Travel Gadget

The Waterproof, Durable Pentax Optio W90

Three small LED lights around the lens that illuminate subjects when taking macro photos. Very cool.

A few months ago we compared the Canon PowerShot D10 to the Olympus Stylus Tough-8000. Since then a new waterproof ultra-compact point-and-shoot has entered the market: the Pentax Optio W90. Spot Cool Stuff’s review:

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Cool Outdoor Gear You’ll See In Stores Soon

Spot Cool Stuff is freshly back from the Summer Outdoor Retailer convention in Salt Lake City where, along with approximately 20,999 others, we ooo-ed and ahhh-ed over the latest tents, backpacks, kayaks, shoes, bicycles, roof-top carriers, portable disposable toilets (yes, really), sunglasses, jackets, pocket knives, hammocks, energy bars, hiking GPS units and an assorted sundry of outdoor gear and gadgets.

Many products at the OR Show were newly released and several will not be available to the general public for several months. What were the coolest new items we discovered? Here’s a roundup of our 12 favorites—and a sneak peak at some products we’ll be reviewing more fully in the future:

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7 Items for Reducing
Air Travel Frustration

Have you flown on a commercial flight recently? Ugh. Airlines are decreasing their level of service. Airports are increasing their level of security. Add to that delayed flights, crowded cabins and lost luggage and you have a recipe for frustration.

Spot Cool Stuff can’t do anything about the workings of the airline business. But we can recommend seven items that can help take some out of the stress out of air travel. Or at least help make the experience of it seem to go by faster.

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An Espresso Maker To Go, Please

What do a diamond and a shot of espresso have in common?

That’s no meant to be a bad joke. It’s a serious question. And the answer is: Both can only be made under pressure.

In the case of the shot of espresso the pressure is required to push hot water through densely packed ground coffee beans. Typically this requirement for pressurizing water has meant that effective espresso makers were relatively loud and large electric devices.

The Handpresso Wild, however, is not a typical espresso maker.

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10 Superb Gifts For Travelers

Shopping for a traveler you really can’t stand? You should click on over to our collection of the worst travel gear. For everyone else—those of you hoping to, you know, find a present that will make a traveler happy—we offer you these 10 suggestions, a cross section of products that will appeal to a variety of travelers from geeks to frequent fliers to travlelers of the armchair variety. If none of these are appealing, you can always purchase some one gallon zip lock bags to help them get through security!

And remember—there’s no reason you can’t give any of these items to yourself too.

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The Kindle Gets a Passport
spot cool stuff TRAVEL

Regular readers of the Spot Cool Stuff Tech blog know what huge fans we are of the Kindle. They also know that our Kindle enthusiasm comes despite harboring a few gripes about Amazon’s e-book reader.

Well, today that list of gripes grew shorter by one: The Amazon Kindle is now available in an international version.

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The Best Noise Canceling Headphones For Travel
spot cool stuff TRAVEL

In a previous review we put to the test two of the most popular high-end noise reducing headphones—the Sennheiser PXC 450 and the Bose QuietComfort 3. Our verdict: the PXC 450 was the better.

Since that review Bose introduced a new member of its noise reducing headphone lineup: The QuietComfort 15. So how does it compare?

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The Best Wireless Mouse For Travel (and Home)

“Elegant” and “Microsoft” are usually not words that go together. Yet somehow those adjectives managed to meet up in the cool, wireless Microsoft Arc Mouse.

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