The Weekly Daily Giz Wiz, Week of January 2, 2012 - Our Favorite Gadgets of 2011!

UPDATE: This device has become my daily nap timer and my see-in-the-time-in-the-dark alarm clock. It's also great for travel. Here's the original post:

The MicroDock Adds Decent Speakers & Charges Your iPhone or iPod.

XtremeMac's 3 in 1 Microdock adds speakers to your iPhone or iPod Touch. and provides a good-looking docking station, snooze control and some other neat features. You start by downloading the free XtremeMac alarm clock app at iTunes. Yes the app works without the 3 in 1 Microdock, but you won’t be able to use a lot of the features without the speakers or external controls. The two very small neodymium drivers offer surprisingly good sound from a docking station that weighs less than five ounces. You can wake to chime, your own music from your iPhone or Touch, or waves or rain, which are included with the free app. A sleep timer lets you fall asleep to sounds too. There are many personal settings, including how bright you want the clock display once you go to bed and how long you want to snooze when you hit the onboard snooze button. Also on the Microdock itself are volume up/down rockers and play/pause music controls. You also have your choice of several designs and colors for the iPhone or Touch clock face. But wait, there's more! A nap timer lets you sleep for whatever number of minutes you selected in settings. The Microdock ships with a cloth travel pouch too. The only downside is that you have to take along the transformer plug for AC power. There's no battery option. List is $59.99, but if you do a web search you can find it for about $45. All in all, this really beats those awful hotel clocks in style, sound and ease of use. And when you head out in the morning, (hopefully after a good night's sleep) your iPhone or Touch is fully charged! It's on Amazon here for about $42. I haven't shopped at this particular e-tailer.

http://www.amazon.com/XtremeMac-Microdock-Charging-Audio-iPhone/dp/B0043M66XQ

See or hear this Netcast: http://twit.tv/dgw1347    (Usually goes live the Sunday after we record.)

The original Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1306

An easy way to bring a non-working fireplace to life.

So many people with non-working fireplaces were thrilled to learn about this gadget, we had to include it as one of our picks!

There are so many fireplaces in New York City apartments that no longer work, and I imagine the same is true throughout the country. Without spending a ton of money you can bring any existing fireplace to life in just about ten minutes! The Dimplex DFI2309 Electric Fireplace Insert Heater is easy to install and a snap to use. Simply slide it into an existing fireplace, adjust the trim to fit, and then plug it into a standard household outlet. There’s no venting, no gas hookup and no fumes or smell. Not only do the flames look good, your fireplace will once again actually produce heat! You should make sure the Dimplex fireplace insert has it’s own electric outlet as it uses up to 1500 watts with the heater on “high”. The patented flame technology offers the most realistic flame effect I’ve seen. The built-in fan-forced heater has a high/low setting and distributes heat quietly. Or you can leave the heater off completely and just enjoy the flame effect. The company says it can heat up to 400 square feet. The remote control turns the unit "on" or "off" from anywhere in the room. You turn the heater on and adjust for high or low heat using two small switches at the top of the unit. The Dimplex DF 12309 Electric Fireplace Insert heater measures 10-4/5 by 23-1/5 by 19-4/5 inches. It sells for $199.99 on Amazon.com. Becareful, because I’ve seen the same model Dimplex on sale for $299.99. Dennis Wunderlin (designer of the GizWiz logo) owns the one in the video. He bought it online for $199.99 and really loves it. It fit perfectly into the built-in fireplace in his apartment with no adjustments needed.

http://www.amazon.com/Dimplex-DFI2309-Electric-Fireplace-Insert/dp/B0001WJ5U8

See or hear this Netcast: http://twit.tv/dgw1347 (Usually goes live Sunday eve after we record)

Original Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1337

A Really Handy LED Light.

30 bright LEDS! Not only that, they swivel! Two independent panels can be swiveled to the perfect angle to light the task you’re working on, or the book you’re reading on that camping trip. It’s called Swivel Light and it’s from Think Tank Technology. A three-way switch lets you light one, then both panels – then off. It’s built of “high grade plastic” according to the description on the web. Actually it feels rather sturdy for the money. It’s powered by three D batteries, which are not included. LED’s don’t use a lot of power, but with both panels on, you’re using 30 of them. I don’t know how much burn-time you’ll get out of the three D batteries, but I’m assuming it should be several hours. There is no provision to use Swivel Light with an AC adapter. I think the price is really good, about $15. I bought mine on Deal of the Day for $9.99 & $4.99 shipping. I just saw it on the Sears website for under $8 with $7 shipping.  (As of 9/9/2011). And you’ll find it all over Amazon for about $15.00.

Here it is on Home Depot for $12.49: http://tinyurl.com/3p425gk

Giz Wiz Video: http://youtu.be/LIVWMxILz90

See or hear this Netcast: http://twit.tv/dgw1347 (Usually goes live Sun eve the day after we record.)

(Original Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1331)

A cheap gadget a lot of people love.

This is a clever little device kids will love. Parents will love it too, because it will mean far less glasses to wash, or paper cups to buy. For about $5, Tapi can turn your water faucet into a drinking fountain. Yes, it’s a way to hygienically drink or just rinse your mouth straight from the tap with no more worry about dirty hands or cups. Installation takes about 15 seconds. Just slide Tapi on your water faucet and it’s ready to use. As the water runs through it squeeze the bottom and the water will shoot up through it and come out just like a drinking fountain. It's so much fun, your kids will want to brush their teeth just so they can use it. Constructed of water-safe rubber that will never affect or change the taste of the water. Tapi fits onto almost any tap with a straight spout. It’s available in a rainbow of colors, which SpoonSisters say will be back in stock toward the end of August. Currently only the silver color is available, but I think that matches the faucet and makes it almost invisible. Measures just 2.48 inches. A set of 2 is $9.95, plus S&H.

http://www.spoonsisters.com/product/74403.html

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1327

A really inexpensive cell phone battery charger.

I have at least a half dozen gadgets to charge my cell phone when I travel. But they involve carrying at least one device and usually a charging cable. Normally I just carry a spare fully charged battery> I find it's is the easiest and most convenient thing to do, except for one minor problem. You have to remember to charge the spare battery. That’s usually done by charging the battery in the phone, then putting in my travel bag. Then I charge another one up to full and leave it in the phone. But then I was looking through gadgets on the CellPhoneShop website and I saw the Motorola desktop charger. It lets you charge the battery of the Motorola ATRIX 4G, Motorola DROID X and Motorola DROID X2 outside the phone. I have the X2. It really makes it easy and convenient to charge a spare battery. It’s compact with folding AC blades built right in so you can charge directly from a wall outlet. It also allows charging via a built in USB port, but the USB to USB cable is not included. CellPhoneShop says the device has built-in multi-protection circuits and that it automatically stops charging when the battery is full. There’s an LED charging indicator, but no instructions. After trying it. I’m assuming the orange light means charging, and the blue light indicates fully charged. Best of all, it’s just $5.99, plus S&H. They do ship directly from China so it can take a few weeks for your order to arrive. But the price is right and it works great so far. They have this same type of adapter for dozens of phones and you can search for accessories by phone model number.

http://www.cellphoneshop.net/mbbach.html

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1327