These days it seems to be the case that, wherever we go, our gadgets go too – and nowhere is this more obvious than in our vehicles, which we happily kit out with the latest in electronic wizardry to improve and enhance our driving experience. Whatever you lifestyle, however you use your car, it is very likely that you have added at least one gadget into the mix, to help journeys for business or pleasure run more smoothly.

Satellite Navigation Systems

Many modern cars now come with a satellite navigation system, or sat nav, as standard. However, for those that don’t most drivers now find that an aftermarket addition is an indispensible aid to their driving experience. Sat nav units use computer technology and GPS to pinpoint the vehicles exact location, which is then referenced against maps to offer drivers easy access to route planning. Modern sat navs have a range of extra features such as tourist information, traffic updates, speed camera warnings and even the opportunity to opt for eco-routing – which will guide drivers along the most fuel efficient route to their destination.

In Car Entertainment Systems

Any driver that is planning on spending a long time on the road ought to invest in an in-car entertainment system. In-car entertainment ranges from music for the driver, to seat back or fold down DVD systems – a real God send for parents needing to entertain little ones in transit.

Hands Free Phone Kits

For drivers who need to stay in touch while on the road, the hands free phone kit is essential. These easy to fit gadgets allow mobile phones to be operated verbally, allowing a driver to make and take calls on the go, without ever having to compromise on their level of vehicle control. Hands free phone kits come in a range of designs, from those that use the in-car speaker systems to transmit calls, to those that operate using a headset or earpiece. This choice allows the driver to select the design that is most comfortable for his or her own style.

Lighter Plug-Ins

There is a wide range of gadgets available that plug into the cigarette lighter socket in vehicles. Whatever you use your car for, there is likely to be a plug-in available that will cater to your needs. Some useful plug-in gadgets include:

• Mobile phone chargers – brilliant for long journeys where phone batteries may run low. Having a plug-in in-car charger can ensure that the user never needs to lose contact while out on the road.
• Water heaters – A plug in element that can be used for heating water to make hot drinks – great for surfers, fishermen or picnickers who want to be able to warm up on the go, without the need for carrying a flask.
• Refrigeration boxes – Again, a great boon to those with an outdoor lifestyle, offering in car refrigeration while out and about on the warmest days. Keeps picnic food, beverages and even medications cool in your car

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They have an enormous role in our everyday life, so much so that it is difficult for us to imagine life without them. They make our lives organised, entertaining and easy. They are gadgets. Big and small, simple and complex, they are in our houses helping us through our daily lives. No matter how many we have, we never have quite enough. Today, with the many sales, specials and discount voucher offers available, buying the latest family gadgets is easier and more inexpensive than ever.

Which gadgets, gizmos and whatnots are must-have for the modern family in 2012? Here are some of the best, brightest and most unusual, all selected with an eye toward fun and enjoyment for the family as a group.

Sport & Leisure Gadgets

For the family who enjoys spending time together in the great outdoors, a number of innovative and unusual gadgets and gizmos are available. Snowball fights will be twice as thrilling when the kids are armed with mechanised snowball launchers, such as the snowball slingshot and the 50-foot snowball launcher. GPS-enabled ski goggles will ensure that you and your family will find you way even in the worst blizzard.

Popular for indoor/ outdoor fun is the smartphone-controlled helicopter. Adults and kids alike can download the free phone app and turn their smartphone into a wireless remote control for a lightweight helicopter. A swipe of a finger or a tilt of the phone sends the helicopter swooping here and there.

Travel Gadgets

Travelling with family can be difficult, but these innovative gadgets will make the trip much more enjoyable. Pocket digital televisions allow you to take your favourite show with you on the road, and the television teleporter picks up the wireless signal from a transmitter indoors, sending a signal up to 100 feet away.

For those inevitable rainy days, games such as Scrabble Electronic Scramble and customisable electronic Trivial Pursuit provide entertainment and encourage family togetherness. Snuggling up with a hundred good books is convenient and easy to handle with the e-readers on the market, including Kindle and Nook.

