Ok, just after the Halloween horror flood, I’m one tuckered terror reviewer. But in an effort to continue to shine the light on things that might slip by, unnoticed in the shadows, here’s a quick one-two punch of some of the odd things I’ve been sent to review that I ended up liking quite a bit. Both have only tenuous links to wonderful world of horror we love so much, but they are there if you know how to look for them. Regardless, I dug both of these quite different items and thought I would give you the heads up.
GELASKINS
This was something I was highly doubtful of when I first heard about it. Gelaskins makes stickers that cover your cellphones, laptops, game consoles. Sounds simple right, and maybe a bit boring? Also, if you put something that is essentially a sticker on a do-dad that you handle everyday it’s sure to peel and fall off right? Well those were my questions when I first went to the site to check these out.
The good: these guys can make colorful covers for just about everything under the sun. Laptops, iPhones, iPods, Xbox, PS3, Wii, every generic phone and gadget you can think of. Also, they offer 100 and 1 different graphics and designs to choose from. You’ve got Marvel superheroes, doodles by Tim Burton, images of Betty Page, and original artwork by over 100 artists.
The really good: the best thing about Gelaskins is that you can have them make custom covers just for you. All you have to do is use an easy, do-it-yourself program, upload your own photos and images and then just wait to get your unique Gelaskins sent to you through the mail. If you like your bet pet fluffy, or want you kids plastered all over your Wii, then you can do that. Me? Well I’ve got DAWN OF THE DEAD on my mobile phone, FRIDAY THE 13TH on my Xbox 360, and some creepy photos a friend of my took on my laptop. So if you want to personalize your stuff and make your high-tech toys uniquely you, then Gelaskins can do that for you. Lastly, the quality and durability is top notch. I have these skins on my phone and even my Xbox controller, both of which I put my grubby mits on every day, and both still look great and have no air bubbles, creases, or peeling two months later.
The bad: there’s really nothing bad to say about the product, but I will give you some free advice if you’re now thinking of Gelaskinning your stuff. If you want to cover something flat and simple like your laptop then that’s easy to do. However trying to Gelaskin something with a lot of buttons or cutout spaces, like the afore mentioned Xbox controller, quickly becomes an exercise in frustration as you try place the skins just so. However, this is more a problem for the OCD perfectionists out there, like me, and has nothing to do with how cool these groovy skins are. I highly recommend these nifty stick-‘ums and if you want to give your tech toys a personalized makeover, you can order or create your own Gelaskins here: http://www.gelaskins.com
MIMOBOTS
Flash drives, everyone uses them now days. Hell, I’ve got 3 of them of various sizes. So why not have one that reflects your own weird tastes? Well now you can and Mimobots can do that for you. Mimobots make flash drives of all sizes with designer cases based on various pop culture sources. Want a Darth Vader flash drive? They’ve got that. Do you dig Hello Kitty (then I pity you) or got a thing for Japan’s little brown boxy Domo? Have you ever wanted a Spartan from HALO in your pants? Well these guys have got you covered. They even have flash drives for the silly and sick HAPPY TREE FRIENDS. Want more? Well Mimobots even have a whole slew of original artist designs and here is the connection to horror I previously mentioned. I myself have a cool skeleton flash drive because, you know, I’m so damn spooky and stuff.
The one drawback is that these guys are a little thick and chunky for flash drives. If you have a somewhat deeply recessed USB port then these drives may not be able to plug into it. I do have one old laptop that my skeleton Mimobot couldn’t reach. So what I’m saying is, know your tech before you plunk down your cash.
If you are just dying to have a Boba Fett flash drive or something like that, then you can get your fix here: http://www.mimoco.com
--Brian M. Sammons
