Posts from — July 2008

I have to admit I’m jealous on this one. Since bragging about my Kodak G10 printer a few days ago, I’ve discovered the HP Photosmart A826 Photo Center. It seems that when HP named the A826 a “Photo Center” they were not kidding. This thing has a lot of options for digital photography buffs. The HP Photosmart A826 features a 7 inch touch screen, and will print wallet size, 4X6, 5X7 and even panoramic digital photos. This HP photo printer also allows users to add captions and images to their photos by drawing them with the included stylus or using the touch screen keyboard. You can store up to 100 sheets of photo paper in the printer’s internal storage tray. The A826 photo printer also has a special effects menu for enhancing photos for scrapbooking and greeting cards. Photos come out of the printer already dry. Simply insert your memory card and you’ll be off and running with the HP Photosmart A826 Photo Center.

Get your own ant farm without the mess.  Ants Life Studio, made by Bandai, is a virtual ant farm designed to sit on your desk.  The virtual ants in this new gadget toil day in and day out digging pixel tunnels, and doing whatever it is that ants do, just for your viewing pleasure. According to Audio Cubes, users can feed and interact with their virtual ants by giving them sugar, salt and pebbles.  The large screen even has a blue backlight so you can watch the Ants Life Studio at night.  I’d  like to know if the ants in this virtual ant farm croak if you don’t feed them.  And, if I’m going to have a virtual ant farm, then I really want virtual Sea Monkeys to go with it.  Anyone working on it?  The Bandai Ants Life Studio is available at Audio Cubes for $129.99.

Here’s a fun way to totally customize your Nintendo DS Lite.  I’ve seen all the skins and protectors for Nintendo DS Lite, allowing users to customize them with cool colors, camouflage and other prints, but this is the first option I’ve seen for making your own one-of-a-kind DS skin.  Made by MadCatz, maker of many Nintendo DS Lite accessories, the Custom ShowCase for NDS Lite gives users access to a downloadable template to create their own prints and designs for displaying on their DS Lite.  After designing, users print their designs, slip them into the Custom ShowCase, and apply it to the unit .  This could be a lot of fun for kids who always seem to want to change the look of their Nintendo DS, and its a good way to protect their sytems from the scratches and bumps that come with normal use.  I found the Custom ShowCase for Nintendo DS Lite at Game Shark Store.

Wanting to bump up the quality of your digital photography?  The Canon Rebel XS digital camera is a digital playground for both amateur and professional digital photographers.  The new digital camera features a 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor is enables you to take extremely high quality digital photos that can even be super-sized into posters or other large printing projects.  In addition to a 2.5 inch LCD display, the Canon  Rebel XS digital camera has a built-in EOS integrated cleaning system, an automatic cleaning sensor and comes with the Canon EF-S lens.  The camera works with SD or SDHC memory cards and retails for around $699.

Ever wish your Wii Fit Balance Board had just a little more juice to last through those extra-long workouts? Nyko recently released the EnergyPak for the Wii Balance Board. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack will power your Wii Fit for up to 30 hours of use, and you can even recharge it while in use. Nyko’s EnergyPak fits right into your Wii Fit battery compartment, charges from any AC outlet, and the cord can be removed for convenience. With this extended life battery pack, now there’s no excuse to shorten those Wii Fit workouts. The EnergyPak retails for approximately $19.99.

Have you ever been worried to turn in at night when the weatherman is calling for severe storms?  This Midland WR300 clock radio uses S.A.M.E., Specific Area Message Encoding, technology to allow you to hear emergency weather alerts for your local area from your clock radio.  This alarm clock turned weather radio allows you to program up to 30 county frequencies, which means you can use if from multiple locations effectively.  I think this weather scanner radio would make a great substitution for a traditional alarm clock at home as well as a camping radio.  The weather radio measures 7 x 5.5 x 2.2 inches and requires 4 AA batteries.

Here’s a great gadget for parents who want to keep a close watch on their kids. GPS Magazine recently named the WorldTracker GPRS the best GPS tracking device for child safety. In its review, GPS Magazine tested several GPS trackers and radio frequency devices in several settings including movie theaters, shopping centers and outdoors. The GPS tracker can be used with GPS tracking software to set boundaries known as geo-fences which alert parents when a child leaves a predetermined area. A panic button on the side of the GPS tracker will quickly alert parents by sending a rapid series of location reports. The WorldTracker GPS system is smaller than a cell phone and is rechargeable. In addition to tracking the whereabouts of a little one, this tracker could also be tossed in the glove box of your teenager’s car for added peace of mind. The WorldTracker GPRS is developed and produced by TrackingtheWorld, Inc., a California company.

If you’re rarely separated from your iPod, you might want to check out these new protective cases. Made by Griffin Technology, the The FlexGrip adds a textured grip to the back of your iPod and includes a static peel off protector for the screen. The FlexScreen includes the same textured grip plus a hard polycarbonate screen protector . The FlexGrip protective case is available for iPod nano and iPod touch and the FlexScreen is available for iPod nano only. Both iPod cases retail for $14.99 and allow full access to all your iPod jacks and controls.

As much as we all love our gadgets, video games and computers, it is important, especially for kids, to power down once in awhile.  As a parent, I think the amount of time spent on TV and video games by children is one of the hardest things to monitor.   Well, moms and dads, I’d like you to meet Bob.  Made by Hopscotch, Bob is a TV and video game timer that allows you to set time limits on video games, television viewing and computer usage.  By simply plugging any video game console, such as Wii or Playstation, TV, or computer into Bob’s locking receptacle, parents have indirect control of the device.  Before the attached video game console or computer will power up, you child must enter his or her 4 digit pin.  The Hopscotch timer will automatically shut down the video game or computer device when your child reaches his or her pre-set limit.  In addition, parents can further monitor computer and video game use by completely blocking out some time periods, such as homework time.  If you’re exhausted by trying to figure out how to reduce the amount of time your child spends playing games and surfing the net, the Hopscotch TV timer may be just for you.  I found Bob at www.dvo.com. 

I’ve been using my Blackberry Curve 8310 for 6 months now and I truly believe I could not live without it.  In my opinion here are the best features of the Blackberry Curve.   My Blackberry 8310 seems to be durable.  I’ve dropped it (more than once) on concrete and it seems to be unphased.  Secondly, I love the camera on the Blackberry 8310.  The pictures come out looking great thanks to 5X digital zoom.  And thirdly, the Blackberry Curve is easy to use.  I had mine figured out in a matter of days, and I use every feature on it except for GPS.  Just haven’t activated the GPS yet.  Here is one thing I think could be improved with the Blackberry Curve:  the buttons are very,very small.  I do fine with them, but it’s obvious that someone with bigger hands might not do so well.