Bottle Cap Tripod
Carrying around a camera tripod isn’t always convenient, but this bottle cap tripod is good to go.
Made with a flexible rubber socket that slips over the top of most bottles and a standard tripod screw, the ingenious design turns your water bottle into the extra set of hands you need to take awesome pics.
The device works best with point and shoot cameras and bottles that are at least half full for obvious weight reasons.
It can also pivot about 15 degrees for extra flexibility. Cost about $10.
Cool.
Found via Rachel Ray magazine
Write Anywhere
Forget the written word (sort of). Michael Linderman has figured out how to translate electrical muscle impulses into a written language.
Through a technique called “electromyography” Linderman, and other researchers, can recognize a person’s handwriting through the pattern from the movement of their own hands. The hope is to create a glove that will allow anyone to write in thin air with just hand and wrist motions. Sounds pretty travel convenient (and cool) to me.
Adaptable Traveling
If you love gadgets (I do) and travel (at least sometimes) you know the hassle gadgets can pose in other countries (as well as the extra weight a box of adapters can add to any luggage).
Well, it seems MiLi has come up with a convenient solution with its universal charger. The charger works in the US, UK, EU, and Australia sockets, which is a lot of options. It can also charge more than one gadget at a time if you use USB adapters. At $33 it’s a lot cheaper than a new set of adapters.
Rugged and Ready
Digital camera’s are everywhere now (obviously) but, as with any camera, there pretty expensive and pretty fragile. Unless you get the kid friendly little tikes types odds are your camera will not survive a tumble down the stairs.
That’s why the Canon PowerShot D1 is a fantastic upgrade. It’s Canon’s first point and shoot with rugged capabilities (like being able to be submerged, dropped, freeze, to a point, and survive). Still with 3x zoom and 12 megapixels you’re not sacrificing quality, and as always it’s sleek and cool looking. Supposedly interchangeable face plates will also be offered with the D1 so you can customize your look.
$329 is pricey, but not out of range for the camera type and lets be honest, in the long run not having to pay for fixes and repairs may help the camera pay for itself.
Traveling Music
It’s another portable speaker, but this one is attempting to be especially fashion friendly, and cute.
The music balloon (currently only available by order from Japan) is a portable speaker that looks like a clowns nose attached to a white wire. It’s simple in that all you need to do is plug the speaker into any headphone jack and you have music. Let it dangle, swing, whatever, as you listen without the aid of headphones.
The music balloon comes in any of five different colors for personalization and added cuteness. But this speaker may have to stay in Japan and stay cute for the almost ridiculously high price of $80.
Battery Fashion
So battery life has definitely improved in recent years where my favorite portable gadgets are concerned, but the number of gadgets I have has increased as well. Sometimes I just don’t remember ot charge everything I’m going to need the next day.
That’s where the Wrist Band Portable Battery comes in. The names says it all. It’s a battery pack you wear like a cuff, and it can supply power to all your extra portable gadgets. It’s a li ion battery itself, and comes with connection adapters for all your basics (cell, MP3 player, etc. etc)
I don’t know how convenient it will be to travel around with all the adapters, but the band itself could be a lot uglier, and comes with a sweet light display so you know how much juice your portable juicer has left (even if it can be a toss up with your other gadgets).
In Air Entertainment
Despite technological leaps forward in recent years no ones seems to have come up with any good solutions to lack of leg room (and all other sorts of room) while flying. At least someone’s trying to help you use that lack of space accordingly.
The iFlyz is a “personal media station” that you can buy for $30 online. It’s basically a clip, flexible neck, and suction cup put together. The idea is to clip the neck to a tray table and then suction whichever gadget you’d like to use/view hands free to the other end. Not very high tech, I know. But how much easier will it be to watch movies on your ipod without having to hold the thing up and jostle your seat mate for the middle arm rest?
Feeling adventurous?
OK so maybe you can’t afford to travel around the world, but you can eat around the world from home with Destination Dinners.
This innovative company will send you a package with the authentic spices and sauces needed to cook up to four servings of international dishes such as
In addition each kit includes a shopping list for fresh ingredients, cooking instructions and cultural information about the place the recipe is from.
Current destinations include:
New Orleans, USA Creole Style Jambalaya
Boston Beach, Jamaica — Jerk Chicken & Shrimp Barbecue
Beirut, Lebanon — Kibbeh bil-Saneeyeh, Baked Spiced Lamb
Haifa, Israel — Falafel with Hellfire Harissa Sauce and Chickpea Croquets with Hot Sauce
Kyoto, Japan — Saikyo Miso, Black Cod in Miso Marinade
Tokyo, Japan — Katsudon, Pork Cutlet and Egg Rice Bowl
Dhaka, Bangladesh — Chicken Garam Masala, Chicken with Warming Spices
Bangkok, Thailand — Khao Ob Sapparod, Baked Pineapple Rice with Chicken and Cashews
Ayutthaya, Thailand — Kaeng Khiaw-Waan Kai and Kanom Tuay Foo, Green Chicken Curry with Puffy Cups
Seoul, South Korea — Bulgogi, Marinated Fire Meat
Destination Dinners recipe kits are $25 and are currently only sold online.
Travel Tech for Less
Travelers will have some cool new gadgets to help them out this year as previewed at the Travel Good Show this week in Las Vegas.
MSNBC’s travel writer Rob Lovitt profiled a few pieces for under $50, including a take-with-you digital scale to avoid egregious charges for over-limit bags and an alarm to warn you if your luggage leaves without you.
Another favorite is the e-Solar Charger ($49.95) from Everlite that lets you charge cell phones, iPods or digital cameras via power from the sun.
My sister-in-law travels A LOT for work. I may have to look into something from this list for her next gift.
Music on the Brain
You can’t carry a boom box on your shoulder anymore, every type of music i pocket sized now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t show off your musical taste anyway.
The iCap it a hat, baseball hat to be exact, that has two speakers contained not so discreetly in the brim. Download your favorite songs onto the built in MP3 player and you can listen to your favorite songs on the go in a whole new way. Everyone around you can listen too. (for $99 to $119).
I don’t think that hat’s attractive or necessary, but hey, fashion is unpredictable.
