Road trips the way they're meant to be

Close your eyes and imagine the open road. Open your eyes. What did you see? A long stretch of landscape as far as the eye can see. Maybe there's a few twists and turns, a drive in the mountains. You might be envisioning a scenic coastal road with the cool ocean breeze rolling in through your window. No traffic, no potholes, no road work shutting down all but the shoulder. The only sounds are the ones provided by your beautiful surroundings and maybe your favorite road trip playlist. Any of the scenarios make for an idyllic road trip. Now close your eyes and remember what your last road trip was really like. Open your eyes. Let me start by saying that I apologize for making you relive it. What did you see? Bumper to bumper traffic? Road crews forcing you to take disorienting detours through unknown places. Were the kids fighting in the back seat over just about anything? Did you give up on your GPS because you kept dropping it or your passenger kept falling asleep rendering them useless as a co-pilot? Just a few universal examples of a long list of what road trips have become. Fortunately for the sake of families, groups of friends or anyone that dreams of that idyllic road trip, we have the solution and it's a simple one. Car mounts.

I don't know how everyone who has a car and relies on some type of smartphone, tablet, GPS, etc. doesn't have one of these. Here's a few that will save your sanity and make your road trip one you will want to remember.

First we have the GOgroove FlexSMART SP advanced car mount. Here's why it's advanced- not only does it hold your smartphone or GPS in place it also works as an FM Transmitter which allows you to play music from your device through your car speakers (your road trip playlist), It also allows you to make and receive hands-free calls through your car's sound system and it includes 2 USB charging ports so you can keep your devices charged and not run out of music. It does all of this while plugged into the DC outlet. You can even rotate it so you can view your screen in either portrait or landscape. Next we have the USA Gear XL Universal AC Vent Mount. This fully adjustable mount locks into the grates of your air vents in seconds! You can use this as a cradle for your smartphone or GPS. I would recommend using it to view directions, get around traffic and roadwork on your GPS while having the FlexSMART SP plugged in for your road trip playlist and hands free calling. We saved the best for last, the USA Gear TabGrab Car Mount. This headrest tablet mount hooks to your cars headrests in seconds and is fully adjustable to securely fit and hold a variety of tablets. Now you can let the kids watch movies, cartoons, sing-alongs, etc. and put an end to the quarreling. Throw in the cute blue Enhance Ybot Dual Headphone Stereo Splitter and you can enjoy the sounds of your idyllic road trip without hearing Dora the Explorer sing for the thousandth time. So take a drive up the coast or even across the country and enjoy the road trip you imagined.

What will you do?

This Sunday April 22nd is Earth Day. A day that will be observed by some 500 million people in 175 countries. For the past 42 years individuals and entire communities have been observing Earth Day as a way to promote individual and social change in environmental policy as well as learning and adopting environmentally friendly habits. Such as taking your own reusable shopping bags to the store, switching to energy efficient appliances, starting a compost bin or changing out old light bulbs for halogen bulbs. All of these are things that you may have already done or are in the process of doing. Maybe you want to get a little more involved, creative or maybe even irrational. In that case you could switch to a lamp that shuts off every time you close your eyes. This of course is accomplished by hooking up electrodes to your face that allow the lamp to read slight muscle movements, which is the irrational part. Maybe you want to go off the grid a little. If so try the bamboo iPod dock which uses a cut length of bamboo as a speaker by using the bamboo's own natural resonance without the use of electricity.

For most of us lending a hand to the environment is easiest done when it's a win-win. For example, energy-efficient appliances equal lower utility bills. So what's an easy, practical and environmentally friendly way we can help? How about using rechargeable batteries? Every year Americans throw out about 2.5 billion batteries which once they start to corrode will make up for more than 80% of the mercury in the waste stream. That's the scary eco-fact. Batteries are also costly. Instead try using rechargeable batteries like any of the TruCELL battery packs which you can recharge in the ReVIVE GoCharge. Another easy switch is solar power. I'm not talking about solar panels for your home or car. I'm talking about the ReVIVE Series Solar ReStore which is a portable extended battery charge pack. This all-in-one charger is capable of powering any device equipped with a micro or mini USB port. The Solar Restore can either be charged via the sun, USB or AC outlet. Once it's charged it will hold the charge for later use to give a power boost to your Smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc. It also includes a built-in, side-loaded, flexible LED light so you can read your Kindle by the campfire while you charge it. These are just a couple of easy, practical things you can do to help your wallet and the environment. But if you prefer the less practical irrational route there's a solar panel bikini available that can power your MP3 player or Smartphone. Happy Earth Day!

