Posts Tagged ‘mp3’

A friend of mine was at odds with her husband about getting MP3 players for their kids (5- and 3-years-old). The whole family loves music and Mom wanted to encourage their passion by downloading their personal favorites. That way, everyone could listen to their own separate music collections. Dad, though, was adamantly opposed to his young children wearing headphones for fear of early damage to their delicate eardrums. (OK, he has a point).

I think I might have a solution. It’s called the Audiowrapz by ifrogz, an accessory for the iPod Nano. It retails for $15.00 online, and comes in many awesome colors. The protective rubber skin has speakers attached at the bottom of the front panel. Somehow, without draining the iPod’s battery, it uses passive speaker technology to play the music. The sound doesn’t get extremely loud, but the sound quality is pretty great and it’s a safe sound system for kids to use without headphones.

If mom or dad doesn’t mind possible ear damage, there is a hole for a headphone jack at the bottom of the Audiowrapz. If you’re looking for headphones made just for kids, the Airdrives and Sony MDR-222KD are my favorites. They’re made for tiny ears and don’t reach high disciples in turn protecting the eardrum. Rock on!

Sorry new Flip Video Mino, although I think the new slim design, rechargeable battery, and great quality are radder than ever, my new love is Sony’s Rolly.

This MP3 player is mind-blowing and totally mesmerizing. At first glance, it looks like an oversized egg. Once you turn it on though, its sides flap open like little wings. The device lights up in pretty iridescent colors and starts playing your favorite tunes while moving all around. It’s definitely something from the future. I love it!

The Rolly is innovative in function and design and is a nice breath of fresh air in the seemingly boring MP3 player world. Here are a few more specs: It has a 2G hard drive, Bluetooth connectivity so you can stream songs from your computer or cell, and moves and changes color in sync with your music. Purrrrrrr.

Little Jack is turning two next week and is in love with a few fun things. Right now, I’m paying close attention to what he’s into now to try and figure out what to get him for his birthday.

Currently, he gets really excited when he picks up his little man MP3 player. The Playskool Made For Me Digital Music Player has the engine of a creative MP3 player and the body of an easy-to-operate gadget. It has nice big buttons that are intuitive for Jack to push. The forward and back buttons live on its feet and a big play button is front and center. It comes pre-loaded with 50 different sounds and tunes and has storage to upload Mama’s voice as well as his favorites. There’s also a soft jacket that can be placed on the player to transform it into a furry animal friend. He gets it, he likes it, and it makes him smile.

Next up is this very simple water toy from Step2 called the Fun Flow Play Sink. I’m so into this toy because it’s basic yet he plays with it for hours on end. It’s simply a sink with a working pump that circulates water – that’s it! A big red button on the top of the faucet allows him to turn it on and off, and on and off, and on and off. The tub of the sink is large and deep, allowing a few kids at a time to enjoy. I’m telling you, if I had to pick one water toy, this would be it.

Another one that’s had amazing longevity is a toy that’s been around forever, yet keeps the kids entertained. It’s called the Playskool Busy Ball Popper and it’s just great! The toy has a really easy to activate “on” button that sets into motion five lightweight, colorful balls that circulate through the toy and then pop them up into the air. The top platform then catches the balls on their way down then repeats the fun over and over by sending the balls down a slide. Slam dunk.

The funniest thing he plays with, though, is this small sheepskin rug that I got at Ikea. He calls it his “Kitty” and literally thinks it’s his cat. How cute is that? I’ll let you know what I end up getting him next week!