How to Secure Your Home against Burglars!

FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports paint a very grim picture of burglary. It says that across the US, burglary (officially known as crime against property) happens every 15 seconds. You read it right; a home is burgled every 15 seconds in the United States.

Who’s the target?
Burglary usually occurs during the day when people are out of the house for work or school. Also single family homes in quiet neighborhoods are more at risk of catching the burglar’s eye than apartments. July and August are the months with maximum break ins reported and February is the month with the least number of thefts.

Who are the burglars?
The resolving rate of burglary cases is dismally low- 13% are solved with stolen items recovered. Usually the thieves are men below the age of 25, looking for quick cash. That is why they break into homes and take away cash, jewelry, electronics like laptops, DVD players, speakers, cameras and other expensive and easy to sell stuff like furs, leather bags and guns and ammo.

How secure your home
The basic idea is to ensure that you don’t push your home under the burglars’ noses or leave your home poorly secured. Here are some tips:

• Do not have thick hedges around windows or doors to help the burglars conceal themselves.
• Do not advertise your wealth- keep your blinds closed so they cannot see the expensive furnishings/equipment.
• Get motion sensor flood lights
• Install wireless security camera system around your property
• Get a yappy dog- one who barks loudly is an effective deterrent
• Get thick wooden or steel forced doors; get dead bolt locks and key locks for windows.

These few simple tips will help you secure your home from burglars.

Solar Technology at ElectroFlip

Do you remember a time when solar or wind technology was considered a part of the fringe? Well, we’ve reached a tipping point because clean energy technology is now very much a part of the mainstream. It may be a shame that it took fears about Global Warming to make this happen, but better late than never. New money is pouring into research departments to develop new and more efficient clean energy technology.

We have heard of research at Cal Tech, for example, that has helped develop solar paneling that can be added to cell phones. However, that technology is not being incorporated into iPhones or other cellular technology, so at ElectroFlip we offer the next best thing. The Solio Magnesium Solar Hybrid Multi-Device Charger is a separate unit, about the size of a cellphone when folded up, that can charge a cell phone, iPod, or other digital device in as little as an hour.

This transcends merely “neat” into truly vital. Imagine if you’re traveling – either in the wilderness or even the streets of a foreign city. Charging a device through an outlet – which may be incompatible if you’re overseas – can be difficult if you’re in an unfamiliar location. The solar charger is rugged so you can take it camping, and it’s lightweight. Best of all, it’s good for the environment, as you won’t need to plug into the electrical grid to get your power. Carting along batteries for a digital camera and other electronic gadgets can be a hassle, so the Solio charger is one of the most useful green energy gadgets to come on the market.

How GPS Works

We sell GPS technology on ElectroFlip and one of the most common questions we hear is not how to configure a particular device, but just the plain simple fact about GPS works. Most people have a pretty rudimentary idea that GPS has something to do with satellite technology, but beyond that, they’re not really sure. Here’s a quick GPS primer.

First, GPS stands for Global Positioning System. A GPS device is a receiver of data from a satellite signal, but cannot send information – much like a radio receives radio waves but cannot broadcast. In addition to radio or TV antennas, GPS systems need an unobstructed view of the sky, as trees or buildings can block a signal.

Generally, GPS receivers are getting much more sensitive, but the amount the signal can be accessed is an important consideration when buying a GPS tracker. The reason that GPS trackers are so useful for the car is because most of the time a car is on open road where there are no obstructions.

Space around the earth is filled with satellites. At any given time, there are 24 GPS satellites that will communicate with each other to pinpoint your location on the ground. The GPS will determine location by determining the distance between the receiver and the collection of satellites. Accuracy of positioning is determined by the quality of the receiver. Some GPS units are accurate within 15 feet (on ElectroFlip), while some are only accurate within 50 yards. Differential GPS (DGPS) is a more accurate form of GPS signature by combining two GPS receivers together, in addition to the cadre of orbiting satellites.