#IDestroyedMyEarbudsWhen

It's Friday the 13th, believed by many to be a day of bad omens and catastrophe. To add to that we have had torrential rain, thunder and lightning here in "always" sunny southern California. Normally, this would make for an exceptionally dreary day. Not this time! I took to our Twitter @AccessoryGenie and started a contest. The rules are simple, tweet us with your best #IDestroyedMyEarbudsWhen story include #AudiOHM and get entered into a drawing to win an awesome pair of AudiOHM Earbuds. I have to tell you, this was the best idea I've had all week. The replies have been phenomenal! They've also managed to brighten my otherwise dreary, possibly catastrophic Friday the 13th. Here's a sampling of some of the tweets we've received.


Anissa-"My dog ate them, now she is listening to Sting all the time."

Susan-"My cat is obsessed with my earbuds...he drags them around. The last time he dragged them into the litter box!"

Sarah-"They fell out of my shopping bag right after I bought them & then I backed over them w/ my car."

Mike-"Dancing in the bathroom and they went in the toilet :( how sad is that?"

As you can see so far we've learned to keep our earbuds away from pets and moving cars. As far as those who have dropped them in the toilet, off the side of a cruise ship, or purposely annihilated their earbuds in a moment of rage because they kept falling out I suggest investing in a pair of AudiOHM Earbuds immediately! These are by far the best earbuds I have ever used. The sound coming out of these little guys is amazing. That's because of the AP Noise-Isolation and Sonus Max sound which makes for crystal-clear audio. The Neodymium Magnetic Components along with the resonance chamber makes these little guys boom with bass which in my opinion is what always seems to be missing from other earbuds. Add to that the ergonomic shape and design in which the earpiece is angled 45 degrees into your ear with interchangeable silicon earpieces in 4 sizes to give you a perfectly cushioned fit and you never have to worry about your earbuds falling out again. After all that you probably are thinking they sound amazing, I want a pair right now! Guess what? They're on SALE! That definitely makes this Friday the 13th a lucky one. Unless a black cat crosses your path after you dropped your earbuds and uses them as a chew toy.

That's just a taste of the replies that we've been receiving. If you want to see all of them or better yet add your own story and be entered to win a free pair of AudiOHM Earbuds follow us on Twitter @AccessoryGenie.

Project Glass- The Future is Now. Really, it is!

Google announced Project Glass and with it gave the world a sneak peek at what our interconnected world can/will look like in an "augmented reality". That is quite literally having your friends, family, updates, notifications, playlists, texts, calls etc. accessible in your line of sight. Making this possible is a frame not unlike those of regular wraparound glasses. But unlike regular glasses, these have no lenses. Instead they have a small glass screen on the upper right side next to what looks like a Bluetooth type housing. From what the demo video shows these will be equipped with A.I. software. The artificial intelligence software is what makes the seemingly intuitive features and voice commands come to life.


As I said before though, this is just an announcement--a sneak peek into what Project Glass may deliver in the very near future. Currently the frames being sported by Google co-founder Sergy Brin are just prototypes, but, if Google has their way, we may be lining up to buy our own pair as early as this Christmas.

For those of you that have seen the Project Glass video (shot from the wearer's POV) and have now been left wishing to live in a Bluetooth world here is a gadget to hold you over.

The GOgroove FlexSmart Smartphone All-in-One turns your car into your very own Cobra control center (for those of you who remember G.I. Joe, wink). This device plugs into your car's DC outlet allowing you to centrally mount your Smartphone. The flexible neck and rotating head allow you to adjust the positioning and the USB port located in the unit can be used to charge any USB enabled device. What really makes this hands-free device sing is the FM Transmitting Chipset which allows you to play music from your device through your car speakers. Even cooler, when you receive a call the music fades out (ooh) to allow you to take the call sans hands through your car speakers. Once your call is completed the music fades back in (ahh). Not just that, they'll save you from any fines for fumbling with your phone while driving. Besides, you think they're going to allow people to drive while wearing Google glasses? Doubtful.