HiTechMommy

CES 2012

CES

I've here at CES 2012 and am very impressed with, well, everything!  It's exciting to see tech getting smaller, cooler looking and able to do even more. I'm working with the following companies to keep you informed on which tech coming out of the show is mom approved. 

Samsung DV300F Digital Camera

Portability, ease of use and smart design come to mind with this digital camera. I've loved digital cameras since they first came on the market and have fallen for this new one - The Samsung DV300F DualView 16 Megapixel camera. There are 3 bad-ass features about this one that I really love 1- It solves that problem of not being able to bend my wrist in just the right position to get myself to look hot in an image. This camera actually has a second viewing area on the FRONT!  2- It's wi-fi capabilities allow me to instantly post pics to Facebook, email them out and post video on YouTube. 3- It has "Child" mode where the screen on the front plays funny animations that will get your kids to smile in your shots!

The Slimport by Analogix 

2012 is the year of bringing sharing back to the family TV screen and thanks to some very cool tech, The Slimport by Analogix , it's easier than ever to share the images and video you take or store on your devices with people via TV or monitor. Literally it connects your smart phone and tablets with uncompressed theater quality video to your television!  It’s so simple- you just plug and play and enjoy all the great content from your phone or tablet at home!

SanDisk Memory Vault

Parents have hundreds of great photos and memories - how do we ensure they’re still going to be around in 100 years? The moments we've captured are so valuable and irreplaceable that we need to take care of them, and doing it on the right device is crucial so they will last until your children are old enough to appreciate them. The new SanDisk Memory Vault is the way to go.  It's a tiny device which holds thousands of photos and truly is the photo album for the digital age.  It's designed with proprietary technology that is designed with long-term preservation and convenience and will keep your digital photos for 100 years. Definitely something every mom will want.

MOTOACTV

Many of us have made the “get healthier resolution” and the new MOTOACTV truly takes your workout routine to the next level. This thing is rad! It's a wearable GPS fitness tracker AND smart music player all packed into one gadget making this your ultimate fitness device. Along with tracking your exercise progress ( time, distance, speed)  it's actually smart enough to play the music that gets you working harder by detecting what tunes make you move faster!  How cool is that? 

Cisco LinksysE4200v2 Wi-Fi Router

One of the most crucial devices to families is a wi-fi router.  Think about it. This is the gadget that assures that no matter how many pieces of tech you have trying to connect to the Internet at once, no one is getting buffering issues or interruption while trying to access the web.  Take a sec and think about how many gadgets try to connect at once... phones, computers, TVs, gaming devices, tablets...all trying to get online.  To assure my home's wi-fi signal is always rocking I use the the Cisco Linksys E4200v2 Wireless Router.  It's one of the fastest on the market and was super easy to set up. And check this out, Linksys is holding a $10,000 tech makeover giveaway on their Facebook page at Facebook.com/CiscoLinksys and you can also win a E4200v2 router!

Last Minute Holiday Gift Ideas

Cat Schwartz on WhoSay

 

OK boys and girls - we're getting down to the wire here. Here's what I'm thinking about as we approach the end of the year.

 

Everybody Dance is the ultimate PlayStation Move party game for
PlayStation 3. This game gets everyone in the family up and moving,
using the PlayStation Move motion controller and PlayStation Eye
camera to dance alongside 40 hit tracks from top-selling artists
including Rihanna, LMFAO, Duck Sauce and more. There is even
a Party Play mode that lets up to 20 players create profiles and go
head to head in an epic dance off. With the PlayStation Eye camera,
players can record and playback their performances and then share
them with their friends on Facebook and Twitter.

This next gift is great for anyone on your list and is REALLY cool.

Check out The Echo smartpen from Livescribe. Starting at $99, this
pen records everything you hear and write, so you never miss a
word. You simply tap on your handwritten notes with the smartpen to
playback what was said at the exact moment in time. What makes this
gift even cooler is that you can transfer your notes and audio to your
computer and review an interactive digital version of your notes and

audio in what’s called a Pencast! The pencast is easy to share with
friends, colleagues and peers via email, Facebook, Evernote, Google
Docs and more. Perfect for students and business professionals who
need to access their important information quickly.

How about giving the gift of language!

Living Language Platinum is a comprehensive language learning
course that makes learning a language fun, interactive and flexible.
It’s fully integrated among multiple digital platforms (any browsers,
tablet, smartphone) making it easy for users to access the online
course, e- tutoring and social community on the go. At $179 this is the
best combo of features and value on the market and is just as
effective as ones you have seen in the past.
Perfect for the
students, travelers, international business people or anyone looking to
learn a language in 2012!

