5th Feb 10

10 Gadgets to Cope With the Winter Blues

by Editor

Christmas is over, work has started, and it’s a long haul before you’re next holiday. And its cold – really, really, cold. If you feel the twinges of despondency getting stronger, beat the winter blues with a clutch of fun-packed, ingenious and ultra-cool gadgets. Once upon a time, the only way of lifting your spirits was to read the newspaper, watch the tele or play Trivial Pursuits, all of which can get boring alarmingly quickly. Here, though, are some amazing little gizmos which will bring a smile to your face and gladden the heart. Who cares if it’s dark and cold outside?

Slingbox. All pretenders, leave.

Even though it’s been around for a few years, the clever little Slingbox just has to have a mention. The unassuming outer appearance shouldn’t fool you – it’s ingenious. It’s a streaming device which allows you to literally ‘sling’ (transfer) videos from your video recorder or shows from your TV set onto any computer, anywhere in the world. You could watch Doctor Who in Dubai, or Coronation Street in Columbia. It’ll even transfer shows to you mobile phone.

If you haven’t already seen it, take a look at the funky new PURE Sensia Internet radio. It looks like it’s a design stolen from that 1960’s futuristic cartoon show for kids, The Jetsons, and is gleaming oval pod on a stand with a screen in the front. And that’s what helps make it so special; the internet radio means you can listen to radio programmes from around the world whenever you want to (it’s a kind of radio version of Sky+). And the touchscreen which controls the radio also brings you Facebook and Twitter (PURE are promising that by 2010, you’ll also be able to view YouTube on it).

Whilst its enjoyed spectacular and well-deserved success, the dominance of the Apple iPhone might just start to wane in 2010. Microsoft’s alternative to the Apple Operating System, Android, is proving to be a worthy rival. They give you Google in your shirt pocket but you won’t be roped in to an unpleasant two year contract. The ‘Pulse’ cell phone by T-Mobile is the world’s very first Pay as You Go Android.

Many music lovers will have been excited by the launch of Swedish company Spotify’s new music service. OK, it’s not strictly a gadget but it is a real innovation. You can have free music on your PC, just so log as you don’t mind being interrupted every so often by the odd advert. If you really can’t bear them, for a small subscription you get to have totally uninterrupted music, not just on your PC but on your iPhone or Android.

The Sony Rolly. Weird!

On the topic of music, one of the most amusing and bizarrely appealing devices to emerge last year was the Sony Rolly, a dancing robotic MP3 player which jives away to whatever music you happen to play. If you’re a budding dancer yourself, you can choreograph it yourself, but for the rest of us, all we need to do is press the Auto button. And if you press Self Motion, Rolly listens to and analyses the music before joining in with his dance moves. And the speakers are really gusty.

How about a media player that can play absolutely every kind of music and video file ever devised? Check out the Archos Internet Tablet 5 – just holding it will make you fall in love with it. It’s sensually delicious, although for a palm sized device with such a huge touchscreen (4.8 inches) it’s surprisingly light.

The Archos Internet Tablet 5, a device smaller than its title.

If the Nokia N97 left you cold, forgive and forget. The N900 is simply fabulous. Its slab-like chunkiness is due to the incorporation of a full manual QWERTY keypad when you slide it open, but the appearance actually grows on you. Especially when you discover just how good it is. The new Linux-based Maemo 5 Operating System is excellent, and the 5 megapixel camera is enhanced by fabulous Carl Zeiss optics. The massive touchscreen is highly responsive and, at last, there’s a 3.5mm jack socket. It’s a peach.

If your camcorder needs to be strapped to your wrist, it’s too big. Or rather, it is now, after the gorgeous, candy-bar sized Flip Mino HD appeared on market. It doesn’t pretend to do any other things beside record superb video sequences. And it does this like a dream. It’s light, small and easy to use – you’ll capture whatever you want in an instant, from your loved one opening the fridge in his back-to-front boxer shorts on Sunday morning to your toddler trying to shove a chip up his nose.

eBook readers are also gradually turning into must-have gadgets for increasing numbers of people. Even page-turning bibliophiles like me are starting to waver. The most popular so far has been Amazon’s ‘Kindle’, but the far more stylish Barnes and Noble ‘Nook’ looks sets to topple it from its perch. Kindle is positively Scrooge-like next to the Nook, which allows you share up to twelve of your favourite eBooks with other Nook users. And it’s got a cool dual touchscreen, too.

The Dell Adamo XPS. The man is to scale.

Last but not least – far from least, in fact, as it’s the most expensive gadget appearing here – is the almost wafer like Dell Adamo XPS laptop computer. There just isn’t a thinner one on the market (it’s a ridiculous 9.9mm thick), it’s amazingly light at just 1.4 kg, and it’s packed with sophisticated techno-wizardry. You can lock and open the keyboard with a casual swipe of your forefinger across the sensor and, once you’ve touched it, you’ll just want to hold it close to you all the time.

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Added by Sumida675@gmail.com on 12th Mar 10