Personal Electronics | Evolving Consumer

Charge of the Light Battery

If you’re riding with a light system that includes a battery power you could have an extra way to give your phone the juice it might need. This is the concept behind Sigma Sport’s IICON cable that allows users to power up their mobile phones, cameras and GPS units via the battery pack.

The IICON attaches to the IION/IION XL battery pack and a red LED indicator light shows that the device is being charged. The IICON is completely watertight for use even in damp conditions. Now this is still a robbing Peter to pay Paul type situation, especially if you need to ride home and actually need the light but sometimes being able to make that call can be a godsend!

Sigma Sports Official Website

Sony Handset Ready to Get Wet

Water doesn’t go so well with most mobile phones, but a lot of people use their handset to snap photos. If a day at the beach or pool is how to you plan this spend this summer than perhaps you should consider the Sony Xperia ZR “waterproof” mobile smartphone. This Android-powered device can snap photos and even Full HD videos underwater.

It features a 13megapixel camera along with a 4.6-inch HD Reality display. This is also a serious phone, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core 1.5 GHz process and runs on the 4G LTE networks. But for those who like to get wet this might be a smart phone indeed. Video after the jump

Not Out of Reach

When you are out of cellular range you don’t need to be out of luck if you have the DeLorme inReach SE, the satellite communicator that allows you to type, send and receive, track and even send out an SOS all from a single device. This promises off-the-grid communication without the need for a special satellite phone.

The inReach SE is ready for adventure, and is waterproof, dustproof, and impact-resistant, with a color screen, GPS, and a battery that lasts for up to 100 hours. As with past models it can be used to share GPS coordinates to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and can send and receive texts or trigger an SOS that can go to the company’s 24/7 search and rescue monitoring center. It can even pair with a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth to provide even more features. With this device at hand’s reach you’ll be sure you can reach help if you really need it.

DeLorme inReach SE Official Website

Life Saving Tablet

The iPad might be good for Facetime and Angry Birds, but will it help actually save your life? Is there an app for that? Probably not, especially if there isn’t Wi-Fi, cellular towers and power. The Earl Backcountry Survival Tablet is for those times, and it is designed specifically for use in the wilds.

The 1,024×768 six inch flexible E-Ink screen, which provides visibility in direct sunlight as well as a “Lunar” mode for viewing at night, features a glove friendly infrared touchscreen as well as a gyroscope so it can work in a variety of conditions. The screen can even be used as a lantern during an emergency. Laminated solar panels provide up to 20 hours of battery, and the device can charge in just five hours of direct sun light.

The Earl Backcountry Survival Tablet features an IP67 rating and is waterproof, dust-proof, shock-proof and even mud-proof. It offers an internal weather sensor, a FRS, GMRS and MURS transceiver for use as a two-way radio; plus it offers a built-in AM/FM/SW/LW radio tuner. It includes GPS and Bluetooth 4.0, and it runs on Android 4.1 so yeah, it probably can even play Angry Birds while you wait for rescue.

Earl Backcountry Survival Tablet Official Website

Polaroid Gets Wet and Rugged

Polaroid made quite a name for itself with its instant film photos, and while those have faded away – much like many of the actual photos – the company lives on (and it does still offer an instant print digital camera). It introduced the new XS80 action camera, which joins Polaroid’s extensive product offerings.

This action camera stands out, not only because it offers the ability to take 1080p video at 30FPS, and can features tough waterproof housing with anti-shake technology that is impact and shock-resistant, but this go anywhere camera is priced at just $129.99. For that price you might not worry so much that it can’t endure an adventure. Specs and features after the jump

Remote Control

A smartphone on a bike ride can do many smartphones but only if it is accessible. Reaching to the back pocket while riding down the road isn’t exactly a good idea, but the Dew Motion iStick Playtime can provide access and control of many app features for an iPhone – with an Android version in the works.

The iStick, which is currently looking to crowd funding site Indiegogo to roll this one out, is designed as a wrist wearable controller that pairs with the handset via Bluetooth 4.0. This allows wearers to answer phone calls and control various apps. Video after the jump

Sonic Boom

Time to get out there and take the music with you. Audio-Technica’s new SonicSport headphones, which are designed for active use will bring the music to any workout. Three new SonicSport models are out now, and include the back cord-style ATH-CP700, which offers a microphone and controls for smartphones and other devices; the C-top-design ATH-CKP500 and the ear hook version ATH-CKP200.

