At first glance you might think this is an awesome way to identify birds in the wild or in your backyard, by the song they sing. After all, it’s got a 54 page song book and a scanner that looks like a pen. This is just what you needed to identify birds by sound. Except it’s not quite what you think.

You scan the barcode for a bird, and then you can listen to a digital recording of the song from the speaker. That’s all well and good if you need to know what a bird sounds like, but it doesn’t help you identify a song you hear just now outside. The only thing to do is scan through all the damn birds in the book! In short, this device is for the birds!

A long time ago…On a lawn far far away… Lawn mowers were tethered to a power cable. Not anymore. Battery technology has finally reached the point where you can buy an electric mower that doesn’t need to be plugged in to an outlet. Which is awesome because some of us like to run over said cable and kill the lawn mower. The Neuton CE 6.2 model features a removable rechargeable battery that’s ideal for lawns up to 1/3 of an acre or about 15,000 sq. ft. in size. That means about 45 to 60 minutes of mow time per charge.

The battery is removable, so you can swap it out with a backup if it dies before your lawn is finished or if you want to use the trimmer/edger accessory. The batteries charge in about 8 hours and are said to last for about 5 years. You green sorts out there will also be happy to know that the battery is 95% recyclable when it finally does die.

Close the door, you’re letting the cool air out. It used to be a bad thing, when you heard a parent say that. But apparently, there are those who actually want to cool the outside with an air conditioner. The Intelli Cool is tauted as the first ever outside air conditioning unit that uses a special water evaporation technology. The fans attached to it cool the air in your nearby surroundings.

But the fun doesn’t end there. It also provides bright light so you can enjoy yourself on those not so sunny days. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of info otherwise. It seems fairly ridiculous to me and it looks…freakish.

The playground has looked the same for all of eternity. But no more. They, like everything else, are about to go high tech. Children everywhere will be driving starships not long after, probably. The Sense Light Swing is a fully illuminated swing, threatening to turn that boring old playground into a light show.

One problem though. How many parents do you know who would let their kid go to the local playground after dark? Sure, you could go with them, but that would mean parenting and that aint what you had a kid for now is it? Plus, your shows are on at night. The technology behind the Sense Light Swing is simply fiber optic strands, and nothing more, so we don’t have to worry about swing speeds being upgraded or the like anytime soon, thank God.

If you find yourself on a bike often, these compact wrist lights will help keep you safe and insure that you reach your destination in one piece. They automatically alert drivers when you are about to turn using an internal tilt switch which turns on three flashing LED’s. They detect changes in angle range and motion. There’s also a self-locking mechanism inside the base of the device that can be changed at 15 degree intervals to accommodate individual riding styles and handlebar types.

A “Delayed Off” feature means it doesn’t automatically switch off when you are in the middle of turning and drop your arm. Instead, it will keep blinking for 1 second so cars can see. Users can also manually switch the indicator off by pressing the orange top so that it wont blink in any position.

If I were a skater I would do all of my skating at night using the Photon Light Board. I would turn a 360 pivot into an ollie while people would swear up and down that they saw a bright neon UFO descend down that staircase.

With the Photon Light Board, I could do it too. Since all the boards have such highly customizable lighting patterns and many colors to choose from. It would be like doing tricks on a Lite-Brite. But I’d probably break my neck doing a rad stunt… So it’s probably best if I let that dream die. But you don’t have to. You can ring your board with LEDs, add drop lighting, or even skateboard headlights. Each Photon Light Board has about 30 lights.

And I thought the battery-powered rechargeable blender was handy…

Sams Club has an in store deal going on for this gas-powered blender that is certain to make short work of mixing any drink you can come up with. The blender is powered by a 43cc 2-stroke gas engine mounted on a stand with a stainless steel blender cup and a variable speed throttle to get just the right amount of blending for your drinks. It’s even decorated with diamond-plated accents to give it that classy-tool look. If you can find a store that has them in stock you can walk out with one for about $100.

You don’t generally see improvements in camping lanterns. For the most part they’ve remained the same for years, but this one has a pretty clever design that’s sure to make camping more enjoyable. How about a light powerful enough to be seen from a mile away? The lights are mounted on trays so you can swivel them where you need to see.

