I use my T-Mobile MDA like Mr. Spock (or Mr. Data if you're younger than 40) used his tricorder: I keep it with me all the time, and I use it to look things up at a moment's notice.  However since I also use the MDA as a phone it annoys me to no end that the screen tends to grab facial oils from being pressed up against my face during calls.  While I own a microfiber chamois to clean it, i'm not OC enough to keep it with me all the time, so I end up using my shirt tail or some other handy cloth to wipe it when the screen gets smudged.  This can't be good for it, since rough cloth or paper towels can easily scratch it.

ShieldZone has a product they call the Invisible Shield, which is made of the same clear polymer film that our military aircraft crews in the Gulf are using to keep their helicopter rotor blades from wearing out too quickly.  The ShieldZone folk have this fun demo where they ask you to try to punch a hole in a screen protector with a Bic pen: the pen will break before you can make that hole. 

I'm a veteran of screen protectors on previous PDAs and other portables, and I found the Invisible Shield to be a joy to install since the packaging comes with a quick drying lubricant and squeegee to help get the bubbles out.  I would recommend anyone trying this at home to keep a can of compressed air handy like I did, to take care of annoying dust particles before installation.  It took about 5 minutes to get it installed and squeegee all the bubbles out, but I hear that a iPod nano cover can take over 25 minutes to install since it covers the whole iPod, not just the screen.

Ever since I installed the Invisible Shield, I don't worry about scratching my MDA's screen anymore.  Invisible Shield also has screen and full body protection for a multitude of portable electronics, including the iPod, iPod nano, Motorola Razr, Sony PSP, and many many more.

At Gearlog, we don't always like to bring you the coolest gadgets. It's just as fun to bring you the corniest ones, too! And since this is Fourth of July weekend, I couldn't help myself. Some of these gadgets you've already seen on Gearlog; others are totally new, just for you!
 
So Rad Fourth of July Gadgets...

Cal Flame Smart Grill (CalSpas, $2,999)
One thing you'll catch most people doing this weekend is grilling up a storm. The Cal Flame Smart Grill is controlled by using a touch interface made up of digital controls that automate the grilling process. It will be available in the Fall.

AlcoHAWK ABI (Target, $99)
We all know that during long holiday weekends there will be plenty of boozing going on. So make sure you're safe to drive (or walk in a straight line) with a digital breathalyzer. The ABI is one of the best digital breathalyzers that we at Gearlog tested. It can detect BAC levels up to .4 and comes with five mouthpiece covers, a hard shell carrying case, soft zipper cover with wrist strap, and a 12 volt AC adapter for charging in the car.

Porta-Blend Portable Blender (Vector Store, $24.99)
While you're getting ready to watch the fireworks, why not sip a margarita or smoothie in the meantime? The Porta-Blend Portable Blender plugs right into your vehicle's cigarette lighter. It can crush ice, chop nuts, mix frozen drinks and more.

Wireless BBQ Thermometer (Amazon $24)
I can be a bit impatient when it comes to waiting for my food to be done. The Wireless BBQ Thermometer made by Oregon Scientific lets you know when your food is ready to eat from up to 100 feet away with the remote wireless transmitter. It alerts you when your food is: Almost ready, Ready, Overcooked, or Out-of-Range.

AquaPub (Price varies)
Why have your dinner on the ground when you can eat on a table in the pool? The AquaPub is a floating table for six with seats attached by a black leg. It's made of wood and plastic and weighs 90 pounds. It features six glass holders and two removable containers on the top of the table to keep your food and drinks fresh. You can also attach an umbrella to shade yourself from the sun.

Ball Park Hot Dog Grill (Walgreens, $50)
This is for those who don't have a grill at home. Made by Home Pride, the Ball Park Hot Dog Grill is made of stainless steel and not only grills your hot dogs to perfection, but also keeps buns warm. And I love me some nice, warm buns! Powered by an AC adapter. Just wait 8 to 10 minutes for the grill to heat and you're ready to prepare your Fourth of July barbecue!

And so bad...

LED Grill Light (Sharper Image, $49.95)
A portable, clamp-on, 4-LED Grill Light for nighttime grilling! What's the matter, does the porch light hurt your eyes?

The Wave (Toys R Us, $29.99)
Wouldn't you be cool if you showed up at your town's Fourth of July parade with the first windless, self-waving flag? Just press the button on the flagpole's base and the flag will start waving on its own. Not to mention, it also plays three patriotic songs: The Star Spangled Banner, My Country 'Tis of Thee and Stars and Stripes Forever.

