GPS-ji looks to the stars

GIZMOGEEK

Taking off from his role as CEO of a learning-based content provider, Q2A Media, Sudhir Singh Dungarpur is keen to take education-cum-entertainment a step forward. He is looking to develop inspiring tools for tiny tots — like the SkyScout, which is a personal, handheld planetarium that he would love to gift his son.

What’s the best gadget to buy this season?
I think the GPS system is an all-season gadget, especially in India where addresses are sometimes not logical and easy to find, and car theft is very common despite all possible security measures.

Name one gadget that’s an all-in-one favourite of yours.
B&O Beo4: it’s an amazing gadget that allows you to control television, radio, Internet radio, music systems, files on your computers and all your stored music, as well as content on your hard disk recorders and media centre. Beo4 even allows you to dim the lights and draw the curtains. The catch: everything needs to be B&O or B&O-enabled.

What is one of the first gadgets you bought, and still use?
I don’t remember the first, but one of my oldest gadgets that I still use is the Sony Ericsson 990i phone. It is about four years old and quite worn out.

What gizmo would you love to gift, to whom, and why?
I recently came across the Celestron SkyScout, a personal planetarium, that I would love to give my son. It is an educational and entertaining handheld device that uses advanced GPS technology to identify and locate thousands of stars, planets, constellations and more. It includes scientific data and historical and mythological facts.

What gizmo would you like to invent?
I am very keen on inventing learning-based products for children. Products like Leapfrog and SkyScout are inspirational. I would love to create a gadget that is targeted at two- to six-year-olds, since those are the critical years for brain development.

What one buy do you regret having spent money on?
Nothing, really. I spend time researching a gadget before buying it so there is no reason to regret later.

What’s your highest-performance yet easiest-to-handle gadget?
Definitely the Mac Air. It’s sleek, it’s light, it’s functional and it doesn’t crash.

Who do you think is your one-stop gadget guru?
Undoubtedly I would say Steve Jobs. He is one of the greatest minds of this century. He combined design with functionality — the MAC operating system, iPod, iPhone, MAC Air (and hopefully many more things to come).