The Geek Church

While I was at CES 2012, looking at the newest gadgets, I managed to find something really great for the iPad known as the Grablet.

The Grablet is a simple item that attaches to the back of the iPad or iPad 2 with clip-out straps. It allows the user to take the iPad in one hand while manipulating it with the other.

Not only will you make it difficult to drop your favorite Apple tablet, but you can also accessorize it and make it so you can hang your tablet on a wall or even on the back of a car seat.

If you are interested in getting a Grablet for yourself, head to the Grablet site and pick up one in many colors for a price of $39.99.

During CES 2011, I was approached by two men that wanted to introduce me to their invention. I believe that they had a demonstration for it on an iPad, but the Swivl was a mount for an iPhone camera that would follow the user.

I thought it was a pretty ingenious idea, and at CES 2012, the Swivl had a lot of space devoted to it. For 2012, the Swivl had become a sensor enabled and motorized base for your mobile video device with a paired marker. It will follow you as you go, which is good for vlogging, or any other type of recording for education or sports.

You can reserve the Swivl for a small price of $159.00 now right here, and it will start shipping in Q1 of this year.

Have you ever wanted to just check out a geolocated video, and watch as someone films as you follow along on a map? Well, now there is a whole community where you can do that called Kinomap.com.

I found Kinomap at CES, and it took me a while to figure out what they were doing. If you go to the Kinomap site, you can get a software suite that has the Kinomap maker, a free application on smartphones that records geolocated videos.

You can also sync Kinomap videos with exercise bikes, so it is like you are riding the mapped path as the video is playing.

If you want to get in on the Kinomap vision, head to the Kinomap website here and see if you can get in on this free API, or use a camera with GPS.

Those of you who are into being physically fit will enjoy this Gaiam Zone Trainer watch (version 3.0) from Oregon Scientific.

The Gaiam Zone Trainer watch has a built-in heart-rate monitor and it also has a touchscreen to boot. Instead of dealing with those tiny buttons, all that is required is touching certain areas on the front of the watch.

I would have to say that the Trainer watch is somewhat complicated to use, but only for those that don’t know the language of the physically fit, like myself. However, with a little bit of work, you can quickly learn how to track calories burned and heart rate data.

You should be able to purchase the Gaiam Touch Strapless Heart Rate Monitor for about $99 on the Oregon Scientific Store.