InventHelp’s Gadget Girl has a bad habit of occasionally forgetting to lock the door, both at home and here at my InventHelp office. It’s something I’m working on! But, in case my door re-training doesn’t go as planned, there’s a new gadget that will help forgetful folks like me to be more secure!

A lock company recently invented an internet remote control option for people who forget to bolt the door when they leave the house. At the CEDIA Expo in Denver recently, Ingersoll-Rand Co.’s Schlage LiNK unit showed how doors can be locked remotely by logging onto the internet from a mobile phone or computer.

The locks are battery operated and include a keypad with a 4-digit access code. The codes are password protected and encrypted for security, the company says. When a user forgets to lock the bolt, she can enter the code into a web portal or an application that’s added to a mobile phone. The door can also be accessed with regular keys when the user is at home.

The kit includes the locks and the wireless bridge to communicate with the locks. The kit retails for $299, and there’s a $13 monthly maintenance fee to use the applications that allow for the wireless communication. The system is expected to be released later this fall.

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl will do her best to keep her doors locked in the meantime!

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl loves Halloween so much it’s scary. Every year, the skeletons (and witches and goblins) come out of the closet and up onto the walls. I spend months planning my costumes and relish in throwing the spookiest Halloween party in town (in my humble opinion).

What could possibly make Halloween here at InventHelp any more fun? Ghoulish gadgets, of course! Here are three inventions that help make any Halloween party a scream:

1. Wireless Fog Machine: Halloween without fog is like Christmas without mistletoe. The Fog Storm 1200 is a 1,200W high-output professional fog machine with Electronic Thermo Sensing (ETS), which means the electronic heater stays hot at all times with no warm-up time between fog blasts. It’s a little spendy, but it’ll certainly keep the party atmosphere spooky!
2. Ankle Blaster Air Cannon: Let’s be honest, here – half the fun of Halloween is scaring the bejeezus out of innocent bystanders! The Ankle Blaster Air Cannon is a simple yet smart way to spook your guests. The idea is to set up the cannon in a hidden area where your guests won’t notice it. The cannon then fires a blast of air at ankle length for 1 second. Although it doesn’t sound like much, a cold blast when you’re not expecting it can be very frightening!
3. USB Skull Drive: Even though it’s not party material, this is Gadget Girl’s and InventHelp’s favorite Halloween invention. Plus, it’s a great way to share your Halloween party picks with friends and family! This bewitching gadget comes with 2GB of storage and works on both PC and MAC, meaning than any techie need not fear compatibility.

Happy Halloween from Gadget Girl and InventHelp!

It’s good to be the king, and the iPhone has been reaping the luxury of royalty ever since its debut. Now, the new Google-powered T-Mobile G1 could finally challenge the reigning champion.

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl is highly anticipating the release of the G1 on Oct. 22. Retailing for $179 – $20 less than that other smart phone – the G1 could target users who aren’t entirely drawn in by Apple’s space-age touchscreen design. Plus, the G1 packs a full-size keyboard, making it look very attractive to chronic texters (InventHelp’s Gadget Girl is not included in these ranks!).

The G1 is well designed, but it’s what’s inside that really matters. The G1 is the first phone powered by Android – Google’s open source mobile phone software platform that gives innovative third-party developers the opportunity to create new applications. On the day of its release, the phone should have about 100 applications already available.

One application, ShopSavvy, allows G1 owners to scan the bar code of any product to comparatively shop. If this kind of technology is embraced by cell phone numbers, the number and type of available applications could balloon.

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl predicted that the iPhone would make other cell phone companies work hard to impress their customer base, and from the looks of things, there’s going to be a plenty of competition! And that’s always a good thing for consumers.

Google may not knock Apple out, but we at InventHelp are excited to see another contender in the ring!

One thing that InventHelp’s Gadget Girl loved about growing up in Western Pennsylvania was playing in the woods, which naturally involved a lot of dirt. Fun for me – but not so fun for my mom, who was stuck with the task of washing and drying my canvas shoes nearly every other day. Even from my bedroom I could hear the “Bang! Bang!” of the shoes in the dryer around the clock.

