Technology & More Archives - Page 13 of 18

Neposmart: the customizable and wireless camera system that grows with you

The sound of little feet running around the house can be quite comforting, but it’s pretty awful when those sounds are followed by a loud thump or crash. This is why as soon as our kids were mobile we started looking into cameras to use throughout the house to better keep an eye on the kids – day and night.

What started off as a baby monitor search has morphed into a search for a camera system that can be used well after the baby stage to keep our whole house secure. With break-ins becoming more and more commonplace, we wanted something that would allow us to watch our home, even when we were across the country.

Our search led us to the Neposmart IP camera system, which was the only system we found that had everything we were looking for and more. This is far more than just a wireless home security camera; the Neposmart is an intelligently designed system you can operate remotely via your smartphone to survey and interact with your home.

Meet the beautiful Samsung Galaxy Alpha from AT&T

Love the iPhone styling but just don’t love the iPhone? Join the club.

Introducing the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, the sleek and smart Android phone that has the best of both worlds. I will admit I’ve had a mixed history with Android in the past as I love my Android tablet but I can’t quite give up the functionality of my Windows phone and how well it pairs with my PC, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the Galaxy Alpha design and all the premium features built in.

AT&T Samsung Galaxy Alpha

Did you read our review of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha? The sleek and smart Android phone is not only beautiful, it's also full of impressive features that can keep any tech-y happy. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha really nails the sleek and modern look with a crisp 4.7-inch Super AMOLED HD display that delivers HD clarity and rich colors paired with a gorgeous metal frame.

Be your own WiFi hotspot with an AT&T Unite for GoPhone mobile hotspot by NETGEAR

Before, when I would travel, the most important thing to me was a comfortable bed and a shower, with a breakfast being a really nice bonus. Now, I would never book a room without WiFi because I've seen what happens when we try to vacation without it. Let me tell you, there's an awful lot of time spent searching for cafes with WiFi and parking ourselves at a back table while the rest of the family waits for whomever was unlucky enough to get the S.O.S. call from back home.

Yes, I know… we shouldn't be on the internet while we're supposed to be on vacation and surfing the internets doesn't count as real surfing, blah blah blah. But, the reality of owning a business, especially one that is web-based, is that having internet access during trips is often non-negotiable.

Thank goodness the internet can now fit in my purse or coat pocket thanks to the AT&T Unite for GoPhone mobile hotspot by NETGEAR. Never again will I pay crazy hotel internet rates or deal with {gasp} broken internets now that I can literally access AT&T's 4G LTE/4G service where available and get secure WiFi on the go.

Resolve to take better care of yourself

What's your New Year's resolution? Whether it's eating less, exercising more, sleeping better, or simply taking better care of yourself, AT&T and Fitbit have you covered. By now you hopefully know that AT&T stores offer a huge variety of wearable technologies for consumers interested in health and fitness, but I bet you're wondering how an activity tracker can handle your entire resolution list and more.

The answer is that activity trackers have come a long way, baby. With an entire system dedicated to helping you figure out how much you are consuming, how much energy you're burning, and a way to track weight, sleep, and more, the Fitbit system works with the AT&T technology you're already carrying with you to help you stay within your fitness goals and make 2015 the year you take better care of you.

Relax, Hammacher Schlemmer has you covered this holiday season

Every year I look forward to the Hammacher Schlemmer holiday gift guide. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Hammacher Schlemmer is America's longest running catalog, and their aim is to offer the Best, the Only, and the Unexpected since 1848. Each year their gift guide is filled with all sorts of new items that range from ultra-practical (The Only Automatic Cordless Tire Inflator) to novelty (The Talking and Dancing Disco Robot) and everything in between.

Are you looking for unique gifts that your recipient won’t ever forget? How about the Personalized Bobblehead, or maybe the 3D Writing Pen? You can shop by recipient or just browse their full guide for unique gifts for everyone on your list. Whether your recipient is incredibly hard to shop for or someone who gives you a specific wish list, you are sure to find the perfect present to wrap up for the holidays.

Shopping Best Buy for the latest cameras and camcorders

I may not be the expert on designer handbags or power tools, but I can hold my own when talking about cameras. With a fine arts degree in photography and lots of experience with different camera brands, I am the person family and friends come to when they are looking to purchase or upgrade their camera equipment.

