With Apple’s announcement of the 8Gig 3G iPhone coming down to under $100 and the existing popularity of the apps store, I’m seeing a new surge of parents wanting the phone specifically to keep little ones entertained during certain situations.  Although that $99 price tag is attractive, the first stop for savvy Mom’s and Dad’s is going to  be eBay because of the already wide selection of new and refurbed phones at great prices. For instance the 16 Gig 3G iPhone sells at an average price of $140, that’s twice the storage for only $40 more!

Around my town it seems as if the iPhone has become the new crayon and paper menu. If you’re little one is ready for it,  the phone can be a great tool for keeping them occupied.  I’m in no way suggesting you replace dinner conversation with video games, but if the food is taking longer than it should or a fight is about to break out, it can be a life saver. They can listen to music, play all kinds of educational apps that are really amazing, pull up funny youtube videos,  even watch movies. It’s interesting that kids don’t seem to mind the somewhat compact size of the screen for long periods of time, they just love the content too much to mind. From the time my son was 2 years old he knew how to launch the apps on my phone and was taught what sounds all of his favorite animals made as well as their names in several languages thanks to the apps ZooBox and Voice Toddler Cards. If you’ve been toying with the idea, now’s the time to pounce!

*Photo credited to: Apple.com

I know I should work at a desk but I hardly ever do.  I sit on my couch with the TV on and curl up with pillows, blankets,  and of course, my laptop. My neck was really taking a beating so I did some digging and came across Belkin’s many different couch surfer options.

First up there’s my favorite find, the Cushtop which is an ergonomically correct shaped pad that sits on your lap and positions your laptop and wrists in just the right position.  The center is hollow making it a great spot to hid cords and accessories and also adds to the overall cool look of the thing.

Next up, the Laptop PocketTop.  This is rad because it’s not only a cushy and comfy sleeve for your laptop to sit in when it’s on your lap, but it’s also a carrying case! Gotta love dual functionality. Now, if you have a laptop that tends to burn the flesh right off your legs like mine, then the Laptop Cooling Lounge is what you may want to consider. It has an actual fan built into the pad that runs off of a USB connection to your computer.  It does a great job of pulling the heat off of your PC keeping your legs feeling, well, normal!

Lastly, Belkin just released something called the CushDesk that you may spot on eBay soon. It’s a wide desk like platform which is covered in a grippy material so your laptop won’t slip yet is flat enough to write on.  Its underside is padded to make for a comfortable, well, desk right there on top of your legs.  Great products if you’re like me and work from a couch. We’re pretty lucky, huh?

*Photo credited to: Belkin

Going for something dad is really going to use and that he’s going to be impressed by?  If so, let me present to you the coolest toothbrush ever made. This baby uses these really strong pulses to get the teeth and gums clean and healthy, which can actually lead to a healthier heart!  It has something called quad pacing which lets you know when one quad of the mouth is clean and time to head to the next as well as different settings for either a long or a short brush.  Lastly, this is something I’ve never seen before, it has a little house for your brush to live in that actually uses UV rays to sanitize the head!

All of the buzz just keeps getting louder as the Palm Pre hits the shelves and it’s well deserved! This is the one of the coolest devices on the market because of the way this device handles information from all the sources you use. From my gmail contacts and calendar o facebook too! The universal search function comes in handy quite a bit as well as the ability to view multiple pages or “activity cards” at once. Overall this phone does it all and will had dad showing to his friends.

*Photo credited to: Sprint

E3 has kicked off and I keep hearing this loud buzz word coming from literally all over the web, Natal.  It’s the code name that the Microsoft XBox 360 team has given its not yet released motion controlled controller. Housed in a small rectangle box that sits under the screen al la the Wii, but this baby will have the capability to recognize actual individual limb movements!!  All I can think about is how it will get me into shape!  The whole thing is clearly the answer to the craze that Wii created and that XBox sales felt.  The demo included a family playing a driving game where the daughter was behind the wheel and Dad was actually changing a virtual tire!  How do it do it?  We won’t know anytime this year as the release date is in 2010.  Can’t wait! Another huge announcement from Microsoft, the XBox Live upgrade that allows you to pretty much do anything and everything.  The whole thing is now Zune branded, will deliver true HD content, will allow you to integrate content  with your Facebook and Twitter and even your Last.fm info.  But wait, there’s more! You no longer have to load your netflix picks into  your queue, you can brows all the titles via the XBox. Thank goodness for that!

