GadgetLiving

Winter can bring wonderful things like skiing, ice skates, and snowmen, but (especilly if your house is heated with a furnace) it can also bring incredible dryness to your home. Regular humidifiers are large, heavy, and noisy, even on low settings. This personal humidifier has ab adjustable humidistat, is whisper-quiet, and even has a built-in night light.

It’s compact size and automatic shut-off makes this humidifier perfect for your night stand. The humidifier’s ½ gallon tank has a built-in ion generator, which eliminates dry air from your room and cleaning it at the same time.

Check price and availability at Brookstone.

“This small room humidifier is super quiet and ultra compact.
Ideal for the immediate area around a bed and night stand, this bedside humidifier runs whisper quiet for 10-15 hours on one filling of its tank to let you get a good night’s sleep in misted air. Take it with you when you travel!”

This is no ordinary globe. To begin with, it has a built-in, ultra-quiet motor that turns the globe at a constant rate, mimicking the Earth’s rotation on it’s axis.

Check price and availability at Discovery Store.

While the lights are on, it appears to be a geographical globe, but when the lights are off, you can see an illuminated, astronomical view of the night sky. The globe shows 88 different constellations and provides an accurate representation of the night sky. An automatic sensor turns the night view on when it’s dark.

This electronic guide has over 1,000 recipes from renowned NY Times food columnist Craig Claiborne. There are appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, and desserts, but that’s just the beginning of what you can do with this kitchen gadget.

Now you can throw away all those cookbooks taking up too much room. The Recipe Master is a mere 3 7/8″ w x 5/8″ d x 5 1/8″ h, and it has a built-in, fold-out stand so it can stand upright on your counter. You can find, add, edit recipes, and even create a shopping list based on the recipes you want to make.

Check price and availability at Brookstone.

“Find a recipe for ingredients you have on hand or create a portable electronic shopping list—you can add a recipe’s ingredients with the simple push of a button. You can also enter and store memos on recipes you’ve tried, such as quality, ease of preparation and any adjustments you would like to make next time. The “Favorites” folder allows you to save 25 of the tastiest recipes.”

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The Garmin Forerunner 305 weighs just over 2.5 oz., and lets you know real-time information about speed, distance, pace, and heart rate. It has training assistant tools, various distance and time alerts, and bundled Training Center PC software, make this gadget an integral part of your workout.

The Forerunner 305’s SiRF GPS navigation chip means that even under tree cover and between tall buildings you’ll get accurate information about your location. The digitally coded heart-rate monitor is worn as a chest strap and sends heart-rate data to the device so you can see whether you’re training too hard or not hard enough.

Check price and availability at TheNerds.

“Garmin’s next-generation, sleek and stylish line of personal trainers–the Forerunner 305 Portable Navigator. This taskmaster will continually push you to do your personal best. The Forerunner 305 Portable Navigator combines all of the popular features with a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, new courses feature, and robust ANT wireless heart rate monitor for optimal performance. It continuously monitors your heart rate, speed, distance, pace and calories burned so you can train smarter, more effectively. It tracks your every move with a super-sensitive GPS that even works on tree-covered trails and near tall buildings.”

This 1.3 Megapixel Digital Microscope lets you to capture high resolution images and video and display them on your PC or laptop using a USB connection. This gadget will give you a perfect diversion at work when you need a break from all the work piled up on your desk.

The microscope has plug and play operation and comes with software that lets you magnify objects and view them on your PC up to 200X. You can even take snapshots and time-lapse movies. You can detach the microscope from the stand to get closer to objects away from your computer.

Check price and availability at ThinkGeek.

“* Handheld digital microscope with stand
* Great for industrial inspection, science education, forensics, printing, textile, printed circuit board (PCB) inspection, jewelers, hobbyists, tinkerers, crime scene investigation, medical, serial number identification, quality control, parts assembly
* Resolution: 1280 x 1024 (1.3M)
* Magnification: 10 ~ 50X, 200X Continuous Optical zoom
* Built-in LEDs for illumination (8 LEDs)
* LED on/off controlled by software
* Interface: USB 2.0
* Frame rate: up to 30fps
* Dimension: 10cm (h) x 3.2cm (dia)
* Weight: 0.2 lb (90g)
* Includes: Microscope, Microscope stand, DinoCapture Software (Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP, Vista, Mac OS9, OSX)”

Never forget that great idea, grocery item, phone number, or appointment again. This brushed stainless steel pen writes like an ordinary pen, but also has an integrated microphone that records for up to 60 seconds.

Check price and availability at Discovery Store.

Once you’ve recorded your message, you can use the built-in speaker to listen to your message. Replacement ink cartridges available at most office supply stores. This pen does double duty, which means that you don’t have to carry around a and a digital recorder, this gadget does both.

This heater was selected by the Hammacher Schlemmer Institute as the best after rigorous testing of heating effectiveness and safety. The 1500-watt heater generates 5200 BTUs and can emit hot air that is 120° F.

That means you can heat up the bathroom to a toasty temperature for your morning shower. This compact heater ( it measures only 8″ H x 9 1/2″ W x 4 1/2″ D) doesn’t have a long cord that can get tangled, but instead attaches to a patented mounting bracket that fits over an electrical outlet - no drilling necessary.

Check price and availability at Hammacher Schlemmer.

“Unlike lesser models, the heater automatically turns off if the airflow is blocked or an object prevents the fan from turning. The impact-resistant polymer shell is flame resistant and does not conduct heat, ensuring the heater remains safe to touch. The device can be used in rooms up to 100′ sq., and its patented thermal efficiency technology adjusts air flow for more efficient operation. Includes a built-in accessory outlet, thermostat, and freeze-guard setting.”

No more fumbling in the dark trying to find that little button that turns on the backlight of your alarm clock so you can read what time it is. The Microbeam Travel Clock automatically lights up way when you pick it up.

By picking up the clock, two LED lights on the clock’s bottom are activated. Letting you see your surroundings. To see the time only, simply press the top of the clock and the backlight turns on for five seconds.

Check price and availability at Brookstone.

“Clock features a brilliant green backlight and a big-digit display for easy viewing in the dark…Premium LED bulbs last for 100,000 hours and never need replacement. Uses four AAA batteries (not included).”

This R2-D2 Peppermill is a wonderful kitchen accessory for anyone looking to spice up their kitchen or anyone who collects Star Wars memorabilia. (Or any one who likes R2, and really, who doesn’t.)

Just twist R2’s head and out comes the pepper right onto your food. This peppermill is a licensed Star Wars collectible, and he stands 4.75″ tall.

Check price and availability at ThinkGeek.

“* Pepper Grinder that Looks Like R2-D2
* Twist R2’s head and pepper comes out the bottom
* Licensed Star Wars collectable Imported from Japan
* Peppercorns Not Included
* Stands 4.75″ Tall”

The Turbo Charge gives your iPod extra hours of play time. Never again will you be stuck listen to a crying baby on the subway because your iPod went dead. The Turbo Charge is pocket sized so you can easily carry it any where you go.

Check price and availability at Brookstone.

The Turbo Charge is powered by one AA battery, so when it runs out of juice, just replace the battery and be on your merry way. This convenient little gizmo is compatible with iPod nano, video and mini.