New iPhone app by RVer maps America's malls

One characteristic you can claim to be part of us RVers genes is that we don't let too much grass grow under our wheels. Some of us are on the go more than others, but we are all moving about to one degree or another. As such we are forever traveling to new areas that we are unfamiliar with and have to bumble around trying to find the services, shopping, and restaurants that we like.

One RVer, John Ahrens, is hoping to make our lives easier. He and his associates have created an app called Point Inside for iPhone and iPod Touch where they scanned more than 400 malls around the US and Canada, so that you can walk into one in Sioux City or Richmond or Seattle, bring it up on your iPhone, and have before you an interactive map of that mall showing where the Radio Shack store is, the location of the escalators, how to find the Starbucks, and the quickest route to the restroom.

You can learn more about this app (which just went live) and the malls now mapped in the iTunes store. And so far, the app is free, so don't hesitate to download it and try it out.

Dyson's super powerful new clean machine

Are you still looking for a useful gift for the RVer in your life? This one takes some serious consideration. I’m referring to the Dyson DC31, a powerful new handheld vacuum from the Dyson people that will have your RV clean up chores finished before the fun of using it wears off.

Dyson recently sent one of their DC31 vacuums to me to test (probably upon hearing about the current state of cleanliness of my motorhome) and I agreed to put it to the test. These are the findings of me, my wife, her sister, my brother-in-law (who vacuumed out his entire car), and my niece and nephew, all who participated in the testing over the Thanksgiving weekend).

•The first thing I noticed was the powerful suction, the Dyson patented cyclone design. The claim was that it is the only handheld vacuum that doesn’t lose suction over the length of the battery charge. I can attest to this, having used it right up to the end of its charge.

•The DC31 utilizes a 21.6 volt lithium ion battery that gives ten minutes of continuous suction. And this battery, Dyson claims, re-charges three times faster than the competition. I can’t guarantee that, not having tried every other vacuum, but I can tell you that it charged up very fast. In fact, I seldom used it for the full charge, using it mostly for short quick pick-ups, and kept it plugged into its wall mounted charger when not in use and it was always ready to go.

This is what I liked about the DC31:
•It looks like a robot fighting machine out of Star Wars.
•It was not too heavy for my wife and young niece to use.
•It carries a two-year warranty.
•It picks up from carpets, linoleum, wood, computer keyboards, small children’s food trays, around litter boxes, in corners and crevices, and sucks up spider webs, beach sand, garden dirt, and the scattered remains of a Thanksgiving dinner.

•Changeable tools allow for most cleaning situations. The clever design of the main tool has a sliding brush head that slides back out of the way for use on hard surfaces. A crevice tool gets the hard to clean areas.

•A button on the back offers the option of ten minutes at lower power, or up to six minutes at 70% greater power—which even at this setting is not annoyingly loud. The lower power setting will handle most jobs, but the increased power setting really turns on the juice for tough jobs.

•To empty, I simply pushed a red release button and the bottom sprung open to empty the debris into a trash can. Then snap closed. (Open, shake debris out, close--four seconds. I timed it.) There is no bag to replace and the lifetime filter needs cleaning only once a year.

After using the DC31 to suck up everything I could think of I can recommend it as a very useful tool for RVers. It does the job admirably well, and it fits in perfectly with our RV and boondocking lifestyles.

Bob Difley is the editor of the blog "RV Boondocking News."