Posts Tagged car gear
Apple Power: XtremeMac Car Charger
Question: What good are your iPhone, iPod and iPhone when the batteries run down?
Answer: Not much.
We all know Apple doesn’t “trust” us enough to allow user-changeable batteries. So the XtremeMac Incharge Auto fills the void to keep your gadgets charged in the car.
Of all the products I’ve reviewed here on Practical Travel Gear, this is one of the simplest. And simple is good, especially if you’re traveling with more than one Apple device.
The Incharge Auto features a one-piece design with a plug for a 12-volt auto outlet, a four-foot cord and the familiar Apple charging plug. There’s an LED that lights up for a good connection. The 2.1-amp charger will charge gear quickly. And there’s a built-in safety fuse to protect expensive iPhones, iPods and iPads from voltage spikes.
So the XtremeMac Incharge Auto charges three things Apple and also provides an extra measure of safety. And that’s important.
The Incharge Auto retails for $24.99 on the XtremeMac website.
It’s especially handy for those who carry more than one Apple gadget on the road. And considering some of the alternatives—like listening to commercial-jammed FM radio if your iPod runs out of power—makes it look even more attractive.
Check prices at Buy.com
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on September 20th, 2010
Keep Your Hands on the Wheel: Moshi Voice Control Bluetooth Car Speakerphone
If your car doesn’t have Bluetooth built in to connect to your cell phone, I’ve found the next best thing.
The Moshi BTHF205T Bluetooth Handsfree Car Kit is an easy way to make and receive calls on the road, while keeping your hands on the wheel where they belong. I’ve been driving around with this in my car and it’s impressive, with just a few limitations.
First-time pairing for the Bluetooth connection to your phone is simple and future connections are automatic.
Moshi will take commands after you say “hello Moshi” or push one of the few buttons on the device. When receiving a call, Moshi will announce the number from caller ID. Then, you can say “accept” to answer the call or “ignore” to send it to voicemail. Say “redial” and Moshi will call the last outgoing number. Or, if you miss a call, saying “call back” dials the last incoming call.
Moshi will also call up to seven of the speed dial numbers in your phone. Say “call information” and it will dial Microsoft Bing’s 411 handsfree information service.
If your phone itself supports voice dialing, like mine, Moshi can then tap into your entire address book. Saying “phone command” will activate the voice dialing on compatible phones. A very nice feature, indeed.
Voice commands can also be used to check the connection to the phone and the battery level on the phone and the Moshi. The BTHF205T is rated at six hours of talk time and 40 hours standby time. The kit includes a car power adapter and charging cord.
The Moshi is small, easily fitting in the palm of my hand. A clip slides on to the car’s sun visor and Moshi attaches securely with two magnets.
As I mentioned, there are a few limitations. Moshi’s vocabulary is not that large. For example, it’s not possible to say a phone number and have it dial (unless it’s through your phone’s voice command setup).
Voice quality is very good. I’d rate the received audio as excellent and plenty loud for most driving situations. Some of the people I called thought it sounded slightly fuzzy, but still perfectly understandable, even from the passenger’s side and back seat of the car. I listened to a call myself and agree on the slightly fuzzy description, but that’s probably due more to the audio limitations of Bluetooth rather than the device itself.
Also, it would not dial the first speed-dial number on my phone, but worked correctly for other favorites. That apparently relates to the first speed-dial number being pre-programmed on the phone to call voicemail, so I just put that number in a different favorite and in my contact listing so I could use the voice dialing.
There’s one other improvement I’d suggest—using a standard, mini-USB charging port instead of the proprietary plug on the Moshi.
This handsfree setup makes a perfect pair with the Wilson Sleek cell-phone booster that’s also in my car and reviewed here. Besides being able to successfully make calls in areas where your phone might otherwise show no signal, it also provides a handy mount for the phone when using the Moshi.
The price is reasonable—$79.99 retail from Moshi’s online store or Amazon. Moshi also makes a voice-command alarm clock that I reviewed earlier.
The Moshi Voice Control Bluetooth Car Speakerphone is an excellent alternative to a wireless headset if you find that in-ear solutions get uncomfortable after a few hours—or if you don’t want to look like a cyborg.
Some states and municipalities now require handsfree adapters when using a cell phone in your car. And the fewer distractions a driver has, the safer the journey.
Moshi Bluetooth Car Speakerphone with Voice Control at Buy.com
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear on July 12th, 2010
Would You Rather…? Crazy Question Books for Kids
Last week I covered an educational travel activity workbook for kids. This week, it’s all about having fun. There’s no educational merit here (unless you consider any and all reading to be educational — from the Sunday comics to cereal boxes — and I do).
The Would You Rather…? series of books from Seven Footer Press each contain more than 300 questions designed to promote conversation, entice giggles, and in some instances, bring on a bit of nausea. That is, if you have a weak stomach and two silly kids in the backseat of your car reading questions from the “Doubly Disgusting” and “Gross-Out” editions ($9.95). For example, on our recent multi-state road trip, everyone in the car had to answer:
- Would you rather have 20-inch nostril hair or 20-inch-long toenails?
