Robert Bowden
Southwest Florida resident and best-selling author Randy Wayne White has written that he likes to jog when he travels to a strange city. He has no map, no set course. And, as he admits in his book Last Flight Out, he sometimes gets lost. He’s not the only one. Many business travelers keep their exercise routine when they frequent new locations. For them, there’s the new Garmin Forerunner 405, a GPS watch. In addition to showing a person’s location, it can also display time, date, pace, vitals, distance and speed. It syncs wirelessly with a computer to archive all this information. The price is $299, but options can raise it. www.garmin.com
Making Waves
A horsepower race is on among makers of personal watercraft (PWC). Two PWC makers abroad have announced they’ll soon offer craft with more than 300-horsepower engines. In this country, Sea-Doo’s RXP-X is king with a 255-hp engine that drives it from zero to 50 in 2.9 seconds. That is neck-snapping acceleration! The horsepower race has sucked in Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki, as well. The price for this speedy Sea-Doo: $12,999. www.sea-doo.com
Stroll Toward Fitness
For a working mom or dad, a new baby can take up the free time once spent at the gym. Fortunately, pushing a stroller counts as exercise—and now you can track your family-friendly workout with the Strollometer. It’s a kind of odometer that attaches to the baby’s stroller and records mom’s or dad’s average and maximum speeds, trip and daily distance totals, and the time and temperature. $45.95. www.strollometer.com
Here Me Now
Meetings with at least one person on the speakerphone are far from optimal. Too often, the loudest shouter is the only voice heard, and conversation in a normal sense is not possible. Callpod’s Phoenix offers a better way: The Bluetooth (wireless transmitter/receiver) device can link five Bluetooth headsets for full-duplex conference calling. Participants can
relax up to 100 feet away and speak normally, which also makes the device an asset in restaurants and stores. www.call pod.com