Fast forward X number of years (you didn’t really think you’d get that number out of me, did you?), when I grew from Little Gadget Girl to InventHelp’s Gadget Girl. Imagine my surprise when I found an invention that would have saved poor Mom lots of headaches. The No-Bang, offered by InventHelp’s sister company Intromark, Inc., is an invention that keeps shoes from slamming around in the dryer.

Not only is the clanging of the shoes in the dryer annoying, but it can actually damage your dryer. The No-Bang’s easy-to-use system of suction cups and a strap holds the shoes to the dryer, preventing that noisy racket. And, it sure beats sitting the shoes out to dry for days.

Don’t take my word for it. WTAE-TV, a news station here in InventHelp’s hometown of Pittsburgh, recently put the No-Bang to the test on their segment Test It Tuesday. The invention earned a 4-star rating! To see the invention in action for yourself, check out WTAE-TV’s No-Bang video and read their No-Bang blog entry.

The No-Bang retails for $5.99 and is available through the InventHelp Store.

It’s been a while since InventHelp’s Gadget Girl went back to-school shopping, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream! I’ll be the first one to admit that my mouth starts watering as soon as those back-to-school sales kick in.

My dream cart filled with back-to-school gadgets would look something like this:

• Apple’s Macbook, $999. This slick laptop is stylish, lightweight and packs a punch. As anyone who lives in an off-campus apartment knows, lugging books and computers uphill (both ways!) while trying to finish your math homework is no picnic. Lightweight and compact is the way to go. Plus, you get a free iPod with purchase. Your trek to campus just got way more enjoyable.
• Crammer Study and Sound System, $60. This new study aid is meant to replace those pesky handwritten study cards. Students can enter data for each side of virtual cards to be displayed on a 2.5-inch screen. It also boasts great language-learning features and the capacity to download up to 1 GB worth of study aids. Sure beats filling out index cards. This is one invention that your favorite InventHelp employee wishes was around when she was still in school!
• The North Face Yavapai Daypack, $75. A padded Airmesh back panel, roomy main compartment with padded laptop sleeve and plenty of pockets for organizing make this daypack a well-rounded choice. And, it comes in plenty of colors to help students show their school spirit!

Good luck to all the students returning to school this year. Be sure to pay special attention in math and science classes – those tactics might come in handy if you decide to be an inventor!

Texas Hold ‘Em exploded in popularity in the past few years, with millions flocking to online gaming sites and live tournaments. Even InventHelp’s Gadget Girl loves getting in on a friendly poker game here and there!

Poker involves a series of forced bets, or blinds, that keep the game’s pace on track. Without them, a game of poker could go on all day! Between chips, card tables, timers and position buttons, gathering and transporting all the necessary poker supplies can be trickier than you’d think.

Despite their usefulness, blinds can also be the bane of a poker player’s existence. Keeping track of the times on cell phones or kitchen timers can be distracting for the player doomed with the task. One Portland, Ore.-based inventor took a gamble on a poker invention that he believed solved this logistical problem.

Jeff Klein invented the DB Dealer Button, which includes an adjustable blind timer and a 30-second bet clock for slow (or “thoughtful,” so says InventHelp’s Gadget Girl) players. Compact enough to fit in a poker chips case, the invention helps players to focus on their strategy and not on the supplies.

So, is the invention catching on among hardcore poker players? You can bet on it – the patented token has already been licensed by the World Poker Tour. The DB Dealer Button retails for between $13.95 and $23.95. Poker enthusiasts can find it online at dbdealer.com.

As anyone with gabby coworkers or in-laws can attest, the tongue is a tireless muscle. Georgia Tech researchers believe the tongue can be more than a vessel for speech and taste; they think it may be the key to turning a disabled person’s mouth into a virtual computer.

InventHelp’s Gadget Girl has learned that this inventive new system works via a magnet placed under the tip of the user’s tongue. As the user controls the tongue, the magnet’s movement is tracked by sensors on the side of each cheek. Then, this data is sent to a receiver situated atop the user’s head. Software converts the movement into commands for a wheelchair, appliances or electronics.

