Okay, so they're not the highest-tech gadgets, but they sure are cute. The Knockman toys, produced by Japanese company Maywa Kenki, even had their own MTV commercials—and that makes them cool.

The toy line has five different models, which dance and make some sort of noise when you wind them up. The Knockman himself hits his own drum-like head, Colon's insides rattle, Pololon plays a "guitar," Chacha (my favorite) plays the cymbals, and Kerotama plays a "Latin guiro"—an instrument that looks like a marble rolling around in an innertube. And just like an iPod, each Knockman toy comes in white or black.

The Knockman Web site is just as bizarre as the little toys themselves. Each model has its own profile with poem-like descriptions such as "a smart beanpole with a guitar" and "shake, shake his bottom, dance dance!!"  Also watch the KnockMan videos to see the toys in action, and check out the Knockman Planet line that's complete with accessories like chairs, carts, and hats.

You can buy the toys seperately or as a whole family. They're available on the Knockman Web site for 1344 to 1869 ¥ ($11 to $16), but you'll get a message saying, "Sorry! Shop is available only in Japanese!" I found the Knockman family at sweatyfrog.com for $25 each. Audio Cubes has a limited selection for $15-$19. 

I hate using my laptop on planes. The traytable is never quite big enough for my computer, and I have to lean forward and hunch over to see the keyboard.

Many people must have the same problem, because Keynamics is bringing ergonomics to airplanes. The company is introducing the Aviator laptop stand, which sits on a traytable and props up a notebook to a comfortable typing angle. The stand lets you sit all the way back in your seat, relax your wrists, and open up the screen to a good angle. It's designed to stay sturdy even during turbulence or when the big guy next to you bumps you on the way to the bathroom.

This product is aimed at the business traveler and so, of course, it's portable: The stand breaks down into three pieces and slides easily into the side pocket of your laptop case. It won't load you down, either, because it weighs just 9 ounces.

I don't do much flying, but for $19.99, I wouldn't mind taking one of these on my next Amtrak trip.

I met today with the makers of Cellstik, a cute little gadget that backs up your cellphone's phone book in case you lose your phone, you want to transfer your contacts to another phone, or you want to edit them on your PC and return them to your phone. It's extremely easy to use, looks like a USB key, and costs only $39.99. Plug one end into your phone, press one button, and pow - you're backed up. Plug the other end into your PC, and you can edit your phone book with some very basic included software.

You can buy Cellstiks for Motorola, Samsung and LG phones right now, with Nokia and Sanyo coming soon; the ability to back up other info from your phone, like pictures and ringtones, will come in a new version next year.

The neatest thing about Cellstik from a techie's perspective is that it saves the phone numbers in an unencrypted, comma-delimited text format on the stick, which is really a 128K flash drive with some built-in software. So even though the stick only comes with a basic app for editing the phone books and transferring them to another stick, you could easily import the data into a program of your choice or use it with unsupported OSes like Mac OS and Linux. Cellstik's selling point is ease of use, but I hope techier types will reward its use of open standards by writing their own Cellstik plug-ins for popular applications and OSes.

With all of this nice weather being sent our way, I can't help but wish Summer was around the corner. And now that I don't live far from the Jersey beaches, I've been thinking of all the things I could bring along with me for my many weekend trips.

One of my very cool Summer finds is the iSplash: a rugged and splash-proof Stereo Speaker System designed by Sharper Image. It features an AM/FM Tuner and is said to work with any iPod, MP3 player, portable CD player, or satellite radio player with its ZipConnect technology.

The included retractable cable extends up to 18 inches so that you can conveniently pick up your player to make selections while connected to the system. Not only does the iSplash protect against water, but also sand and other weather conditions.

Its dual handles make it easy to carry the stereo speaker system and act as a stand as well.

Purchase the iSplash Stereo Speaker System for $149.95 at Sharper Image.

[via Gadget Review]

The most exciting product I've held this week was the VK Mobile VK2020, currently sold by Dynamism for $399. At 8.8 mm thick and 1.9 ounces, this super-slick fashion phone is slimmer and lighter than either Motorola's SLVR L7 or Samsung's new SGH-T509, and it's reasonably priced for an unlocked GSM phone you could use on T-Mobile or many foreign carriers. (It works with Cingular in some parts of the country but not others.)

Slim doesn't mean feature-less, either. The VK2020 has 128 MB of memory of which 100 MB are available for the built-in MP3 player. It has Bluetooth for headsets, and USB Mass Storage Mode so you can move files easily to and from your PC.

It's not the greatest phone, phone-wise. The keys are small, the reception so-so, the screen is dim, and a lot of the features are really quirky. But it makes calls, and it's pretty. So, so pretty. It will attract conversation and make sexy people talk to you. That's what really matters here.

Look for my full review on PCMag.com soon.

Slickdeals.net reports that Dell Home has the much sought-after black Canon Rebel XT body for only $504 after $100 rebate when you use a Dell 20% off coupon, get a $35 off coupon on eBay. They also have the silver body with 18-55mm lens for $584. You can use the 20% off coupon on some other Canon cameras as well. Go to Slickdeals for all the details. And move quickly. These deals tend not to last very long.

Dell Small Business is cutting $175 off the price of its $499 3100cn color laser printer. That brings the price down to $324. But Techbargains has a coupon code for $60 off $500 that will reduce it down to $264. That's nearly half off. You'll have to buy something else for at least a dollar to get the price up to $500. David Stone gave this printer 3.5 stars out of 5. Read his review.