I admit it, I’m hooked on gadgets. From my first tape recorder and transistor radio in my teens, I loved to see how things worked. They rotated, they made sounds, they beeped, they flashed, they had batteries, a power pack, they were portable, and better yet, small, you had to have them. So here I am some forty years later and I’m in electronic heaven. I’ve amassed a collection of cool toys that do a variety of things from educating, accessing, playing music and videos, communicating, entertaining, and making life easier. So let me share with you some of my “must haves” that are only a year or two old and make me smile every day. By the way, I have no interest in brands of my own, but I did my research to make sure I got a quality product. With that disclaimer, here it goes, in no particular order:
BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES: I got mine from Sharper Image. It’s a lightweight headset that connects wirelessly to the little receiver that plugs into my stereo, TV, MP3, or whatever device you want to connect to remotely without wires. Great if one of you wants to watch TV without disturbing the other. Around $125. Very practical.
MP3 PLAYER: Mine is a Sandisk with 1 gig of memory. I use it on trips and to go to the gym. I have about 150 songs that I downloaded from my computer. Easy to use and good sound quality. I paid about $80. A need.
MDA CELL PHONE: We use T-Mobile and this device is about the size of a deck of cards. Allows connection to the Internet so you can check email and browse the web. It is Bluetooth compatible, has a 1.3 mp camera and a good size color touch screen. $300. Neat.
PORTABLE GPS: That would be a Global Positioning System device that tracks your journey using satellites as a guide. Also about the size of a deck of cards, this Garmin Nuvi 360 can be carried from car to car and mounted with a small suction cup system. It’s Bluetooth to allow a cell phone to make calls from the device, it has a touch screen, points of interest like nearby restaurants, and it tells you when and where to turn, naming streets as you go. It will also store MP3s and photos, and up-to-date maps can be downloaded from their site. Ours was $600 and it was a lot of fun to use.
PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYER (PMP): This item downloads and plays MP3s and DVDs from your computer. Or you can connect to your TV or DVD player and stream anything, like shows or movies. It also stores photos, text documents and has an FM radio. All in a portable size package that is rechargeable and lasts for 5 hours. With a memory of 30 gigabytes, my Cowan A2 has capacity for 30 movies or almost 15,000 MP3. It was about $450 and has a nice travel case. The 4” screen is easy to see and of course it comes with headphones. Great for my wife and I on the plane when the movie is boring or we want to watch different movies or listen to songs at different times. It helps pass the time, so don’t leave home without it.
EXTERNAL COMPUTER HARD DRIVE: I have a Seagate 300 that backs up everything on my computer. At $150, it’s worth the insurance in case your internal HD goes bad.
SECOND COMPUTER MONITOR: My 19” ViewSonic is sharp and clear. Having a second computer monitor allows me to keep my Internet browser open while I write a Word document or use another application on the main screen. Also, you can view multiple websites without them overlapping on one screen. Perfect for our web based business projects. Only $150.
HD LCD TV: I have a 15-inch on my kitchen counter. It does not take up space and is very sharp. Even the stereo speakers are good. It’s a Magnavox and about $350. Also, a more traditional 50” Samsung HDTV and the HD signal is excellent.
DVD PLAYER/RECORDER: My Panasonic was around $150 and it allows me to burn DVD movies and play them on my PMP mentioned above. Much better than a single player.
That covers the funniest things on my list. The essentials would be a computer, a laptop, a router to allow for laptop mobility around the house, and a wifi-enabled printer. I also have a Yamaha electronic stringless teaching guitar which is a lot of fun. You can’t have too many toys, can you? And in case you’re wondering how we can afford so many of these things, think about this. The items totaled about $2,400. That excludes the television and larger computers. But that’s the equivalent of a nice 7-day trip for two somewhere. And you can buy these things cheaper every year, as prices go down and features go up. So enjoy the technological age and the cool things it has to offer. Take advantage of!