iHome/New Balance 2-in-1 Sport Earbuds/Earhooks With One-Touch Heart Rate Monitor

Music Player is NOT part of the system.Could iHome come up with a name any longer than that? Well, they already had the product called 2-in-1 Sport Earbuds/Earhooks and  now they’ve added the One-Touch Heart Rate Monitor, so I guess we’ll forgive them. Instead of a workout device with a visual display, this New Balance device talks to you. It can be used alone, but mostly I think people will want to plug the monitor into their music player. That way you have the workout info you need along with your favorite tunes. When the voice comes on it lowers the music, but the music continues to play. Whenever you want to check your heart rate, push a button for three seconds and then place your thumb on sensor. After a few seconds, a voice tells you your heart rate. The New Balance device also has chronograph, pedometer and calorie tracker features. Much of that info can be told to you as you workout. Fortunately, they didn’t add those features to the product name. The flash drive that comes with the unit is quite unique. You plug it into your PC for uploading your info into the Heartpal software that’s included. It  tracks your progress and lets you set various goals for yourself. But you also plug your iHome/New Balance device into the end of the flash drive to charge it. The included headphones are pretty good, but you can easily plug in your own and still have all the workout features. $99.99.

http://www.ihomeaudio.com/NB639B/#features

Tiny cars that drive on an iPad highway.

Disney has combined a real hold-in-your-hands toy car with a virtual Cars 2 world online with their new Appmates. The Cars 2 toys use the iPad as a virtual interactive play mat for kids, and for adults too. Disney calls them these miniature model cars Appmates. You get to drive them and interact with other cars via a free downloadable app. Once the car is placed on the app's colorful background, the scrolling begins! You cruise (and crash) your cars in different locations in world-famous Radiator Springs - a neat location from the movie. There are five different racetracks, where you can race against on-screen, but still fun-to-beat, virtual opponents. Each car features a unique sensor on the bottom that unlocks features and content specific to that movie character. One of the things the spokesperson from Disney pointed out at the press preview is that the cars have no electronics of their own. Even though it doesn't even have a battery, Disney technology makes it appear as though the car has working headlights and an illuminated number on the top! (Most likely their version of fiber-optics.) Cars 2 are sold in two packs. They feature Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater, Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. (There are single packs too, but it's a better value to buy two at time. In November, Apple Stores will sell an exclusive two-pack featuring Francesco Bernoulli and Shu Todoroki. The other cars are available October 1^st.

Giz Wiz Video: http://youtu.be/8xb11TQy4XM

Disney Video: http://youtu.be/VaNzbCtxtcY

Available at the Apple Store. As of Oct. 1^st, they are not yet at:

www.disneystore.com

See or hear this Netcast: http://twit.tv/show/weekly-daily-giz-wiz/1334

It's not 'shake & bake' -- It's 'shake & wake'!

Here’s a iPod Dock/FM radio from iLuv with quite a few nice features. It’s the iMM178 Dual Alarm Clock for iPod/iPhone with Bed Shaker/Speaker. It lets you wake to your iPod music, the FM radio, or a buzzer. Along with any one of them, you can have in-bed shaker vibrate your bed or pillow. Great if you’re a heavy sleeper. The bed shaker is also a speaker. That way you can fall asleep to music under your pillow and wake up to the shaker feature! Another nice feature is the LCD display which has 10 brightness settings, including completely off. Way better than those high/low dimmer options on most clock displays. This unit picks up the time from your iPhone or iPod/iPod Touch. You can use other music devices via an 3.5-mm input. The FM radio has auto tuning and 10 memory presets. The two built-in speakers provide decent sound for the nightstand, especially at the price. A sleep timer lets you drift off to sleep to the sounds of your iPod/iPhone or FM radio. When docked, the iMM178 will charge your iPhone, iPod or iPod Touch. This radio is $52 at J&R Music. I have bought stuff here, but not this particular radio:

http://www.jr.com/iluv/pe/ILU_IMM178/

Just when you thought it was safe to back into the livingroom -- a different kind of Jaws!

I received half a dozen emails in the past couple of weeks asking me to check out AirSwimmers. In case you don’t know about them, AirSwimmers are amazing RC flying sea creatures, namely a friendly looking Clownfish, and a scary looking Shark. Watch the video on the company’s website to see how they move through the air with incredibly smooth, life-like motion. The folks at Think Geek sent me the Shark kit. I was ready to set it up, when I realized you needed to fill the AirSwimmer with helium. That’s not the easiest thing to find on the upper west side, especially at night. I read some reviews online and learned that people feel AirSwimmers work best in big rooms with a high ceiling. That’s because AirSwimmers are large. The shark is almost 5 feet long and 3 feet high! Checking through all the parts in the kit, I see this not something you throw together in a few minutes. You should watch the instruction video at the company website before you start. Most reviewers recommend you have an assistant help build it. The AirSwimmer's body is made from a high-quality, durable nylon material and the company says it will stay inflated for weeks. (It can be refilled over and over again.) The included remote control works via infrared and lets you guide the shark or clownfish up, down, and 360 degrees around. Range from the remote control is up to 40 feet. It’s for Ages 3 Years and Up. In addition to the kit, you need 4 AAA batteries and helium. (Helium can be found at party stores that sell balloons). Note: Because AirSwimmers are super-light they are not for outdoor use. And a word about price: AirSwimmers are all over the Internet for up to $70. Toys R Us has them for $49.95. But Think Geek has them for $39.95. That’s the best deal I’ve seen so far.

Think Geek: http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/3-7-years/e7f7/

Lots of LED lights, and they swivel!

30 bright LEDS! Not only that, they swivel! Two independent panels can be swiveled to the perfect angle to light the task you’re working on, or the book you’re reading on that camping trip. It’s called Swivel Light and it’s from Think Tank Technology. A three-way switch lets you light one, then both panels – then off. It’s built of “high grade plastic” according to the description on the web. Actually it feels rather sturdy for the money. It’s powered by three D batteries, which are not included. LED’s don’t use a lot of power, but with both panels on, you’re using 30 of them. I don’t know how much burn-time you’ll get out of the three D batteries, but I’m assuming it should be several hours. There is no provision to use Swivel Light with an AC adapter. I think the price is really good, about $15. I bought mine on Deal of the Day for $9.99 & $4.99 shipping. I just saw it on the Sears website for under $8 with $7 shipping.  (As of 9/9/2011). And you’ll find it all over Amazon for about $15.00.

Here it is on Home Depot for $12.49: http://tinyurl.com/3p425gk