Very Exclusive Gadgets & Gizmos

Why don’t cars come with USB ports? Seriously? Is there a more prevalent standard in the world? If you’ve asked this question, and you don’t really need your car’s cigarette lighter socket then the iLuv iAD115 Micro Size USB Car Adapter can help.

It might look like just another USB car charger, but it’s very short and sits almost flush with the car dash so it looks built-in and hopefully won’t get knocked about as you flail around looking for change. It accepts 12-24V DC and puts out 5V @500mA. US$14.99

The SyncBox is the kind of tool you don’t realise you need until you need it. Designed to let you transfer data from one USB device to another on the fly and without using a computer, the little pocket sized marvel is super perfect for things like transferring photos from your camera to a USB drive while you’re on vacation. Ahh…now you get the point eh? €31.90 and needs 3 AAA batteries

If you have USB devices coming out of your ears, then you might need a hub to help you out with that. This hub manages to keep a full 24 ports available for you to jam your USB related items into. For the average person you might have to get extremely creative in order to fill up all of those ports. However, I’m sure there are others out there that are fully capable of finding a use for a hub of this size.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a laptop these days that didn’t have wifi built-in but if your service is sketchy, or the built-in just can’t lock on to the free McDonalds wifi down the road, then try one of these USB Wifi Mini Wireless Adapter doovers. The tiny little USB dongle support an enormous 5dBi antenna. The specs claim an operational range of 200m indoors and 830m outdoors, conditions permitting. I’d say quarter those numbers and you might be close.

It must be time for a new USB standard if people need things like this 10 Port USB Hub. It comes with it’s own power supply and there’s a port selector switch which allows you to disable the last 4 ports. Useful if you don’t want certain things to connect but can’t be bothered unplugging them. Priced around US$55

Want to know what’s going on behind the scenes with your desktop at work whenever you leave the office? The Spy Keylogger ought to come in handy, featuring 2MB of internal memory to store all the keystrokes made whenever you’re not around. Of course, it works with most wired keyboards, so those who are using wireless keyboards will be able to get away scot free.

What you see in the picture here is the iTwin. It isn’t a thumb drive with two USB connections, but a way of transferring your files from one computer to another.

Sure, you could just set up a mainframe network, send a file as an attachment, or just put the file you want on a thumb drive and plug it into another computer. Yes, there are a lot of ways to do file transfers from one computer to the other, but iTwin makes the process a lot easier.

This USB Windows Icebox gadget is pretty…ahem…cool. Just plug it into the nearest USB port of your PC, and it will immediately freeze any changes on the hard disk. You can keep using the computer – or let your kids run free on it – safe in the knowledge that when you switch off next, all changes will be deleted and the machine will return to its original state.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a helicopter with a USB port but this Tiny USB Helicopter from Brando is pretty darn cute. With twin LEDs for night missions and gyroscopes for stable flight it should get where it’s going and get back safely. It’s controlled via an infrared controller which can also recharge the helicopter, however the controller needs six AA batteries. It also looks like it comes with spare blades and tail rotors. There’s also a range of colours and a screwdriver. US$39.90. I wonder if a FireWire one would be faster?

The WOW-PEN ECO’s unique ergonomic design helps eliminate carpal tunnel stain. The WOW-PEN’s sleek and modern shape is the result of lengthy study and research by the award winning INNO DESIGN of Silicon Valley. Traditional mice put unnecessary stress on the user’s wrist and forearm with extended use–often leading to painful carpal tunnel stain. User fatigue is great reduced.