Kitchen Gadgets

Considered the heart of any home, the kitchen is the gathering place for many families. Home theatre popcorn makers, healthy deep fryers and homemade candyfloss machines are some of the latest kitchen gadgets on the market.

Where to Get the Best Deals on Gadgets

The latest gadgets sometimes do not come cheap, but taking the time to look at all shopping options can lead you to tidy deals. So where are the best places to buy the latest gadgets? According to the readers of Consumer Reports, the best places are online. Websites such as Crutchfield.com and Amazon.com offer user reviews and shopping assistance along with their product quality and deals. GiftsWorld, the popular UK gift store, offers a myriad of unique gadgets and colourful gifts on its online site. Hammacher Schlemmer, a New York City institution for over 160 years, offers an incredible array of unusual, high-tech gifts on its website, in its catalogue and in its Manhattan store.

Additionally, many online sites are dedicated to helping consumers garner even better deals, both in-store and online, through special discount vouchers and sale offers.

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Thousands of whiplash claims are filed following minor road traffic accidents every year in the US. And by minor, we mean those that occur at low speed and usually result in a rear-impact collision (a shunt to the back of your car).
However, breakthroughs are being made in the world of technology that could eliminate the risk of this kind of injury and the impact that whiplash and spinal injury claims has on insurance premiums nationwide.

The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, is one such institution that is researching the issue in an attempt to heighten the effect of in-car safety mechanisms to make them even safer than they are today.

Scientists and engineers are working on the incorporation of algorithms into in-car computer systems, which could work to eventually make rear-end collisions a thing of the past.
Put simply, these specially-formulated algorithms will alert the driver of the car that the car in front is going slower or slowing down.

The prevailing problem of low-speed collisions is caused by the fact that drivers are less able of calculating the correct speed of the car they’re trailing at speeds of under 8mph, so when the traffic has come to a near crawl and drivers are slowed to a near stop, this is when the risk of whiplash is at its greatest.

When the algorithms detect a slower speed of the car in front, mechanisms will kick in to override the driver and take over the controls from them (they’re therefore directly triggered by the in-car computer system’s algorithms).

When the algorithm takes over the controls from the driver, it will mimic the acceleration and braking patterns of the driver in front. It also has the ability to be programmed by the driver themselves, who may want to set up alerts as to, say, the speed and distance of the car ahead at all speeds, not just slow speeds.
This new technology holds so much promise that it’s now being tested by the likes of Mercedes Benz and other high-end vehicle manufacturers, and it is hoped that it will become a feature of most vehicles over time as the technology is tried, tested and proven to be highly beneficial.

However, if you don’t think you’re going to be one of the lucky Mercedes customers who will be treated to such high standards of in-car safety just yet, then there are other ways of improving your neck’s chances of escaping a slow-speed collision unscathed.

Wear a seatbelt at all times;
Always ensure that your head rests are where they should be and that they are neither too low or too high. The way to achieve the correct height for your headrest is to measure it against your ears. The top of the headrest should align with the top of your ears, while the correct distance from your head to prevent over-extending the neck on collision is two inches.

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Easy Piano for Nintendo DS

I have got clues that the DS lite will be a relic of a lost age before long. With the release of Easy Piano which is hitting the market soon.

It has just been announced by Valcon Games that its Piano-Teaching Title is scheduled for release in North America by 2010 and there is the potential that the sales will definitely push DS lite to the back bench.

For Piano Lovers and Music Enthusiasts, Easy Piano might just be what you need to combine fun and learning.

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led

One will usually expect a lamp to rip power off the mains socket or even USB, but this is not the case for the Phone-Jack Powered lamp that rips power off any abandoned telephone socket.

Now you can conveniently say that there is a use for all abandoned telephone land line sockets in the home. The Phone-Jack Powered lamp has an RJ11 jack end which usurps power from the phone company instead of using electricity.