If you are looking to give a Windows 7 PC for the student on your list
this season, but not sure which PC is the right one. Check out PC
Scout.com
There you will find high -end entertainment machines to small portable
notebooks in so many styles, colors and features and prices. Like this
one.
The HP Pavilion DM1 is an affordable yet highly functional Windows 7
PC and it weighs less than 3 lbs making it a great gift for your student
or anyone who needs a super portable PC on your list. Go check out
PCScout.com

We all know toys are often the Center piece of holiday gift giving and
The Duracell Holiday Program helps parents prepare with what they
need to create a magical Christmas morning for their kids and kids
in need. If your toy doesn’t work due to a Duracell battery defect,

Duracell will repair or replace it. For those who are less fortunate, they
will donate up to 30,000 batteries to the Toy Industry Foundation. Also
to celebrate the holiday season with its fans, Duracell is hosting a
special concert on Facebook with Chris Daughtry and holding hourly
toy giveaways with the season’s most wanted toys.

Video Game Gift Ideas

Video Games are hot on the holiday gift list and not just on the kids gift list, but on millions of Americans of all ages. The latest and greatest games are bringing families together and interacting like never before making family time fun time! Here are the games I'm into this holiday.

Wappy Dog is a physical toy dog with a virtual world to play in. Players care for and play with their very own interactive puppy by communicating through the Nintendo DS. Customizing their pet is a snap; with stickers for the toy and in-game accessories and environments. In HOME mode, players communicate and play games with the physical toy dog and see Wappy respond and do special tricks! In Travel mode, players continue to interact with the virtual Wappy inside the Nintendo DS – with the physical dog safe at home!

Even cooler, the relationship determines the dog’s mood and evolving personality – lots of love and kindness builds a lasting friendship! Wappy Dog is available for $49.99 at Toys’R’Us and all major retailers where videogames are sold. See him in action here. 

You can get the whole family  up and moving  to one of the most anticipated games this season that has revolutionized the way we work out! 

Zumba Fitness 2 builds on the success of the world wide best selling original which has sold more than 4 million copies to date. It features more than 30 hot new music tracks with hits from today’s top artists, electrifying choreography with twice as many dance styles and direct interaction with celebrity  Zumba  instructors. It even has a new progress tracker that lets players monitor their success and track calories burned as they party themselves into shape.  Learn more here: www.ZumbaFitnessGame.com

The beloved Lego Star Wars is back with over 21 million copies sold to date! 

Lego Star Wars III lets you play as your favorite star wars characters in the tongue and cheek humor fans know and love . With all new graphics and enhanced animations players will explore a vast universe like never before. Whether you are a Padawan or Jedi master from this Galaxy or the next, players of all skill levels will have a brick smashing good time in single player mode or with friends and family through jump-in jump out co-operative play. Available on all platforms for $19.99! Learn more here: www.LegoStarWars.com

 

This next game fits into the mom approved top games for the holiday. 

The Adventures of  Tintin is an action packed adventure game that parents can enjoy with their kids. It allows fans of the original comic book hero to fully immerse themselves into the world of Tintin and relive key moments from the movie and comic book adventure series.

The whole family can get in on the Cooperative Mode as it introduces classic characters from the Tintin universe. Each character will have to combine their skills to solve new mysteries - collect treasure and unlock exciting levels. 

Transform your living room into the ultimate playground with Rabbids Alive & Kicking for the Xbox 360. 

This game will have you and your family physically swimming, jumping and stomping as you try to square off with the Rabbids in more than 40 crazy mini games and the most hilarious situations imaginable. With the Augmented reality the Rabbids mess with your life in front of your very eyes. To add to the fun, you can capture and share your silliest moments with photos and share them with your friends. 

 

Holidays Are Coming!

OK, let's get to it!

Mint and Mint Plus

For pretty much anyone on your list that has floors that need to be cleaned this will make them jump for joy!  I'm talking moms, grandparents, pet owners... Mint and the Mint Plus are for you to give. These automatic floor cleaners have gone way hi-tech with the use of something called North Star Navigation Technology.  The cleaner comes with a cube that you place in the center of the room and it draws an invisible map of the room that directs the gadget meticulously clean every exposed inch of floor without touching your furniture!  Amazing. It actually mops and sweeps the floors! Although the Mint is incredible they actually made improvements and now the Mint Plus includes the ProClean System with self-dispensing fluid reservoir, faster recharge and a battery life of up to 4 hours. SO COOL!

