Can a car be a gadget? I say yes — if that car has to be plugged in, like most other gadgets. That’s the case with the new Chevy Volt, which the car maker says can manage an astounding 230 miles per gallon — mileage figures never seen before, never even dreamed about by most of us.

Chevy says the Volt can run about 40 miles on a single charge of its massive batteries. Once the batteries get really low, a gas engine takes over.

To tell the truth, it’s hard to not be skeptical of such incredible claims. And, as it turns out, lots of folks are skeptical, and saying Chevy’s claims wilt under analysis. Still, there’s no doubt that the Volt will get amazing mileage, even if not 230 MPG. And General Motors’ first ever hybrid looks like it will be making a splash in the market.

The Volt is expected to go on sale in 2011, with orders being taken the latter half of next year. If you want one, you’ll have to wait; but not for long.

I have a daughter leaving for college in a few weeks. When she goes, she’ll be taking our love and best wishes with her, along with a primary school tool: a laptop.

In a college environment, security is critically important; in many jobs, it’s just as — or more — important. Consider the cost of a stolen laptop: not just the computer itself, but the data on it, which could be vital, and worth hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.

To that end, it’s worth your while to strongly consider a laptop lock, like this Targus DEFCON 1 Retractable Cable Lock. One of the highlights of this lock is that the cable retracts into the unit itself, making it ultra-portable. It’s also a combination lock, adding another layer of security.

Another advantage of the Targus is that it can lock up more than your laptop. In a pinch, it could lock up pretty much anything the four-foot cord can wrap around.

If you travel a lot or carry around your laptop often, strongly consider the Targus or another lock. While it won’t stop a determined criminal, it will definitely scare off most everyone else that’s looking to score a free laptop.

How many of you can really put your laptop on your lap? It’s something I almost never do, for example, because it just gets too hot — both the computer, and my lap!

One very clever solution is the Targus HeatDefense for Laptops. It’s clever because it’s so simple. The gadget is just a mat filled with crystals that absorb heat. That turns the crystals into gel. Once the heat (a.k.a. the laptop) is removed, the crystals re-form. The laptop stays cool, and so does the lap on which it sits. Nifty.

It’s one of the very few gadgets you don’t have to plug in or charge. I like that. I also like the fact that the HeatDefense rolls up into a small bundle, making it very portable.

The company claims that keeping your laptop cooler will help the battery last longer.  While I haven’t used the HeatDefense, the basic premise behind that claim is correct. In any event, it’s a neat way to keep your cool and chill out.

I recently wrote about growing disenchantment with Apple and its products. Well, that unhappiness continues to grow, and the angst is moving beyond the iPhone to the iPod, other Apple products, and Apple’s way of doing business.

Take this recent blog entry from a former rabid fan, for instance. Jason Calacanis has just about had it with Steve Jobs and Co., and isn’t shy about listing his complaints. He says that Apple is displaying anti-competitive, monopolistic practices (does that sound like any technology company you’ve heard of — maybe one that was sued by the U.S. Department of Justice?), stifling innovation in MP3 players, banning other browsers and Google Voice from the iPhone, and other transgressions.

And he asks, with considerable justification, what would happen to Microsoft if it did similar things? Why does Apple get a pass? Because it’s a cool company? That’s not going to work much longer. Apple needs to change its business practices, and soon. If not, it could be facing legal troubles similar to its hated rival, Microsoft.

Recently, my family’s DVD remote went missing. This was bad news, as we like our movies. In another way, however, it worked out great, as it forced me to do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time: buy a universal remote. So I headed to several electronics stores, and ended up buying a Philips Universal remote, much like the SRU2103 shown here.

I’ve always liked Philips gadgets; they’re a good compromise between price and quality. This particular universal remote is another example of that balance.

I control three primary devices with it; my Sony widescreen HD television; my Panasonic DVD/VHS player; and my DirecTV satellite dish with TiVo. Setting up the remote was easy. The directions in the manual were simple and clear. I got the codes needed for each device (most popular brands have multiple codes, and you sometimes need to go through a long list to get to the right code for your particular model) within the first few options for each.

Most importantly, the remote works very well. I have no trouble controlling any of the devices with the remote, and it hasn’t given me any problems yet — not bad at all for a remote that sells for under $20. The only gripe I have is that I wish it had more TiVo functionality. Most of the functions I can do with one button press on my DirectTV remote, like recording and deleting, take two (and often, more) steps with the Philips remote. And backlighting would be nice, to be able to use it more easily in the dark.

Ultimately, however, those are minor quibbles. I could get a huge remote costing $100 or more and get all that functionality and more, but for the price, it’s a winner.

I’m a big Google fan (that doesn’t mean I’m a Google fan that’s BIG, however). I have a gmail account (Google e-mail) which is easier to use and more efficient than my Hotmail account (Hotmail is owned by Microsoft). I also use the Google iPhone app quite often, especially the voice lookup, which allows me to tell the phone what I’m looking for, and have it brought up in a Google search.

