GeekSugar

5 Must-Have Gadgets For Moms

babysugar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:00:50 PDT

From cell phones to cameras, mommies can hardly get by without their electronics these days. They can save her from getting lost, keeping up with her schedule and maintaining her savvy aura. While they may put a dent in the wallet, there are five wired gadgets that every woman should treat herself to when she welcomes a baby into her world.

The Hotness: Hokkaido DVD Player

GeekSugar — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:00:09 PDT

If Phil Bartoszewicz had his way, the days of storing those boring black-cased DVD players in your attractive entertainment center would be over. He would ensure that everyone had access to DVD players that blend in with your stylish decor. And that's exactly what he's done with his concept design called Hokkaido: a stand alone optical DVD player with a retro touch, but obviously modern in its design. Sleek and geek chic, that's how I like my components.

Seriously, can someone please give this guy a job so I can claim a Hokkaido for myself? Oh, and just one tiny suggestion? Make it Blu-ray compatible, please. Thanks.

View 3 Photos ›

Source

Portable DVD Player Takes Old Concept For A Spin

GeekSugar — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 06:00:56 PDT

Remember the concept for the tiny clip-inspired portable music player that supports CD and MP3 files?

Turns out there is a pretty similar concept out there by designer Yeon-shin Seung that plays DVDs. You insert your DVD the same way you would on the CD and MP3 player, but a little display pops up to reveal your content.

I love the design and idea, but don't think it's all that practical or ready for mainstream consumers, who generally purchase portable DVD players for children and travel. No one needs their DVDs exposed while dealing with tippy cups of orange juice and Cheerios. For a closer look at the device,

Source: Yanko Design

Insignia Portable DVD Player Reviewed

GeekSugar — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 08:00:38 PDT

I've never been the target customer when it comes to portable DVD players because I hardly ever watch movies on small screens and when I do, I'm happy just using my laptop. Having recently spent some time with my friend's four-year-old, I learned that some people - particularly those who haven't lost their two front teeth yet - rely on portable DVD players for entertainment in planes, trains and other boring locations.

I got a chance to take the Insignia 10.2" 16:9 Widescreen LCD Portable DVD Player for a spin and was pleasantly surprised. I often think of Insignia as an "inexpensive" or "affordable" alternative to more pricey gadgets, but I was immediately intrigued by the player's compact size, light weight and sleek body.

To check out additional pictures of the player and read my full review,

I was most impressed with the player's design and usability. It features a fool-proof control wheel (yes, it vaguely resembles the iPod's clickwheel), as well as a small remote that fits into the body of the device for storage. It weighs 2.6-pounds, which is notably lighter than my laptop. While I'm still not sure I would travel with a portable player instead of my laptop, I see where this could be good alternative for keeping yourself or the kids entertained or even as a gift for a Luddite who wants to watch DVDs but doesn't want to deal with connecting a player to a TV (say maybe your great-grandama...).

The Insignia DVD player plays DVD, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3 and JPEG formats, which means you can watch videos stored on your iPod on a slightly larger screen. You can also connect to video game consoles. It ships with an A/V cable, car power adapter, AC/DC adapter and remote. At first I thought the price tag of $190 was a little steep, but discovered most of the other portable players on the market are 8-inches or less. For comparison, the Panasonic 8.5" Portable DVD Player with 12 Hour Battery is $260.

View 9 Photos ›

Coolest Portable Digital Video Player In the World?

GeekSugar — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:01:38 PST

I know people often expect the "best" gadget in a category to be universal, however it seems each country's portable player tastes are as unique as their native cuisine.

This month's WWD Magazine featured a fun insert with a list of the coolest portable digital players from around the world. Italians pick the Zen Vision M by Creative as the coolest portable player.

The Zen Vision, $374, has long played second or third string to the iPod and other portables in the US, but apparently, Italians love the player's 2.5-inch high res LCD screen and the freedom to download videos and music in various formats.