Although this system is not the first to use the mouth to control electronics, it presents new options for those paralyzed from the neck down. Breath-powered commands for wheelchairs are popular, but they provide only four movement options. The flexible, sensitive tongue could allow for more detailed, controlled movements. It could also provide a more economical alternative to sophisticated eye-movement systems.

InventHelp and Gadget Girl don’t want to speculate too much on the future of this invention, so we’ll bite our tongues until this technology trend unfolds!

While InventHelp’s Gadget Girl has heard her share of stories about tech-savvy seniors, there are still quite a few folks in their golden years who are simply uncomfortable with cell phones.

But, the idea of personal security and accessibility appeals who seniors who are trying to maintain their independence. Jitterbug® is hoping to bridge this gap by offering an easy-to-use, limited-function cell phone designed with senior-friendly features.

First, the large, backlit buttons make dialing easier, and a powerful speaker transmits sound effectively. Models range from a super-basic OneTouch (it has only 911, the Jitterbug operator and one number that they’ll personalize for you) to a more conventional-style cell phone (the design was created by Samsung).

The only drawback is that Jitterbug works only on its own network, which doesn’t have the reach of major networks like Sprint or Verizon. And, if you happen to be into text messaging, picture mail or any modern cell phone features, then Jitterbug might be a little rudimentary for you.

A basic plan starts around $20 per month, making it more affordable than most conventional cellular plan options (InventHelp’s Gadget Girl is embarrassed to tell you how much her cell phone bill is each month!). For anyone who wants a simple, cheap way to keep in touch only as needed, this is a good option. But if you can surf the web while sending a text at the same speed as your grandkids, think bigger!

For sight-impaired or blind students, surfing the Web or jotting down notes from a blackboard requires the assistance of a learning aide, which can be both costly and inconvenient. InventHelp’s Gadget Girl knows how hard physics class was even with sight, so I’m thrilled to see new tech inventions that help the blind community without sending them to the poor house.

A new invention made headlines recently because it can record and synchronize everything a student hears and writes. Check out our InventHelp Invention & Technology News site for more information on the Pulse SmartPen, which debuts in stores this month.

Next, there’s the exciting debut of WebAnywhere, a free web-based service that converts web-page text into electronic speech. While this technology already exists, the price tag (free!) and universal availability make it perfect for blind students who study at the library or in Internet cafes.

WebAnywhere works by processing text on an external server before sending it back to the user’s computer. Normally, screen readers require software to be downloaded before text can be converted to speech, which isn’t always an option on public computers.

By opening up the web for everyone, these new inventions create more opportunities for blind students both in education and in eventual career choices. In Gadget Girl’s opinion, anything that breaks down barriers and levels the playing field for blind students is an advancement to be welcomed with open arms. Hey, they don’t call it the “World” Wide Web for nothing!

A “nice Sunday drive” just doesn’t have the same ring as it used to. InventHelp’s Gadget Girl can remember filling up the tank and cruising around the city all day for what seemed like pocket change. Times sure have changed!

For anyone who has put more than a $50 bill into the gas tank this week, the idea of gas-saving gadgets sounds incredibly appealing. Sales of the Vortec Cyclone, which is designed to boost gas mileage by improving an engine’s air flow, have doubled this year. The $40 part swirls wind around the car’s air intake hose to create a finer air mixture that burns more effectively, said the product’s manufacturer, the Automotive Research Laboratory LLC.

But the government and the EPA believe that gas-saving devices are not worth the money. Even in the ones that work, they say, the savings are not enough to justify the cost of the purchase.

Vortec’s proponents aren’t discouraged by the EPA’s opinion. Some users claim the device boosts mileage by up to 6 miles per gallon, although a more realistic boost hovers around one or two. The Automotive Research Laboratory offers a money-back guarantee on the product, and they say returns run only around 5 percent of sales.

For now, at least, there’s no magic gadget that will make an SUV get 60 miles to the gallon. InventHelp’s Gadget Girl hopes that we’ll have that device someday, but driving the speed limit, combining errands and traveling light will have to do for the time being.