All three models feature an IPX5-certified waterproof rating and are sweat-proof and washable. There’s a great big world out there but when that doesn’t mean you have to hear it when working out.

Audio-Technica Official Website

Hands On: Eton FRX3

As super storm Sandy and other natural disasters have shown us, you never know when the power might go out. To that end it is good to have a flashlight, at least three days of food and water, but a radio or other communication device is a good idea too.

We’d recommend taking it a step further with something like Eton’s FRX3 – a multi-powered, multi-functon smartphone-charging, weather alert radio that can help light the way. We didn’t get to test the FRX3 in an actual emergency – for which we can be grateful – but we found that it does power up quickly by cranking the hand turbine for just about a minute. That is just enough to get a good 15 or so minutes of news, weather and even music – because in a disaster nothing beats some music. As a radio the unit provides a way to hear AM/FM and even NOAA weather band digital radio.

If that was all the Eton FRX3 did we’d still appreciate having it for those times when can’t simply turn on the TV or radio. But this unit, which can also be powered by the sun via a solar panel, can be used as an LED flashlight or beacon, and most importantly can charge a mobile phone.

There are certain devices you shouldn’t head out without, but this is one device that should be in the home as well as the campsite.

Eton FRX3 Official Website

Fire Point

There is a legend that during the Second Punic War a large Roman fleet under the command of Claudius Marcellus was burned by Archimedes using nothing more than mirrors to reflect the rays of the sun. Whether this is true or not has been left open to debate.

Not Point Source Power has introduced the VOTO, a low-cost biomass-fueled cellphone charger and LED light. This won’t start a fire exactly, but it will use the heat from a cooking stove at a camp site to charge the battery and in turn juice up the phone. We think Archimedes would approve! Video after the jump

Goggles to (Insta)Beat

Swimmers don’t get a lot of sensory data while in the pool. There have been efforts to provide ways to train with music and many heart rate monitors are now swimming compatible. But unlike with running and cycling, it isn’t so easy to see the watch while engaged even in long distance activities.

This is where the Instabeat could come in. The device is now being developed via an Indiegogo campaign.

The device provides a heart rate reading from the temporal artery so no heart rate strap is required across the chest, while a head strap to the goggles provides the read out via a colored LED that is projected directly to the eyes. This helps swimmers track their heart rate while actually swimming to determine if they are at their own specific fat burning, fitness or maximum performance heart rate. The device even tracks calories burned, while a motion sensor tracks laps, flip turns and breathing patterns for a post-workout analysis. Video after the jump

Rising Suunto

Smartwatch maker Suunto has introduced its new Ambt2 GPS watches. The Ambit2 S is designed for fitness buffs and offers functionality for cycling, running, swimming and training. The Ambit2 S can track pace, route navigation and track heart rate. The Ambit 2 is for those who take to wilds and it features fiberglass-reinforced case and offers info on altitude, vertical speed, barometric pressure and temperature – plus all the functions of the 2S.

Suunto Ambit GPS Watches Official Website

Screwy Idea

The electric bike trend continues, and electric assisted bikes are being touted as a way to help make climbs easier for those on two wheels. Now a similar electrical concept is catching on for snowboards.

This is where the Propul~surf comes in. It basically takes the Archimedes design of a screw to create forward momentum. This concept was used for centuries to raise water and apparently it could help snowboarders get up a hill as well. We of course though that was what the ski lift was for! Video after the jump

Secure Vault

Having a safe for firearms is usually a good idea, but one downside is that a safe can not only protect one’s possessions but it can serve to alert would-be thieves that there might be something worth stealing.

The TacVault from GunVault weights in at just 80 pounds and can fit discreetly inside most standard-sized closets – so even apartment dwellers can feel secure. This safe can hold a standard rifle or shotgun, include those with 30-round magazine. It also offers a convenient shelf for storing of spare magazines, ammunition, knives or other accessories.

The TacVault is pre-drilled so it can be secured to the floor – thus limiting the possibility that thieves could steal it along with the goods inside. There is a high-strength lock mechanism, while this safe is further built from a tamper-proof 14-gauge steel body, making it practically impossible to pry open with hand tools.

It is even available with GunVault’s patented No-Eyes keypad or biometric fingerprint scanner, while audio and LED low-battery indicator protect from direct tampering or power loss. Of course this one also offers foolproof security with a backup override key.

This isn’t just a gun safe, it is a true GunVault.

GunVault Official Website