This question will be probably be asked, Is Phone-Jack Powered lamp legal? Well, I know it needs to be certified for use in the UK before plugging into the phone jack but am not sure it’s the same round the world. The price goes for a cheap sum of $4.73. Definitely worth it.

led-telephone-powered-table-reading-light-lamp

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BUGbase WiFi

If you are a hardcore DIYER (unlike us layabouts) then you are surely up for a big surprise as BUGbase WiFi has one of the exciting sales of the month.

For a deal you can’t resist, Bug Labs is making an incredible price slash of its BUGbase WiFi from $449 to just $99. Can you beat that? That’s like a 75% price drop (who said the recession was all bad?). The catch is that you have to have an original old Hiro P’ BUGbase to trade-in to qualify for the discount.

You can be part of the bug and send your original Bug Base (Hiro P) to the company before November ends in order to qualify for the cut-price BUGbase WiFi. Don’t forget to mention the trade-in offer otherwise you’ll get stung for the full BUGbase WiFi price.
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Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse

The Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse provides a lot of relief especially from concurrent stress injuries and also possesses the basic features of a standard mouse. It sells for about $80 although can be purchased cheaper on line (as can most things).

Mini Review:

Some of the features of Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse are: A 6 month battery life span, scrolling which can be done in four directions and they keys are also customizable.

Some of its exemplary features are its state of the art hand placement and quick leaning curve. Despite the positives, the Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse still has some undesirable quibbles such as: limited range for wireless connectivity, scroll placement and side buttons are placed awkwardly e.t.c

Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse

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Beatles Stereo USB Apple

If your a fan of the Beatles (or, equally realistically, you are a fan of selling things on Ebay), then the Beatles Stereo USB Apple is a definite must-have. Packed with 16GB worth of music, videos and images of the celebrated Fab-Four, the Beatles Stereo USB Apple is one for the Beatles fans and gadget lovers alike.

The elegant (for a fruit) apple shaped dock hides a USB stick that is revealed by pulling out the apple’s stem. The Beatles Stereo USB Apple holds all 14 Beatles remastered albums in tow formats, high-quality 24-bit FLAC files and 320 kbps MP3s. Also hidden away on the USB are the original UK album art, rare photos, 13 mini-documentaries, and expanded liner notes.

Only 30,000 of the Beatles Stereo USB Apple will be made and you can bet your bottom dollar that they will sell-out via pre-orders long before the official release date of December 7th comes along. At $280 each, if you’re reading this and it’s the end of November, you’re probably already too late….

Beatles Stereo USB Apple

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iPevo P2V USB Webcam

The iPevo P2V USB Webcam is one stylish webcams. We usually expect webcams to look functional at best but not the iPevo P2V USB Webcam. Oh no, it wants to stand out from the crowd and is the perfect accompaniment to your IKEA laden abode.

Admittedly the hands-on video below makes the iPevo P2V USB Webcam look less glamorous than the stylised pictures but its still a funky little gadget to have attached to your laptop of choice. Technical specs include a 2.0-megapixel camera, Point to View, USB 2.0 and a macro mode for 2-inch close ups.

It’s on sale now and you can get your own little iPevo P2V USB Webcam desk buddy for $69. Hands-on video below.

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Microsoft LifeCam Cinema HD Webcam

Those days of grainy webcam images belong in the dark ages of the internet and yet we still come across them even though out broadband existence deserves much more. Enter Microsoft to save the day (for a price, of course) with the Microsoft LifeCam Cinema HD Webcam.

The Microsoft LifeCam Cinema HD Webcam allows you to shoot your personal (and not so personal) shenanigans in a respectable 720p HD quality video. Other features include USB 2.0, 1280 x 720 HD resolution at 30 frames per second, auto focus, 4x digital zoom, a noise-canceling mic on top, and the expected proprietary Microsoft software ‘ClearFrame’ for smoother video, allegedly.

Windows 7 compatibe straight out of the box, the Microsoft LifeCam Cinema HD Webcam will set you back $80 when it is released come September 9th.

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