Amazon's Kindle 2

Amazon recently released the second Kindle. Now for those that aren't aware, the kindle is a device you can use to read your favourite books from on a platform that reminds you of a larger yet thinner palm device. Some have called it the next generation of reading books, as it can store about 1500 book titles on the little device. The Kindle has wireless network/Internet connectivity, which allows you to purchase new titles directly from Amazon's online shop.

Now for the stats: The Kindle 2 sports a 6" display, slim at just over a 1/3 of an inch and weighs only 10.2 ounces. Battery life for up to 4 days of reading on a single charge and a recharge time of about 4 hours, which can be done through your PCs USB port. It includes an audio jack for either audio books, or to have the Kindle dictate written books and texts. Storage capacity of 2GB of which 1.4GB is available for user content. Advertised price is around $359 for this neat little device. Due to the limitation of only being able to purchase books from the online amazon store, and the device using US based carriers for connectivity, the Kindle 2 is only usable in the US.

Easy Car Jumper

After recently having problems with my car's alternator, I know all too well the frustration of having to call a buddy to jump start my car while parked at the mall. Then you have to always hope the buddy in question has a pair of jumper cables handy. Well, I found this little gem to get around this little frustration. It is a jumper cable that uses your lighter socket to give you the same boost. Simply plug it into your car's lighter socket, get Johnny boy (your friend I assume) to do the same and viola, no need to even pop the hood. As long as your vehicle has the standard 12V battery, it takes about 5 minutes to get you back on the road. The manufacturer claims it is 100% safe. Retailing at about $20, this one is on my shopping list. The manufacturer is Wagan Corp, item called Easy Quick Jumper.