Ohhhh how the family will love this one! It's the HP TouchSmart 320 with AMD technology all-in-one computer.  I have one in my kitchen and it has become a fantastic learning tool as well as an entertainment system that we all use. You can watch movies on the large 20" display and they look great thanks to optional AMD steady video, which smooths out shaky home movies.  All Jack wants to do though is create holiday themed photos and videos or connect with his grandparents and friends on the web cam.  It's really cute and I'm loving this HP especially with a less than $600 price tag!

OK guys, Black Friday is coming and that means it's time to get online and find the right gifts- but before you buy anything do as the mommy blogger do and get yourself some online coupons and promo codes!  They save you time and money and it's truly amazing what you find if you know where to look. CheapSally.com is THE best place to score these codes because she scours the web collecting and posting the best of the best. Even exclusive offers appear on CheapSally like this one for $15 off $100 at Mattel! To stay up to date on all her great finds make sure to check her blog regularly and sign up for her newsletter!

Listen up video game fans, the new Ben 10 Galactic Racing game is out and it's a fantastic gift choice for the young gamer in your life. Based on the popular self titled Cartoon Network cartoon, this first of its kind kart racing game is filled with the same fun and intensity as the show. You can play with up to 3 friends,  choose from 25 exciting tracks to race on and play as one of 13 different alien characters and heroes! We play ours on the Wii but it's available on all of the consoles.

Last but not least giving the gift of communication has never been easier thanks to Virgin Mobile and their amazingly easy-to-give, no contract Android phones!  It's great, you can actually give someone a phone that rocks and they can choose a plan that requires no contract which start at just $35 a month! With that you get the reliability of the Sprint Network and unlimited messaging, data and web usage.

 

TODAY Show - Halloween!!

I LOVE Halloween tech!  Here's a TODAY Show segemnt alll about it! Enjoy!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

How Steve Jobs Changed My Life

 

Starting in about  2001 I was part of the cast of a TV show on TechTV called The Screen Savers with the likes of @KevinRose and @MorganWebb. I had been on the show for a while and learned to love technology as well as the culture that was associated  with it. As I moved over to the show Call For Help, along with @LeoLaporte, I began to love working in television altogether and was approached by a producer to switch to celebrity reporting. I was excited by the offer and went to Palo Alto to discuss it with a good friend that worked at Apple. The campus was mind blowing and the place was a buzz because it was right around the time that dumb ass left a prototype of the iPhone in some bar because he was wasted. My friend and I sat in his office and he handed me a MacBook Pro.  He told me I should stick with the tech and learn to love computing even more.  That's when I fell in love with Apple as a company and the mind power of of Steve Jobs. 

Like the rest of my generation, I've learned to repeatedly bow down to the company and will always hold a special place in my heart for Apple products.  I've proudly shown the Apple logo literally hundreds of times on TV and  I rolled around with it on the back of my car for years.  I will put the sticker on my new car tomorrow. 

Steve Jobs was the man that made Apple, Apple. He will be missed and the part about the whole death that has me twisted is that he was so young.  I'm sad for Jack's generation that they aren't going to get to witness the man who would make up ideas in his head, then will the people around him to make them reality. And they would.  Out of thin air.  Who does that???

I will miss him but feel lucky to have been touched by him.  

This is a video I will watch for the rest of my life.  It is one of the most inspirational speeches I've ever heard and hope you enjoy it. 

RIP Steve Jobs. 

 

Last Minute Tech Ideas

I'll admit it, I haven't done any holiday shopping yet.  If you're like me then take a look at some of my ideas to jumpstart your spending spree. 

 

Smart phones are definitely on the rise.  Metro PCS has just come out with their android LG Optimus M phone that features unlimited talk, text and web access.  I love the fact that with their phones there's NO contract and service starts at just $50 a month  The phone has a really nice, sleek design and because it's an Android you can access more than 100,000 apps at your fingertips like never before. Range $40-$60 plus purchase of phone .  

Another cool tech gift is the Echo Smartpen by Livescribe. This futuristic pen captures everything you hear, write, or speak with just a tap!  Better yet, you can actually upload notes and share them through email as well as search for words in the notes.  This year they have deals starting at less than $100 .  New features include language dictionaries and transcribers and a new pen coming out can even act as your computer mouse .  I heart Livescribe.

