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As a mom and a geek, I really appreciate the gadgets that earn their keep in my family. I'm a huge fan of my electric coffee grinder, stand mixer, computer remote, USB mulit card reader, and my trusty digital camera. However, if I was stranded on a family vacation and could only have two tools, these two exceptionally versatile geek mom secret weapons would be the tools I'd choose!
The Victorinox Flash Memory + Swiss Army Knife.
First of all, let me note that I've had this gadget for six or seven years, and I use it for something almost every day!
The diminutive little tool fits easily in my wallet and stashes some pretty useful mom tools inside. I can't count how many times I've used the surprisingly sharp fold-out scissors to cut scratchy tags out of clothing, open toy packages, trim little fingernails in a pinch—and file them smooth with the nail file attachment, trim loose threads from clothing, and even cut gum out of hair.
The tiny pen still writes, too. I've used it at the doctor's office to fill out forms, sign birthday cards, write impromptu contact info. on the back of a business card, and even lend it out when someone in the room needs to borrow a pen.
The tiny flat blade screw driver is really useful for unscrewing the screws that secure the battery chamber in remote control toys. I even recently used it to screw switch plates back onto wall switches after painting!
I use the USB Flash drive for storing recent family photos and recipes, making both easy to share with relatives during the holidays.
The surprisingly bright flashlight works great for finding things in my purse at night, or even for reading a map in the car. Ironically, the feature that I actually use the least is the knife blade. However, I never know when I'll need to modify a toy or cut sticks for roasting marshmallows on our next camping trip!
AppBox Pro is literally a Swiss Army Knife reincarnated as an iPhone/iPod touch/iPad app. For 99 cents, this mighty app offers a bucket load of features that every mom with an iPhone or iPod touch should own.
If your device has a camera, you can use the mirror tool to see how cool you look in that funky hat before you purchase it—my mom actually borrowed it for this purpose recently.
The alarm feature works great, too. I use it to wake myself up early when I need to get things done. My son loves the flash light feature and uses it to read in the car at night. My personal favorite feature is the wallet. I purchased the security key for 99 cents and store all my web account information on it.
This app contains many more useful features, including a tip calculator, language translator, ruler, level, price grabber, unit converter, calculator, and even connects to Google's tools.
However, the most mom-centric tool in this app is the periodic calculator. The periodic calculator lets you track your menstrual period and provides ovulation and increased probability of pregnancy data on the calendar.
Let's see the Swiss Army Knife do that!
