Recently Filed in Automotive

My wife and I are on the fast track to becoming “helicopter parents.” You know, those parents who hover over their children. She recently dusted off the old baby monitor (wireless camera with TV monitor) so we could keep tabs on our 4-year old who moved to the bedroom on the third floor. I bought a set of Uniden two-way radios (or walkie-talkies as we call them) so we can hear his demands for another glass of water from our first floor living room. Our… View this story
Safety and Security • Cell Phones • Software • Automotive • How To • Info and Answers

Your home is loaded with gadgets, but you’re not always at home to charge them. Thanks to Belkin, which knows a thing or two about how to make good use of that old car cigarette lighter/battery hole, you can charge a USB device in your automobile. The company has its Micro Auto Charger listed online for $14.99, though it’s “coming soon,” and unfortunately we don’t know when. Still, this gizmo is a welcome addition to the ever-growing mobile gadget world. There are enough times I’ve… View this story
Automotive • Gadgets • Product News

You’ve no doubt heard of powering your home by solar panels or a wind turbine. But how about powering up that home theater system by plugging in a hybrid electric car? The idea is that the batteries in a new breed of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) could be used to provide energy to a smart grid during times of peak energy use. So instead of just using electricity from the grid to charge car batteries, the power stored in the batteries can also help provide… View this story
Automotive • Green Technology • Info and Answers

Some guys have man caves. Todd Whitworth has a whole man barn—a 16,000-square-foot car barn, to be exact. It’s filled with his car collection, which features classic muscle cars such as a 1969 Camaro Z28 and a 2008 Aston Martin DB9 convertible. The car barn can also be filled with music—and “filled” may be an understatement. “I want the music so loud I can feel it,” says Whitworth. “I collect cars, and as a stress reliever I go to my car barn, crank the music… View this story
Garage • Automotive • Cool Homes • Slideshows

Need a little direction? Garmin wants to give you a lifetime of it. The company just announced nüMaps Lifetime, a program that allows travelers to download maps and point-of-interest info for the entire life of their GPS device. Of course, it will cost you. Single updates can be bought via nüMaps Onetime, for $69.99. Otherwise, you can choose between three plans: The City Navigator North America NT ($119.99), City Navigator Europe NT ($139.99), and City Navigator Transatlantic ($149.99). Sadly, you can’t transfer the plan between… View this story
Automotive • Web Services • Enhancements • Product News

Many of you probably scored a new GPS for the holidays (me too!). There were plenty of features to choose from in the holiday crop, but one might be missing: free traffic updates. Nextar is giving its customers that juicy little nugget with the new the Q4-LT. The 4.3-inch touchscreen will make its debut at CES 2009 next week. It does have a built-in speaker, but the traffic reports can actually come through your car’s radio system as well. As far as we know, Nextar… View this story
Automotive • Gadgets • Enhancements • Product News

Several companies started shunning the GPS market earlier this week. However, that’s not going to stop some company named Transplant from debuting a new GPS product, the RightWay RW400 GPS Navigator. Aside from getting you where you want to go, the new unit is offering a “gas counter,” which can plot the best route based on how much fuel you burn. It will even calculate the cost. Other features include text-to-speech, an MP3 player and an MPEG4 video player. The RW400 also comes preloaded with… View this story
Automotive • Gadgets • Enhancements • Product News

For a while there, it was easy to get lost in the GPS market. Now the smoke seems to be clearing just a bit. Hot on the heels of Magellan’s announcement, both Panasonic and Harman/Kardon say they are also getting out of the portable GPS market. Who knew they were in? Well, Harman did introduce the Becker earlier this year. However, the product never made it to the U.S. market. Also, Panasonic will keep its Strada in-dash navigation line, says Twice. The economy has been… View this story
Automotive • Gadgets • Manufacturers • Enhancements • Product News

So the headline is a little bit off. Of course, Magellan knows where the unit is—they are GPS people, after all. Despite that claim to fame, the company has decided that the GPS market is too cluttered, and they want out. GPS Tracklog says that Magellan will sell off its consumer side to MiTAC International, the makers of Mio. In case you are lost, Magellan manufacturers the popular RoadMate, Maestro and Triton lines. The company just announced the Magellan Maestro 4350 in October. This unit… View this story
Automotive • Gadgets • Manufacturers • Enhancements • Product News

Need another item on your GPS to distract you in traffic? Now you can dream about flying over your fellow road rage-ists—as well as plan your best route. Navteq says it will soon add air travel info to its GPS services. Twice says it will be the first one to do so. The info will tell you what the weather is like in Dallas, Chicago, Philly, LAX, and hundreds of other U.S.-based airports. It will also tell you what the average wait will be like… View this story
Automotive • Gadgets • Enhancements • Product News

There are enough distractions on the road, without affixing one to your dashboard. Still, we love the time/gas saver that is GPS. We love Magellan’s Maestro 4350 even more, since it provides all of the magic of GPS in one-touch access. Apparently, it’s actually OneTouch—a patented feature that puts your favorite destinations and searches into one button. Of course, it also has a live-traffic receiver (subscription required) with a new interface to give you the best alternative route. There’s also a “pedestrian mode,” if you… View this story
Automotive • Gadgets • Enhancements • Product News

When James Bond bolts around in his Aston Martin again this fall, he’ll be able to crank up the tunes with a kickin’ Bang & Olufsen system. B&O has announced a deal with the esteemed British sports car manufacturer to outfit it with its BeoSound DBS sound system. Daniel Craig got to cruise with the Aston Martin DBS when it debuted in “Casino Royale,” and it was picked again as the automobile of choice for 007 in this fall’s “Quantum of Solace” (we hope the… View this story
Miscellaneous • Automotive • Speakers • Speaker Systems • Audio • Product News