Audio book sales soar in Europe and a gadget that is so Dick Tracy!

According to a story on ZDNet, Europeans are purchasing so many digital audio books that sales are predicted to soar by 20% this year. Some of the factors involved in this growth are the availability of bestsellers like the Harry Potter books and the prevalence of iPods and MP3 players. The United Kingdom is the biggest market for audio books with Germany coming in second. German bookstores are looking into adding download stations so that customers can purchase and download a book at these locations.

I came across a gadget that reminds me of the old Dick Tracy comic strips. The Walkie Talkie Watch is approved for use in most of Europe. It transmits up to 164 ft. in buildings and 1.5 miles in the open.

New Palm handhelds and a frog to help you with water leaks

Palm has announced two new handhelds. The first is the long-awaited T|X with wi-fi, Bluetooth, wide screen and many more features. TheT|X sells for $299 and that is a great price for all of the bells and whistles.

The second new Palm handheld is the Z22. The Z22 comes with the basic applications, a color screen and 32MB of memory. If you have been thinking about getting a handheld the Z22 would be a great entry-level Palm. An excellent deal for $99!

Are you afraid of a leaky faucet, the kids overfilling the bathtub or a tragic washing machine incident??? If so, the LeakFrog is your guy. I came across this small gadget on a website. LeakFrog detects a water problem and then sounds an alarm. You can place him on any flat surface where potential water problems lurk. Not a bad idea.