I have all different types of people constantly asking me what type of laptop to buy. Recently a real green, eco friendly, new age type dude asked me. I went over his needs and told him to go for a ‘13 Apple MacBook. Actually, this family of laptops is being considered the “greenest” notebook that has ever existed. To begin, the aluminum and glass enclosure is 100% recyclable and there is no mercury anywhere on the machine. Under the roof this baby runs on 1/4 the amount of power it takes to light a light bulb. The packaging is made from recycled material and is 41 percent smaller than before, and Apple even offers free recycling of your old PC or Mac at Apple Retail Store. Bonus props for Apple for becoming green, the iPod is another great example of a green product because when you bring your old iPod to an Apple Retail Store for free recycling, they’ll give you a 10% discount on the purchase of a new iPod. He may pay a bit more upfront, but in the long run I know he’s going to be happy.

Are you putting together a modern looking nursery? If so then you’ve got to check out this really cool and very forward thinking changing table! The Ubi table is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. First off it sits on the ground, which is much more convenient with a crawling baby, let me tell ya. Under the main portion of the table lives a diaper dispenser that holds about 7 diapers. On the table there are Velcro tabs that hold the diaper in the perfect position so all you have to do is place baby on the table, pull the diaper through, and that’s it! The next diaper then pops to the top and is ready for the next change. There’s a belt for the wiggly ones, is easy to wipe off and I love the designs!

I’ve found that the best way to get the clearest hands free conversation out of my cell phone is to use a headset.  At first I went for the headset that came with my phone, but later found that there are others out there that can do so much more and sound so much better. Because I store my music on my phone, watch videos while traveling with it, and use it to take business calls, I need a quality set up that can rock as well as roll. The Radius, Atomic Bass Earphones are the bomb. Yeah, I said it, the bomb.  Right away you’ll notice how comfortable the lightweight phones fit into your ear.  The design is unlike any I’ve seen before as it has a very definite angle that seems to snuggle right in. On the left cord lives the mic, which bummed me out a little because I’m a righty, and is equipped with the capability to turn the volume up and down, skip and stop songs, as well as pick up and hang up calls. If the fit is a bit off for you, there are 3 different size adapters in the box. Now for the sound quality… it’s great.  It booms and it tweets and it sings with rich sound and because they appear to be noise cancelling, they are superior to others I’ve used. As you can see I have the silver pair, but they come in black, purple and red as well. Last , but not least, the price is right at around $40!

Even though Polaroid has gone away, new options are popping up for the “just add water” generation. A number of companies have put out solutions that allow you to snap a shot then instantly and compactly produce the photo on demand. Fuji and Polaroid have both come out with cameras that have mini printer built right in, the Fuji Instax 200 and the Polaroid PoGo which I’ll be reviewing soon. In my hands today sits the Dell Wasabi ink less printer. This pocket sized gadget prints out cute little 2×3 inch photos in under a minute. You send the image via bluetooth from your phone or computer and the device begins to do its job buy magically making the image appear without the use of ink! The printer uses special paper called Zink(zero ink) that has tiny color crystals in it that appear once heated. Overall the Wasabi is super easy to use and is a real conversation piece at any social event. The Wasabi comes in 3 colors, pink, blue-gray, and black and will run ya about $99. The Zink paper is around $20 for 50 sheets. To see this baby print, watch my video here:

Jack recently began to play with a toy that was made for a younger age group, but he just can’t get enough of it… and neither can his friends. It amazes me because it’s simply a cube that plays music, lights up, and is amazingly durable. Here’s a video of it.