Go Gadgets

A lot of people ask me what being a gadget columnist is like. They wonder if all we do is play with the newest toys all day long. Sometimes we do — but other times it’s not so easy. For example, take this conversation between my editor and me:

J.P.P.: Can a hot tub be a gadget?

Editor: That depends.

J.P.P.: What if it’s sporting a 17-inch LCD television screen, an AM/FM radio, and a CD/MP3/DVD player that kicks out the decibels through a Sony surround-sound speaker system? The Extreme 80 spa by Coast Spas packs all these niceties, as well as a floating remote control, LED lights underwater and in the headrest, a stainless steel kick plate, and a stylish cedar finish.

Editor: That’s definitely a gadget.

J.P.P.: You know it is.

Ah, if only the job were that easy. Then, of course there was this follow-up chat with the marketing folks at Extreme Spa:

J.P.P.: So how do we go about getting a demo unit delivered? I’m excited to give this hot tub a whirl.

Extreme Spa: ...

J.P.P.: Hello? Are you still there? ($16,000; coastspas.com)

When it comes to tending your choppers, it seems like brushing and flossing just isn’t good enough — otherwise people wouldn’t keep inventing better ways to do it. For example, Oral-B’s Triumph with SmartGuide packs a wireless display that can help you scrub your pearlies until they’re white. The device transmits a signal from the brush head to the display that tells you if you’re brushing too hard or if your brush head is too old. It also counts down the dentist-recommended two minutes of scrub time. Combine that with four different brushing modes, and you’ve got a toothbrush that’s worth smiling about. ($139.99; oralb.com)

It’s both a bad joke and a sad truth — hair removal can be a real pain. From tweezing to waxing, razor burn to ingrown hairs, there are plenty of reasons to just let it grow. No!No! is a new hair reduction device that uses thermal transference to eliminate unwanted follicles, whether they’re straight or curly, short or long. Formerly a professional-level treatment, No!No!’s thermodynamic technology infuses hair with a gentle pulse of heat to facilitate its removal without stubble, cuts, burns, or even any noise — other than oohs and aahs, of course. ($250; sephora.com)

What’s tougher — the SwitchBack UltraMobile PC or Chuck Norris? This military-grade computer features magnesium casing with chunky rubber siding that ensures it will keep processing after a pounding. Chuck Norris, meanwhile, has skin — tough, but still vulnerable skin. Designed to withstand extreme temperature, shock, vibration, and humidity, the Switchback can survive a 30-minute bath in 1 meter of water and operate at temperatures as low as -4 Fahrenheit (and will survive storage at -40 Fahrenheit). No one, not even Chuck Norris, can withstand those temperatures. The UMPC’s hot swappable battery lets you recharge on the fly, and the removable hard drive means your data will always be safe. None of Chuck Norris’ parts are removable without major surgery. And the pièce de résistance — the Switchback can even come with Linux, to make sure it really won’t crash. Chuck Norris doesn’t even have Windows. ($5,995; ropermobile.com)

Most digital cameras come standard with an underwhelming SD card for storing images, leaving photographers little choice but to upgrade to a card with more storage. But why not upgrade capabilities too? Eye-Fi, the first wireless memory card for digital cameras, doesn’t just store two gigabytes of digital images, it also infuses digital cameras with Wi-Fi, allowing you to upload images directly from your camera to the Internet or your computer. Fully compatible with 17 online photo services, the Eye-Fi instantly turns any old digital camera from tired to wired. Or wireless, to be precise. ($99; eye.fi)

Sometimes silence is the best sound of them all. Creative Labs’ Aurvana X-Fi Noise-Canceling Headphones use sophisticated technology to enhance the richness of your music and also improve the quality of your quiet time. This rather manic-sounding approach involves heightening the highs and deepening the lows of MP3s and other compressed music or movie files. The result is an immersive, surround-sound-like audio effect. And when you need some quiet, the headphones’ Active Noise Cancellation technology blocks out up to 90 percent of outside sound. ($299; creative.com)

Move over Ed Begley Jr. Everyone’s getting on the renewable-energy bandwagon these days, and with Miniwiz’s HYmini, it becomes that much easier to charge your gadgets. A universal charger and adapter, this little handheld windmill harvests wind, solar, and electrical power to charge 5V digital devices, such as cell phones, MP3 players, and digital cameras. It requires no additional software or installation — just catch a gust of wind, plug the device’s USB adapter into your zapped gadget, and go. Also, the HYmini’s optional mounting hardware allows you to charge it on a car, a bike, or even a kite. The miniSOLAR accessory allows the sedentary sun lover to get in on the action as well. This small solar panel tethers to the HYmini to gather energy in the form of sunlight. Up to three miniSOLARs can be chained onto the HYmini to give you the greenest gadgets going. (HYmini, $49.99; miniSOLAR, $25; hymini.com)

According to arthur huang, managing director of Miniwiz, the company that produces the HYmini and miniSOLAR, the processes for converting solar and wind energy into electricity are quite different. Solar power is a chemical conversion process, while wind power converts energy mechanically.

In order to turn light into energy, says Huang, solar panels need two major components: a photovoltaic cell to absorb the energy and a circuit to transfer the energy from the cell to a direct current. The cells are typically made of impure silicone; the impurity allows light energy to stimulate unbalanced electrons in the silicon, which creates a current. As anyone with a solar powered calculator knows, it’s light — not necessarily sunlight — that causes this chemical reaction. However, sunlight is much more consistent and powerful than light from a lamp. Also, as long as the wheel in the sky keeps on turning, solar power is a renewable resource.

“Wind, in a way, is a little bit more efficient than sunlight,” says Huang. Once you catch some air, the wind turns a turbine, which then cranks a series of gears to power a generator that kicks out electricity. But the HYmini was designed without gears, so not only is it small, but it also needs less wind to make electricity (8 mph is enough). Miniwiz uses electronic resistors and components to regulate the electric current. The result is a charging device that is much more portable than putting a windmill in your pocket. — J.P.P.