Back in the days before Google, I was the one everyone brought to Best Buy to help them find the perfect camera or camcorder for their needs. And, even now with Google on every phone and thousands of online reviews at your fingertips, sometimes you just need someone who can help you navigate so many options and guide you through playing with rows and rows of name brand cameras in a place where the sales staff is always willing to let you play with everything. And, when you think of it, buying a camera or camcorder is a really big deal. You are trusting that camera with your precious memories, and it makes sense that you would want one that has all the features you need and even some to grow into.

This year my new favorite feature is built-in Wi-Fi since everything is electronic these days and waiting until you are home at your computer before connecting, downloading, and then sharing your images online just seems so clunky. These three featured cameras from Nikon, Sony and Samsung come equipped with Wi-Fi so you can share amazing photos with ease. Upgrade now and you can share those holiday pictures with family and friends near and far easily.

Organize your digital life with the FREE Kwilt App

This post is brought to you by Kwilt and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own. I have a problem; I take far too many photos.

It used to be vacation pictures, pictures of hubby and I on our many adventures, and snaps of my awesome nieces and nephews, but now I’m in deep as my collection has only become more massive since becoming a mom. To make things even worse, I have a hard time deleting these pictures I take off of anything for fear they will all be lost, so I fill up SD cards, full computer hard drives, stacks of CDs filled with pictures, free cloud services, as well as external hard drives.

With well over 200,000 digital photos scattered across these separate storage devices, I am fighting a constant battle to keep all my image files safe, but still accessible. I can’t even count the number of times I have gone to show someone a picture or look for something specific and realized I had no idea where that special image was stored so securely. Let me tell you, it was quite the system.

It wasn’t until Kwilt asked the question Why not have your pictures all in one place? that got me thinking about how easy life would be if I could actually find my pictures when I wanted to see them. It seems like such an easy thing, but, really up until now it hasn’t been.

Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition with FreeTime offers entertainment at home or on the road

As someone who is on the go a lot with kiddos, one of the main things I get asked about from friends, family, and readers is about essential gear for family travel. And while my “essentials” list has changed based on the ages of my children, there are a few things that never change. One of those things is the prevalence of tech gadgets. It’s true that tech gadgets can change your life dramatically and make life easier, especially when traveling, but there are also some huge downfalls.

One major concern is being weighed down with technology instead of making life easier. When we’re talking DSLRs, laptops, smartphones, tablets, action cams, and more as well as all the accessories and gear that go along with all those tech accessories, you can easily fill up a suitcase – and that’s before you pack any toiletries, clothing, or footwear.

So, I always say that when traveling, less truly is more. If you can go without a full laptop simply by packing a small add-on keyboard to your tablet, you are going to be a whole lot happier when packing, lugging your tech bag through airports and onto airplanes, and going through airport security – especially when you’re also corralling kids. By pairing your tablet with lightweight accessories and gadgets as well as apps to make your tablet function like a laptop, you can truly ditch the extra weight and end up with a versatile go-to device for everything from reading by the pool to editing work documents.

For this reason I love the Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition that is an ideal tablet for kids but also packed with features to make it perfect for adults, too. A few weeks ago my son got to play with one of these awesome tablets at the TravelingMom-Techlicious Holiday Tech and Travel Show in Seattle #TNTSeattle and he was so sad to say goodbye to it when the time came. Amazon saved the day {and month, and year} by sending us home with one of our own to play with and both kids were quickly smitten.

Travel must-have for kids: The LeapPad3 learning tablet

My kids are pretty awesome travelers for the most part. They can handle short flights like pros and are the best road trip buddies on long car rides. But, as it turns out, they are pretty awful redeye international travelers. Go figure.

When I look back now, I can’t help but ask myself what I was thinking taking two small kids on packed overnight flights that included 4 airports, long layovers, no meals, and a trip through customs. Oh, and did I mention I am very pregnant and have a hard time getting comfortable in even the plushest digs?

Seriously. What on earth was I thinking?! Having taken dozens of flights with them before, some of them international and some of them redeye in which they handled themselves perfectly, I was clearly going into things far too cocky considering the itinerary and their ages.

Thank goodness our friends over at LeapFrog realized that even good travelers could use something to pass 14+ hours of travel and they sent us their newest tablets, the LeapPad3 to use on our way to #BeachesMoms Social Media on the Sand conference. I spent the night before our big trip loading up on learning software, TV shows, and music to put on the tablets in addition to our collection of software cartridges from our original LeapPad, and I’m so glad I did. This awesome show? This was my view during one of our shorter flights. Would you believe that she is rocking out to the old classic "Do you Know the Muffin Man"? Someone download this girl the Frozen sing-a-long, stat.