Bluetooth Car Kits

One of the simplest ways to turn your phone into a hands-free device is to install a Bluetooth car kit, which typically plugs into the vehicle’s DC outlet. Since it’s voice activated, you can simply talk to text, dial, or look up navigation, all with one easy-to-use device. Expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $100—a small price for safety.

Key2SafeDriving

Similar to other safe-driving tools, Key2SafeDriving disables your phone when you’re on the road. It differs, however, in the sense that it’s a standalone device, which is more difficult to tamper with than an app. The Key2SafeDriving add-on (which plugs into your car’s OBD-II port) stores text messages and calls until you arrive at your destination, and can even email you a report when it’s been disabled. This makes it a great device for multi-driver cars.

Vlingo (Free, Android, iOS, and Windows)

If you live in a state where hands-free phone use is permitted, an app like Vlingo can help you keep your eyes on the road. When activated, Vlingo verbally announces incoming calls and can even read your text messages so you don’t need to look at your phone. You can also use it to find directions, ask questions, and update social media without your hands ever leaving the steering wheel.

Canary (Free, Android and iOS)

If your teen is taking the car for the night, make sure he or she doesn’t leave without Canary installed and linked to your phone. This app not only disables your teen’s phone when the car is in motion, but it can also record driving behaviors, like if he or she attempts to send a text message or goes over the speed limit. As the linked parent, you will receive updates on your phone.

DriveOFF (Free, Android and iOS)

DriveOFF is a simple app that uses your phone’s accelerometer to disable your phone while you’re driving. It will turn off all calls and messages and simply display a boring background of your choice. You’ll earn points for distraction-free driving, too, so there’s an added incentive to keep your phone out of sight and out of mind.

Armed with the right apps and tech, your phone can actually become a force for good when it comes to safe driving. Do you have a different safe-driving tool you prefer to use?

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Waze (Free, Android, iOS, and Windows)

Best for: Social Fans

Can’t stand to go offline for even a minute? Waze is like the Facebook of the freeway, allowing drivers and passengers to connect safely to crowdsource traffic information. Waze, a user favorite for years, provides turn-by-turn navigation cues and shows you the location of other Waze drivers, potential speed traps, accidents, and traffic snares along the way. Obviously, the social features should not be used while driving; passengers will love the interaction options.

Scout (Free, Android, iOS, and Windows)

Best for: Hardcore Commuters

Stuck doing the daily grind day in and day out? Use an app like Scout to make your long commute a little less painful. Loaded with features like a trip time estimator, traffic alerts, and even on-route restaurants and an event calendar, you can avoid traffic and maybe even make a coffee pit stop when you have the time. Scout even helps you find the cheapest parking so you’re not stuck spending your precious pay feeding the meter.

CoPilot (Free, Android, iOS, and Windows)

Best for: Penny Pinchers

If your main concern is saving money, an app like CoPilot might be helpful. Not only does the app show you three different route options, but you can see the cost of driving that path based on gas usage, idling time, and traffic stops—ideal if you’re on a budget. Another cool feature is the ability to download and save maps for offline viewing, which uses up less of your phone data.

Trapster (Free, Android, iOS, and Windows)

Best for: Speed Demons

While Trapster is designed to help drivers avoid police speed traps, it’s other features are worth the download. It gathers information from current drivers and generates a route map with potential issues like debris on the road, traffic, and accidents clearly marked so you can slow down and drive more carefully, or plan a route that skirts accidents and other slow-downs completely.

RoadTrip ($4.99, iOS)

Best for: Business Travelers

If you travel for work, RoadTrip might the best navigation app for you. With RoadTrip, you’re able to effectively track your trip miles, gas costs, and other variables so you may be properly reimbursed for your mileage. When you’re done, you can export your numbers to a spreadsheet for the accounting department or your own records.

Driving doesn’t have to be a total drag, especially if you know how to hack traffic and keep on top of your gas mileage. By responsibly using full-featured apps while driving, you can save both time and money.

Do you have another navigation app you rely on?

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Where’s Santa? (iOS, free)

If your kids’ anticipation levels are reaching fever pitch, they may need something to keep them occupied while they wait for Santa on Christmas Eve. Not only does Where’s Santa offer a map-based tracker, there’s also a full menu of games. With a Santa calendar, puzzles, and facts about Santa’s reindeer, this app can help pass the time until visions of sugar plums lull your kids to sleep.

Google Santa Tracker (Android, free)

What do you get when you combine the functionality of Google Maps with a dash of Christmas cheer? The Google Santa Tracker. Beyond simply showing Santa’s exact location, this app allows kids to zoom in and check out what Santa is up to, whether he is feeding his reindeer or heading to the North Pole for supplies. Your kids will know exactly when Santa is set to appear in your home, and they can watch as he makes his way around the world, providing a fun geography lesson while building excitement.

NORAD Tracks Santa (iOS, Android, free)

The Northern American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) began tracking Santa via radio and over the phone in the 1950s as children listened intently. Today, NORAD’s app will pinpoint Santa’s location, provide location flags on a map to monitor his progress, and show where the Jolly Elf was last spotted. The app also lets your kids explore a 3-D model of the North Pole and play a few games. No smartphone? No problem. NORAD still offers its phone-based Santa status service if kids call 877-HI-NORAD.

Apps for tracking Santa may reassure your kids that Santa’s on his way, but they can also usher in a new modern tradition for your family.

What apps do you use during the holidays?

