So that travel blog, that Flickr page and your constantly-updated Twitter account aren't enough? Better look into Spot. The "satellite messenger" is the official gizmo of the TMI era.
Here's how it works: As you trek along, Spot pings GPS satellites and then sends your location to a password-protected server. It can also send an SMS or email to your buddies, which will direct them to a Google Map pinpointing your position in almost-real time. You can also go back afterwards and scope the route you navigated and your waypoints.
Admittedly, you can use the thing for something more important than over-sharing your world travels. In an emergency, Spot will send a distress signal to rescuers, complete with your current coordinates. Could be handy if you end up stranded at an abandoned train station.
Of the heaps of travel gadgets we've seen over the years, we can't quite remember one quite so useless. But still, being the geeks we are, we can't get over this inflatable mouse.
Seriously, is it really necessary? Doubtful. And so far, it's only in the prototype stage. You know if it comes out it'll cost like $200, too.
Then again, if you're anything like us, your laptop bag is always stuffed, and sometimes you forget to make room for your mouse. An inflatable like this would definitely come in handy--and would be waaaay better than working all day from a trackpad.
Gizmodo pointed us to the Traveller, a GPS navigation system made from E-paper so it can fold and close like a paperback. This travel gadget is billed as "a satellite navigator for tourists", letting them pinpoint where they are on a map (WiFi enabled), easily upload photos, and blog.
Before you laugh it off as giant and cumbersome, remember Gordon Gekko in 1987's Wall Street. No one who saw that movie thought every business man in America would some day carry a cell phone.
Not saying twenty years from today every tourist will carry a fold up E-paper laptop that they can stuff in their back pocket, but it would certainly be cool if that was the case.
Vancouver blogger Darren Barefoot, who writes the excellent Geeky Traveller, pointed out we don't have much going on under our Jet Lag tag.
Didn't we dispel the myth that carrot juice cures jet lag? Anyway, though we are firm believers that the only sure fire cure for Jet Lag is to ignore it, we are willing to listen when someone claims to have found the body clock algorithm, which in essence, could reduce or cure jet lag.
Litebook is a portable 'light box' that travellers can use to reduce the
effects of jet lag. It uses bright white LEDs of a specific wavelength identical to those of the peak wavelength of sunlight.
I tried it recently when flying from Vancouver to Ottawa. It was only three time zones, but it seemed to help me out with fatigue and sleeping the right hours. It certainly worked better than those silly pills I've tried in the past.
There's also a jet lag calculator on Litebook's site that
enables users to figure out when they should the device, and when they should avoid light to overcome jet lag as quickly as possible.
Light is evil. Pill popping doesn't work. That sounds about right. A "Jet Lag Calculator" on the site helps weary travelers figure out how much light they need to avoid to calibrate their body clocks.
We aren't sure if Hoth Han Solo is to show product scale, or to remind us all that crawling into the belly of a freshly killed tauntaun does not cure the winter blues, nor jet lag--either way we are down with Hoth Han.
The Digital Hero Waterproof Wrist Camera is basically what it sounds like: a waterproof digital camera that you can wear on your wrist. We've always wanted one of those!
It retails for about $80 and can store 360 low-res photos. The manufacturer recommends it for underwater exploits up to 30 feet deep, as well as surfing and skiing. There's even a self-timer and a few other bells and whistles, so that you may be sufficiently distracted while snorkeling as a barracuda heads straight for your jugular.
Ok, so you had rats on a plane the other day. Some nut flying Saudi Airlines decided to stuff 80 of them into his carry-on luggage. Once they escaped, all hell broke loose. But what's scarier: rats on a plane, or flames on a plane? You can thank some hippie with an air purifier for the latter incident.
A Continental Airlines flight was diverted to Colorado Springs on Friday when a passenger's Fresh Air Buddy caught fire. The device is a mini air purifier that can be worn around your neck. Apparently the guy was powering it with regular batteries that he had stuck in a re-charger, which is not recommended.
Now, who would really want to be caught with one of those things around their neck? Not you, right? Well, just in case, you should know that EcoQuest is recalling all of its Fresh Air Buddy systems. Since no dinky doodad is going to completely sterilize nasty airplane air anyway, we're still recommending one of those USB-powered aroma fans. The flowery aroma will fool you into thinking the air's clean, and they'll almost look hip when plugged into a MacBook.
Gizmodo tips us off to this device that's perfect for environmentally-conscious travel: a "portable" solar power box. By "portable," they mean about 75 pounds. That's not going to fly for your easyJet baggage limit, but we suppose you could stuff it in your Prius. The unit costs about $566.
It's powerful enough to wind up your small travel essentials: cell phones, iPods, etc. The company says the unit is designed for ease of use--good luck with that. We recommend this device for campers and Peace Corps transplants.
One problem with noise-canceling headphones such as Bose's is that they're bulky. And because of their battery-powered element, they might just bring down an airliner. If they're not an episode of Seconds From Disaster waiting to happen, they're at least an attention-grabber that will attract the wrath of flight attendants and passengers if you keep them on during flight takeoff and landing.
If you'd rather not be bothered with the burden of noise-canceling headphones, sound-isolating earphones might be for you. Yes, there is a difference between the two: sound-isolating means the design of the ear buds isolates your ear canal and basically stops interference before it starts; noise-canceling is a trick also used with those little boxes you might see outside a psychologist's office. Think of it as antiperspirant versus deodorant. Sound-isolating ear buds are generally considered "better."
Shure's sound-isolators will run you into the mid-to-high hundreds, though they start at $100 for a "basic" pair. That includes several sets of foam covers to help you find the perfect fit. It's just one ounce of extra weight in your bag. All of Shure's models are hot tickets on eBay, though you'll want to bid carefully when it comes to items that may or may not have been wedged into the waxy ear canal of another human.
