Mango Passport

Want to speak the local language but not spend hundreds of dollars and myriad hours in a classroom? Mango Passport Courses teach you how to talk like the locals and engage seamlessly in the local culture. Designed specifically for use from a home or office computer or laptop, the courses are written and developed by native-speaking teachers who understand the nuances of the language as well as the culture. Also, since Mango focuses on conversational speaking skills, you’ll start speaking after just one lesson and will be able to deal with everyday situations — get directions, order a meal — after spending only a few hours with the program. Strategically placed memory building exercises make sure that you’ll remember what you learn as you go, while critical thinking exercises help you intuitively build on what you learn so you can adapt it to similar conversations in real life. Mango Passport is currently available in 16 languages, including Chinese, French, Japanese, Spanish, Italian and Greek, with more to come by the end of the year. $150 per course; $100/MP3 audio version with PDF companion guide.

PowerSkin

Über-cool indeed, the PowerSkin is a sleek smartphone case that doubles the battery life of your phone. Crafted from impact-resistant silicone rubber with a nonslip grip for ultimate protection, it’s an on-the-go power source that fuses form and function. Patented XPAL Power battery technology extends talk time anywhere from 4.5 to eight hours for the iPhone 4, Samsung Galaxy, Samsung Vibrant, HTC HD7, HTC Evo 4G, myTouch 4G and many other smartphones (visit the website for a full list). All cases are 100 percent recycled (except for the battery and internal components) and come standard with a micro-USB charging port and LED battery status lights. $49.99–59.99