The Gadget

It seems we’ve had a rash of battery-related problems in laptops. Since mobile phones can, in some situations, replace a laptop, it seems only fair that they also get their fair share of battery problems. Actually, I’m surprised we haven’t seen of these kinds of problems, given there are way more mobile phones than there are laptops.
NokiaBL-5C batteries manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan between December 2005 and November 2006 are subject to a voluntary recall
Hit the link for the complete list of products and instructions for determining whether or not your BL-5C is subject to the recall. Thankfully for me, of the 3 BL-5C batteries I have, none of them are subject to the recall.

I’ve seen so many watches lately that record and display all sorts of data that I’d forgotten what a watch is really for: to tell you the time. But how do you make sure your watch has the right time? With Casio’s atomic time watch, you don’t need to worry about it.

The watch receives radio signals from five atomic clocks across the world, thus ensuring that your watch will tell you the correct time for the next 30 million years. Other features include the usual multiple alarms (4), timer, stopwatch, and solar power!

Having suffered through two kids worth of basic, no-frills baby monitors, I now greatly appreciate the features that Philips have built into their new DECT digital baby monitors. DECT stands for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication, and it’s basically the same technology built into high-quality digital cordless phones. Unlike the older-style baby monitors I had to use before, this one has zero interference from nearby monitors or other devices in or around the home. It’s also a totally private connection — the neighbors can no longer listen in.

Recently featured in Time Magazine, the Philips DECT Baby Monitor features a two-way intercom so you can communicate with your child directly from the handset, an integrated thermometer reads ambient room temperature and displays it on the handset and base, 5 different lullabies are controllable from the handset, a nighlight is controllable from the handset, and rechargeable batteries with up to 12 hours operation between charges.

Also included are a belt clip, neck cord, zippered travel bag, and a lifetime guarantee.