The best tech toys for adults

I admitted it, I’m hooked on gadgets. From my first transistorized radio and tape recorder in my teens, I loved seeing how things worked. If they were spinning, making sounds, beeping, flashing, they had batteries, a power pack, they were portable, and better yet small, you had to have them. So here I am some forty years later and sitting in electronic heaven. I’ve amassed a collection of cute toys that do a variety of tasks, from educating, accessing, playing music and videos, communicating, entertaining, and making life easier. So let me share with you some of my “must-haves” that are only one or two years old and make me smile every day. By the way, I have no vested interest in brands, but I did my research to make sure I was getting a quality product. With that disclaimer, here it goes, in no particular order:

BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES: I got mine from Sharper Image. It’s a lightweight headphone that connects wirelessly to the little receiver that connects to my stereo, TV, MP3, or whatever device I want to connect to remotely without wires. Great if one of you wants to watch TV without disturbing the other. Around $ 125. Very practical.

MP3 PLAYER: Mine is a Sandisk with 1 gig of memory. I use it on trips and to go to the gym. I have about 150 songs that I downloaded from my computer. Easy to use and good sound quality. I paid around $ 80. A must.

CELL PHONE MDA: We use T-Mobile and this device is about the size of a deck of cards. Allows connection to the Internet so you can check email and surf the web. It is Bluetooth compatible, has a 1.3 mp camera and a good size color touch screen. $ 300. Clean.

PORTABLE GPS: That would be a Global Positioning System device that tracks your journey using satellites as a guide. Also the size of a deck of cards, this Garmin Nuvi 360 can be carried from car to car and assembled with a small suction cup system. It’s Bluetooth to allow a cell phone to make calls from the device, it has a touch screen, points of interest like nearby restaurants, and it tells you when and where to turn, naming streets as you go. It will also store MP3s and photos, and updated maps can be downloaded from its site. Bear was $ 600 and a lot of fun to use.

PORTABLE MULTIMEDIA PLAYER (PMP): This item downloads and plays MP3 and DVD from your computer. Or you can connect to your TV or DVD player and transfer anything like shows or movies. It also stores photos, Word documents and has an FM radio. All in a portable size package that is rechargeable and good for 5 hours. With a memory of 30 gigs, my Cowan A2 can hold 30 movies or almost 15,000 MP3s. It costs around $ 450 and has a nice travel case. The 4 ”screen is easy to see and of course comes with headphones. Great for my wife and me on the plane when the movie is not good or if we want to watch different movies or listen to songs at different times. It helps pass the time, so don’t leave home without it.

EXTERNAL COMPUTER HARD DRIVE: A I have a Seagate 300 gig that backs up everything on my computer. At $ 150, it’s worth the insurance in case your internal HD breaks down.

SECOND COMPUTER MONITOR: My 19 ”ViewSonic is sharp and clear. Having a second computer monitor allows me to keep my Internet browser open while writing a Word document or using another application on the main screen. Also, you can view multiple websites without overlapping on one screen. Perfect for our web-based business projects. Only $ 150.

HD LCD TV: I have a 15-inch on the kitchen counter. It does not take up space and is very sharp. Even the stereo speakers are good. It’s a Magnavox and it costs about $ 350. Plus a more traditional 50 ”Samsung HDTV and the HD signal is excellent.

DVD PLAYER / RECORDER: My Panasonic was around $ 150 and it allows me to burn DVD movies and play them back on my PMP mentioned above. Much better than a solo player.

That covers the funniest things on my list. The essential would be a computer, a laptop, a router to allow the mobility of the laptop in the house and a printer with wifi capability. I also have a stringless Yamaha electronic teaching guitar which is a lot of fun. You can’t have too many toys, right? And in case you’re wondering how we can afford so many of these things, think about this. The items totaled about $ 2,400. That excludes television and larger computers. But that’s the equivalent of a nice 7-day trip for two to somewhere. And you can buy these things cheaper every year, as prices drop and features go up. So enjoy is the technological age and the cool things it has to offer. Take advantage of!