InventHelp’s Gadget Girl has a guess about what the young men in the family will want for Christmas this year: the Uno electric unicycle motorbike invention. Speed demons, thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies rejoice!

Ben Gulak, an 18-year-old inventor from Canada, developed the stunt bike. The speed and direction of the bike are controlled solely by the movements of the rider’s body. The invention’s maximum speed is 25 miles per hour, but Gulak speculates that higher speeds are possible with a bigger motor. To maintain balance, the bike is equipped with two gyroscopes, one designed for turning and one for forward/backward motion. A single switch turns the Uno on and off.

Like many aspiring inventors, Gulak is looking to bring his invention to the marketplace. Although I wish him the best of luck, I can say with certainty that you will not see InventHelp’s Gadget Girl cruising around town on one of these. Call me old-fashioned, but I have a strict two-wheels-or-more policy on all modes of transportation!

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl wasn’t always tech-savvy – at one time, I was downright hazardous to technology. I even dropped the first cell phone I ever bought into a puddle within hours of purchasing it. After finding out that my warranty didn’t cover water damage (grrr!), I ended up coughing up the dough for a replacement. Lesson learned: water and cell phones don’t play nice!

Now, there’s a cell phone that can handle a plop in a puddle without flushing cash out of your pocketbook. The Fujitsu F705i is the world’s thinnest waterproof 3G cell phone. The F705i is so waterproof that you can wash the keypad with water. In fact, it can handle being immersed in 3 feet of water for a full 30 minutes. Luckily, most puddles InventHelp’s Gadget Girl comes across aren’t that deep!

The F705i technology isn’t all washed up, either. It automatically adjusts volume settings in response to environmental noise levels, and powerful 8-level zoom technology simplifies email reading tasks. Audio player functionality and a 1.3 mega pixel camera (which, considering the F705i’s size, is nothing to scoff at) round out this sleek, modern phone.

Unfortunately, the coolest gadgets often break overseas first, particularly in Asia. So InventHelp’s Gadget Girl is saving up for airfare – right now, Fujitsu F705i is available in Japan only.

It’s beautiful weather this week here at InventHelp headquarters in Pittsburgh. While Gadget Girl is thrilled to see the sun, I know that it’s also time to put my exercise gadgets to use. I won’t say just how many workout contraptions I have, but let’s just say I have my credit card number (and expiration date) memorized from calling infomercials!

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl knows that no workout is complete without some great tunes to get the blood pumping. I used to just cue up my workout playlist on my iPod and throw on some headphones, but now I blast the whole house with crisp, clear sound thanks to Bowers & Wilkins’ Zeppelin. It would be an understatement to say this doesn’t make Gadget Guy very happy!

This all-in-one audio system – named for the airship, not the band – is packed with tweeters, midrange drivers and a subwoofer in a mere 25-inch unit. The Zeppelin’s curvy shape resembles a football and provides even distribution of sound. A floating dock is compatible with older model iPods, and other MP3 players can be plugged into the back. Plus, a tilt stand allows me to position the Zeppelin for optimum acoustics.

A sleek, rounded controller lets me adjust volume and skip the songs that drag down my routine. Now, if I could just get myself to use the controller from the treadmill instead of the couch, InventHelp’s Gadget Girl would be in great shape! The Zeppelin retails for $599.

It’s become clear to InventHelp’s Gadget Girl that the popularity upsurge in environmentally friendly products is more than just a trend – it’s becoming the norm. As people worldwide work to protect natural resources, more products that focus on conservation emerge.

The latest example was unveiled at a high-tech fair in Tokyo this week: The Quick Response Liquid Powder Display. In laymen’s terms, it’s “electronic paper.” The e-paper invention is embedded with an electronic grid reacts when an electric charge is received. Tiny black and white particles respond to the charge by creating text and images. The paper invention is flexible enough to be bent, and even retains the images after the electrical charge is turned off.

As the demand for paper grows in developing countries, researchers hope that this alternative will woo consumers away from pulp paper. Since the costs of fuel and raw materials are likely going to continue to increase, manufacturers hope that electronic paper will become as commonplace as the cell phone in a business professional’s briefcase.

