Member Articles WATER STUFF/Air Currents | WATER STUFF/Air Currents |
| Written by Steve Greenberg | |
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Whether it’s the ocean, a lake, the bay or a swimming pool--we love the water. It used to be that all anyone needed to enjoy a cool refreshing dip in the ocean or the pool was a bathing suit and towel. Not anymore. These days fun in the sun also means having some water friendly tech toys. Check out the gadgets below, if you don’t have a few of these, then I’m sorry to say, you’re all wet.
Smile, And Say, “Gurgle Gurgle” This is one of those gadgets that has me asking, “Why didn’t I think of that?” It’s the worlds first swim mask with a built-in digital camera. Your hands are free so you can swim around and when you see something that is photo-worthy, you just push a button on the mask and that image is yours forever. This 5-megapixel camera can operate in water up to 15-feet. When you’re out of the pool, you can plug mask into the USB port of your PC or Mac to download the images. Its 16MB memory can store up to 30 hi-res images or up to 52-seconds of video. With the microSD card slot you can expand the memory. Best of all, everybody looks younger under water. This swimming mask-digital camera combo costs about $100 from Hammacher.com Looking to get serious about your underwater photography? Sony has come up with a camera and case that makes taking the plunge a little easier. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170 Digital Camera and its MPK-WD Marine Pack are designed for diving into deep blue waters. The digital camera has 10.2 MP and has a special “underwater” mode that is designed to reduce the typical blue-green tint seen in most other underwater cameras. This feature let’s the other colors pop. So reds and yellows really jump to life. Your underwater photos will seem more life-like, more like the way you saw those scenes with your eye. The Marine Pack is an underwater case that will protect the camera in water as deep as 132 feet. The camera does everything except get the fish to smile. The camera costs about $300 and the Marine Pack is about $200. For more information go to Sonystyle.com Today’s beach bags carry much more than towels. Cell phones, iPods, digital cameras have all become beach and pool must-have’s. Electrical outlets, however, are usually tough to find near the water. That’s why Reware’s Juice Bag Beach Bag is loaded with a shocking feature. It has a large solar panel able to generate enough solar electricity to charge your iPod, cell phone, PDA, digital camera, or GPS. It carries your tech toys; it charges your tech toys, now that’s what I call a beach buddy. This very green bag costs about $250 at rewarestore.com Whether its wrinkles or the threat of skin cancer, we’re all learning that the sun is not our friend. Are you doing enough to protect yourself from the sun’s harmful rays? Oregon Scientific’s Personal UV Monitor with Exposure Timer evaluates the current UV index and air temperature. You enter in your skin type and the SPF of the sun block you are using and this monitor calculates your recommended exposure time. Now that’s a friend. It costs about $25 at www2.oregonscientific.com Looking to swim laps and listen to your tunes at the same time. You can with this headset and a waterproof housing for your iPod shuffle. It works in water up to 10-feet deep. It’s designed to be worn on the head and requires no cords or cables. Your shuffle is protected from the water, but you still have fingertip control of the shuffle’s play functions. Swimming laps has to be easier with a soundtrack playing in your ears. This iSH2 Waterproof Headset from H2O Audio costs about $80 at h2oaudio.com Heating a pool can be the most expensive part of maintaining a pool. Just thinking about the cost gives me a chill. If only the heat from the sun could be used to warm the water. That’s concept behind these Solar-Powered Pool Heating Rings from Hammacher-Schlemmer. These energy-efficient floating rings amplify the sun’s rays to raise the temperature of an average-sized pool by 3°-4° F per week when you have enough rings to cover 70% of the pool’s surface. The rings inflate and each ring is about 5-feet in diameter and connects to the other rings with built-in magnets. Since the rings separate, they are much easier to maneuver than traditional pool covers. And using the sun to heat your pool is just smart… and it’s green. A set of two rings costs about $70 at hammacher.com Is the pool too cool? Is the hot tub at the right temperature? Should I put on my swim suit and try it out? You could step out of your home and test the water with a toe—or you can go high tech. This floating sensor and remote display let’s you know the water temperature while you’re still inside your home. The sensor floats in your swimming pool or hot tub and wirelessly reports the water temperature to a remote display in your home. The floating sensor can send a signal up to 300-feet. When you want to know the pool or hot tub temp, just glance at the display. Good bye to pool temperature surprises. This Pool and Pond Remote Temperature Display costs $100 at hammacher.com It’s one thing to read next to the pool or hot tub, but it’s a completely different experience to read “in” the pool or hot tub. That’s what the AquaReader is all about. It’s a floating stand perfect for holding a magazine or book. You float, you read—what a life. And if you love gadgets, you’ll love floating and reading my book, Gadget Nation. It’s the stories behind more than 100 off-beat gadgets and their inventors. I know, that was a shameless plug—I’m sorry. The AquaReader costs about $40 and you can find it at olympichottube.store.yahoo.net. Gadget Nation is in Barnes & Noble book stores and online at gadgetnation.net (I’m sorry again) What looks like an ice bucket and makes beautiful music? It’s the BoomBucket iPod Dock & Speaker System. It docks, charges and plays all docking iPod models, including the iPod touch. Its waterproof housing protects your iPod from the weather and any splashing around poolside. It has external controls and full remote, so you don't have to touch your iPod once you put it in the watertight dock. It includes an 8-hour rechargeable battery for extended play by the pool on the deck, beach or while camping. Where most beach buckets are filled with sand, this bucket is filled with tunes. Rock on. The BoomBucket costs $150 at brookstone.com Music To Float By It’s one thing to have a music player that can handle being splashed; its something completely different when you have a music player that can actually float. This Waterproof iPod Stereo System seals your iPod inside but has a rubber face that let’s you touch control your playlist without getting your iPod wet. It's designed to be totally portable. All you do is put your iPod into the sealed compartment, close it up, and then throw it into the pool. When you’re not floating with this stereo system it has a fold-out stand and shower mount. This waterproof case is the perfect way to bring your tunes to the beach, pool, or even the shower. This stereo system costs about $100 from Frontgate.com For some members of the family a peaceful afternoon listening to music and floating in the pool or ocean, just doesn’t cut it. If there’s someone you know who needs more water action, then this maybe Motorized Bumper Boats are the way to go. These inflatable bumper boats let you cruise through calm water at speeds up to 3 M.P.H. Using the same propeller design found on modern tugboats, you can move in any direction. These bumper boats are made of .3 mm thick PVC that will survive some tough bumping. Each boat has two thrusters and each is powered by six D batteries that provide up to four hours of fun. The boat inflates in minutes using the air pump which is included. Adults and children can ride the bumper boat since it can support up to 200 lbs. Turn your peaceful pool into a bumper boat battlefield. The cost is $100 per boat at Hammacher.com                     |
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