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Black Friday App by SlickDeals.net (Free on iOS and Android): SlickDeals.net is a leader in crowdsourced savings, and its app tracks all the Black Friday sales and retailers. You can use it to help you plan your attack on Friday morning by seeing each of the sales and the best prices for the items you’re hunting.

Amazon Mobile (Free on iOS and Android): While Amazon may be the best place to score Cyber Money deals, you’ll get the best Black Friday deals if you download the Amazon Mobile app and use it to price match with big-box retailers. Target, Best Buy, Staples, and WalMart have all promised to honor Amazon pricing as long as the item is processed and shipped by Amazon. This could mean major savings on hot items that might sell out online, but are easy to find in-store.

ShopSavvy (Free on iOS and Android): Sometimes, Black Friday deals look good, but you’re not sure if you’re really getting the best price. Enter the ShopSavvy app. It allows you to scan any bar code in-store and see what prices other online and brick-and-mortar retailers are asking for the same item. That way, you can get the best deal on the item you want without succumbing to a store’s clever advertising tactics.

Zoomingo (Free on iOS and Android): Not everyone plans their Black Friday shopping like a tactical mission. If you’re running behind or heading out to shop at the last minute, Zoomingo can show you the best deals near you. What’s more, it also throws the spotlight on locally owned businesses, so you can spend your shopping dollars within the local economy. It’ll be handy for Small Business Saturday as well as nearby Black Friday deals.

SnipSnap (Free on iOS and Android): Coupons can improve your savings when you’re shopping for the best Black Friday deals. But fumbling with a bag of coupons each time you check out is a hassle. Instead, download SnipSnap, an app that allows you to snap a front-and-back shot of each coupon and store it on your phone for easy retrieval. During checkout, you’ll just whip out your phone and show the cashier the coupon for scanning. It’s easy and won’t slow you down on your hunt for killer deals.

Do you shop on Black Friday? Will you apps to help you find the best deals?

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1976: With the creation of the Apple Computer Company came the necessity for the first logo. It was nothing like the iconic fruit shape you know and love today. Instead, it was a complicated sketched picture of Sir Isaac Newton, designed by Apple co-founder Ronald Wayne. Penned around the outside of the picture was the unlikely motto, “A mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought … alone.”

1977: That logo and motto didn’t last long. Steve Jobs himself banished the old logo only one year into the company’s existence. Instead, he asked designer Rob Janoff for his ideas. Janoff came up with the perfect tag line—”Byte into an Apple”—with an image of a bitten apple. His design was rainbow-colored, which he later admitted was only because the all-red design looked like a cherry tomato.

1998: The rainbow incarnation of the Apple logo lasted a whopping 21 years. It wasn’t until Steve Jobs came back to Apple that he ordered a complete overhaul of the brand’s image, going from bright bulbous computers to sleek new silver models. The new logo had to be equally sleek, which is why it went from rainbow to solid black. 

2011: After the black version of the Apple logo rolled out, Apple hasn’t been shy about playing around with the color and the dimension of the iconic apple. By 2011, it went from solid black to a number of different colors and most noticeably, a 3D silver incarnation to match the almost white glowing apple found on the back of Apple laptops. Of course, the black logo is still in circulation, most noticeably on the iPhone 5c.

The evolution of the Apple logo isn’t just an important bit of history, but a commentary on design and trends throughout the last 35 years. From bright and eye-catching to sleek and streamlined, Apple has always been ahead of the curve, even when it comes to something as simple as a logo.

Is the Apple logo one of your favorites? What are some others?

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Kitchen Mounts

Ultra Impact Bamboo iPad Stand: If you’re planning on cooking up your famous baked chicken, you’ll need a stand that can be easily sanitized. A bamboo-based stand can be plunged into hot water to erase any traces of germs and bacteria. What’s more, the Ultra Impact offers three separate slots for your tablet, which gives you a variety of viewing angles while you cook.

Belkin Chef Tablet Stand and Stylus: Greasy fingers can leave prints all over your pristine tablet, so accessories leader Belkin has a solution: ditch the fingers and the fumbling for a sleek stand and stylus instead. That way, your buttery digits only make a mess on the stylus (which can be easily wiped down), while the metal frame keeps your tablet at an optimal viewing angle.

Monoprice Universal Tablet Mount: If you’re worried about spills and splashes affecting your tablet, look for an under-cabinet mount that keeps your gadget away from the action. The Monoprice Universal fits any type and size of tablet and affixes easily underneath your cabinets or directly to the wall. It also offers a swiveling head and extendable arm to make it easier to read your recipes.

Other Gadgets

If you’re a serious cook, you may want to go beyond a simple mount to get your kitchen on. Tablets made specifically for cooking, and other handy gadgets, can help your recipes go from traditional to high-tech.

The iGrill: If you’re tired of overcooking your meat, you can sync your Apple phone or tablet to the iGrill. When your meat has reached the desired temperature for rare, medium, or well done, you’ll get an alert on your phone from up to 200 feet away, so there’s no need to baby-sit your steak.

Archos ChefPad: If you use your tablet for cooking most of the time, a kitchen-centric gadget may be in order. The Archos ChefPad runs like a regular tablet, but it comes encased in silicone, is splash-resistant, and comes pre-loaded with a selection of cooking apps for the ultimate recipe machine.

While there are some other gadgets in the works, such as a kitchen scale and cutting board that also functions as a tablet, they aren’t ready for market yet. Still, armed with an arsenal of the best tablet stand for the kitchen and high-tech kitchen gadgets, you can show off your cooking skills in style.

What are your must-have kitchen gadgets?

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