These nifty gadgets will give you peace of mind on your travels

MINNIE MOUSE
If you worry that your mouse will get banged up in your laptop case the answer could be the G4 Slim USB Optical Mouse. This credit card-sized item fits into the PCMCIA (memory card) slot of your laptop and transforms into a two-button mouse, with touch-scroll pad and a retractable USB cable. Weighing 43g and available in four colours (blue, cherry, silver and ivory), the Slim Mouse is available online at www.slim-mouse.com for US$69.99 (AU$81).

ACCESS DENIED
No double-locks or snarling dogs to make you feel safe? Have no fear, the Door Stop Alarm is here. Just wedge the device under your door and arm it. Any attempt to open the door will set off a 125-decibel alarm – loud enough to wake anyone in the vicinity! An adjustable movement sensor will also activate if the alarm is tampered with, giving you peace of mind. US$9.95 (AU$11.50) online at www.maxiaids.com

STAY AFLOAT
When you’re out kayaking or boating, you won’t have to worry about dropping your keys into the drink – not when you’ve attached the Key Buoy™ to them. When the Buoy hits the water, it immediately deploys a bright orange tube that inflates to a height of 47cm above the waterline for easy retrieval. Single use only. Available on www.firebox.com for £4.95 (AU$12).

DATA SAFE
Feel like a secret agent with the new SecureStix thumb drive. Accessible only with your fingerprint, your classified computer files will be Fort Knox-secure as you make that international presentation. Shades of Mission Impossible, we say! AU$147 gets you 1GB of memory, AU$187 2GB. Call 1300 552 824 within Australia for stockists.

SMART & SAFE
Cute and handy, these ultra-light personal SmartAlarms can be hung off your bags or worn around your neck for easy access. The 120-decibel siren will certainly get attention quickly. Available in a range of colours and shapes (silver futuristic-looking, red heart-shape, blue footy ball and even a cute little mouse) for AU$19.99, including batteries. Call 1800 689 444 (toll free) within Australia for stockists.

A FAIR CLIP
For all you guys out there who’d like to give yourself a little trim now and then between salon visits, the Sunbeam Solo™ Hair Clipper is made for you. Fitting perfectly into the palm of your hand, the clipper is rechargeable, gives 45 minutes of use and can be used on both wet and dry hair. Available for AU$39.95 at leading electrical and department stores; call Sunbeam for stockists on tel: 1800 025 059 (toll free) within Australia.

HAPPY SNAPPER
The new Sony Cybershot DSC-T100 has more than just good looks. This little baby offers a powerful 8.1MP imager with five-times optical zoom and a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, as well as other Sony technologies such as Face Detection, In-Camera Re-touching and a full HD 1080i video output, all in a 141g package. AU$749; available in red, silver and black. For stockists call tel: 1300 720 071 within Australia.

BRILLIANT WHITES
The good folks behind the OhSo Marko Pocket Toothbrush say they’ve created “the ultimate travel toothbrush”, and we have to agree it’s pretty cool. The toothpaste is stored in the handle – the storage space is filled by suction – while a window tells you the amount of toothpaste left and then dispenses it onto the bristles at a turn of the knob! The bristles are replaceable, too. You’ll be using this gadget for years to come. Available on Amazon. com for US$19.95 (AU$23).

SMOKED OUT
Veteren travellers David Potter and Robert Carmichael created the FlareSafe™ in response to the Childers fire tragedy in Queensland. Weighing only 230g, FlareSafe™ is a smoke detector, distress alarm and LED torch all in one. Arm the smoke detector by twisting the cap anti-clockwise. The 110-decibel alarm, which can also be used in distress by pressing the orange button, is audible up to 500m away, while the visibility of the LED torch (to aid searches) reaches up to 2km. A formidable safety device. Available online at www.flarebrands.com for £42.51 (AU$100).

Todd Basche is the creator of WordLock™. This revolution in the combination-lock sector uses letters instead of numbers, and it’s set to be a huge success with travellers.

What was the driving force behind WordLock™?
Forgetfulness. We needed to lock our pool fence and I had to choose a combination that my friends and I could easily remember. It just hit me that it would be so much easier to remember POOL or SWIM [instead of numbers]. I started looking to buy a lock that used words not numbers. When I realised none existed, WordLock™ was born.

Did you wonder why someone else didn’t think of it first?
Certainly; it seemed so obvious I just assumed it existed already. Words are how we communicate, so what could be more natural than using words to make ourselves secure?

How long did the process take, from concept to market?
When you have a full-time job and you’re working on the invention from 10pm to 2am, it takes a while. The patenting process is also a lengthy one with so many patents being filed. It took four years just for the first patent.

Is it possible to make a living as an inventor in this day and age?
Yes. There are two paths inventors can take: licensing or manufacturing the product yourself. In licensing, inventors who can generate many great product concepts and demonstrate a strong user-benefit for each can potentially sell their concepts to companies and create an income from that. If an inventor decides to take the product to market himor herself, it requires networking and a strong business sense. It’s a much more difficult path but potentially has much greater rewards.

Are locks a deterrent?
Absolutely… of course only when they are used, so it’s very important to make locks more personal and easy to use. We’re developing a whole family of easy-to-use security products – locker locks, luggage locks and bike locks – that allow consumers to easily secure all their belongings.

What gadget are you waiting for someone to invent?
Well as a kid, I always read Popular Science, so I am still waiting for the flying car that drives itself while we all just watch a movie! I would like to see a LED-based light bulb that could be just screwed into any socket and replace all existing incandescent bulbs. LED-based lights use a fraction of the power, run cooler and never need to be replaced in your lifetime. Think of the impact that would have on our energy use worldwide.

The WordLock™ travel locks function with a four-letter combination – there are a 10,000 possible permutations. Available in black and silver from AU$21.95. Order from Samsonite on tel: 1800 331 690 (toll-free) within Australia.