There’s also a jack and speakers so you can plug in your mp3 player and have some fireside tunes. If that’s not enough to get you in the great outdoors, there’s also a digital clock and an AM/FM radio with local weatherbands. Having these features all in one unit will lighten your load a bit. Uses 6 C batteries. AC and DC adaptors included.

Although it’s likely to lead to some sort of trouble, this snowball making and throwing toy could make a normal kid rival that of Buddy the Elf. We’ve seen plenty of salad tong-looking devices that will make snowballs but not many of them will help you make them and launch them. The extended arm gives more reach to increase your throwing speed and distance, but not necessarily your accuracy.

The Snow Chuck has a scoop on the end that helps you scoop up some snow, pack it into a ball and then throw it, all without getting your hands in it. The plastic snow thrower retails for just under $10. Imagine the threat a person could be with one in each hand.

Alot of people practice their golf swing in their yard and end up wacking their lawn due to a horrible swing. Whether you are Arnold Palmer or just some backyard hopeful, why not actually trim your lawn while practicing that swing. You know, on purpose and neatly.

The Big Daddy Driver looks like a large golf club, but it’s really a working weed wacker. It will fit inside your golf bag, so surprise your friends when your ball lands in the rough, by clearing the area and taking a swing. Runs on 6AA batteries.(Not sure how much weedwacking can be done with 6 AA’s, but I guess you’ll find out)

The Green Machine 2 looks like a Big Wheel on steroids. It sure doesn’t resemble that old Big Wheel that I rode around in as a kid. It’s got a sleek design and can be controlled with dual joysticks. It even has rear wheel steering and a 20″ front tire, along with a front wheel hand brake.

Of course just like it’s ancestors, this one is completely dependant on kid pedal power. I wish mine had been this cool. Mine certainly didn’t have a High tension steel frame, or a real rubber front tire. I guess as long as you can still peel out on these things it’s all good.

With the Cyber-Rain XCI, you can water your lawn the “Green” way. It will save you money and conserve water at the same time, by giving you control of your sprinkler system across eight zones. Through a wireless connection with your PC, it will make adjustments to it’s watering schedule, using weather data.

If it looks like it is going to rain, it will put a hold on it’s watering duties. It will even adapt it’s schedule as seasons change. Another bit of good news is that it is very affordable. You can add it to an existing irrigation system for only $295. At that price the system will pay for itself in no time. This is the kind of environment conscious technology we like to see. The Earth will thank you.

Lawnmowers are one of those manly tools that have not really undergone much change over the years. The reason for this is simple. Depending on how you dress it up, you can either look really cool mowing the lawn with your concept mower, or you can look like a total tool. I think they got it right here.

You have to keep it looking like a powerful object after all. The F1 is obviously inspired by the F1 racer. It’s a concept design from Kadeg Boucher. And it’s not just a shell put over the engine. They went all out. It features a full race suspension, rear view mirrors, vintage John Player Special-style livery and a steering wheel with an LCD gauge display. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see geeks racing these things in the near future.

Let’s face the facts - you’re lost deep in the woods after going out on a hike to get photos of the elusive Bigfoot. You can’t find your way out and that big bear staring at you and salivating isn’t helping matters. As you rapidly climb a tree, you remember you can summon help with SPOT, the self-described world’s first satellite messenger. This aid to the lost hiker is priced at around $170 plus service fees.

The SPOT takes the form of a portable device which is designed to be waterproof as well as to withstand the outdoors in general. It’s reportedly relatively easy to use by pressing one of several buttons to, for example, transmit a user’s exact location and message to a 9-1-1 emergency call center in times of need. You can also send standard messages to family or others to request help or just let others track you via a Web service which uses GPS coordinates and Google Maps technology.

Sportsmen and adventurers love tech. Especially fishermen, when they haven’t had a nibble or bite all day. It can mean the difference between being bored to tears and catching that fish of legendary size. The Guide Pro series of watches from Origo can help. They use temperature and pressure sensors to read and analyze atmospheric data, so that you know when it’s the best time to fish or hunt. That way you are more productive and can spend more time doing other things.

Of course, it can also forecast weather using these functions. That’s not all it can do. The watch has an altimeter too, which has an accuracy of about 12 inches. It can graph your ascent or descent over 8 hours. But wait, there’s more. How about a compass? Yes, it has a compass, as well as other typical watch functions. No pricing available yet.