Car Gear - The Gadgeteer

KEEO Keyholder is a keychain alternative with a Bluetooth to your smartphone

By Julie Strietelmeier / August 7, 2013 / News / Android, Bluetooth, Car Gear, Crowdfunded, iOS, Keychain / 5 Comments

The KEEO Keyholder is a German designed Kickstarter project for a keychain alternative. Made of stainless steel with a glass-fiber reinforced housing, the KEEO features a switchblade type mechanism that will flip out your desired key with a touch of a button. The KEEO also utilizes Bluetooth technology to pair with your iOS or Android […]

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This multi-tool lets you pop open a soda while you check your tire pressure

By Janet Cloninger / August 2, 2013 / News / Car Gear, Pocket Gear / 1 Comment

Once again ThinkGeek arrives with the perfect thing that you never knew you needed until you see it. This little keychain fob with the quick-release is actually a 6-in-1 Tire Pressure Gauge Multi-Tool. It has a tire pressure gauge and color-coded depth gauge. The depth gauge can also be used as a bottle opener and

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Lukas LK-7500 FHD CUTY Dash Cam review

By Andy Chen / July 25, 2013 / Reviews / Camera gear, Car Gear, dash cam, GPS / 4 Comments

I’ve been experimenting with different car dash cams since I discovered that the GoPro cameras don’t feature an auto-record-upon-power-up function. The last dash cam I reviewed was the Pittasoft BlackVue DR5000GW-HD, and before that, the DashCam Dually in 2010 (see related links for reviews of these products). I thought the BlackVue DR5000GW-HD did a pretty

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PanaVise PortaGrip 15504 Universal Phone Holder review

By Andy Chen / July 19, 2013 / Reviews / Car Gear, iOS / 3 Comments

I don’t use a phone holder in my car anymore. I just can’t seem to find one I like. I also needed a way to keep my phone within easy reach at my desk. Maybe the PanaVise PortaGRIP 15504 Universal Phone Holder will do the trick! Let’s take a look.

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Go Further with Ford 2013 Trend Conference

By Bill Kuch / July 13, 2013 / Articles / Car Gear / 3 Comments

I recently spent three days in Detroit, Michigan, as one of 200 guests at Ford Motor Company’s annual Trend Conference. The event was a showcase of several Ford products, but more importantly, it’s a look into the future direction of technology and environmental concerns for Ford and the auto industry as a whole. It

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Every car can be the Millennium Falcon

By Janet Cloninger / June 18, 2013 / News / Car Gear, Star Wars / 5 Comments

Okay, this is a little hokey, but it’s perfect for the die-hard Star Wars fan. This Plasticolor 003700R01 Star Wars Accordion Sunshade keeps your car cooler, and it makes it look cooler, too! The accordion-fold sunshade is made of plastic, so the colors are more sun-fast than those cardboard sunshades. It’s $21.99 at Amazon. That’s a

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Magellan Roadmate 9250T-LMB GPS review

By John Schettino / June 18, 2013 / Reviews / Bluetooth, Car Gear, GPS / 8 Comments

magellan roadmate 9250t schettino review 01

The Magellan Roadmate 9250T-LMB GPS is one of the latest Roadmate dedicated GPS products from Magellan. It’s got a large 7″ touch display, live traffic, spoken road names and landmarks, video inputs for an optional rear view camera (not reviewed), Bluetooth supporting hands-free speakerphone, lifetime map updates, and more. In other words, it’s got more

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Keep your coffee hot during your morning commute

By Julie Strietelmeier / May 29, 2013 / News / Beverage, Car Gear, Home and Kitchen / 5 Comments

Are you still trying to figure out what to give your dear old Dad for Father’s Day? If he’s a coffee or tea drinking commuter, the ThinkGeek Hot Rod Heated Travel Mug might be a good option. This insulated mug features a 12-volt DC adapter that you can plug into your car’s power socket to

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Zetta Intelligent Security Z12 Camcorder review

By Liz Rodriguez / May 28, 2013 / Reviews / Audio, Video, TV, Camera gear, Car Gear, security camera, Spy gear, Video / 2 Comments

I’ve always been on the hunt to make my own at-home security camera. I’ve fiddled with low-res webcams and my Raspberry Pi, which have given me interesting results. When I recently got the opportunity to review a small form-factor security camera, I jumped at the chance. Let’s take a look at the Intelligent Security Z12 Camcorder by

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The 2014 Jeep Cherokee and Toyota Prius will offer in-vehicle Qi wireless charging

By Julie Strietelmeier / May 16, 2013 / News / Batteries and Chargers, Car Gear, Qi / 4 Comments

