Smart Home Lifestyle

October 14, 2006

Check out these 3 gadgets for the ultimate in cell phone protection

You’ve got your car insurance, house insurance, even your dog insurance, but what about your electronics insurance? These days, technology doesn’t come cheap. And gadgets, like cell phones and blackberrys provide the lifeline to all-important schedules and business contacts.

Back me up, baby

CellStick (www.cellstick.com) gives “backup insurance” for your cell phone. Costing just under $40, CellStick assurance you’ll never loose your cell phone’s contact information- even if you loose your cell phone.

"How many of us have either lost our phone or upgraded our cell phone to a new model only to think of all the time that will be wasted re-entering phone numbers," asked Tom Beck, president of Spark Technology. "We knew there had to be a simple way to protect the missions of cell phone users from losing their valuable contacts within their phones."

CellStick is simple to use. Just plug it into your cell phone and it saves your entire phone book. You can even download the data to a PC. Imagine the time you’ll save entering and editing data on a full-size keyboard and not tiny cell phone buttons.

CellSticks can only backup one phone book at a time, and are currently not Mac compatible.

Beam me up

Forgot to charge your phone last night? Been there, done that. Have an important call to make, but only one flashing charge bar left? I feel your pain. Cell phone batteries hardly keep “going and going,” so for ultimate peace of mind- go solar, the power source that always goes where you go.

Soldius (www.mysoldius.com), a company based in Holland, provides solar chargers for electronics ranging from cell phones to iPods. They even offer multi-functional solutions like back packs and golf bags complete with a build in solar charger.

The Soldius1 Universal Solar Charger with Mobil Phone Kit runs just under $90, not bad for 90,000 charges worth of peace of mind. It’s even water resistant, withstanding rain and splashing.

But how much sun do your really need? According to Soldius, the fact is you need sunlight to get the charge. But the Soldius1 will work on cloudy days under bright conditions. And charge time? Soldius estimates the charge time usually equals that of your cell phone car charger. And without a power source for a quick recharge, you’re talk time quickly runs out.

Lost & Found

Trackitback (www.trackitback.com) is like an “electronics bloodhound,” the epitome of peace of mind protection for all your gadgets. Cell phone, laptop, MP3 player, camera, GPS, Trackitback’s privacy protected labeling system makes it easy and rewarding for finders of lost items to help get them safely home.

Simply apply the tracking label to your gadget and if it’s lost, the finder can call the24/7 toll free number and Trackitback arranges to have the item picked up and returned to for for no extra charge.

Trackitback rewards the finder with a Trackitback gift pack valued at $30, plus an optional cash reward from the owner. Plus, Trackitback is a worldwide recovery service, a real perk for the traveler.

Prices range from around $10 for a single label, up to about $80 for multi-packs. These charges are one-time costs for the complete recovery service. Just make sure to register your gadget up front to avoid any “after the fact” administration fees.

Author: Diana Kostigen, Marketing/Public Relations Director, Comtec