Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re a dog lover, you know that there’s nothing that you want more, than your best friends happiness. Sure you rub their bellies, give them treats, take them for long walks in the moonlight, but let’s face it… it’s highly likely that your sidekick is lacking in a certain kind of companionship, you know, the doggie kind. Is it fair to deny your pooch a soulmate? I understand that the chance for love to blossom with another canine may not have crossed your mind, but I’ll bet Fido has tossed the idea around a fair bit. Doesn’t he deserve someone to love too?

Well, the folks over at Tagg think so…  Tagg is a pet tracking system that allows you to track your pet’s location, and activity from your computer or mobile device, utilizing a lightweight pet tracker that attaches to your dog’s collar, and it can be worn at all times, even while bathing or swimming. It quickly and easily turns your dog’s existing collar, into a useful GPS tool for finding your best friend! The humans behind this useful dog-finding gadget, want to help you find something else… a fabulous date for your pooch!

Utilizing the same idea as human dating sites, you simply need to enter in your pets age, geographical location, and their likes and dislikes… think: Rambo loves long walks in the woods, chewing on fine furniture, and lifting his leg everywhere, or Fifi dislikes taking a bath, veterinary visits, pooping on the couch, and poodles of all kinds… and your eligible fur-buddy could be instantly matched with a canine companion somewhere near you… oh come on, doesn’t love deserve a chance? To sign up your furry friend, visit doglovedog.com, trust me, you’ll be glad you did. Sigh…  the joys of puppy love.
[ Tagg – Helps you Find your Dog, and Helps your Dog Find Love… copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Some of us like the feeling of running – it makes us feel extremely light, not to mention that running happens to be great exercise for one to burn all those additional calories that have accumulated around the waist. Having said that, Garmin, a name that is synonymous with GPS navigation devices, has just unveiled a couple of GPS running watches, and they are known as the Garmin Forerunner 620 and Forerunner 220. Both of them are said to be the lightest, thinnest, most advanced offerings for runners from Garmin, making it your very own non-living personal running coach.

Let us take a look at the Forerunner 620 first – it will arrive with a bunch of advanced features including recovery advisor, race predictor and VO2 max estimate that will come in handy in helping runners train smarter and to achieve new race goals. When used in tandem with the NEW HRM-Run monitor, the Forerunner 620 will also be able to deliver the relevant feedback on running form. Assuming you prefer to hit the treadmill instead of pound the pavement, both the 620 and 220 will feature a built-in accelerometer that is capable of tracking distance and pace, meaning you do not need to obtain a separate sensor. Either way, these two models will come with Garmin’s special one-inch Chroma color display.

Not only that, equipped with Bluetooth Smart wireless upload capabilities, the Forerunner 620 and 220 are capable of sending runners’ run data to the Garmin online community known as Garmin Connect, all without requiring one to be tethered to a computer as a compatible smartphone will do the job. Not only that, the Forerunner 620 and 220 are pretty tough, being water-resistant to 50m with rechargeable batteries that are said to last up to six weeks in watch mode and up to 10 hours in training mode. Expect the Forerunner 620 to arrive in blue/black and white/orange color configurations, while the Forerunner 220 will feature black/red and white/violet shades. Depending on whether you are picking up the HRM-Run Bundle or Heart Rate Bundle, they will retail for $399.99/$449.99 and $249.99/$299.99, respectively.

Press Release
[ Garmin delivers two more GPS running watches – the Garmin Forerunner 620 and Forerunner 220 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

My daughter’s only 10, but already I imagine the day she starts to hang out alone with friends, or worse… starts to drive . Who among us doesn’t have a horror story that involves a teen driver? Unfortunately, I remember being a teen (keep your snickering to yourself) and I couldn’t imagine anything bad ever happening to me. I took chances I shouldn’t have, and while I’m still around, I know kids who weren’t so lucky. Is there a way to keep kids safe, when driving, or even just shopping around the local mall?

Well, in order to make an impression, I believe parents need to know whats going on, and iTrail may be the gadget that can keep them informed. iTrail is a small, lightweight, and waterproof multi-use GPS tracker. Designed to be carried in a pocket, dangled from a pet, keychain, or attched to a car, bike or motorcycle via an optional magnetic case, the iTrail can keep track of almost anything worth keeping track of. iTrail can provide concerned parents (or pet owners) with real-time tracking, location history and speed monitoring. iTrail logs this information and then displays it on an easy-to-use PC interface powered by Google Maps and Google Earth.

I know that some applications for the iTrail feel dangerously like spying, and folks may feel that some of these new technologies really infringe on privacy, but I’m not sure where I weigh in on this debate. I do know that there are certainly some parents, that in hindsight, would have done anything to keep their child safe. iTrail can record for about 120 hours, requires no subscription, and is available for under 190 bucks (with the magnetic case) from amazon.com. So please tell me, just how far, is too far when keeping tabs on your kids? and what if it were an employee or a spouse?
[ iTrail – Keeping Tabs on your Car, Kids, or Keys. copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Its amazing how much things evolve and develop in the tech world. How quickly yesterday’s “oh wow!” becomes “so-what?” Even the same items can become cooler, more option filled and easier to use. Case in point? Check out the i’m Watch, sure we’ve reported on it before, but its changed into something else, a bit more versatile, and much more stylish. Welcome to the next generation…

The i’m Watch let’s you leave your phone in your pocket and still brings you all kinds of communication and entertainment availability right there on your wrist. i’m Watch actually exchanges info with your smartphone so you will always know who’s calling, who left a message, read your texts, check on e-mail and, with tons of specialty apps, you also have games and music along with applications that are useful in both your business and social settings.

The software that controls the new generation i’m Watch takes a bit of  the best technologies and melds them together. Now, with a single gesture, you can open and close your applications, receive your (very important) social networking updates and read your e-mails. You can reject calls with a simple shake of the wrist, and, if you walk away from your actual phone, an alarm will sound to let you know. Pretty handy.

So if a mini organizer that you wear on your wrist that can remind you of your appointments, tell you the weather, play you music, give you real time Facebook updates, can communicate with your phone and tells you the time, sounds like fun to you, check out the next generation i”m Watch. Available in all kinds of new colors and materials, starting at around 300 bucks. See imsmart.com to buy it, or just to learn more.
[ i’m Watch – The Next Generation copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

He says “So what are we going to do tonight?” “I dunno, let’s go eat.” she says. “Where should we go?” he asks. To which the reply is quite often “I cant think of anywhere, you decide.” Does that sound familiar? It seems like every weekend we end up in the same old place and to be honest, if I do stray from our old haunts its usually a disappointing experience. There have actually been times we didn’t go anywhere simply because we couldn’t come up with anything that sounded fun.

Well, I haven’t really tried it yet, but I’d like to introduce you to Ness, made exclusively for your iPhone or iPod touch, Ness will anticipate what your dining needs may be, and present you with elegant, swipeable recommendation cards that will summarize the information you need to quickly find a restaurant you will love.  Much better than a husband… it learns what you like, then picks a restaurant and tells you why you’ll like it!

The developers tell us, Ness adapts to your tastes to provide instant recommendations for you, not the crowd. So here’s an app that looks out for what you like, and even exactly when you might like it.  It can actually tell you a great place for brunch, or a great late night snack. So with a couple of swipes you can see a pic of the place, know about how much and how far and be on your way… or save the recommendation for later.

So, in the interest of marital bliss, I’m trying Ness out this weekend, and I may just find a couple of new places to relax with a good meal. I’ll let you know how it goes. Checkout Ness for yourself, its free and available at the app store.
[ Ness – Tells You Where You Want to Eat, and Why copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]