Spying: Not All Fun and Games

Though we’re certainly proud of all the innovative and high-tech gadgetry that appears on our site, there is an inevitable ethical issue that comes up in relation to spying equipment. Beyond the ethical considerations, there are legal ramifications as well, as spying on another person can violate a person’s right to privacy. This is not something to take lightly – as it could result in a legal battle and possibly losing the case and a cash settlement. However, there are entirely legitimate reasons to use spying technology, which is why we offer these products on our site.

A totally legitimate – and common – use of the spy cam is the nanny cam. In this case, a person installs a spy cam to ensure that a hired worker is doing a job with the utmost professionalism. Given the fact that the nanny is an employee, there is a legal basis for installing a cam. In some cases, you may even want to let the nanny know that a camera is in place, as this sort of monitoring can prevent mistreatment. This is preferable to catching a worker only after something bad has occurred. Other types of office workplace surveillance are also employed.

Trouble arises when footage is not only caught on camera, but also broadcast in some capacity. With the ease of new video services, such as Youtube, it’s a seamless process to record someone on camera and then release it to cyberspace. It might be entertaining if someone is caught in an embarrassing compromising position, but if you do not have consent to broadcast this material, you could be in danger of being sued for libel. However, if you do catch someone performing illegal activity, or merely slacking off on the job, having a spy camera on hand can be enormously useful and can mean the difference between a job done well or not done at all.

The James Bond Watch

It may get a litle tiresome to keep mentioning all the James Bond-caliber products we have at ElectroFlip, but what can we say: we have products that were once the realm of spy movie fantasy. This could seem like hyperbole, but this is absolutely not the case with the V2 Mobile Touch Watch. Not only is it James Bond-caliber, it might be cooler than stuff that James Bond got to play around with – you know, except for the car with the ejector seat.

The V2 Mobile Touch Watch includes a cellular phone, bluetooth technology, handwriting recognition with a built-in stilus, a digital camera and camcorder, an MP3 player, and a multitude of multimedia software: such as currency converter, phonebook, games, file manager, and more. The only thing it can’t do is tell the time…just kidding. This is seriously the coolest watch on the planet.

It’s not just a watch to have to impress your friends – though it will, and then some – but it is also highly functional. Imagine if you’re traveling: having all those components strapped to your wrist, rather than having a separate MP3 player, phone, camera, or even computer, and you can see its ultimate usefulness. This is not just a show-off type of gadget, but something entirely functional and useful.

That is the case with all of the gadgets on ElectroFlip: it’s not just the Wow factor, but the Wow factor + what you can actually do with it. We like our products to be highly useful, not just “neat,” which wears off pretty quickly. We may be most proud of the V2 Mobile Touch Watch, as its impressive with technology totally unheard of only a few years ago.

Inventive GPS Tracking Devices

Can you remember a time without cell phones? It was not too long ago that cell phones were a rarity – and car phones were only for the very rich. Now cellphones are as ubiquitous as landlines, if not coming to replace them entirely, as email is replacing snail mile. Another revolution is the GPS tracking device. Though not as used as mobile phones, GPS tracking is being incorporated into people’s lives more and more.

Many new cars are coming with GPS technology built in, but the majority of cars on the road do not have this technology, so GPS tracking is vital. Even if you have a GPS-compliant car, it’s good to have a tracker on hand in case you rent a car on a vacation or business trip, which very often do not have GPS tracking installed. As this is the time when you might need GPS most, it’s necessary to always have GPS functionality on hand.

One of the not oft-mentioned features of GPS tracking is the fact that GPS technology can lower the insurance premiums on your car. If you’re less apt to get lost, you’re less apt to get into a car accident. Additionally, if the car gets stolen, you’ll be able to retrieve it, as you can pinpoint the car’s location. So you can actually save money by making this extra purchase. ElectroFlip offers one of the most innovative GPS trackers on the market – a tracker that is no bigger than the standard cellphone with powerful coverage.

Aside from getting driving directions – which is only one of a tracker’s many uses – GPS tracking can be used for keeping track of your kids or pet, or even priceless possessions. Our tracker is accurate within 15 feet, with a built-in microphone. Keep in mind, though, with the latter feature a person should be aware that they’re being tracked – unless it’s a thief who has stolen your belongings.

