Surprisingly enough this could well be a contender for my personal “Coolest gadget of 2005″ even though it’s devoid of batteries and blinking lights. Why? Because it’s a stunning example of a simple, well thought out and above all useful application of technology and design.

The lifestraw is a water filter. As with all the best technology though the devil is in the detail. Water filters have been around for years but they’re big, expensive and need constant replacement of the filters.
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Do you have a budding rock in roll star in your house or maybe a wanna be rock star that needs a few a lessons? If so then you must get one of the stringless guitar’s that will teach them how to play the guitar so it does not sound like a cat with his tail caught in the door.

This stringless guitar has its own built-in tutor and a series of buttons along the neck for fretwork. It also has six rods that are touch sensitive at the bridge for strumming. The buttons on the neck will light up to show the correct finger placement while the twelve lighted frets will teach how to strum and the chords needed to play all your favorite tunes.
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Science fiction meets science fact yet again in this robotics project from the University of Tsukuba. The Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL for short) is a very cool looking application of robotic technology. It reminds me of the cargo loaders in “Alien”, or perhaps it’s more “Robocop”. It’s a metal exo-skeleton that straps to a person’s limbs and magnifies the effect of their inputs.

I think they need some better marketing though. The name HAL is synonymous in hollywood with computer malfunctions and to top it off it looks like they’ve started a company called - wait for it - Cyberdyne - to market the product commercially.

Hmmmm…. Now might be a good time to run for the hills!

This is one gadget that can really help in your exercise program. We all know just how important exercise is for our health but most of us get tired pretty quick and give up, not because of the exercise itself but because of trying to remember everything.

With the Healthy Jump, it will keep track of your number of jumps for every workout. It will even calculate the number of calories that you burned. Now, you do not have to worry about counting each and every jump and concentrate on your jumping skills. You will even know the exact amount of calories you burned and be able to focus on your complete exercise program.

Fitness professionals, gym teachers and athletes know just how important jumping rope is for your health. Even in elementary school, jumping rope is an important part of the kids exercise program. Jumping rope will tone your entire body while strengthening your cardiovascular system. You can add jumping rope to your daily exercise program and receive even more for your workout while toning your body in a fun way.
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We saw a fair few bits of cool audio equipment at the stuff show and Marc wrote an interesting piece abouthome audio systems. Today I came across the music sphere, it might not be as sophisticated as the Sonos but it’s a whole load cheaper and still lets you transmit music around your home.

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Especially for vacation-goers; Currently only retailed in Singapore, Canon released two new models of DVD camcorders - DC10 and DC20. The release of these models is intented to capture the market, and gain a strong foothold in where it is packed with competitve challengers, such as Sony, Hitachi and Panasonic. To ensure it is the ONE, DC10 and DC20 are designed to boast the smallest, slimmest and most well-built DVD camcorders available.

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On December 1, 2005, Nokia unveiled one of the industry’s first mobile handsets designed to support 1900MHz UMTS networks expected to go online in the America during 2006. The new gadget features a 2.2 inch, 320×240 pixel QVGA display, a 1 megapixel camera, FM radio, digital music player with hot-swappable miniSD card support, Bluetooth technology and an eye-catching sliding design.

Once the markets start offering 1900MHz UMTS service, the Nokia 6282 phone (GSM 850/1900/1800/UMTS 1900 MHz) is expected to be available during the first quarter of 2006.

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This is a great gift for any man to give his girlfriend or for the husband to give to his wife if he travels from home a lot. This Beddy Bear Microwave Hot Teddy will keep them warm while you are away. Every time they cuddle up with their nice warm bear, they will of course have to think of the one that gave it to them.

This is also a wonderful Beddy Bear to give to your wife, girlfriend or one of your children, even if you do not travel. The nice warm feeling of the Beddy Bear will aid in the cost of heating of your home. You know how when you get in bed and you like it cuddly and warm just before falling asleep, well the Beddy Bear will stay warm for you to 3 hours. This has got to be better than electric blankets.
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