Gotta Have Gadget

PowerSkin iPhone 4S

Looking for some holiday swap gifts or some great stocking stuffers?  Do you know someone with a SmartPhone?  Of course you do, most 13 year old kids have one now.  What is the biggest complaint?  Battery power!   I have a PowerSkin for my iPhone and now I never have to worry about the battery.  I can surf the web all day, use the GPS for golf, make calls or check email and still have a full battery at the end of the day.  The PowerSkin is basically a protective case that has a second battery built into the case.  Find your PowerSkin at www.power-skin.com.

There’s an app for that!  Well, actually there are a ton of navigation apps!  A few months ago, I reviewed the Magellan RoadMate 3065 (http://gottahavegadget.com/?p=871) so I was anxious to put the RoadMate App to the test.  To my surprise, the Magellan RoadMate app had all the functions of the stand alone GPS.  If you are a data subscriber, you even get the Magellan Traffic Updates (in select areas).  I never really liked using my iPhone for a GPS as the battery seemed to drain quickly, Magellan took care of that with the Magellan Premium Car Kit!  Read the rest of this entry »

There are a ton of GPS Navigation systems out there.  The Magellan RoadMate 3065 Commuter is the one that stays in my car.  The first thing I like about the RoadMate 3065 is it comes with lifetime traffic updates.  You can actually program this unit for your morning and evening commute and calculate any traffic delays for you before you start.  I set my traffic wakeup to start downloading information about 10 minutes before I actually leave.  Another nice feature is the Bluetooth hands-free speakerphone.  Read the rest of this entry »

NASCAR Fans, start your engine and hear Dale Earnhardt Jr. say, You drive, Ill ride shotgun!  The RightWay Spotter GPS Navigator, Dale Jr. Edition features Dale Earnhardt Jr.s voice which will navigate you through every turn you make.  Dale Jr. gave you the steering wheel and became your personal spotter to guide you turn by turn to your destination.  Dale Jr. also added some of his personal favorite destinations as points of interest (note to Dale Jr. you have to come up to New Hampshire more often!) so you can easily find NASCAR destinations or Dale Jrs favorite hang-outs.  Once the novelty of hearing Dale Jr. wears off, the RightWay Spotter is a very good beginner GPS.  This is the perfect GPS for someone to start with as there arent a lot of complicated features to overwhelm you.  There are some GPS units that require constant downloads, or yearly subscriptions that you need to be a rocket scientist to learn how to operate.  The RightWay Spotter is very easy to set-up, and Dale Jr. will be guiding you in no time.  I was very impressed with the recalculation should you miss a turn.  My previous GPS would tell me to make a legal u-turn for several minutes before it would recalculate.  The RightWay Spotter, Dale Jr. edition GPS quickly re-calculated the new route putting me back on track.  You can easily change if you want the GPS to calculate the shortest distance by time or mileage.  No offense to Dale Jr. fans, but he only lasted about a month as my spotter before I went to one of the other voices in the system.  Overall the RightWay Spotter GPS Navigator, Dale Jr. Edition was a step up from my older GPS unit and is a nice unit for any NASCAR fan looking for a way to get to the track.  The best feature is Dale Jr. will actually tell you to take a right turn instead of all left turns!  For more information on the RightWay Spotter GPS Navigator, Dale Jr. Edition visit them at www.rightwaygps.com.

Golftraxx turns your iPhone 3G, RIM/Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm or Pocket PC into a golf GPS tracking system. Like any of the handheld golf GPS units out there, Golftraxx gives you important yardages in the palm of your hand. Golftraxx also allows you to keep score and track of how many putts per hole, which is a great feature to help improve your game. If you are interested in Golftraxx, get to www.golftraxx.com FAST as Golftraxx is offering FREE Lifetime Subscriptions!!  While at www.golftraxx.com you can also check out their database of over 21,500 golf courses!  This would make a great present for Dad on Fathers Day!!

There are a lot of golf yardage gps gadgets out there, but none offer a hole preview like the Callaway uPro GPS. The uPro GPS offers an aerial view like you would see watching the PGA on a major network station. The fly over gives you a unique perspective on the hole you are playing, giving you a helicopter view from tee to green. Now the aerial view comes with a price, but unlike other GPS devices, there are no annual fees. If you dont want the fly over feature, you can update your uPro with free course layouts. For the pro layouts, which include the fly over, you can purchase credits. The benefit of this is you just pay for the courses you want. From what I found, most courses run only a couple of credits to purchase. There are bulk purchase plans for credits so you can load multiple courses. Another cool feature is the uPro software is built into the device, so there is nothing to load on your computer. Just hook up the USB cable and you will be up and running in no time. The Callaway uPro offers all the other benefits of a golf GPS by giving you target landing zones, potential hazards and accurate distances. For more information on all the Callaway uPro has to offer, visit www.callawaygolf.com and click on Shop.

If you know someone who is technology challenged, but is looking for the accuracy of a GPS distance unit, take a close look at the Izzo Golf Swami 1500. The Swami is so easy to use; anyone who can use a remote control can now have the distance of every shot in his or her hands. Granted the Izzo Golf Swami doesnt give you a complete layout of the hole, what it does give you is extremely accurate yardage to the front, center and back of the green. When you arrive at your favorite course, simply turn the Swami on and the digital display will give you a read out of how long it will take to find the GPS Satellite. It is also extremely easy to load on your favorite courses. When I went to load on a course, most of the courses I play were already available. What I found truly amazing was how fast my course requests were answered through the Swami website. I simply clicked request course and I received an e-mail within a couple of days telling me the course was available for download. With a price of $99.99 and only a $35 yearly membership, the Izzo Golf Swami is an easy, affordable solution for any golfer looking for GPS distance accuracy. For more information and to view some of the 12,000 courses already loaded, visit www.izzo.com.