Japan picked the Phillips PET725/44, Australia goes ga-ga for the fifth generation iPod, Brazil likes the Philips PET725/44, Japan loves the Sony DVP-FX810 and the US apparently adores the Panasonic DVD LS 91. To each his own, right?

View 4 Photos ›

Geek Gear: Top Portable DVD Players

GeekSugar — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 07:00:17 PST

Gotta love the fact that portable DVD players give us the luxury and freedom to watch our fave videos anywhere and at anytime! From planes and trains to automobiles, these tiny little gadgets are sure to keep us entertained for hours.

Polaroid 7" Portable DVD Player
This smokin little DVD player is the perfect gift this holiday season! With a clear display for a smaller size. With outstanding picture, great sound, a rechargeable battery and the fact that it includes headphones and a car charger adapter, this affordable little player is hard to pass up!

Get one at Amazon for $130.

For two more suggestions,

Philips PET1002

This fabulous portable DVD player has a sleek 10.2 inch widescreen and gets rave reviews for its excellent image quality. With a gorgeous black case, a battery life of over four hours, dual headphone jacks, and a car power adapter included, this player definitely got my thumbs up. Another bonus? Play home-burned discs, MPEG-4 and DivX video files and JPEG photos in this tiny but mighty machine.

Get one for about $300 at Amazon.

Toshiba SD-P2500

This cool little 8.9 inch player has an outstanding picture and a bigger screen than most portable DVDs. With two headphone jacks, you and a friend can both enjoy your daily dose of Sex and the City! Purchase a five hour optional battery and add to the three hour battery included and you are good to go for over eight hours!

Get one at Amazon for $400.

OnSugar Blog: If the World Revolved Around Families . . .

OnSugar Blog — Mon, 07 May 2012 03:16:38 PDT

Lots of moms like to think out loud, and Jo Aaron is one of them. Here is one of the latest posts to her Mommy Brain blog.

While innocently looking for a restaurant suggestion online the other day, I stumbled across an anti-parent, anti-child blog entry that just annoyed me. It was an angry (and narrow-minded, in my opinion) piece about how awful it is when this particular person has to dine with families at his favorite restaurants. He/she literally suggested that families shouldn't be allowed to dine in restaurants at all, and most definitely not the ones that are any good.

Here are my guesses:

#1, this person is somewhere between 21-26.

#2, this person will have a completely different blog in about 5-10 years when he/she has kids of his/her own and realizes that going out for dinner is like parental heroin . . . you know, your fix is having someone else prepare and clean up your meal while all you have to do is watch the kids and make sure they don't drive the other patrons nuts. Because that's the easy part. Right.

So, while I get that I shouldn't be carting my kids off to the Pump Room for a 9PM Saturday night reservation, I don't think it's such a crime to have them enjoy a 5:30PM reservation at a local haunt regardless of how cool and trendy it is this week. Instead of digitally flicking this guy or gal off by replying to his/her post, instead I thought I'd make a list of all of the ways that the world would be a better place for those of us with kids . . . maybe this will drive it home:

If the world revolved around families, there would be no such thing as lines at the grocery store. Instead of spending 15 minutes telling our kids to stop touching everything in the checkout line, like candy, magazines, or batteries, we'd just breeze through the aisles, yell our credit card numbers out to the teller as we beelined to our cars. No fuss, no muss.
If the world revolved around families, there would be a Starbucks with dozens of drive-thru windows and on-duty baristas somewhere between my house and school.
If the world revolved around families, there would be TVs with DVD players and current Disney movies playing in every waiting room in the United States. This includes all airport terminals as well. And speaking of airports...
If the world revolved around families, there would be such a thing as teleportation like on Star Trek (yes, I'm a nerd), so that families would never, never, never, ever have to deal with air travel at all.
If the world revolved around families, no one with kids would ever have to go to the DMV, post office, or emergency room.

Keep reading for more of Jo Aaron's funny observations!

