On the Road Gadgets as seen on Stephen Fry: Gadget Man
The introductory episode of new Channel 4 series Stephen Fry: Gadget Man sees our new gadget man go head to head with the almighty commute. With a little help from Jonathan Ross, Fry goes in search of the best technology that might help reduce the stresses and strains that Urbanites face each day as they cross the city to work. Fry investigates a vast array of gadgets, from the practical to the not so practical and downright terrifying like the Yike Bike, motorised roller-skates called SpnKix and even his own mildly successful invention to dodge road traffic altogether: the Amphitaxi.
Here, we prefer the more practical of gadgets, like the Visijax. This high vis jacket is neatly kitted out with as many as 23 high intensity LEDs in the sleeves, which activate when the rider lifts their arm to produce highly visible, ingenious indicating sleeves. Another fun – but not necessarily practical – gadget is the Bike Spokelit; a little multi-coloured light that fits to your bike spokes and as you move off, gives the illusion of a luminous ring of light around the wheel.
Fitted in Fry’s Renault Twizy electric car were a whole bunch of little gadgets that caught our eye as he was stuck in commuter-traffic. First up is the Tom Tom VIA 130, a new sat nav that has a built in Bluetooth speaker so you can make hands-free calls on the go. It also features voice programming, where you can upload various voice packs, including one made by Stephen Fry himself. Also in the Renault Twizy were the remarkable silicone Grippy Pads – brilliant for preventing your gadgets, especially phones or iPads, sliding off and around the dashboard.
To make the train ride more bearable Fry entertains the Epson Moverio BT-100 Transparent Multimedia Glasses: not particularly elegant but very effective video goggles that let you watch films or play games on a perceived 80-inch, one way viewing screen. The device also runs on Android™, which means you have access to the thousands of apps available for download online.
Finally, stuck aboard the Amphitaxi with a dud propeller, Fry enjoys an instant espresso, served from the Handpresso Auto portable in-car espresso maker. The machine cleverly runs on the car’s internal socket and has your coffee ready in as little as 2-3 minutes.
See the products featured in this episode of Stephen Fry: Gadget Man below:
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Also featured in episode 1 of Stephen Fry: Gadget Man
SpnKix – Motorised Roller-Skates
TRIKKE – Ultra-lightweight 3-wheeled electric Scooter
YikeBike – Unusually designed Electric Bike
Epson Moverio BT-100 Transparent Multimedia Glasses