The Audiovox wireless rearview camera promises to enhance the safety of your SUV, van, or truck when you’re backing up or parallel parking. (The features of this product can be found in my previous post.) Does this camera deliver? Yes, according to a review made by CNET. It’s an easy, convenient way to ensure safety for you and your passengers while backing up or parallel parking-only if you can put up with a few kinks of this gadget.

Cheers: Easy installation and clear image

• Only needs simple hand tools when mounting the camera on the rear of the vehicle
• Easy to use as the monitor is always functioning and detecting signal from the camera
• Clear vision of the rear area even at night because of infrared illuminators
• Image on the 2.5-inch monitor is clear and in full color, allowing the user to easily find out what is directly at the back of the vehicle.
• 100-degree wide-angle lens of the camera provides wide field-of-view (but depends on the placement of the camera)

Jeers: Distracting interference

• Main issue with this camera is that it can get interference from other wireless sources when the camera is off, which is distracting during nighttime driving
• Easy target for theft because it’s easy to install

Photo and Info: CNET

Backing up is difficult and risky if you’re driving a van, SUV, or a large truck because these vehicles have big blind spot at the rear. Fortunately, more and more auto companies have come up with backup cameras as a standard feature of the latest models of large vehicles. And another good thing is that if you own a vehicle that doesn’t have a factory-installed backup camera, you can get an Audiovox ACA250 wireless backup camera that’s easy to install on your vehicle.

The Audiovox ACA250 wireless backup camera system consists of a monitor and a camera. Designed for DIY installation, the camera is mounted at the vehicle’s rear. It has 110-degree wide-angle lens, which has six infrared LEDs.

It’s a dependable electronic assistant especially when you’re in the vehicle alone with no one to assist you when you’re backing up or parallel parking.

This camera costs from $81.80 to 94.19.

Next week, I’m going to feature a review made by CNET on the Audiovox ACA250 wireless backup camera. Stay tuned!

Photo and Info: CNET

Here’s the 2nd part of the list of top 10 useless gadgets:

5. 62TE Transmission (Dodge Grand Caravan)

A manual shift mode with a six-speed automatic transmission for vehicles as grand as the Dodge Grand Caravan is simply useless.

4. Paddle Shifters (Smart Fortwo)

Paddle shifters just don’t go well with a 71-horsepower car. Too bad, the manufacturer thought of equipping Smart Fortwo with this gadget.

3. Brush Guard (Hummer H3x)

A brush guard that supposedly complements the Hummer’s grille isn’t only ugly, but also useless.

2. Leather Air Vents (Porsche Cayenne)

Can somebody tell me why these air vents are present in the Cayenne? I wonder why they thought of equipping this model with an expensive yet useless gadget.

1. Advanced Parking Guidance System (Lexus LS)

Lexus is a luxury vehicle, and the last trouble that a Lexus owner has to go through is concerning parking space. So why need the parking guidance system?

Photo and Info: AskMen.com

If there are electronic car devices that deserve cheers for their functionality, some deserve jeers and boohs as well. Maybe they’re completely unnecessary, or they’re not consistent with the image of their vehicle models.

AskMen.com also came up with its list of “Top 10 useless car gadgets.” Most of the devices that made it in the list even have more advanced features than their “useful” counterparts. Nevertheless, they’re still considered in the shame list. Read on…

10. Airscarf (Mercedes-Benz SL/SLK)

See the photo? You might think the gadget is missing, but no, it’s actually there. The Airscarf is a small built-in heater that gives out warm air onto the driver’s and passenger’s necks during cold weather. But how can one find this useful if it wears off every few minutes?

9. Tachometer (Lincoln Town Car)

A tachometer is a useless gadget? You’ve gotta be kidding me, you might say. Tachometers used to be seen only in performance vehicles, but now ordinary cars that are not speed-oriented like the Lincoln Town Car has one.

8. Emergency Trunk Release (Lotus Elise/Exige)

The emergency trunk release was meant to be a safety feature. But for the Elise and Exige models, this feature is just ridiculous because their trunks are not very big. Why need an emergency release?

7. Bose Media System (Ferrari 612 Scaglietti)

Since this audio system is exclusive only to expensive BMWs and Ferraris (with the system’s quality similar to basic home audio systems), who would want it for their cars? None but those young Miley Cyrus fans.

6. Park Distance Control (MINI Cooper)

This electronic parking assistant is unnecessary for a 12-foot car such as the MINI Cooper.

*To be continued tomorrow.

Photo and Info: AskMen.com

Shoot while you drive.

Doing them simultaneously is possible with the latest journey recorder from Japanese manufacturer Nikkai. Now you can record your most memorable trips with this black gadget. The Nikkai In-Car Journey Recorder can also be used to store footage in case you meet an accident.

Using a 1.3 megapixel CMOS image sensor, the Nikkai In-Car Journey Recorder captures video footage of the road ahead. The gadget can record a maximum of 18 hours of video on a 2GB SD card.

Other features:
• Fixes to your windscreen to record your journey
• 1.3 megapixel CMOS camera records in AVI format for easy playback
• Capture intervals can be set to between 2-3 seconds and 3 minutes
• Stores up to 9 hours of video on 1GB SD card or 18 hours on 2GB SD card at three second recording intervals
• Powered by 2 x AAA batteries (supplied) or DC 12V charger (supplied)
• Batteries provide around 4 hours continuous use when recording at three second intervals
• Supplied complete with software for playback and configuration
• Resolution: 1280*1024 pixel
• Still Image: JPG Format
• DC Power: DC 12V (included)

• Dimensions: 87(l) x 55(w) mm

Price: £39.99

Available at: Maplin

Photo and Info: Maplin, Red Ferret

How about a surround sound format for a great music listening experience while cruising the highway?