- Would you rather suck in air with the force of a vacuum when yawning or have blow-dryer strength farts?
- Would you rather lick your friend’s chicken pox or use Tabasco sauce eye drops?
- Would you rather suck every drop of sweat from the socks of the Dallas Cowboys after a game or eat a sandwich wrap made from shedded snake-skin filled with a mixture of fingernail clippings?
Just typing that last one made my stomach turn. But they’re not all totally nasty questions. Consider these sort-of silly ones:
- Would you rather have glow-in-the-dark veins or only be able to watch one TV show for the rest of your life: Dora the Explorer.
- Would you rather be able to fly, but only see in black and white or be able to be invisible, but lose the ability to see and taste?
Scintillating stuff! Who thinks of these questions anyway? Actually, your kids can write their own in the spaces provided at the end of these paperback books. That’s always fun — trying to come up with your own bizarre scenarios.
Plus, each book has funny cartoons illustrating some of the crazy, hypothetical situations presented. One drawing of a kid flying through Burger King (don’t ask) prompted huge belly laughs from my kids. Weeks later, when either of them says “Burger King” in a funny voice, they erupt in laughter.
And frankly, any travel activity that brings on laughs while helping to pass the time on a long car ride gets a huge thumb’s up from me. I’d recommend these two Would You Rather…? books for children any day of the week. Also see the “BFF” version ($9.95) for high-school-age girls, and decidedly grown-up versions, too, like the, er, “Ultimate Sex Edition” ($12.95) which contains “more than 700 ludicrously lustful dilemmas to ponder.”
Browse all options at Seven Footer Press and look for discounts at Amazon.com.
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Posted by Kara in Kids and Family on July 2nd, 2010
Road Test: Cydle T43H GPS Navigator
The GPS field is very crowded these days. But there’s one manufacturer, Cydle, you might not have heard about—yet. That could change as the upstart company plans to introduce some interesting auto electronics products later this year.
I first ran across Cydle at the 2010 International CES in Las Vegas. While I’m waiting for the release of some of their other products, I wanted to check out their T43H GPS.
The T43H navigator offers turn-by-turn directions with a bright, clear and wide (4.3″) screen. The maps seemed accurate in my driving and the receiver was solid, with quick satellite locks and no dropped signals. It comes with pre-loaded maps for the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Hawaii.
One unique feature is a built-in FM and HD radio. It may seem a bit self-defeating to listen to HD radio on the small built-in speaker on the GPS unit. But there is an audio output in case you want to listen with better-quality speakers in your car.
The T43H also maps and displays traffic information that’s fed over HD Radio signals. I didn’t receive any alerts while driving around Dallas. But at the time, there were no major wrecks or traffic jams. According to Cydle, HD Radio traffic updates normally require a paid subscription, but the T43H receives them without charge.
The GPS unit also includes a media player for pictures, video and audio. And there’s a slot for an SDHC card to add up to 16 gb of memory.
One really nice feature is a display of the speed limit on major roads. And the T43H will give an audio warning if you’re driving more than five miles per hour over the limit.
In a side-by-side comparison with my Garmin GPS, I found the audio cues from the Garmin to be louder and more distinct. The Cydle sounded a bit muffled, but still understandable most of the time.
I also thought the screen layout of the Garmin was less cluttered, and found some of the information on the Cydle screen (such as time, arrival time and distance to turns) was too small for my liking.
Cydle’s suction-cup mount works very well. I still prefer Garmin’s combination mount and power cord, which is sleeker and not as bulky.
The list price for the T43H is $279.99, with a 24% discount currently offered at Amazon.
Overall, the T43H performs well. And it also offers a glimpse at what’s coming in the future.
Cydle is also working to add features such as Bluetooth, Mobile TV, Wi-Fi and more. The company plans to launch other GPS units with 5″ and 7″ touch screens and Blackbox, a camera to record your driving data.
Also in the works is the Cydle M7, a mobile Internet device that will run on Google’s Android operating system and offer features such as Mobile TV, a camera and camcorder.
Cydle is not yet a household name. But if the company is able to deliver on its vision for mobile devices, that could change very quickly.
Posted by JohnG in Business Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on March 30th, 2010
International Adventure Maps from National Geographic
Will “corner of the map” become an anachronism in the digital age? I hope not, because no matter how good the online maps get, they’re never going to be as user-friendly as a paper one you spread out on the table when dreaming and planning. This is especially true when you’re off the grid in international destinations. Good luck getting “street view” directions for the countryside around Uxmal or trying to get insight from Google Earth on the screwed-up, no-signs roads of Costa Rica. And at $11.95, this is a whole lot cheaper than daily GPS rental charges from Hertz—if that’s even an option where you’re going.
Unlike with most online maps, these have little icons to tell you where the beaches, surf breaks, fishing spots, snorkeling spots, and best windsurfing areas are—from one side of the Yucatan to the other. Every lighthouse, airport, and gas station too. The back side breaks down the most important archeological sites.
These are not fragile AAA maps, however. They’re waterproof, tear resistant, and “GPS compliant with a full UTM grid.” So there, you can have it both ways.
See more information on any of the adventure maps at www.natgeomaps.com
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear on January 10th, 2010
