Charging and Weather Station

Oregon Scientific has come out with a Time and Weather Charging Station+ that comes with a large LCD with the time, indoor and outdoor temperature and a pad for charging your smartphone.  As of now it only has charging sleeves for the iPhone 4, 3GS and 3G, but the android sleeve is in the works.  This pad also has a barometer and a projector display.  Price is running about $130.

Portable Record Player

CES 2012 is going on this week and one of the most unique mobile devices I read about is the LP 2 GO.  It is considered the iPod of vinyl records.  It comes with built in speakers and a headphone output.  You can play both 33 and 45s vinyl records.  It is bundled with software that will allow you to convert your music to MP3 format. It runs on 4 AA batteries and will something you will want to pull out at a party and play all those old albums you have been holding onto.  It is made by a company called Ion Audio.  They also have developed the Duo Deck which will allow you to play cassette tapes.  So kudos to them for creating a mobile device for all of us that  still have old media around.

Bluetooth Hearing Aid

I was visiting with a friend lately and she was telling me about the new hearing aid that her husband had just been fitted for.  Her husband had always had hearing problems and was just so surprised with this new technology.  He got a bluetooth hearing aid that not only helps him hear clearer but he can also answer the phone with his hearing aid.  She said it was very interesting the first time she experienced him sitting in his chair and just talking away – well he was on the phone and she didn’t even know it.  These hearing aids also allow you to receive sound from your TV, stereo, PC and ipod.  Boy have hearing aids come a long way!  Makes me a little envious that he has this earbud available wirelessly for so many things.

Great Tech Stocking Stuffers at Bargain Prices

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inexpensive technology

Looking for some inexpensive technology stocking stuffers?  Here are some ideas for you. I was in a store the other day called Ollie’s which is in about 12 states and found some great deals.  I got a ipad/iphone stylus that works great and it was only $1.79 !  I love this stylus as it is great for your iPad games so you don’t get so many finger smudges.  I couldn’t believe that price, so I ended up buy a couple more to give away for my ipad friends.  They also had screen protectors for less than $2.  Another good thing to stuff in that stocking is a USB drive. You can never have too many of them and the prices now are so cheap.  Look at bargain stores such as Big Lots for these deals.  Small wireless mice are running very low in cost and are great to add to that laptop bag for when you are traveling.  I found a good Microsoft one for $9.99 at Sams.  Another good bargain places for tech stocking stuffers is Tuesday Morning.  If you haven’t been to one of these stores, you need to check one out.  Just remember you have to do a little digging around to find the nice items.  I found some nice Michael Kors iPad cases for a very small price.  Just remember, you don’t have to always pay full prices for nice technology things, if you do a little bargain hunting, you will be surprised at how much you can save.

Mobile Gift Cards

The trend now for gifts is Mobile Gift cards.  Instead of buying a plastic giftcard, you can now purchase and give away gift cards for your smartphone.  What is nice about this technology as a gift card, is that you wont have to worry about losing that piece of plastic.  The data for these gift cards is store “in the clouds”.  Several big stores such as Target and American Eagle are trying this new technology this season.  I actually like the thought of carrying around less plastic cards in my wallet.  I guess before long we won’t need a wallet anymore.  Sure hope those “clouds” can hold all this data.  🙂

Android 10 Billion App Celebration!

In celebration of over 10 billion apps downloaded from the Android Market, they are offering several apps for 10 cents each.  This will be available until December 16th. The apps that will be available for 10 cents each are:  Endomondo Sports Tracker Pro, Fieldrunners HD, Great Little War Game, Minecraft, Paper Camera, Sketchbook Mobile, SoundHound Infinity, Asphalt 6 HD, Color & Draw for Kids and SwiftKey X.  Google is boasting there is over 1 billion apps downloaded for Android devices per month.  That is an impressive amount going through the Android Market.  So go celebrate with your device by getting the 10 cent deals!!

 

Gifts for Lefties

Being a lefty myself, I came across a great site for items made just for left-handers.    I was intrigued that they had some computer accessories that might be just what the technology lefty in your family needs.  I have a daughter that is a lefty and I am sure she could benefit from some of these items.  From guitars, to scissors to watches, this site has many to choose from.  https://www.leftyslefthanded.com/Left_Handed_Computer_Accessories_s/105.htm

 

Peaceful Shopping Retreat

So were you one of the millions across American that has taken on Black Friday and Cyber Monday?  If so I am sure you are ready for some relaxation to take your mind off of all the money you spent and the hustle and bustle you went through trying to get those big bargains.  I found a few smartphone apps that might just be that ticket you need to find your zen.

Simply Being is an app that costs $1 and is available for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry.  Some of the features of this app are:

With this App you can:

– Meditate easily as you are voice-guided step by step
– Choose a meditation length of 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes
– Listen to the meditation with or without music/nature sounds
– Read instructions to support and enhance your meditation
– Relax deeply and experience the present moment completely
– Enjoy the benefits of meditation easily
– Links to support on the Meditation Oasis website
– Separate Volume Controls for voice and music/nature sounds

Another good one to try is Mindful Meditation and costs $1.99.  It is a great one to try for guided meditation.

So if you feel you want some relaxation during this holiday season, you may want to try one of these apps.

AT&T Penny Sale!

Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be a great time to hit the AT&T stores for their Penny Sale on smartphones.  If you are looking for a Windows 7 smartphone, then come get one from AT&T.  Also on Cyber Monday they will be offering the Motorola Atrix, Samsung Infuse, BlackBerry 9810, HTC Inspire and LG Thrill for a penny.  Do you homework first and visit cnet.com and check out the reviews for these phones. You will want to get the best bang for this penny.  And of course like any other smartphone, data charges will be added and a 2-year contract.  Great deals so go check them out!!

Looking for a good recipe for Thanksgiving? Try one of these apps….

As Thanksgiving approaches, there is that thought of what other than Turkey are you going to prepare for the Thanksgiving meal?  This is even more interesting to me as I am working on a cookbook of recipes from my grandmother, mother and aunts.  This is something I have thought about for a while, but since they are all now deceased, I felt compelled to want to share these with the family.  So stay tuned as I may share one with you all sometime soon.  Now back to Thanksgiving apps that you ought to try.  Here is a list of a few I found:

Thanksgiving Menu Maker  (iPad)
Free app that shares over 75 recipes from Fine Cooking Magazine.  This app will let you pick several recipes, will give you a shopping list of the ingredients needed.  It has a schedule feature that will tell you when to start preparing for your turkey and any other recipes you decide to use.  What is also nice is that it will even give you suggestions of what to make with the leftovers. So give this free app a look.

Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List (iphone & iPad)
Another free app that gives you access to all their recipes off of their epicurious.com website.

20 Minute Meals – Jamie Oliver (Android, iPhone & iPad)
One of my favorite chefs Jamie Oliver has an app that costs $6.99 from the App Store.  Contains over 60 recipes with tips, hints and video and the ability to get a list of ingredients for each recipe.  

iCookbook App (iPhone & iPad)
Voice controlled app with over 2000 recipes.  So no need to get flour or other food on your device as you cook.  You have a list of commands that can make cooking in the kitchen a lot easier.  This app is $4.99 and new and free recipes come out each month.

And while you are waiting for that turkey to cook – you may want to try these games:

Thanksgiving Matching (Android)
Test your memory with Thanksgiving food items.  App is free.

Whack a Turkey (iPhone & iPad)
Free app that is like whack a mole but will give you a chance to whack this turkey.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving!