A way back look at some gadgets from the first month of shows - February/March 2006

Most of the links here don't work anymore because well they're more 8 years old and technology marches on! But read some of the copy and see the prices! Today we get so much higher tech for considerable less money! 

It's a GPS and a lot more!

Magellan RoadMate 800. Not only does this portable battery powered unit do turn by turn navigation, but it’s also an MP3 player and photo viewer. Preloaded maps (on a 20 GB hard drive) for out-of-the-box text- and voice-prompted directions for all 50 United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Virgin Islands. 3.5-inch, high-resolution color touch screen. SmartVolume feature automatically increases speaker volume when speed exceeds 45 MPH, and the map color changes automatically for better visibility at night. Under $900. 

The world?s first digital music eyewear?

Oakley, world famous for their precision sunglasses, started with the impressive Thump line, a combination of their high tech sunglasses and a miniature built in MP3 Player. Now they've introduced a lot of new bells and whistles with their Thump2! I tried a pair and not only do they make me look ultra trendy, they offer impressive music playback considering their size. The new design lets you listen to even more of your favorite tunes because THUMP 2 offers memory storage up to 1 gigabyte. That?s 240 songs in a fully integrated design that frees you from dangling cords and wires. Everything is built in! Listen to music virtually anywhere with the easy to adjust speaker buds and just swing them out of the way when you want to hear the outside world. There are also 512 MB & 256 MB versions. You get up to 6 hours of playback time on a single charge and a three-color indicator light shows battery level. Prices range from about $300 to $450.

Make calls, take pictures, shoot video, email friends, watch the latest news ----

LG the V,  is one heck of gizmo.You can experience the ultimate in mobile multimedia with The V because it does a lot!. Stream, download and play video clips with V CAST, crank up the tunes with the MP3 player and built in stereo speakers. Shoot pix and flix and store them on an optional MiniSD card. Get and send email anywhere, anytime, with the QWERTY keyboard. LG The V has two screens, one on the outside for making calls, and a bigger one on the inside for viewing emails, writing emails, watching videos, or with V CAST watching music videos, or the latest news. It also has a business card reader and Bluetooth wireless technology built in! It's a lot for $299.00 and with a two year Verizon Wireless contract there's a $100 rebate which brings to under $200. 

Slingbox.

- Here’s an amazing gizmo like no other I’ve ever seen! Picture this. You’re on a trip flipping through all the dreary channels on the hotel TV. There’s nothing you want to see. If only you had all those “favorite” channels you have programmed on the TV at home.  Well with Slingbox you can!! It’s hard to believe but Slingbox enables you to watch your home programming from wherever you. It turns virtually any broadband internet-connected PC into your personal TV. You can be in another room or the backyard like I was, or even in another country, and you’ll have access to your television, cable box, DVD, etc.. Not only that, there’s a virtual remote control that pops up on the remote computer that lets you use the mouse to control the home devices.  When you travel, be sure to warn the people at home so they don’t freak out when you change the channel from 3,000 miles away! Hook up took me about 20 minutes and I’m quite amazed at how well it works. The price is right too.  $249.00

Charge 2 Go $25 The Charge 2 Go uses a single AA battery to provide 3 hours of talk time on your cellular phone. A chip inside the charger amps the battery’s 1.5 volts to voltage powerful enough to charge and run the phone. It’s about 1/3 the size of other multiuse portable cellphone chargers. Adapters are available for all phones except Sanyo and Audiovox. Great for leaving in your car’s glove box, since AAs take years to lose their charge. Each Charge 2 Go comes with 3 cell phone adapters, so order by cell phone manufacturer.


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