Cool gadgets for a beach vacation

Dear PropellerHeads: My family is going to the beach with my brother's family soon. My brother always has some neat new techie vacation gadget. Can you suggest some cool, geeky vacation gadgets so that I can one-up my brother this year?

A: Sibling rivalry, I remember it well. Sibling rivalry over tech gadgets, well that's just sad. But you asked, so here you go.

If you're like me, you'll probably be doing some grilling while at the beach. Take a look at the Instant-Read Pro LCD Thermometer Grill Fork with Light available from HomeWetBar.com, (http://bit.ly/kFlHGA). This nifty little gadget is available for less than $30. Not only will it give an instant reading of how done your dinner is, it has a built-in LED flashlight so you can grill in the dark and still deliver a perfectly cooked meal.

You didn't mention whether you would be flying to your vacation destination, but for a mere $29, you might be able to impress your brother with a digital luggage scale. With today's airline fees for overweight luggage, you can easily justify that cost. I'll admit this is not the coolest gadget I've ever seen, but re-arranging your underwear at check-in to eliminate a pound or two is fundamentally un-cool (especially if your underwear really weighs a pound or two). The BZ 200 Digital Luggage Scale (the creative team must have been on vacation when this was named) is available from TravelSmith.com. Check it out here, http://bit.ly/iSOHe3.

You know you'll want to have pictures and videos to help you remember your vacation. So if you're not ready to upgrade to a smartphone, Kodak has a cool new video camera: the Kodak PlayFull Video camera. It's so tiny it fits in your shirt pocket, yet it is packed full of features.

You can record video with 1080p HD quality, specify "share" destinations, email addresses, Facebook, etc. and the video and pictures will be sent automatically when you hook your camera to your computer. The camera comes with editing software that allows you to cut your brother out of the picture with ease. For a review of this nifty little camera, take a look at http://www.squidoo.com/kodakplayfull. The Kodak PlayFull camera is available from Best Buy and other fine stores for around $150.

Do you love the beach but really hate having sand all over your blanket while you tan? Maybe Hammacher Schlemmer's Sandless Beach Mat is just the thing you need. The technology for the Sandless Beach Mat came from the military. It was developed to contain sand and dust when helicopters land and take off. The Sandless Beach Mat is made from woven polyurethane layers that filter the sand back to the beach. It's waterproof and has metal rings at each corner to secure it to the ground. Go to http://bit.ly/k9auIw to order the mat. It retails for about $70, but that's a bargain that will surely impress.

I was very surprised a couple of years ago when the beach house I rented had no Internet and only sketchy cell service. I didn't really want to call anyone, but my strong need to text had to be put on hold for an entire week - ouch! Not to worry, now there's a device called the SPOT Connect. The SPOT Connect is a satellite communicator that allows your smartphone to connect via Bluetooth to its satellite connection, thus boosting the smartphone's reach.

While you cannot make calls with the SPOT Connect, you can tweet, text and update Facebook all from remote locations. Take a look at Gizmodo's review of the SPOT Connect at http://gizmo.do/ePnHrX. This gadget will cost you, as it retails for about $170 and requires about a $100 annual subscription as well. I'm not sure that will impress your brother, but at least you can't possibly get lost while using it. Admitting you're lost is NEVER cool and with this device you will never have to!

Now quit worrying about impressing your brother and concentrate on having a wonderful vacation. Jump on in (without the camera), I hear the water is fine!

When the PropellerHeads at Data Directions aren't busy with their IT projects, they love to answer questions on business or consumer technology. Email them to [email protected] or contact us at Data Directions, Inc. 8510 Bell Creek Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23116. Visit our website at www.askthepropellerheads.com.