Gimme That Gizmo

Are you a gadget junkie? It’s easy to tell. If you think that you must have most of the gadgets you see in The Sharper Image stores or catalogs, stand guilty as charged. You no longer have the rational capability to distinguish what you need from what you want, Zatni Arbi writes.

What other gizmos will you be toting around in the near future besides your smartphone? Plenty. To start with, we all hate reading maps. Too bad we often need them to get from Point A to Point B. Would it be nice to have something to read it for us. That sounds like a navigation device based on the Global Positioning System, or GPS.

Although the new Nokia N95 is GPS ready, it will not compete with the US$1,000 Nuvi 680 (u-umlaut) from Garmin. The latter has a much larger screen at 3.81 x 2.25 inch. If you have stuffed the gadget with all the necessary software including local maps, it will tell you—using voice directions—where the nearest ATM or Pizza Hut is and how to get there.

It will even guide you on one turn after another as you drive your rental car along unfamiliar streets. Who would not want a gadget that can save so much time, gas and headaches?

Garmin calls its Nuvi line of products “Personal Travel Assistants.” It has other navigation products for outdoor sports lovers, for boat owners and airplane enthusiasts.

Garmin is not the only player in town. For example, we have TomTom and Magellan with similar gadgets. And don’t forget our old friend iPAQ from HP-Compaq. The iPAQ rx5900 Travel Companion, for example, is designed to prevent those traveling in Western Europe from getting lost, and God forbid from getting mugged.

Talking about outdoor sports, what do people usually carry with them? A pair of binoculars, of course. And a digital camera. However, if they see a beautiful bird and want to photograph it, by the time they are able to grab their camera the bird might have flown away. Now gadget nuts do not have to miss the object and the moment, because they can use binoculars with a built-in digital camera.

Mention binoculars, and the name Bushnell immediately comes to mind. Go to its website, and you will be able to pick up a pair of its Image View binoculars that comes replete with a digital camera. The camera has a different resolution level and, of course, price level. If you need a truly high resolution camera, you can go with Spion 8x32 binoculars. Available at The Sharper Image, among others, these binoculars have a 5.0 megapixel point-and-shoot digital camera. Owners will be all set to start their own private investigation service.

With today’s smartphones flagrant battery-juice guzzlers, there is another gadget that you will need to stuff into your pocket: A battery charger.

Motorola was the first cellphone maker that offered its own battery charger for those times where the electric outlet is as remote as an honest law enforcer in this country. All you need to do is plug it into the USB jack in your Motorola RAZR. Fully charged, the charger can charge the cellphone for up to three times.

There are better solutions, though. They are better because they use the AA batteries that you can buy at even the simplest of kiosks. There is plenty of choice, including the Emergency Phone Charger from Popgadget. Another alternative is Energi to Go from Energizer. Be aware that this one uses the more expensive lithium batteries.

In the forgetful habit of leaving behind your gadgets, including your notebook computer, and only realizing it when it is too late? You are definitely not alone.

One thing you can do is buy the Bodyguard from Herrington Catalog. It consists of two parts, a monitor and a transmitter tag. Stick the latter to the back of your gadget, and put the monitor in your pocket. If the gadget gets too far from you, for example somebody is trying to steal it, then the monitor will alert you. Unfortunately, we cannot set the transmitter to produce a warning sound that will attract the attention of the people around it.

What about the stress that comes with living in a big city like Jakarta? If you find it difficult to fall asleep because of the urge to find and confront the city bus driver who left that big dent in your brand new car, take control of yourself. Get yourself a StressEraser—available at www.stresseraser.com. It will help you regulate your breathing, and let karma take care of the reckless driver.

Now, do you usually sleep so soundly in the morning that none of your alarm clocks can rouse you from your slumber? Try the US$39.99 Sonic Bomb Alarm Clock with Bed Shaker from Think Geek. It can produce a noise with a maximum loudness of 113 decibels. If you still are not disturbed, your ears may need cleaning. Then the Bed Shaker should help you make it to that important office meeting in time.

These are just some of the essential gadgets and gadget accessories. In the future, we can expect gadgets for monitoring our health, personal safety and security. However, because of its proliferation, we can also expect that the cellphone will always continue to lead the pack.

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