If you’ve been keeping up with my recent gadget diary posts, you’ll know that I’ve been interested in wirelessly charging my Samsung Galaxy S3. After a couple different cradles and a custom ROM, I’m happily charging without wires using the Qi wireless charging standard. That’s why my interest was piqued when I heard the news that

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Stop replacing all your accessories every time you get a new device

By Janet Cloninger / May 15, 2013 / News / Car Gear, Device mount, universal phone stand / Leave a Comment

Well, you’ll at least be able to stop replacing your in-car device mounts if you purchase the Innotraveler Universal Car Mount from Seidio. This mount has a baseplate and two re-useable adhesive pads to hold your phone, GPS, MP3 player, or other small device (up to a 5.5″ screen) securely in the mount. You anchor

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Pittasoft BlackVue DR500GW-HD Car Camera review

By Andy Chen / May 12, 2013 / Reviews / Camera gear, Car Gear, dash cam / 12 Comments

Since my review of the Dash Cam Dually in 2010, I’ve had my eyes open for a quality in-car video recorder that wasn’t so large. The Pittasoft BlackVue DR500GW-HD car camera is a tube-shaped device that promises to be just that, and it’s packed with some interesting features.

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2013 Kia Soul Test Drive

By Julie Strietelmeier / April 24, 2013 / Reviews / Car Gear / 13 Comments

It’s been almost a year since my last test drive, so I’ve really been missing that new car smell. Lucky for me, I was offered an opportunity to do another test drive a couple weeks ago. This time it was for a fully loaded 2013 Kia Soul. It was delivered to me with a full

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Fully integrate your iPhone into your car with the Volkswagen iBeetle

By Janet Cloninger / April 22, 2013 / News / Car Gear, iOS / Leave a Comment

Volkswagen recently introduced the iBeetle at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show. The new models of the Beetle and Beetle Cabriolet will be the first “of the Volkswagen Group in which the iPhone will become an integrative component.” The car’s dock holds the iPhone 5 as seen in the image, and you can access all your normal iPhone

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Travel light with the RichardSolo Wall and Car Combo Charger Pro

By Janet Cloninger / April 16, 2013 / News / Car Gear, Gear, Travel Gear, USB charger / Leave a Comment

RichardSolo has a great addition to your travel gear. Their Wall and Car Combo Charger Pro looks like a regular USB wall charger. It has a single USB port that provides up to 2.1A for fast charging of tablets as well as phones. It takes 100/240V input, which means you’ll be able to use it internationally

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AutoAnything Bracketron Universal USB Power Dock Pro Flex review

By John Schettino / April 10, 2013 / Reviews / Car Gear / Leave a Comment

The Bracketron Universal USB Power Dock Pro Flex (from AutoAnything) is a 12-volt power adapter/device holder for most any car. The dock itself can hold devices up to 5.25″ high by 3″ wide. The long neck and sturdy base, along with standard USB port with high capacity 1.5A power, will support and charge just about anything, from any

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SuperTooth HD Voice In-Car Speakerphone review

By Raul Sanchez / March 30, 2013 / Reviews / Bluetooth, Bluetooth speaker, Car Gear / 4 Comments

Not too long ago I had a few Bluetooth earpieces that I mainly used while driving. I had a few Motorola ones like the H700, plus I have still been using the Plantronics Voyager that I reviewed some time ago that I really enjoy. However, my problem was often that I didn’t have the earpiece

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Griffin iTrip Auto review

By Smythe Richbourg / March 25, 2013 / Reviews / Audio, Video, TV, Car Gear, FM Transmitter, iOS / 4 Comments

Most folks these days carry some kind of device with them that has at least a subset of their music collection on it. Some have services like Spotify, Pandora, or some other service that will deliver music to a smartphone. When we get in our cars, however, there’s usually no built-in connection for getting the

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Monitor your car’s health, your driving, and even where you parked with the Automatic Link

By Janet Cloninger / March 13, 2013 / News / Android, Car Gear, iOS / Leave a Comment

The Gadgeteer has reviewed various devices over the years that can diagnose your car’s problems, track your car’s location, monitor your driving practices, and even remember where you parked your car. The Automatic Link from Automatic Labs can do all of the above, and it transmits its data automatically to your iPhone 4/4S or 5.

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Livio Radio’s Bluetooth Internet Radio Car Kit for iPhone review

By Janet Cloninger / March 12, 2013 / Reviews / Audio, Video, TV, Bluetooth, Car Gear, Internet Radio, iOS / 3 Comments

I’ve tried Bluetooth kits for hands-free calling in my car. I’ve also tried FM transmitters that plug into my iPod/iPhone to playback music through my car stereo. I’ve never tried any device that could do both until I tried the Bluetooth Internet Radio Car Kit for iPhone from Livio Radio. Plus, you’ll notice the words

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