What can you do with older smartphones you no longer use?

Yes, we're doing things a bit out of order this week. It was quite a coincidence when Richard Warriner who created this week's warehouse video ended with wondering “what can you do with old smart phones you no longer use. Bingo! I have an answer, and that's why I put the PixlPhone after the warehouse video. 

I bet you have one or more older smart phones around that you don't know what to do what. Here's a perfect answer. Especially if you have very young kids. It's called Pixlplay and it's under $30. Pixlplay turns your older smartphone into a fun kids’ camera. It safely protects your Apple or Android device (not included of course) while encouraging creative and active play through photography. It features rubber grips, a wrist strap, focus lens & film advance with clicking sound for pretend play and includes craft activity sheets w/stickers. Now it won't fit any of the larger, new smartphones, but I doubt if you're youngster to have that anyway. That's a list of all the smartphone that work with the Pixlplay on their website. Two old Galaxy smart phone I have are on that list. But I had trouble using the shutter button to take take a picture on both my old Galaxy S4 and S5 phones. After hooking the cable in the Pixlplay to the headphone jack as instructed each Galaxy went into 'zoom in' mode when the shutter button on the Pixlplay was pushed. The work around for that may be described on their website which says “Some Android phones require setting up the shutter button to be controlled by the volume button and the rear (selfie camera) may be covered." That may solve the problem, but I didn't have a chance to try that. But iPhones which I guess work differently should be fine. I think young kids will love this camera and it's under $30. Be sure to watch the company video and then my video talking about my experience with two Galaxy smartphones.

Company video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvpnNpziHRw

Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/22bm0YSiKF4 

Will your old smartphone work?  https://pixltoys.com/pages/faqs

See or hear this show: www.gizwiz.tv/episode/1641

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Letter of the week:

Hi Dick,

I believe about a year ago you talked about a portable icemaker that you put on your countertop and it made a lot of ice very quickly but it needed to be nearest sink, which is fine. I think you said it was on Amazon but I've been on able to find it can you point me in the right direction with the correct link?

I broke my collarbone and now I have to keep icing it and that icemaker would be a big help.

Thank you! Sandy

I could only find two ice machines on The Giz Wiz Show:

The Opal $499.99 here: https://firstbuild.com/products/opal/

And the Rosewill Countertop Ice Maker here: http://amzn.to/2xgd3oI

Read the latest update here. I have send mine back for refund: http://gizwizbiz.squarespace.com/tech-guy-labs/2017/8/25/got-ice-we-do.html

The Giz Wiz Show 1640 for Sept 15th 2017, Our 123rd Independent Production.

We're into our third year of Independent Production thanks to our wonderful Patreon supporters! If you'd like to support OMGchad & DickDe in our independent venture (we pay for everything ourselves, including travel) just click the Patreon link at the top of our show web page: http://www.gizwiz.tv/. You can also contribute just once via the PayPal link that's there too. And thank you for doing that! Our show wouldn't exist without our viewer's support, but a bit more support would be a big help.

This week (and next) we look at a lot of new and fun gadgets from The Family & Kids Tech Show, September, 2017, NYC.

Meet Remi The Smart Kid's Clock.

Create your baby’s customized bedtime and nap time routine through alerts, lighting, music and more. Sleep trainer for children via easy settings and customization. Even customizable time and display. Even let your child use the app to learn how to manage their bedtime routine. Remi is also a night light for children and play soothing lullabies. Even though nothing is connected to the bed, the company says Remi is a sound sleep tracker and diary sleep tracker. By tracking the sound of your child's nights, it create and maintain a diary on your app to help you identify what conditions are ideal to foster your baby’s sleep routine. You can also use REMI to listen to your baby or talk to you child and let them know it’s time to turn off the lights or get out of bed in the morning. Remi is Bluetooth enabled, not wifi. Connects to your iOS or Android phone via Bluetooth. Bluetooth allso enables you to play your child's favorite songs through Remi's built-in Bluetooth Speaker.

Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/cTtuwip15jY

Company website: www.urbanhello.com

See or hear this show: www.gizwiz.tv/episode/1640

My Gululu - the smart water bottle designed for kids.

Gululu says it's the world's first interactive water bottle that helps keep kids hydrated with a new 3D version. According to a recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health, over half of all children are under hydrated, which may contribute to poor health, cognitive problems and poor emotional development. Gululu helps children stay hydrated by caring for a virtual pet and it keeps parents informed of their children’s progress through a connected app. As kids drink more water from Gululu, their chosen virtual pets grow and make friends. The new 3D version gives vivid life to the virtual pets and more engaging drinking and interaction experiences to the kids. Kids embark on new journeys in the Gululu universe, where they win more collectables and rewards, and explore more stories. And this is a great idea: To advance its mission to hydrate the kids of the world, Gululu formed a strategic partnership with http://www.generosity.org/. For every Gululu interactive bottle purchased, a child in a developing country will be provided with clean drinking water for life. The spokesperson at the show said Gululu will drill a well next to school the kid attends. The first Gululu project is underway now in Peru. Gululu is now available on Amazon exclusively and b8ta stores in the U.S. $129.00

Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/bY4SnA4hhOo

It's here on Amazon in red, blue or yellow: http://amzn.to/2xC80R7 As an Amazon Associate Giz Wiz Biz earns from qualifying Amazon purchases.

Company website: : www.mygululu.com

See or hear this show: www.gizwiz.tv/episode/1640

Learn how to code as you have fun with ever changing color LED's.

Kano's fun new Pixel Kit lets kids learning coding through bright, moving LED lights. They can build their own games, animations, and art. Kano says: Open the box, pop out the pieces. Buttons, board, battery, and more. Build the Pixel Kit step by step, page by page, just like Lego. Connect to your computer and download the Kano App. Step-by-step challenges show you how to learn code. Connect blocks and see the effects instantly. Simple for beginners, expansive for experts. Build your own games. Create characters, make them run and jump. Add logic and scoreboards. Make animations frame-by-frame. Play with 16 million colors. You can also bring sound to life. With the built-in microphone make lights dance to music, bounce to beats or speak when you speak. $79.99 with free shipping at the company website. (More expensive on Amazon.)

Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/IQd7d343LkQ

Company demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gs5UuEjYgI

Pixel Kit $79.99 on company website: https://kano.me/store/us/products/pixel-kit (Cheaper than on Amazon as of 9/14/17)

See or hear this show: www.gizwiz.tv/episode/1640

Chad's Crappy Corner & His New Theme For September, 2017

For September, Chad's Crappy Corner gadgets will be decided by our loyal Patreon members. They can fill out a short form suggesting a gadget Chad should buy and use as his “Crappy Gadget Of The Week”. This week a member suggested Chad buy and try The Eggsact Egg Timer. 

Here's what Amazon said about it: The Eggsact timer by Hammerhead Products is so simple and easy to use, you will wonder how you ever made eggs without it! Simply place the easy to read timer in a pot of boiling water with your eggs and wait! The color will change from red to purple starting with the outside and moving towards the center. When the color change reaches your desired spot on the scale of soft to hard boiled, simply take your perfectly cooked eggs out and enjoy! The Eggsact Eggtimer is proudly Made in The USA!

And Chad's take: Chad liked this a lot and he hard-boiled three eggs to test it out. As you'll see in the video he was concerned that he wouldn't be able to tell the 'hardness' of the boiled eggs via the color changing rings. But he found it was very easily to do through the boiling water. Chad also like the price, just $5.99 on Amazon, even cheaper at Bed, Bath & Beyond at $4.99. Amazon offers free shipping, not Prime, but it's an 'add-on item. Bed Bath & Beyond ships for free on orders over $29.00. All in all Chad thought this was something that eggsactly did what it was supposed to do.

http://amzn.to/2x3O8FU As an Amazon Associate Giz Wiz Biz earns from qualifying Amazon purchases.

See or hear this show:  www.gizwiz.tv/episode/1640