Hasta La Gadget!

Dedicated GPS navigation devices have been around for quite some time already, although there is the very real and present danger of such a niche market to go out of vogue with the plethora of devices these days (smartphones and tablets, especially) that already come with their fair share of built-in GPS navigation capability, hence doing away with the need for a dedicated GPS device. Still, companies like TomTom and Magellan are still around, and the latter has decided to expand the worldwide availability of their Magellan Switch Series of crossover GPS watches across the pond, specially targeting athletes who run, bike, swim or participate in a wide range of outdoor activities. The Magellan Switch and Switch Up watches will be made available from this month onwards from select retailers and via Magellan’s European distribution network.

In order to offer more support for their European users, Magellan has decided to expand its Magellan Active website (active.magellangps.com) by throwing in more languages such as French, Spanish, German, Italian and Dutch, and of course, the mainstay, English. Magellan Active makes it a snap for multisport athletes who want to record their performance data on Magellan’s Switch Series, as it is easy to upload and track data online using intuitive charts, maps and metrics, all from a single location.

The Magellan Switch Series of crossover GPS watches will include some more innovative features including an ‘Activity Pacer’ which will tell runners should they be on target with their goal, while offering specific targets in order to attain the desired result. There is the Switch GPS watch which was specially designed for runners, and remains as a powerful fitness training device that has been packed with innovative features which will include nine customizable sport profiles, easy-to-read high resolution display, eight hours of battery life, a high sensitivity GPS receiver, 50 meter water resistance, and compatibility with ANT+ sensors.

The Magellan Switch Series will be available as of now from Magellan’s European distribution partners serving UK, France, Germany, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Benelux.

Company Page
[ Magellan GPS watches arrive in Europe copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

If you ever golf with a rage finder or GPS you know the inherent issues: where to leave it between shots, fishing it out of your pocket, seeing the screen, etc. Though they can be a hassle, most of us that use them won’t give them up. Accurate course knowledge does make a difference in the final score.

The good folks at GolfBuddy offer a stellar line of full golf GPS units including their uuber Platinum unit. Yet for someone like me who is put off by the hassle of carrying or storing it between shots the bigger units don’t pass muster. This is the exact reason why the GolfBuddy Voice, $128 at Amazon.com, looks to be my next golf friend.  Attach the gadget to your belt, hat, shirt or leave it in your pocket. As you push the button the buddy will tell you distance to front, center or back of the green. 40,000 courses from around the world are pre-loaded into the unit and no annual fee is required. Using GPS it automatically identifies course and hole – though it can be manually adjusted if needed. With a few more button pushes you can also set marks or measures for your shots.  So if you want to know yardage, but don’t need the bulk of an extra device get a new buddy for the course!

[ Your Best GolfBuddy copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

I am a firm believer in Cesar Millan’s methods when interacting with dogs – you basically got to establish yourself as the alpha dog in the home, while the rest of your family members follow the pecking order with Fido (even though he might be one mean looking brute) right down there at the bottom. Right under the resident tortoise, even. Another thing is to make sure that your precious furkid gets an adequate amount of exercise each day, and how do you do that? Obviously bringing Fido out for walks in the mornings as well as evenings would be part of the routine, and you can also get some exercise along the way as well. Some breeds do require more exercise than others, and if you want everything to boil down to exact figures, then you might be interested in the Tagg Pet Tracker that will let you, the pet’s owner, know just where your pet is, as well as receiving a notification just in case it gets lost.

Not only that, it will be able to offer a new activity tracking feature that lets you have a greater, detailed breakdown on your furkid’s daily activity. Has it been lounging around at home, or burning enough calories chasing the postman? This new functionality will be available when October rolls around, where current Tagg users are able to take advantage of it without having to fork out a single cent, ensuring that the device will be enhanced with existing location tracking capabilities.

In addition, the new activity tracking feature will allow pet parents to indulge in this thing known as daily Tagg Points, where you can take advantage of at-a-glance snapshots of your pets’ activity in a 24-hour period. All movement will be detected by the Tagg tracker, and points are assigned based on the intensity and duration of the activity, where the scale ranges from resting to highly active.

Tagg Points can be accumulated and charted each day, so that you have conclusive data that would help you make more informed decisions about your pets’ exercise routines. So how about it? Ready to fork out $99.95 for a (theoretically) fitter Fido?

Product Page
[ Tagg Pet Tracker ensures you know just how much activity your pet has been getting copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

One of my favorite things is new automotive tech. I especially loved those systems that could detect an accident and call an ambulance for you. Remember the commercials? “Mr. Jones, we have detected you have been involved in a front end collision, we are alerting the authorities, help is on the way.” I love that. Heck, I love anything that makes me feel safer.

So it should come as no surprise I’m in love with ICEdot’s new Crash Sensor System. Thats right, you can have emergency back-up even while you’re out riding your bike. Available as a small aftermarket item to be installed on a helmet, the “dot” system will be able to detect and measure, force and impact.

The sensor works something like this, if you fall, or get hit by a car, the device recognizes the impact and quickly sends an alarm to your Smartphone at which time a countdown clock is initiated, should you fail to stop the countdown clock, your emergency contacts are immediately called and GPS coordinates of where you wiped out are sent to them as well. Very nice.

While the device was originally made for specifically for the cycling industry, it has the ability to be useful in almost any situation where you might ordinarily wear a helmet, think skiing, rock climbing, skateboarding or even some motorsports… I just like that help will be coming even if I’m not able to ask for it! The system itself looks like it will run about 200 bucks and it may have an associated monthly charge. Look for it next year but in the meantime, visit ice dot.org to sign up for more information when it becomes available.

[ ICEdot Crash Sensor – Help is on the Way copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]