Aquasonic Underwater Speakers (INYO Pools, $595)
Unless you're a synchronized swimmer or David Blaine, why would you need the Aquasonic Underwater Speakers? I guess we're that bored underwater, eh?

Flashlight Grill Tong (Red Envelope, $50)
I think you'd be attracting a lot of mosqitoes with these Flashlight Grill Tongs. They're made of stainless steel with a built-in LED flashlight.

Super Soaker Oozinator (Hasbro, $24.99)
The Super Soaker Oozinator is supposed to be for kids, but why would Hasbro market a product with white ooze coming out of it? That's just nasty!! It lets you blast your opponents from 35 feet away with a 27-ounce water-supply capacity or up to 20 feet away with a 10-ounce bio-ooze capacity. Comes with 10-ounce cartridge of bio-ooze.

USA Fourth Of July Flappy Cap (FourEyesJokeShop, $19.95)
Show your patriotism with the USA Flappy Cap, a cap with hands and American flags. Be prepared to also scare away your friends and family, because I doubt they'd want to be seen with you wearing this! To operate the flappy hat, pull the string.

Electric Fly Swatter (Shop.com, $9.95)
What's wrong with a standard fly swatter? The Electric Fly Swatt

Earlier this week Google rolled out Google Checkout, its competitor to eBay's PayPal. (Read Davis Janowski's report on new service at pcmag.com.) Google has already signed on a few notable online retailers including Buy.com and RitzCamera.com. To help Checkout get some momentum, several retailers are offering one-time use $10 off $20 coupons. I went searching at one of these stores, eCost, to see how you could combine the coupon with items that cost more than $20 before rebate to buy items for next to nothing...or even less than nothing (before shipping). Here's what I found.

• Cables to Go iPod Compatible Retractable Travel Kit: Compact kit includes AC charger and DC car charger, USB 2.0 sync/charger cable; Firewire charger cable, earbuds: $28 less $20 rebate less $10 coupon = you're ahead $2.00
• Ultra 1GB SecureDigital (SD) card: $38 less $30 rebate less $10 coupon = $2 to you
• TRENDnet High-Speed (108 mbps) 802.11g router: $49 less $40 rebate less $10 coupon = $1 back in your pocket
• CP Technologies Wireless G USB network adapter (802.11b/g) = $24 less $15 rebate less $10 coupon = you net 100 pennies
• Patriot Memory 1GB USB 2.0 flash drive: $43 less $26 rebate less $10 coupon = $7
• Verbatim 1GB USB 2.0 flash drive: $32 less $15 rebate less $10 coupon = Also $7
• Kingston 1GB Data Traveler USB 2.0 flash drive: $24 less $5 rebate less $10 coupon = 9 bucks

Move quickly. Most of these are pretty limited quantity. Oh, and if you're one of the masses who likes burnt coffee, you can also get $10 off $20 at Starbucks.

Cingular just launched their 3G HSDPA network in a small part of the New York City metro area. Their bizarre, patchwork coverage map looks a bit strange, so let me explain it for you. The network covers:

• The bottom half of Manhattan, home to a lot of major national media (read: technology product reviewers) and big Wall Street/Fortune 1000 companies with Cingular corporate contracts.
• The three major airports. Ya gotta do airports.
• A smidgen of Jersey City, specifically the smidgen to where certain large investment banks have moved their office towers.
• Now here's the interesting part: White Plains, NY. White Plains is the US headquarters of Nokia, who have been strangely silent on release dates for 3G handsets on Cingular. Does Cingular lighting up Nokia's HQ with high-speed presage a better relationship, and high-speed Nokia handsets coming soon? Maybe it's Kremlinology to say so, but I think it does. (Some of those big financial companies also have their back offices in White Plains.)

On Cingular's planned coverage map for September, they have a big splotch around Parsippany, NJ, which is the home of some major Cingular Wireless offices (the former headquarters of AT&T Wireless) and some big industrial parks.

It's very nice that I won't have to travel to Baltimore any more to test Cingular high-speed devices, but their coverage map is still lacking compared to Verizon's and Sprint's. And where are the phones? Cingular is now down to one 3G phone, the nondescript Samsung ZX10. They need to bring up their game several notches if they want to be anything better than a faint #3 in the 3G world.