We Sell Useful Gadgets, Not Toys

One of the things we pride ourselves on at ElectroFlip is the quality of gadgets we provide. Make no mistake – these gadgets have the quality of high-end electronics, these aren’t toys. Of course, our products can be fun to use, but don’t confuse fun with the seriousness of craftsmanship. We don’t run a kind of Sharper Image catalog. All due respect to Sharper Image, but their products are more along the lines of a clock radio that performs a laser lightshow. Fun, perhaps, but that is not the kind of inventions we seek out on ElectroFlip.

A lot of our products fall into James Bond territory. What was once a fantasy in the universe of 007 is now a reality for everyday customers – increasingly so because our products are affordable, even if cutting edge. Additionally, our products are the highest quality of gadgets that may come from other manufacturers.

Take, for example, our iNote pen, which translates written words to electronic data. This is not the first gadget to accomplish this task – and “accomplish” is perhaps too strong a word, as so many other versions of this gadget were woefully inadequate. Granted, it’s a very difficult job to translate written text, and for a computerized device to learn a particular writer’s habits, but the iNote is actually quite expert at the process. So if you’ve tried another device that promised to convert text to electronic data and you were dissatisfied, the iNote may just surprise you.

Other inventions of this type required a separate pad to write text, but the iNote is just a pen, which can be used wirelessly – storing up to 100 pages at a time. If you’ve ever had to suffer through translating written notes in the past, this is an amazing time-saver, as well as frustration-saver, as too often those notes are unreadable when you read them later on. The iNote is a perfect example of a product we sell that is amazing and fun to use, as well as enormously useful – in addition to being the best product of its kind.

Car Video Surveillance and Protection

Most everyone’s seen the footage from police cars of a traffic stop and, in some cases, a traffic accident. Nothing is more persuasive in a court of law than videotaped evidence. In the past, the participants in a car accident would have to rely on eyewitness testimony. If two people gave differing accounts of an accident, this could negate the testimony, even if it is 100% true.

People in the accident are also called to give their testimony to insurance agents and/or attorneys. In many cases it can be one person’s word against another. Again, even if you’re telling the truth – if the other driver has a different story about the cause of the accident, this could cause an insurance settlement to be split between two parties, rather than working entirely in your favor, which would be the fair outcome.

These complicated scenarios are why dashboard or glass-mounted video cameras are so important. If you are frequent driver – if you make deliveries or have to commute a long way to work – you have an increased risk of getting into an accident. Even if you drive ten minutes to and from work everyday, the unthinkable can happen, no matter how safe a driver you might be. For a very small sum relative to the amount of money you may have to pay after an accident, a dash mounted camera can provide the irrefutable proof you’ll need to show just who was at fault in the event of a car accident.

The Increasing Rate of Technological Invention

Technological innovation is increasing at a mile a minute. This means a few things: there are more unique products than ever before. Also: this means new inventions are coming at an increasing rate, as inventors build upon the evolution of new technology. Finally, there are so many technological possibilities that the major brands cannot possibly keep up and release new gadgets of their own using new interfaces.

This last component is crucial to our business model because some of the most innovative and exciting electronics out are not necessarily released by the IBM and Nokia’s of the world, they’re released by smaller manufacturers. Certainly, the internet makes it easier to find these products, but it does not make it easy to find it all in one place as it is on Electro Flip. We scour the web, the non-cyber world to find the most exciting – and useful – inventions that are coming out of professional laboratories and people’s basements.

What is great about the invention renaissance is that it is keeping costs down. In the past, new gadgetry could cost incredible amounts – in the five figures, if not more. Think of the early examples of the DVD player – even that was high triple figures. Now you can get a set of iSee Video / Audio Recording Sunglasses – recordable DVR sunglasses – for under $200. This type of price was unheard of only ten years ago. But part of technological development is the cost of service and supplies coming way down, so there will be a lot more gadgets to come in Electro Flip’s future.