The Ridiculously Early Holiday Gift Guide! As seen on World News Now.

This guy is my favorite of the four Party Animals!

If case you missed it, here's the video from World News Now showing the following 6 gadgets: http://abcn.ws/Pc0A6v

There are many ‘holidays in June & July’ shows for the press because slick magazines need to start work on their holiday gift guides in August. I attended many events and found some great gadgets manufacturers expect (hope) will be big for the holidays.

Get Down & Funky With These Party Animals!

In June and July there are many “Holiday Gift” shows. Why? Because the slick mass market magazines have to start getting their gift guides together for Nov/Dec publication. So manufacturers roll out products they expect to be big (hopefully) for the holidays in mid-summer. One gadget that I think will be a big hit with kids isParty Animals. Get out the mirrored ball (if you're older), crank up your favorite tunes and join the fun with these soft plush material "Party Animals". Each Party Animal has a built-in speaker and will swivel, twist, and gyrate to the beat of your favorite music. Just plug them into the headphone jack of your MP3, smart phone, radio, etc. You can even pose their arms so they do different dance gestures. Here’s a bit more info from the manufacturer: “These adorable plush animal speakers dance slow to slow music, fast to fast music, and stop when your music stops. All you need is a laptop, MP3 player, or other music device with an audio output to make them play your music and dance to the beat! Don’t take our word for it...see their stage performance at http://youtu.be/7noT-WXdnpc.There's a Dance ON/OFF button if you just want to listen to the music. An audio cord included, but the 3 AA batteries are not. There are four Party Animals, two dogs and two cats. BUT YOU CAN'T BUY THEM RIGHT NOW! Even though they were at the holiday preview, they won’t be available till fall, in the Sept/Oct time frame. They'll sell for about $25 at many major mass market outlets, including drug stores.

Giz Wiz YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/aN6TiXK2QyI

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1372   

Let kids play with electronics -- and even built one of them.

Rather than letting kids just play with electronics, how about letting them build something electronic? The Rock Dock kit from Smart Lab Toys lets kids 8 & up build a mini working speaker dock for an iPod, iTouch, or MP3 player. It looks complicated, but it’s actually easy. It should take about 40 minutes to an hour to complete the project. You get two pre-printed foldable paper housings so you can pick the design you like best. You get the circuit board and all the components, with every wire ready to be twisted together. The only thing you need is scotch tape to cover the connections, and a 9-volt battery to power your creation. This is a unique kit to teach kids basic electronics while creating a usable gadget! Hook it up to your smart phone or MP3 player and hear how much better it sounds than the tiny speakers in a smart phone. Place your smart phone, or music player in the compartment on the front of the unit and connect the input cable from the Rock Dock to the headphone jack on your music source. Flip the “on” switch, the red LED glows, and the music plays through your home-built amp and speakers. (The volume of the Rock Dock is controlled by your device.) A nice feeling of accomplishment and you can brag: “I built this myself!” Under $20. 

www.smartlabtoys.com   (This product isn’t on the company website yet. It should be in a month or so.) 

Watch Your TV from Home When You Travel.

I loved my Slingbox. That was until Belkinannounced their new @TV Plus. Yep, it’s a new, improved way to stream video from your home cable box to your tablet, your smart phone, or your laptop. It can stream via Wi-Fi or via a 3G/4G cell connection. (But you better have an unlimited data plan for that!) It has no HDMI connection, but Component and composite cables are included. And it lets you connect and control multiple devices like your digital cable box, satellite receiver, or DVD player. More features than the Slingbox Pro-HD $149 vs. $299. @TV Plus is Wi-Fi enabled, so you're not limited by a wired Ethernet connection. I hooked my @TV Plus to my cable box and it works on my desktop, my Samsung Note and my Motorola Droid 4. A feature I just tried is really great! If you’re busy when something you want to see is on the air, you can record it TV directly to your mobile device. That way you can view it when you’re not near WiFi, or you’re not connected to your cell data network. I’m thinking it would be to ideal to record movies while you’re at home connected to your WiFi and then enjoy them on the road, or in the air. Other features include access to your local area channel guide and control of your at-home cable box remote on the go. It works with Mac and Windows PCs, Android, and iOS devices. There are no monthly service fees, but you do have to pay a one-time $14.99 charge for the @TV smart phone app. The tablet app is free. Depending on when you’re reading this, the smart phone app is free until midnight July 25^th, 2012. The @TVdevice itself just started shipping. Price: $149.99. It does say $179.99 at their website, but "street price" is expected to be $149.99.