With Earth Day just around the corner, there’s never been a better time for InventHelp and Gadget Girl to bring you the latest on green inventions!

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl must be getting more conservative with age; years ago I’d immediately buy whatever new gadget hit the market, but now I find myself playing the waiting game. The case in point is high-definition DVD players, but hopefully all this time waiting on the sidelines will pay out shortly.

The battle for supremacy between HD DVD and Blu-ray is over, with Blu-ray unanimously declared the victor. Now, I know it’s time to take the plunge and get a new player; many people here at InventHelp have already done so. But, as I’ve said before, all Blu-ray players are not created equal…so what’s a Gadget Girl to do?

If I’m going to drop $500 on a new Blu-ray player, I want to make sure it’s not going to be obsolete in a year or two. So, I’m holding out for Blu-ray’s Profile 2.0, aka BD-Live, to be released this fall. Featuring a full gigabyte of memory (as opposed to 256 megabytes in the last model), BD-Live requires Internet connectivity via an Ethernet port. This means that BD-Live also translates online content.

Industry insiders say that BD-Live will allow customers to interact with characters and stories from the movie, as well as access additional content. Combined with top-of-the-line high-definition technology and boosted audio, this should make any film viewing a more interesting experience.

Honestly, InventHelp’s Gadget Girl could watch two people play chess on one of these things, and the clarity of the picture would still leave me captivated!

The two major contenders for the next Blu-ray player supremacy title are, unsurprisingly, Sony and Panasonic. The Sony BDP-S550 will be priced at around $500, and Panasonic’s DMP-BD50 will be between $500 and $650. Darn, I guess I’ll have another decision to make after all!

What to do with your old, obsolete electronic inventions

A gadget’s life is not easy. One day you’re the king of the pile, the best of the best, the newest and hottest product – and in the blink of an eye, you’re replaced by something better.

As InventHelp’s Gadget Girl, I grapple with this guilt every time I get a new gadget. As I discard the camera or cell phone that used to be my #1, I can’t help but think of poor Woody from the movie Toy Story, whose heart was broken when he was quickly pushed aside when a better toy came along.

And while I can’t stop the rapid progression of technology (and believe me, InventHelp’s Gadget Girl wouldn’t even think of it!), I can at least dispose of my used electronics in an environmentally friendly way. Thanks to a pilot program announced by the U.S. Postal Service this week, consumers can mail back small electronics items and ink cartridges for recycling free of charge.

“Free and Green” is what the USPS describes as the goal of the program. Customers use free envelopes found in 1,500 Post Offices to mail back inkjet cartridges, PDAs, Blackberries, digital cameras, iPods and MP3 players without having to pay for postage.

Postage is paid for by Clover Technologies Group, a company that recycles, remanufactures and remarkets inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges and small electronics. If the electronic item or cartridges cannot be refurbished and resold, its component parts are reused to refurbish other items, or the parts are broken down further and the materials are recycled.

So, the next time you need to mail a package, keep an eye out for the free envelopes. InventHelp’s Gadget Girl will definitely be picking some up at the Post Office, because I love the fact that my old gadget-friend could be a part of my NEW gadget-friend!

Did you bet on the wrong horse in the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray race? (InventHelp’s Gadget Girl doesn’t like to brag, but she was hedging on Blu-ray all the way!) If you’re one of the unfortunate ones who bought an HD DVD player thinking that it would ultimately prevail, you may be able to recoup some of that lost investment if you shopped at Best Buy.

Following the lead of another electronics mega-store, Circuit City, Best Buy has agreed to give its customers a $50 gift card for the store if they bought the player before February 23rd from the retailer. The card can then be used to purchase anything in the store. You’re not required to return the player to get the gift card, and not all players will qualify for the rebate.

According to Best Buy, the gift card offer excludes “HD DVD-equipped computers and laptops, and so-called ‘dual-format’ or ‘universal’ high-definition disc player models designed to play both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD media.” Best Buy estimates that it will give out $20 million worth of gift cards. For more information on how to get your gift card, check out the full Best Buy announcement.

