WOMEN GADGET SPECIAL LADIES SPECIAL

WOMEN GADGET SPECIAL LADIES SPECIAL





Women juggle multiple roles at home and in the office. And it's no secret that the lives of every member of the family is inextricably linked to the lady of the house. But being the nucleus ­ the person that everyone turns to in times of need ­ is no easy task, and every now and then, even superwomen need some help. Savio D'Souza and Ashutosh Desai tell you about some cool tech that's designed to make life simpler for women who do so much more to make life simpler for the rest of us...

SACO GADGET ORGANIZER

Your handbag holds a lot of stuff, ranging from toiletries to gadgets and their chargers. De-clutter it with the Saco Gadget Organizer (`600) that has slots for your cables, charger plugs, and gadgets like a pen drive, 3G data dongle, etc. This organizer can be folded and zipped up, making it extremely handy even for long journeys.

Apart from Saco, you could consider brands like the ADK Nylon Organizer (`499), PacknBuy Gadget Pouch (`600) which sport different designs, and are available in multiple colours.

OMRON HBF-306

Invisible body fat build-up can make you susceptible to heart disorders, diabetes, high blood pressure and other illnesses. The Omron HBF-306 Body Fat Monitor (`2,450) is a handy device that helps you determine whether you are at risk for disease.

To use, you have to enter details like your height and weight, grip the unit in both hands with outstretched arms, and press the start button. The analyser sends an extremely weak (and safe) electrical current through your body to measure body fat precisely in a matter of seconds.

The HBF-306 ­ built out of lightweight plastic fibre reinforced with an aluminium frame ­ is powered by a pair of AAA batteries and works with a fair degree of accuracy. It indicates basal metabolic rate (BMR), gives you a graphical interpretation of body type, plus it measures and assesses body fat percentage and BMI (the ratio between your weight and height). The HBF-306 also comes with a smart memory chip that can store data for up to nine people, so the entire family can use it.

TP-LINK PB10400 & AMBRANE P-1311

If you rely heavily on your handset for keeping in touch with friends, family and colleagues; use its camera to capture memorable moments; are active on social media, and even use GPS navigation to reach your destination, then you're sure to drain your battery before the day is done.

Well, you need backup power.

The TP-Link TL-PB10400 (`1,350) is equipped with a flashlight feature and comes with dual USB (2A, 1A out put) ports that can be used to charge two devices simultaneously. Then, there's the Ambrane P-1311 (`1,399) with its higher 15600mAh battery , plus flashlight ­ as well as the Honor Powerbank (`1,300) with its 13000mAh battery and dual 2-Amp USB ports.

16-LED SELFIE FLASH

Many smartphones come without a camera flash, or even a weak flash. So if you like shooting selfies with your friends and family, you might want to carry a portable flash in your purse. Simply connect it to your smartphone via its 3.5mm jack and start shooting. These devices are equipped with 16 LEDs and allow you to switch between three levels of brightness ­ and since they come with their own rechargeable battery, they won't even drain your phone's cells. Besides, these flashes ­ available from vendors such as Bluebill, Evana, Fotonica, Memore, Photron and Wireswipe (`250 onwards) ­ can also be used as a simple flashlight or emergency lamp in times of need.

PANASONIC RP-HGS10 & SONY AS200

The Panasonic RP-HGS10 (`3,590) will ensure you don't miss important calls and still hear what's going on around you. These headphones sport an “open-ear“ design and pass audio through the bone directly to the inner ear. Since your ears are not plugged, you will continue to be aware of the sounds around you. Besides, they carry an IPX4 rating, which means they are waterand sweat-resistant.

You could also look at the budget Sony AS200 (`750) earphones that are splash-proof and feature “loop hangers“ for a secure fit.

WITHINGS WIRELESS SCALE

The Withings WS-30 (`12,900) is a smart scale that measures weight and even calculates BMI. It then uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity to wirelessly transfer this data to the Withings Health Mate app, available for Android and iOS, to display it in graphical form. The recorded data can also be shared with more than 100 compatible health-and-fitness apps, including Runkeeper, MyFitnessPal, Endomondo, and LoseIt.

The WS-30 recognizes up to eight persons, and each user can choose whether they want to keep their readings private, send them to their doctor via e-mail, or share the results via social media (Facebook and Twitter) for boasting rights.

Since life is all about alter natives, you could also con sider the Fitbit Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale (`15,200) that's packed with a similar fea ture set.

Life360

Life360 is a locator app that lets you add family members into “circles“ to track their whereabouts throughout the day. Similarly, they will also know where you are.

And in case your phone gets stolen or misplaced, you can sign in from Life360's website to locate it. But first, you need to register for the service and invite trusted people to form groups. You can then individually enabledisable location sharing for each group. A `geo-fencing' feature lets you create a perimeter around specific places and set alerts to let you know when family members ­ say your children or aged parents ­ enters or leaves them. The app even includes an emergency alert feature that raises an alarm with a call, text message and location coordinates.Here, you need to add up to three members to each circle who will receive your location information in time of distress.Android, iOS, Windows Phone | Free

24me

This app is for the pro multitasker and comes with a calendar, to-do list and notes app. After registering via 24me, you can add tasks, create quick alerts for scheduling calls, text messages and e-mails. In fact, it automatically adds missed calls to your to-do list. Its action panel lets you assign priorities to each task, add reminders, labels and notes. 24me even lets you insert an image or a voice message if you don't have the time to type. The app sports a clutter-free interface and lists tasks for the next two days only, along with local weather and a summary of your itinerary for the rest of the week. When linked to your social network account, 24me will sound birthday alerts and even let you share chores with people in your list.Android, iOS | Free

TOI5MAR16