It also continues to be the best search engine on the Internet (although I’m intrigued by Microsoft’s Bing, and will continue to use it). Now, Google is entering a new realm of unified communications by adding Google Voice, a phone service that may revolutionize the way you use phones.

Still in beta (i.e. pre-release), Google Voice supplies you with a single phone number. That phone number is tied into all your other phone numbers: your home phone, cell phone, work phone — whatever numbers you want it to support. That means that your phone numbers follow you around. If you move and change numbers, or change your cell number, those with your Google Voice number don’t need to know; they continue to call your Google number.

You can also do all kinds of cool stuff, like choose which calls you get on which phone, from which people. Calls from your mom can go to all your phones, for example. Calls from your boss can go to your work or cellphone only. You can even choose to have certain callers go directly to Google voicemail. How awesome is that?

You can read your voicemail through your phones, online, or even have it automatically transcribed and get it e-mailed to you.

I’ve signed up for the program; I’ll update you regularly on my progress. I have to say I’m very excited by this new use of technology, and can’t wait to try it out.

The Washington Post’s technology blog, Faster Forward, is reporting on some significant changes to its e-book Reader, including lower pricing for books and new models.

In terms of books, the price of the average book will drop a couple of bucks, from $11.99 to $9.99. As the blog points out, that makes it more competitive with the Kindle 2, Amazon’s e-book gadget.

The two new Reader editions are Pocket and Touch. The Pocket’s screen is slightly smaller than the Touch, at five inches, compared to the Touch’s six-inch screen. It can hold about 350 standard books, Sony says, and should give about two weeks of reading time on a single charge. It will also be priced well, at $199.

Its bigger, more expensive ($299) brother, the Touch, features (you might have guessed) a touch screen, with the ability to turn pages with a swipe of the finger. You can also write on the screen with a stylus, and even export notes and such.

The Sony eBook Store has more than a million public domain books available as free downloads, as well. It’s good to see this market starting to mature and expand.

Things are starting to get tense in iPhone land. As regular readers know, I think the iPhone is the greatest gadget of all time; that doesn’t mean I think it’s perfect, however.

Some of its flaws are starting to surface, and some bloggers are starting to take its shortcomings to task. Some are complaining about poor call quality and dropped calls. Personally, I haven’t experienced many of these problems; my calls rarely drop, and I don’t have any problem hearing or being heard.

There are also some features that are available on many other cellphones, most of them cheaper than the iPhone, that it still doesn’t support. They include multimedia messaging and using the phone as a modem, to connect a laptop to the internet (known as “tethering”).

A growing concern is about Apple’s App Store, one of the best things about the iPhone. Apple is starting to reject applications for various reasons, and those reasons aren’t always clear. It used to be that the rules for accepting or declining an app were very clear to developers; now, it appears that Apple may be trying to stifle competition by keeping out apps that compete with its own products.

The dissatisfaction with the iPhone began only recently; it would be a good idea for Apple to look into these issues and try to resolve them before this unhappiness starts causing mass defections to the many other good smartphones out there.

If you’re going to the ocean or other beach later this summer, you will of course be bringing a camera, right? Well, you can bring a camera that’s not only waterproof, but made to be under the water. How cool is that?

It’s the SeaLife DC800 Underwater Digital Camera, and has a lot for a price I thought would be higher. To start with, it’s been tested down to 200 feet. That won’t get you to the bottom of the ocean, but will work great for snorkeling, lakes and so on. It has a rubberized exterior to protect against water and other hazards.

The camera itself is 8 megapixels, which should produce sharp images. It also has color correction for underwater shooting, and a fast shutter to capture photos of Nemo and Dory. If you feel the urge, the DC800 can also shoot video with sound. One sort of hidden advantage of a camera like this is that it should be very durable. It’s meant to go underwater, so rain or snow won’t damage it, and the rubber housing should make it durable.

Just make sure you wear sunscreen on the beach!

Microsoft, taking a page from Apple’s playbook, has decided to open its own chain of retail stores.

CNET is reporting that Microsoft is opening the first two stores in Arizona and California starting this fall. Those are just the first couple of stores at which you’ll be able to buy hardware, like the HP laptop shown at left, software and assorted gadgets and devices.

It’s a bold and risky move for Microsoft. Yes, Apple does very well with its retail stores; but Apple also has a cachet, a coolness, that Microsoft lacks. That doesn’t mean that Microsoft doesn’t make good stuff, because it does. It’s just that it has a different perception and reputation than Apple. Folks (like me, for instance) will see the “me-too” attempt here to duplicate Apple’s success in yet another market, like the Zune tries to be iPod-like, without success.

On the other hand, the Apple stores have helped fans connect more intimately with the company, a strategy Microsoft would also like to emulate. But it’s a hard economy in which to do something as fraught with uncertainty as opening a chain of retail stores and all the overhead of floor space, product, staff, etc. If any company in the computer industry has the bankroll to to try it, it’s Microsoft.

It will also have a new operating system to sell, with the expected launch of Windows 7 expected to coincide with the retail store openings. Will the excitement over Windows 7 and the new retail experience be enough to make the stores a success? Time will tell.