Whoever devised this universal wrist charger: get out of my head, you can’t afford the rent. Also, thank you.
Group road-trips can create a unique quagmire. Most cars come equipped with fewer cigarette lighters than the car actually seats. Fine for smokers, since it’s a given they’ll all probably have their own lighters. For everybody else, that creates a whole different problem: charger usage.
Everyone’s phone will need charging eventually. As conversations drift, people will whip out iPods, portable game systems and the like. You know what eventually happens, though: batteries die. Sometimes, they die fast. When various devices croak simultaneously, every passenger has an impassioned and convincing argument for why they should have a lease on the cigarette lighter. And woe betide those who have no charger, once restlessness sets in and License Plate Bingo has reached the end of its natural 15 minute lifespan of interest. Mario, like a hover-board over troubled water, can’t save you without power.
This Universal Wrist Charger has a lithium-ion battery, and like almost any good gadget worth its salt, charges up with a USB plug-in. Once it’s juiced up, it will charge any mini USB-compatible device, including an iPhone, PSP, Nintendo DS Lite and DSi, to name just a few. It comes loaded for bear with the USB wrist-band battery, a mini USB cable, charger output cable and nine connectors for various devices.
Forget adapters. Adapt yourself.
Way back in the second season of The Office (otherwise known as the Best Season Ever, way before marriages and babies and the heinous invasion that was Will Ferrell), there was a scene between Jim and Pam that I’ll never forget. Capping off an impromptu dinner date of sandwiches on the company’s roof, watching Dwight and Kevin set off fireworks, Jim lent Pam one of his earbuds and they self-consciously swayed together to the strains of the Travis tune “Sing”. It was perfection in its awkwardness, and ever after, the idea of sharing earbuds with someone seemed like an utterly romantic notion.
But let’s be real here: earbuds can be all kinds of funky (and I don’t mean in the “get down wit yo bad self” way), so it’s often one instance where sharing is decidedly not caring. But all hope is not lost! Instead, get your randomly romantic groove on with the Robot Headphone Splitter Jack key chain.
Plug the little guy’s noggin into your iPod’s headphone jack (the device works with any music player/phone that has a standard 3.5mm jack), then plug two individual sets of headphones into its eye sockets. And before you can say “easy peasy, fresh n’ freezy”, you’ll be sharing your playlist with your favorite partner in crime – or swaying, as the case may be. Grilled cheese sandwiches and multiple seasons worth of sexual tension not included.
Now we’re talking! This is an application for alternative energy I can truly get behind. I’m a renter who can’t afford solar paneling and lives nowhere remotely near the closest hydro-electric or wind-powered source of juice. But show me a convenient way I can harness solar energy and keep my personal-electronics party going, and my attention is yours for the taking!
The FreeLoader Portable Cell Phone Solar Charger weighs only 6.5 ounces and measures 4.7 inches long by 2.4 inches wide by .67 inches thick. But with a full charge, it will power an iPod for 18 hours, a PSP for 2.5 hours and a PDA for 22 hours. The Li-ion rechargeable battery can be powered up via USB adapter in as little as three hours or up to eight hours via the solar panels, but takes three to four full charges before it reaches its optimum capacity. Once reached, though, it can store that juice up to three months – endurance that few cell phone solar chargers can boast.
The device includes a master cable with 11 adapter tips compatible with devices ranging from iPhones to standard cell phones and PDAs; digital cameras to GPS units; and it also supports several portable gaming systems including the Nintendo DS Lite and PSP. So let the sun shine, already! I’m cheap, and solar power is free.
Back when I used to go clubbing fairly often (yes, your resident Geektress used to dress skimpy and dance all sexy-like when she was a newly-minted 21 year old), one of the dilemmas I often encountered was where in the world to store all my club-hoppin’ necessities. Purses, for me anyway, were right out. Not only are they cumbersome when you’re trying to do your best “come hither” shimmy, but there was always the very real chance that the charmer you were cavorting wasn’t so much clutching to you as he was trying to steal your clutch. Some girls used the tried-and-true “money in the bra” method, but my bra was otherwise occupied. Y’know, with boobs. So that meant always wearing something with pockets, and carefully avoiding the Grabby McGrabberhands guys who’d come my way. (And what fun is that?) If only something like the Speck CandyShell Card case had existed back then! … Of course, back in 2001 having a flip-phone meant you were on the cutting edge of technology.
Damn, I feel old!
The Speck CandyShell Card iPhone 4 Case is perfectly sleek and stylish on its own – but turn it over and you’ll find a clever and discrete slot to store up to 3 credit cards, your license, and even a bit of cash. The rubberized slot holds everything securely, and a handy thumb release puts your cards literally at your fingertips whenever needed.
Now all I have to do is actually obtain an iPhone 4, hmmm. Perhaps I can perform a hypnotic “buy me a smartphone” dance. Baby, these hips don’t lie!