As I’ve openly admitted, InventHelp’s Gadget Girl hasn’t purchased a next generation Blu-ray player just yet. But if you’ve purchased one that you love, let me know – I’m taking recommendations!

It may be hard to believe, but the first MP3 player celebrates its 10th birthday this March! While many of us (including me, InventHelp’s Gadget Girl) wonder how we lived without them, MP3 technology is still a relatively new medium for music.

Waaaay back in 1998, we lived in a different world. When I wanted to listen to music on the go, I popped a CD into my Sony Discman® and brought along a book of my favorite CDs with me, in case my mood changed mid-journey. And if I wanted to listen to a music mix, I had to (gasp!) make a mixed cassette tape – remember those?

Also known as the Digital Audio Player and Personal Media Player (hey, InventHelp’s Gadget Diva just calls it the iPod), this revolution in music enjoyment made its world debut at the CeBit tech trade show in Hanover, Germany. Manufactured by Korea’s Saehan Information Systems, the device sold for $250 and featured 32MB of flash memory. It wasn’t until 2001 that the arguably most recognizable MP3 player, the iPod, was introduced.

Looking back, it’s obvious that digital audio technology has progressed leaps and bounds since its introduction 10 years ago. I for one will try to keep that in mind before I take my iPod for granted again!

Even though I’m InventHelp’s Gadget Girl, I must admit that there is one popular electronics item that I do not yet own: a high-definition DVD player.

Why, you ask? Why would a technology diva not have one of the premier electronics developments of the past few years? Why would I purposely avoid the next generation of DVDs and players that boast better picture quality and more capacity?

Well, I’ll tell you…given the format war between Toshiba’s HD DVD and Sony’s Blu-ray, I simply couldn’t decide which side to choose.

Lately, though, Blu-ray seems to have gained quite a lead on its HD DVD rival. Toshiba, announced last week that it’s abandoning the HD DVD format. Popular retailers and video businesses including Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Netflix are also jumping ship on HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray.

Studios are backing Blu-ray as well. Warner Bros studio said it would only release high-definition DVDs in Blu-ray format. Still, InventHelp’s Gadget Girl sees plenty of reasons to wait to purchase.

Mainly, there’s very little motivation for prices to drop right now. Currently, they hover between $400 to $500 dollars (and I think Mr. Gadget Guy would be upset with me if I dropped that kind of cash without talking to him first). Once the holidays roll around, prices should come down as competition increases.

So, for the time being, I plan to stick with my plain old DVD player, although it breaks my little gadget-loving heart to do it!

Flowers? Too simple. Candy? Been there, done that. If you’re one of the millions of men wracking your brain about what to get your special sweetheart this Valentine’s Day, take a tip from InventHelp and me: women want gadgets.

Perhaps I have a bias because I’m InventHelp’s Gadget Girl, but based on the number of gadget-centric Valentine’s Day commercials I’ve seen this year, I’m not the only lady who loves electronics. In fact, according to the Oxygen channel, three quarters of women would prefer a plasma TV to a diamond necklace.

If you’re looking to do something a little more creative than buy a teddy bear with “I Love You” written on the belly, here are a few more gadget ideas.

1. The pink iPod Nano has a two-inch display screen to let your honey watch her favorite TV shows, videos or films while she’s on the go. The 8GB model will run you about $199.
2. The Nano’s not the only gadget debuting in pink for Valentine’s Day – the Blackberry Pearl is offered in the ultimate feminine hue as well. Think of it as a way to send love notes even when you’re stuck in traffic or working late at the office.
3. A digital photo frame, preloaded with your favorite vacation photos, proves that you’re tech-savvy yet still sensitive.

By the way, ladies, we’re not the only ones who should be getting the gadgets for Valentine’s Day this year. To show you’re up on the latest technology (and if you’ve got a few extra bucks to spend), think about getting him the Mac Air, the featherweight laptop famously pulled out of a manila envelope in the catchy commercials.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Gadget Girl and InventHelp!