The new MPEG Surround format will soon be available to everything that plays digital audio files such as cars, MP3 players, iPods, and cellphones. This format encodes surround sound audio data so that it can be played on compatible stereo systems. It can be also played on non-surround devices like iPods.

Rumor has it that Apple will be one of the newest licensees of the software developed by audio company Fraunhofer. The company, inventor of the MP3 format, has in fact hinted about it.

“There is an unsigned contract with a well-known PC player application,” said Fraunhofer’s Robert Bleidt (photo below) at the recently held Consumer Electronics Show at Las Vegas.

Photos and Info: Gadget Lab

Soon, you’ll have to toss those bunch of tousled power cords out of your car in favor of the wireless battery charger.

The eCoupled Intelligent Wireless Power Technology promises to power up your mp3 player, cellphone, iPod, or others that need electricity—minus the irritating wires, of course. No need to plug your gadgets in! Just place your devices within the range of the system’s power pad, and it will start to charge.

What’s more, the device can transfer data, making wireless coupling of music players and cellphones within your car possible.

Like the Internet Car Radio, the wireless battery charger was among the gadgets exhibited last week at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Photo and Info: Autoblog

Zup, buddies? I’ve got good news for you and for your automobile’s maintenance. This time, it’s literally for maintenance—the Black and Decker Car Vacuum! You think there is nothing especial about it? It will be a cliché to say that it powerfully works but it is! It has a 12 volt motor and longer than any others power cord of 16 inches. This only means that it can really suck all those unwanted dirt and particles off your carpet, dash, seats, and almost any nook you got there in your ca! Isn’t that wonderful?

The Black & Decker Car Vacuum is very easy to use: plug into any cigarette lighter jack on your dash and the dust and grime pick-up goes on. One thing you will love about this auto electronic device is that it is equipped with just the right accessories your interior needs. For example: it has crevice tools that just pops up when narrow spaces are reached or an upholstery brush that cleans dusty fabrics just the way you want it. Since it can clean in one easy step as this, you need not dirty your hands. This way, you can do the cleaning right after a drive or a lift you give someone.

Another thing you got to love about the Black & Decker Car Vacuum is that it will keep you from spending too much. You can save money in many ways from getting it into your compartment. One is that you need not need to frequently take your vehicle for a car wash, which can also imperil your finish and your carpeting. Not to mention the time and effort. Another is by keeping yourself from getting other forms of cleaning devices aside from the ordinary vacuum you have. Don’t you think its time for a little change?

Photo & Info: Gadget Bargain

So you want something better than your car phone; something that you can directly use without pebbling on smallish headset that you might misplace somewhere in the car. Doing so might even risk your safe driving or might send you to a state of ignoring every call whenever you are on the road. That’s not efficient driving, isn’t it? Well, nobody wants to be in that position. Good thing that the industry has now come up with an easy talk answering machine with built-in speaker and FM radio! It is very useful and handy, you can use it anywhere you go with its no-installation, plug-in style!

The EZ-Talk: FM Hands Free Car Kit comes with a built-in push button so you can talk in its compact size. Its flexible microphone holder is just perfect for you so you need not jerk off your seat anytime you need to talk. It also has a stable hands-free radio frequency which adopts the PLL IC. This gives even better functions than that of using crystal. You can easily plug it into your cigarette lighter voltage or any 12 volts direct current supply and you already have a complete 2-in-1 hands-free answering machine and radio!

$34.95 is pretty meager for a functional auto electronic gadget as the EZ-Talk: FM Hands Free Car Kit. It is even comparably small with the amount you will need to shell out for a good kind of speaker, the more it becomes small when talking about an entire car kit. And since it will also be another form of a safety technique for you, this amount is not important. Complete car kit and no-install auto electronic gadget, is there anything else you want to ask rather than the EZ-Talk: FM Hands Free Car Kit? I certainly do not think so.

Photo & Info: Gadget Bargain

Merry Christmas…HO! HO! HO!— Hearing those lines already? Then, its time you start gift shopping for all your family and friends; and don’t forget to be very creative. Get something unique for each of these important people in your life. A digital alcohol breath tester would be great, wouldn’t you say!? This is the perfect present for all your driving friends and loved ones as these holidays will always start and end with good food and drinks that may go beyond the limits. Show your care then by giving them something that will inform them if they are still capable of driving or not.

The Safe-Mate digital alcohol breath tester features LP gas detector that can prevent them from driving under the influence of liquor; thereby keeping them safe and from the meticulous land transportation officers around town. This way, they can surely enjoy the holidays in the comfort of their homes or in places they really want to—but not jail. And this is not only useful these holidays but all through out the years of driving. You can even take it with you after switching vehicles year after year because this is handy—no installation! This will also depend on how keen you are in maintaining this auto electronic gadget.

This Safe-Mate digital alcohol breath tester from Dream Quest also has a 20-stage display LCD for your ready reference. It is handy in its 8.95 x 3.0 x 1.65 centimeters or 3.5 x 1.18 x 0.65 inches dimensions and approximately 45 grams weight. It comes with triple A batteries and can be calibrated manually by its owner to whatever function he or she wants it to perform at a certain time and condition. Isn’t this just the most wonderful gift you can receive these holidays? The better it will be if you will be the first to send it out to your immediate kin and friends!

Photo & Info: Gadget Bargain