Gadget Thirst Trap rounds up the weirdest gadgets of the week that made us thirsty for more. Be sure to follow The Verge (verge) on Snapchat for the video edition.
It’s a pillow. It’s a speaker. It’s a pillow speaker. I have so many questions about the Kushion, but mainly, I’m in awe at its marketing materials. Its creators describe it as "bold, fearless, and powerful" in addition to a lot of other adjectives. They also make sure to clarify that it’s not "pretentious, fanatical, or nerdy." A website for Kushion is launching next week, so we’ll get more pricing details then. But for now, dream of the possibilities of having your pillow be your speaker.
LG announced two small projectors this week, and this one, the PH450U is an ultra-short throw that can project an image from only 13 inches away from the wall. It’s battery-powered and has an HD resolution. Okay so the resolution isn’t the best, but I love the idea of it not having to be far from the wall. I’m also into this because I like imagining myself being able to take it anywhere and play movies. Beach trips! Friends’ houses! It’ll cost $649.99 when it goes on sale at Best Buy next month.
I’m drawn to Whyd’s new speaker because it reminds me of an alien egg. But beyond its design, the speaker is also voice controlled and can look up music on most every big service, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music. We don’t know how good the voice recognition will be, but it’s nice to imagine having a well-designed, voice-controlled speaker that’ll change the music for me while I’m doing other things and can’t get to my phone. Preorders start at $299.