Secrets to Saving on Your 7 Favorite Indulgences

Emily Co — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:25:48 PDT

We all have our weaknesses, and yours may be a Starbucks addiction or even an avid book reading habit. Although we advocate saving, we're also a big fan of being able to indulge on occasion. After all, if you keep denying yourself, it might be counterintuitive because you may end up buying on impulse. Here are some ways you can still enjoy your favorite purchases, yet save at the same time:

Starbucks: Sign up for a Starbucks card and you can accumulate rewards such as free drinks. Once you buy five drinks, you get free syrup or soy milk and free refills on brewed coffee, iced coffee, or iced tea. You'll also get a free tall drink if you buy a bag of coffee beans. Once you buy over 30 drinks, you get a free drink for every 15 drinks you buy. As a card holder, you'll also get a free drink of your choice on your birthday.

Frugal secret: You can make your own Starbucks drinks in your own home. Check out Squawkfox's recipe for a homemade Starbucks Frappuccino that costs only 32 cents to make. Don't forget to also check out YumSugar's Starbucks-inspired pumpkin spice latte recipe.
Books: If you got a thing for books, there's always the library of course. But for those who just love permanent additions to their budding book collection, you can consider joining book clubs like Barnes & Nobles, which sends regular discounts and coupons to your inbox. You can also get really cheap indie ebooks for free or for 99 cents on Amazon. Some of the books are actually really good, but check out the reviews before buying if you don't want to waste your time on a dud.
Frugal secret: Shhh, don't let anyone know, but you can get free books from authors, even the acclaimed and famous ones, if you try this trick. A lot of times, you can even get the book ahead of its release. All you have to do is start building up a nice repertoire of really solid and detailed book reviews on Amazon or Good Reads, the social network for book recommendations. If your Amazon reviews are good, people will start voting on them, which may qualify you for Amazon's Vine program, an exclusive club that "invites the most trusted reviewers on Amazon to post opinions about new and prerelease items." And if you're a popular Good Reads reviewer, authors will start reaching out to you to review their books.
Yoga: You can save on yoga classes by subscribing to daily deal sites and keeping an eye out for discounts at your local yoga studio. Lululemon also offers free yoga classes, so you might want to check out your local shop. A lot of studios have free or donation-based classes on occasion, so you might want to check with them, too.
Frugal secret: Become a yoga teacher to get access to free classes. You don't have to worry about teaching taking up too much of your time because I have friends who teach only once or twice a week and still get the perks of a full-time teacher, such as being able to attend classes for free. You can also offer to trade services (writing, graphic design, admin, or whatever skill you can provide) with the studio in exchange for free classes.

Read on for more.

31 Days of Spring Cleaning: Buy (and Use) a Universal Remote

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 05:16:15 PDT

There may be some stylish ways to wrangle your remote controls, but the question that begs to be asked is - "Do you really need all those remotes in the first place?" If you've been keeping those remotes around because you didn't think you had an alternative, may I introduce you to the universal remote. Buying and programming a universal remote can rid your coffee table of clutter and help you streamline your viewing experience. The Logitech Harmony One ($160) has been invaluable in my house since it controls all of my components - from my TV to sound system, DVD player, even my PS3 - and comes with an easy-to-use touchscreen. If you already have a universal remote, let this serve as a reminder to program it already. It'll make your life so much easier.

Source: Flickr user William Hook

12 Clever Yet Pretty Media Storage Ideas

Sara Yoo — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:00:32 PST

Thanks to the rapid proliferation of media technology, it can feel as though new gadgets are determined to overthrow our homes. We shove them in cabinets only to find cords sprouting from every hinge; we cringe at the futuristic flat screen looming over Louis XVI chairs. Make peace with your televisions, DVRs, game systems, and DVD players with these pretty and functional storage ideas that will make them feel just as much a part of your home's decorating scheme as your entertainment center.

Source: House to Home