Inspired by the James Bond Film “The Spy Who Loved Me”, the SQuba is an amphibious car designed by Frank Rinderknecht. The SQuba will operate like a boat if driven into the water, and is propelled along the surface by two propellers on either side of its license plate.
To submerge the vehicle, the driver opens a door to let water flood the passenger compartment. Once underwater, the SQuba uses a third engine to suck in water through the car’s front grille and pushes it out through two side jet vents.
The vents enable the car to manuevre underwater. The Lotus Elise-based SQuba is not for sale, but cost £750,000 to be built by Mr Rinderknecht’s company Rinspeed. It will go on show at next month’s motor show in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Linde Werdelin – Dive Computer
Here’s another James Bond inspired gadget: The Linde Werdelin Sea Instrument Dive Computer. Ever since Sean Connery wore a Rolex Submariner for the role of James Bond in 1962, the public imagination has been captivated by watches capable of enduring the most extreme of conditions such as submersion, pressure and shock.
The Linde Werdelin Dive Computer brings the diving watch into the 21st century; it is packed with a full suite of diving sensors that guage depth, orientation, direction, and of course, time.
The watch uses the Buhlmann’s algorithm to compute how much time the diver needs to safely surface, and has 128MB of inbuilt flash memory to log up to 60 hours worth of dive data for later analysis. All this high-tech wizardry doesn’t come cheap though, with the standard unit costing US$3069 or the 18karat gold version costing US$45,542.
Aquasonic – Underwater Loudspeakers
These are Aqua-Sonic Underwater speakers, thats right, full-range speakers that function underwater! They were originally developed for use by marine biologists, olympic swim teams and the US Navy, however, they’ve since been commercialised for the audiohydrophile in you!
The speakers can either be mounted into the pool wall or simply placed at the bottom with a cord running to the surface for the audio-input. These aquatic buzzers are available for $595.
This underwater MP3 player lets you listen to your favourite tunes during a monotonous pool workout. The unit attaches neatly to your goggle-straps and uses bone-conduction to deliver sound to your ears.
The bone-conduction pads rest on your cheeks and vibrate the sound into your head, thus allowing you to avoid sticking ear buds in your ears or the hassle of donning watertight headphones. Users report that the sound quality is about the same as regular ear buds.
This aquatic jukebox will set you back by about $140.
Digital Camera Swim Mask – World’s First Underwater Camera-Goggles
The Digital Camera Swim Mask is made by Hammacher and Schlemmer and is an entry-level underwater digital camera. It is equipped with a 5 megapixel CCD and is usable till a depth of 15 feet.
The mask’s eyepieces are made from tempered glass that have integrated crosshairs, allowing you to properly frame your aquatic subjects. The downside is that the mask has only 16MB of internal flash memory, however a microSD card slot allows you to expand its memory capacity.
The Camera Swim Mask would set you back by about $99
Sentry Safe – Water Resistant Hard Disk Enclosure
The Sentry Safe is the world’s first waterproof and fire resistant hard drive. The drive comes in a range of capacities, from 80GB to 120GB and finally 250GB.
It connects to your PC or laptop via highspeed USB and the internal hard drive is actually a One-Touch Maxtor drive. Cost: $351.
Panasonic Toughbook – Withstands Falls, Hot Coffee & the Pet
The Panasonic Toughbook is a laptop computer created for extreme environments. The system is designed to withstand vibration, drops, spills, extreme temperature, and other rough handling.
While originally targeted at military, law enforcement, and heavy industrial users, Panasonic has made this notebook available for purchase by the general public.
Their latest model, the CF-F8 will be available soon at $2544.
H2O Audio Surge – Water Resistant Ear Phones
These waterproof headphones are aptly named the H2O Audio Surge. These state of the art headphones will be allowing high quality sound to surge into your eardrums whilst keeping the water out.
A pair currently costs just $59.99, very good value for money
Garmin Forerunner – Water Resistant GPS Watch
The GPS antenna is inside the watch-strap, providing for quick acquisition times as well as improved satellite tracking whilst in wooded/urban environments. Cost: $300
Hydropak – World’s First Portable Fuel Cell
The HydroPak is the world’s first commercially available fuel cell. The system consists of a fuel cell and water-activated power-cartridge. Insert a hydrogen cartridge and add water, and the fuel cell would be sufficient to recharge your laptop computer between 8 and 10 times.
In addition, the HydroPak is designed with a common AC outlet as well as x2 USB connectors, allowing you to connect/charge a variety of appliances such as lights, television sets as well as communication systems.
The unit will cost $400 dollars when released, and each disposable cartridge would cost about $20.
Price, $600, available in 4 different colors.
It costs about $60. Unfortunately it still does not regulate water temperature
The Tear Drop iPod Speakers are another accessory for use in the bathroom. Battery operated and water resistant protection for your iPod, they’re the hottest gift in Japan right now.
These pool side speakers are carved in traditional polynesian ‘tiki’ designs and encased in a weather resistant shell. A perfect addition for that last pool party before summer ends! Price: $149.95
The SolarRoll is a 58-inch long roll-up solar panel that can be used to power a variety of gadgets from satellite phones, laptops, GPS devices and video cameras.
Originally designed for serious outdoorsmen, they now come in various sizes for the general public. The starting price is $295 for their basic model.
The 4610HD is Sunbrite’s first high-definition outdoor LCD television. The aluminium exterior is corrosion resistant and powder-coated.
Additional features include a baffled and filtered dual-fan airflow system, an internal thermostatically controlled heater and a water tight cable entry system. It can operate from -24 to 122 degrees celsius at 1920 x 1080 resolution with a 2000:1 contrast ratio.
The screen itself is protected by an anti-reflective, impact and scratch resistant window. Currently available for $5495.
This 8GB thumbdrive is as small as a quarter and is also waterproof – so no worries if you accidentally drop it in your martini..
It’s so light that some have suggested that they’d make good earrings for you geeky girlfriend. Price: $22.50
NU Wireless TV – A Portable Water Resistant TV
If you’re not game for a $5000 dollar 42 incher, the NU Wireless TV is a cheaper $1280 alternative as your wet and wild companion.
It’s fully water resistant, so you can splash water on it, leave it in the rain or use it in near your kitchen sink.
Further more, it is battery powered and can function for 2.5 hours non-stop before needing a recharge.
The F705i is the world’s slimmest waterproof 3G cellphone; it can withstand submersion in 1 meter of water for about 30 minutes.
Other features include a 1.3MP camera and Super Clear Voice/Mike Technology which automatically adjusts the volume in response to ambient noise levels. The unit has dimensions of 106×49×13.7mm, weighs in at 111g and will deliver 170-minutes of talk time, or 100-minutes of video calling, on a single charge.
Pricing unavailable.
What does that do for you? Well it CONVERTS any gadget you have into a waterproof one, its absolutely amazing! *Subliminal Message: All your waterproof gadgets are belong to us!
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