Gadget of the Day: USB doorbell
Doorbells are great, aren’t they? They're buttons (which are always fun) that you press to let people know you’re standing in the rain wai
Doorbells are great, aren’t they? They’re buttons (which are always fun) that you press to let people know you’re standing in the rain waiting for them to let you in. Now.
Trouble is, ‘ding dong’ is a bit boring, isn’t it. What would be better is actor Leslie Philips saying ‘ding dong’ instead. Or maybe the first two notes of the Bewitched theme, like they use in Star Trek Voyager.
Or perhaps a long, harrowing scream. Well, now you don’t have to choose, you can have them all, thanks to the USB Doorbell.
This almost-tubular device plugs into your PC, where you upload an MP3 or WAV file of your choosing, up to 30 seconds long. Then you take it to your hallway and hook it up to your doorbell.
It’s not wireless, unfortunately, it’s a little more basic. You just hook it onto the wall, near the flat, wooden thing we call a door. Then you wait until and unsuspecting guest pops round and hey presto! You could actually get it to blast out ‘Hey Presto!’.
Other doorbell sounds we think would work: gun fire, ‘open sesame’, a Nokia ring tone, rat-a-tat (that would confuse people), the sound of lots of chains and bolts unlocking or Rod Hull singing ‘There’s somebody at the door’.
Essentials
USB Doorbell
Price: £50
On sale: Out Now
Contact: IWantOneOfThose.com
Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
