June already?!?) or just something to spice up your guy’s daily work wardrobe. US$195 a pair. Get it here.

What's this? Two Geek Spy posts in a week? Well yeah, I've obviously been hard at work scouring the internet for random tidbits that you, my dear readers, will find amusing. Some might say this gadget is catered more to the guys but I know plenty of beer loving girls so maybe it's a bit of both. Behold the USB flash drive that also functions as a bottle opener. Of course, I'm not too sure how smart it would be to have a flash drive acting as your bottle opener if you plan on downing a lot of beers. What if someone spills onto the flash drive? Then you just end up with an overpriced bottle opener. But undoubtedly this will tickle someone's fancy. If that person is you, get it here.

Price:
2GB US$19.00
4GB US$22.00
8GB US$33.00

This sleek metal die-cast USB flash drive comes courtesy of a collaboration between LaCie and 5.5 Designers. Shaped like a coin, the USB connector is revealed when you twist the device. It offers universal compatibility and cross-platform convenience (usable on both Mac and PC and is backward compatible with USB 1.1.) The only complaint I have about this nifty USB is that I can foresee the disk taking up the surrounding space effectively hogging two USB slots. Comes in bronze (4GB) and silver (8GB). Just don’t spend it by mistake.
Available at LaCie

Useless USB gadgets are a dime a dozen but this might really take the cake. Capitalising on our daily use of MSN (or Windows Live Messenger as Microsoft keeps trying to tell us,) Union's i-Buddy believes that you aren't smart enough to understand an emoticon and so will instead interpret what the emoticon is by flashing its lights, flapping its wings and what not. From what I can gather, each i-Buddy syncs to only one friend so if you are really buying into this gadget, you'd need to buy multiple i-Buddies and endure them flapping away while you chat. If that doesn't deter you, then head on over to City Super where they are being sold for HK$165.

ETA: So it turns out that ShoeGeek is a geek after all and not merely obsessed with shoes. After I had posted this entry, she turns over and tells me that she is currently in possession of one of these i-Buddies. This is when the emoticon -_-;; comes into play

There are a plethora of USB gadgets out there and for a while I actually bought a few of them and found them rather amusing until I realised all these random gadgets simply took up my USB slots and I am left with no slots left for peripherals that I might actually need (you know, a keyboard, maybe a mouse). While wandering around Times Square in Causeway Bay today, I entered the JC Shop to see if there’s anything that would take my fancy and came across this; a USB fragrance diffuser. Masking as a thumb drive, this device takes power from the USB slot to heat up fragrance oils. This would be a rather nice add-on to normal thumb drives but I wouldn’t shell out money for it on its own. But then again, who knows, if you work at a particularly smelly office and would like to covertly improve your cubicle conditions without offending that stinky neighbour, maybe this is for you.

Available at JC Shop, Times Square (about HK$100)