Very Exclusive Gadgets & Gizmos

As the 80th Geneva Motor Show has opened its doors after two hard years for the industry, it’s obviously time for some celebration. This year’s party begins as Alfa Romeo celebrates its centenary with some brand new major licensing and limited editions. It’s obvious that you appreciate a fine Italian wine if you love a fine Italian automobile and this is the reason for Scrimaglio wines to mark their presence at the gala event.

While humans have always thought of flying in the sky, no one took the thought as seriously as billionaire Sir Richard Branson. Richard Branson has unveiled plans to begin powered test flights of its rocket spaceship by 2011, and boy, are you feeling the butterflies in your stomach as well? Before we could achieve weightlessness and see the curvature of the earth against a backdrop of deep black space, Virgin Galactic ensures to clear all the major hurdles in the project.

Document cameras used to be the expensive attachments on high-end digital projectors. I’m sure their sole purpose was to wean the Luddites off overhead projectors and onto using digital presentations. The HoverCam X300 is a little different, it’s a combination document camera and document scanner. You can put your pages underneath and scan them at 1600×1200 (2MP) at 150 dpi and store them as digital files. Just like a normal scanner. Or you can hook it up to a PC and projector and use it like an overhead projector.

This teeny 9mm Solar Sensor is probably the smallest self-powered computer in the world, and it’s totally amazing. The thing contains a full ARM processor, solar cells and a tiny battery, and consumes less power in sleep mode than people generate when they blink their eyes.

When it comes to compact, low power PCs, the Aleutia D1 Mini Atom PC leads the way. Just 20 cm (7.9 inches) across, 7.4 cm (2.9 inches) tall, and 30.5 cm (12 inches) deep, the D1 sports dual 1.66 GHz Intel Atom CPUs, 4GB RAM, and Gigabit LAN. It has no moving parts (apart from the DVD drive) and it runs almost totally silent. It comes with a choice of 40GB HDD, 32GB HDD or 40 GB SSD and is available with 2GB or 4GB of RAM

Bet you thought that instant photography had disappeared along with the demise of Polaroid eh? Well there you go, this new Fujifilm Instax 210 is here to prove you wrong. Auto flash, electronic shutter and high speed ISO 800 film stock - it’s all ready and waiting for your hot little hands.

Snap the shot, rip out the print and wait while the image develops in front of your eyes.

This IDAPT i3 Charging Station looks like a great idea. It’s a 3 port recharging station for various gadgets and it comes with a whole range different charging adapters. The adapters are swappable and charge your devices standing up, there’s even one that can charge AA and AAA batteries and multi-tip units that can charge Bluetooth headsets. Such a good idea. You can pick one up from IDAPT or Firebox for around €39.

Forget ebook readers, this Infinitely Adjustable Reading Valet is the future. It’s a fully adjustable book holder that can tilt, swivel and yaw to any angle and there’s a pair of page retainers to hold it open so you don’t have to touch that dirty, filthy book. It adjusts from 80cm (31″) up to 130 cm (51″) and holds books up to 2kg (4lbs). Use it as an extra hand in the kitchen, reclining in the Jason or just cos you want to put your hands in your pocket while you read. US$179.95.

The Drivemocion affixes to your rear window and is operated by a remote control by the driver’s seat. Want to apologize for cutting someone off accidentally? Press a button and the sign says: SORRY. Want to get a tailgating fool off your backside? Press a button and the sign says: BACK OFF. Want to tell the person behind you that you find them attractive and may possibly rear end the person in front of you because you keep staring at your rearview mirror?

If you’ve got a bit of stuff to store, but it’s too heavy to manhandle up onto shelves, then have a look at the Racor HeavyLift . It’s designed to be mounted to the ceiling, very securely obviously, and it can lift and store up to 110kg. The platform is 1.2m square (4′ x 4′) and it can travel 2.4m (8′) so you can tuck it away up high and still bring it down to your level. It’s probably slow going raising and lowering using the hand crank so why not pick up the optional power drill attachment to drive the lift. What else could you want for US$117.95.