Great Gadgets: Western Digital WD TV Mini

Being able to play your range of media files on your television can be a very liberating experience, especially since so many of us consume our content through digital downloads these days. You don’t need to have a DVD, because you can just have a movie file on a USB flash drive.

Catering to this market are a new generation of media players that connect directly to your HDTV, but many of these are $100 or more. While Western Digital already has the WD TV and WD TV Live, the hard drive manufacturer is also looking at the more entry-level end of the market with the Western Digital WD TV Mini Media Player. As you can imagine, this is smaller and cheaper.

There are some features missing from the WD TV Mini, but it still has the main function of playing a wide range of video, music, and picture files on your HDTV. There is only one USB port and it does not have the Internet connectivity of the WD TV Live, but the WD TV Mini is still a solid choice for people who want to share video files simply and easily.

For more information and to purchase, direct your browsers over to Amazon.ca where the WD TV Mini is currently listed at just $70.10 with free shipping. That represents a 42% savings over the regular price.

Great Gadgets: Personal USB Fridge

Oh, that miraculous little USB port. How many joys you have provided us over the years. It is through this handy little port that we are able to connect our wireless keyboards, our Skype-ready webcams, our portable hard drives, our notebook cooling stands, and so many other products. What about something a little more personal?

One of the more interesting applications is the USB Fridge. It’s not nearly as big as the refrigerator in your kitchen nor is it as big as the bar fridge you may have in your den, but it is big enough to handle at least one of your drinks and it’ll cool it down in a matter of minutes. It’s depicted here with a can of cola and it was able to drop down to 8 degrees Celsius in just five minutes!

The key is that you can grab your preferred chilled beverage from your main fridge, but when you’re at your computer, you can keep it cold with the USB fridge. It also has blue LED lighting effects and four feet of USB cable, not to mention that there is no need for drivers or software! It just works.

Find the USB Fridge on USB Geek for $30.

Great Gadgets: Freeloader Pico Solar Charger

We carry a lot of different electronic devices with us, but we’re not always next to a power outlet. When you’re busy making phone calls, checking email, taking pictures, streaming video, and so much more, it’s not surprising that your smartphone runs out of juice a lot sooner than you’d expect. What can you do?

There are some great portable battery pack options out there, but one of the greener solution has got to be the Freeloader Pico Solar Charger. You simply connect this pocket-friendly device to your GPS navigator, smartphone, or other similar products and it will draw in the power of the sun, channeling that electricity so you can keep going.

This can be particularly handy if you find yourself out in the wilderness or away from other power sources. This compact and lightweight solar charger can top up your battery in about half an hour. If you don’t have much in terms of sun, the Freeloader Pico Solar Charger has an internal battery that can be charged via USB as well. The product comes bundled with adapters for Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and mini-USB, but it’ll work with any USB device too.

The Freeloader Pico Solar Charger can be found on ThinkGeek for $40.

Great Gadgets: Asus Skype Video Phone Touch

One of the best ways that you can save a lot of money on both your home telephone line and your business phone is to take the route of VoIP with a service like Skype. By making the majority of your calls via the Internet to other Skype users, you can substantially reduce the size of your phone bills. After all, Skype-to-Skype is always free.

However, you may not feel as inclined to have your computer on all day solely for the purpose of making phone calls and, if you turn it off, you don’t want to miss any incoming calls either. Thankfully, there are solutions like the ASUS Skype Video Phone Touch that work without the aid of a full computer.

As its name implies, this device will allow you to make Skype calls directly, both voice and with video. One of its most interesting features is the 7-inch touchscreen display, making it the first touch-enabled Skype videophone in the world. You can access your full Skype contact list via the touchscreen interface. The built-in webcam holds up your half of the video equation and the integrated WiFi means that you don’t need a wired connection to your modem or router either.

The Asus Videophone Touch SV1TS is virus-proof with no software installations needed. As with the conventional computer-based Skype utility, you can make calls to regular landlines and mobile phones with Skype credit too. It is on sale for $209.99 on Amazon.ca, representing a 25% savings over the regular price.

Great Gadgets: Neverlate 7-Day Alarm Clock

When you have the exact same schedule each working day, setting the alarm clock is relatively simple process. However, for many entrepreneurs and shift workers, this simply is not the case. You may have to get up at 8am one morning, but at 6am the next.

Since it can be such a pain re-setting your alarm clock each evening for the following morning, wouldn’t it be better if you could set several alarms ahead of time? That’s the exact idea behind the Neverlate 7-Day Alarm Clock. As its name implies, the goal here is to prevent you from ever being late for work (or anything else) again.

Unlike most other alarm clocks that may have just one or maybe two alarm settings, the Neverlate solution gives you seven different alarms. This way, you have one setting for each day of the week. This kind of system is great not only for the employed, but also for students with their erratic schedules.

Other features include the ability to set your snooze length (between 1 and 30 minutes) and the inclusion of a “nap” button, which automatically sets an alarm for between 1 and 120 minutes from the time you press it.

Find the Neverlate 7-Day Alarm Clock on ThinkGeek for $35.

Great Gadgets: Asus EeeBox NetTop Computer

The netbook has taken the world by storm, because these little devices are able to offer a laptop-like experience in a smaller and more affordable package. Taking a similar approach to the desktop computer world is a device called a nettop. One of the most popular takes on this new niche is the Asus EeeBox.

Coming equipped with specifications and features that are much like its netbook counterpart, the Asus EeeBox is also affordably priced. You get the standard 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, and Windows XP Home. You can likely install Windows 7 Starter in there if you prefer too.

Further still, the EeeBox comes preinstalled with Asus Express Gate. This is a pre-boot environment that allows you to check email, surf online, play music, or chat with friends without having to enter the full operating system. The small size of the EeeBox also reduces energy usage by about 90% compared to a typical PC.

The Asus EeeBox EBXB202-WHT-X0081 Desktop PC is currently on sale on Amazon for $279.99. This represents an $80 savings over the regular price and there is an additional $30 mail-in rebate available if you buy before the end of this month.