Over the spring break, I had the opportunity to refresh my interest in James Bond movies and ended up watching a whole lot of them. I write this article in an attempt to showcase my interest to the world. So here it goes. This article brings you, in no particular order,the top 10 gadgets used by the elite commander of the British Secret Intelligence, James Bond. Although, he is a fictional character and a product of British novelist Ian Fleming’s mind, the portrayal of this character by well-versed actors like Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig, Sean Connery and my all-time favorite Roger Moore, brought him to life in the hearts of James Bond admirers.
1)The Ericsson phone: This particular piece of technology comes to my mind first for three reasons: The fingerprint scanner on a phone seems far ahead of its time for a film that was released in 1997. Although this isn’t your traditional Touch ID, it was meant to take a scan of the last used fingerprint on a biometric scanner, say at the entrance of a secret door, and use the same one to get through the said door.
This phone also had a taser attached to one end of it for, say, shocking the bad guys. The main attraction of this phone was its remote-driving capability of Bond’s car, the BMW. Flip the phone and you get a touch-sensitive surface, which you can use to control your car. Talk about backseat driving!
2) Alligator Submarine: Showcased in the movie Octopussy, this was clearly the best invention to be used in any spy movie ever. It is exactly as it sounds. A one-man submarine, which looks like an alligator from the outside. Ingenious at its peak.
3) “Dentonite” Explosive toothpaste: If you are ever stuck in a cage and would like to be free, just pray you find this in your pocket. It is an explosive material made to look like a toothpaste that can be remotely detonated. Imagine what would happen if you brushed your teeth with that!
4) Palm-sensing Walther PPK: Another technology ahead of its time, this is a Walther PPK pistol, that works only when the palm print of James Bond, is sensed on its grip. That way, even if the bad guys get the gun, it is useless. Probably the coolest gadget on the list
5) Grenade launcher pen: A ballistic pen, with an explosive tip that launches miniature grenades? What will they think of next? I guess that the pen is mightier than the sword. Although it would be a very embarrassing way to die.
6) Single digit sonic agitator: A ring when twisted that shatters even the strongest of glass using sonic waves that cannot be heard by human ears. Q, James Bond’s trusted technology expert, shows him a demo of this ring by shooting at a pane of bulletproof glass, which seems unharmed. He then goes on to twist the ring and keep his hand on the glass which almost instantly shatters. Bond then uses this in the movie, Die Another Day, to escape from the bad guys, having found himself on a floor made of glass.
7) Watch: No James Bond movie would be complete, without a multifunction watch, that can be used to get himself out of tricky situations. Almost all these watches seem to have laser come out of the crown while having other standard functions like GPS locator, Walkie Talkie and car controls. Basically, telling the time is the last and the most basic thing these watches did.
8) X-Ray shades: A pair of shades with X-Ray abilities to help you see all the metal a person carries on them. Would be great to have in hand if James Bond was employed by airport security.
9) Laser Polaroid: A good old Polaroid camera to take pictures. Just kidding. It shoots a laser out from the flash that would kill you in an instant. Shown in the movie, License to Kill, the female protagonist almost fries James Bond while testing out this camera.
10) Invisible Car: No topic about James Bond can be complete without talking about the most iconic car, the Invisible Car, the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, so lovingly called “The Vanish” by Q.
This car is supposed to contain numerous tiny cameras on all sides projecting the image on the opposite sides, making it completely invisible to the human eye. As all James Bond cars go, this also comes with the normal package including ejector seats, torpedos, and target-seeking shotguns.
There seems to be some confusion as to who will take up the mantle of James Bond, but as long as awesome gadgets make their way into the future movies, there will always be fans waiting around for them.
