Wow, Christmas was really good to me on the gadget front. I got some awesome toys to play with, and I'm finding a few of them to be indispensable. Like what? Well, on a whim my lovely wife bought me a SONY Smartwatch, which becomes an extension of your smartphone on your wrist. Using your phone's Bluetooth connection, the watch subtly vibrates and displays Facebook and Twitter notifications, Gmail alerts, weather, traffic, text messages, and incoming call information. You can control your music player, AND even reject calls, and all without ever taking your phone out of your pocket. Plus, there are more apps in the Google Play store for almost anything you'd want to do. It is truly awesome, and highly addictive.
Another great gift was a pair of Beats soloHD headphones. I've worked in radio, and I work in television now, so I've played with my fair share of high-tech headphones. For the money, these puppies are a force to reckoned with to be sure. The sound quality is exceptional and unlike many of their professional counterparts, they're lightweight and downright comfortable. I particularly like the inline microphone and controls on the supplied cord, which allows me to control my music player (iPhone or Android) AND accept or reject calls (just like my watch). Sure, we've all seen these features before, but the integration on these is really well done. Plus, the sound quality of the mic is just better...
The final piece of my cyber triumvirate is my Nike+ Fuelband, which was a gift from my mother (okay, I asked for it, but it was still cool she bought it for me). If you're unfamiliar with this device, it's a wristband that keeps track of your movement throughout the day using built-in accelerometers. It plugs into your computer's USB port for programming and charging, which makes it very convenient. By just supplying a few bits of personal information (weight, height), you can set an activity goal for the day and your fuelband will monitor your progress. I'm now obsessed with seeing how many steps I've taken for the day and how many calories I've burned. If nothing else, it's made me more conscious of my activity level (or lack thereof). And if you're worried about people staring at the LED display on your wrist all day, have no fears. The display only activates when you press the discrete single button that walks you through the bands various display screens. Make your goal for the day, and you're rewarded by a fun "GOAL" animation on your wrist.
So now, thanks to Christmas, I am a technological wonder walking down the street, with my smartwatch supplying me with a constant connection to the web, my fuelband on the other wrist monitoring my internal systems, and my Beats headphones filtering out the world and optimizing my mood through music. At this point, I'm just a few government funded surgeries away from being a darn cyborg...and I'm actually okay with that.
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