I've said it once and I'll say it again, a domain name is a really cool gift idea for everyone and if you don't already own your name, your kids name and family name yet, you should! .CO is the new revolution of domain names and there are tons of names still available, unlike when you try and get a .com name.  Plus this is a gift you can print out in two seconds! I'm so last minute that this works best for me.  Giving a certificate for a name lets anyone get a personalized and unique gift  that could literally change their life.  Head to www.GiveA.co (no m needed) to get one!

One more I know oh so well (because I use it every morning) is the  Tassimo T20 by Bosch: It's a beverage brew system that is super convenient in both brewing ease and counter space.  This version has  7 different beverage options and all you need to do is simply insert a T disc into the machine, it scans the bar code and brews with exact pressure and temperature for that particular drink with the push of a button  Range $129.99 and available at all major retailers, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Kohls, Macy’s. 

 

A good tech gift for kids that the family can enjoy together is a video game my family loves:  SEGA: Sonic Colors  I like that it's rated E for everyone so it’s ideal for all age groups, it's cool to look at and is considered one of the best graphics games for Nintendo  and it has new features like color powers, new moves, and access to hidden areas like never before ! Range $49.99 for Wii and $29.99 for Nintendo DS

CBS Interview On iPad Lust/Use.

I was on CBS's Up To The Minute recently talking about iPad and its apps for kids.  I let the audience in on what I think is great about the device and its apps as well as a possible flaw in my parenting.  What do you think about what I've revealed?  Let me know... 

Cat

 

 

Holiday Is Coming!

Holiday shopping is just around the corner and moms and dads all across the country are starting to ask - what's going to be hot this holiday? Don't worry guys, I've got ya covered with this first round of holiday tech 2010!

Motion controlled gaming is continuing to make waves this holiday and Sony's kicking things up a notch by offering HD! Using the PlayStation Eye Toy in conjunction with their new, cool PlayStation Move controller, gamers get the latest in precision motion control on a wide variety of games that the whole family will love! My family loved the PlayStation Move Start Bundle's game , Sports Champions but also enjoyed the singing games, and Eye Pet. PlayStation move is going to be the hottest thing this holiday in the gaming space so get 'em while ya can!

If your family is anything like mne then I'm sure someone is going to be asking for a new laptop! This one's easy - the HPEnvy14 Beast Edition is THE coolest laptop to drop in a while thanks to the collaboration between HP, Dr.Dre, Interscope Records and Jimmy Iovine. They made this baby not only look super cool with it's black housing and red light up keys, but the screen is amazing, the size is slim and the sound quality is not to be believed allowing you to listen to your music the way the artist intended you to.

Next up is something I was totally blown away by, a 3D still camera! This thing is so cool I could hardly believe it! This is the perfect gift for the person who has everything and who has a love for tech From FujiFilm this is the FinePix Real 3D W3 and it's the FIRST camera that lets you take 2D and 3D photos as well as record HD video~ It actually has two lenses build into it and two processors that create these unbelievable images! You can view the coolness right on the screen or hook it into your 3D TV or laptop. If you want to print out the images you simple upload them to Fuji's site, SeeHere.com and can order prints that look fantastic!

Looking for a gift for a practical person, someone who loves to travel or a student? Magic Jack is one of the coolest inventions I've seen come around in a while! It's a device that you plug your standard phone into on one end, then on the other , your computer. Now your ready to make and receive phone calls, from the same number, anywhere in the world! This device eliminates the need for monthly phone bills and for $40 for the first year and $20 each year after that, you're making calls with no monthly fees! Need voicemail, caller ID, call waiting and so on? No problem, Magic Jack does it all!

This next gift could is a really cool and unique idea for anyone and could be a life altering moment for the recipient. It's a brand new web address that's called .co and it's sweeping the web as THE next big domain name extension to have. All of the .com names are taken and the web truly is headed towards this new era so you've gotta get on it, mom! What you do is head to their website, www.givea.co, no "m" needed, and there you'll buy a gift certificate that you can print out and stick into a card. With this gift someone can then snag their kid's names (which EVERY parent should own), the name for a business , a blog or website. Think about it - Google, Yahoo, Facebook - these all started as domain names and have changed our lives. Remember, for now on, .co is the way to go!

TODAY Show Panel

I was recently on the TODAY Show talking about "When Is It Too Early..." where I talked about when you should begin to introduce tech into your child's life.  Enjoy! 

Cat