http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=662375

Shot Video Everywhere You Turn Your Head!

When I first heard about a new gadget, Point-of-View (POV) video-recording glasses, I thought the name they picked was rather strange – Pivothead. But after using a pair to shoot some HD video, I think the name is pretty accurate.  Pivotheadglasses are available with clear lenses so you look like you’re wearing old-fashioned black plastic frame eyeglasses. Or you can buy Pivothead disguised as trendy sunglasses with various color lenses. If someone is standing directly in front you, looking you in the eye, they will probably feel you’ve got a hidden camera in the center of your glasses. But from a few feet away,Pivotheadcan pass as ordinary glasses. The various models (Aurora, Durango, Moab and Recon) are only different on the outside. Inside each one features an eight-mega pixel Sony sensor, a four-element glass lens and 8GB of built-in storage. (There is no external storage, but a wireless option is coming.) The company says you can capture about an hour of video with the built-in 440mAh battery. Video modes include: 1080/30fps, 720/60fps and 720/30fps. Shooting video is really easy once you turn the camera on. There’s nothing to hold, you record whatever you're looking directly at. (All the controls are built in the frame and tiny LEDs let you know if you’re in video mode, still mode, etc. You can see these lights even when you’re wearing your Pivothead device. There's built-in optical image stabilization, which I definitely needed. I shot video as I left the dock, and drove my boat out into the Hudson River. With a fast moving tide, I swing my head quite quickly from side-to-side to avoid hitting anything, and you see it all happening in the video. (Don’t get whiplash watching!) You charge the glasses via a micro-USB port also built into the frame. The same cable is used for downloading files and adjusting settings. Most settings can be adjusted directly on the glasses. The blinking LEDs tell you the settings you’ve choosen, but I found it far easier to use the digital dashboard on my computer to set everything up. Once you have the Pivotheadset the way you want, your choices are sent to the glasses via the USB cable. The glasses feel well made and the video results are quite good. The MSRP is $349.00. I don’t know if discounts are available, since Pivothead is fairly new to the market. There is an external memory device coming. Info is at the company website

www.pivothead.com  

The Giz Wiz Using Pivothead Glasses:http://youtu.be/KewFRVb8jVM  

It's to think about cold feet in the summer, but winter will come!

Sure the country is suffering from a heat spell now, but come the Holidays anyone who goes outside will suffer from cold feet. These ThermaCELL insoles are wireless and rechargeable, and operate via remote control! They off up to 5 hours of warm comfort on each charge! There are no wires or external batteries. ThermaCELL says they’re good for up to 2,500 hours of toasty heat to warm cold feet and will last for about four winters of heavy use. They are powered by rechargeable, built-in lithium-ion polymer batteries which are embedded in the foot warmer insoles. The remote has three buttons: medium (100 degrees Fahrenheit), high (111 degrees Fahrenheit) and no heat. That way you can turn off the heat without removing your boots. The batteries be recharged up to 500 times using the included charger. LED lights let you know when the ThermaCELL heated insoles are charged. The small, lightweight remote control can clip on a belt. The package includes: 2 Heated Insoles equipped with integrated rechargeable lithium-ion polymer batteries; 1 remote control with battery; 1 lanyard; 1 drawstring travel bag; 1 global charger; 1 instruction booklet. $129.99. 

www.thermacell.com