But recently I was introduced to Kidz Gear Wired Headphones, which offers “grown-up” performance for kids, with features parents can approve of. Most important was the volume limit technology, which sets the max volume at 80 – 90 db. Anything louder can cause hearing loss. The headphones are designed for smaller heads. Plus it has padded ear covers for a comfortable fit.

Kidz Gear Wired Headphones are specifically designed to work with the Apple devices, such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Both my boys use refurbished iPhones to watch videos, play music and play games. Sometimes between them and my husband, there is a lot of competing sounds. But with headphones designed to work with their Apple devices, they can easily move through tracks with the built-in remote. And there is also an inline mic, which is great for Don’t Let the Pigeon Run this App, which records my children’s voices as part of the game. If they are using your phone, the mic would allow them to talk on the phone while wearing the headphones or issue commands to Siri.

Kidz Gear Apple Wired Headphones for Kids are available now for $29.95. You can find them at:

• Apple: Volume Limit Headphones – $29.95
• Amazon: Kidz Gear Wired Headphones For Kids – $29.95
  
• GearForKidz.com

Don’t Forget the Accessories!

• Kidz Gear Headphone Volume Limit Splitter – let’s two headphones be used with one device. And right now if you buy two headphones from KidzGear, you get the splitter for free! The Headphone Splitter retails for $5.99.

• Keep your child’s  headphone safe in a nylon, drawstring bag with a soft, lined inner. Each bag retails for $5.99.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz received samples and thought they were so buzzworthy she shared the item with you!

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Camera+: You can control focus and exposure when taking shots. Uses the iPhone 4LED Flash as a continuous fill light to improve photo quality. Has a stabilizer for fewer blurry shots. Includes a grid so you can line up your shots. Has a 6x digital zoom. Choose from several scene modes to give you the best photo for the occasion, such as backlit, sunset, portrait, night, etc. You can crop your photo to remove unnecessary empty space or distracting elements. Has 27 included effects and 9 additional that are available for a little extra $. And you can also add borders to give your photos a finished look. Once done editing, you can share on Facebook, Twitter, e-mail and Flickr, straight from the app.

Final thoughts: This is my favorite of all my camera/photo apps. A definite must have for better quality pics and so many editing and creative options. My favorite FX are Grunge, Toy Camera, and Tailfins.

Learn more: www.taptaptap.com/camera+

Cost: On sale now for just 99!

4.5 stars out of 3,040 ratings

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Instagram: Instagram has been so popular that I had to try it. Best part, it’s free so there was no reason NOT to try it. Instagram is practically it’s own social network, since you can open your app and see photos of friends you are following, along with the most popular pictures on the app from all users (who choose to share with the public). You can choose to have your pictures only shared with friends. People can like your photos and leave comments on the app. All of the 17 design filters are free and some of the filters automatically put a frame on your picture, but you can remove them with the frame option. My favorite design aspect of Instagram is its Linear and Radial blur effects for extra depth of field. You can choose the center of the depth of field with your finger.

Final thoughts: This is not my favorite photo editor, but as a network it’s fabulous and cool. My favorite aspect of this app is the depth of field options.

Learn more: www.instagram.com

Cost: Free

5 stars out of 58,297 ratings

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Snap&Sketch: Snap&Sketch only does “sketches” of photos, using Charcoal, Crayon or Pencil. But the effect is crazy realistic, like someone really just drew a sketch from your photo. Like the other apps, you can either immediately snap a photo straight from the app or you can choose one from your Photo Stream. Once you choose your medium (pedcil, crayon or charcoal), you can also choose color (black, color or sepia) and line-width. You can share images once done on Facebook and e-mail.

Final thoughts: Another must-have. It’s free and you can make everyone look like they popped right out of A-Ha’s music video “Take On Me”.

Learn more: Snap&Sketch

Cost: Free

3 stars out of 60 ratings. (When I saw this to share with you, I just added my own review and gave it 5 stars!)

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Let’s chat! Have you tried any of the apps above – what are your thoughts? And what photo apps do you use, if any?

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The Mom Buzz purchased (Camera+) and installed these apps because they seemed buzzworthy.

Photo Credit: Bartlomiej Berczynski

As we continue to upgrade to the newest versions of smartphones and other electronics, many parents choose to pass their old device to their own children. In fact, my oldest son has an iPhone 3 that came from my husband’s employee, when she got a new phone. And my youngest plays with my iPhone 3, since my husband gave me the iPhone 4S for my birthday.

But, before passing  or donating your phone, take some precautions to ensure your personal data won’t be compromised and that your children are using the device appropriately. Here are some tips that I received from PBS Kids:

1.     Sweep it: All devices should be cleaned of any content including personal files, credit card information, etc. before handing down to kids. Parents should swipe all their browser “cookies” and perform an application sweep.

2.     Secure it: There are parental controls on most tech devices that can turn certain features on and off. Settings on the iPhone, for example, that can be restricted include explicit song titles, Internet browser, YouTube, iTunes and the camera.

3.      Set limits: As with any new toy, parents should set expectations and limitations with their kids when the device is handed down, and should encourage other forms of learning and play beyond the screen.

4.     Find the right apps for your child: A good app is the perfect combination of education and entertainment, and should be appropriate for your child’s age and stage of development.

5. Avoid apps that try to sell: Apps labeled “lite” or “free” often attempt to make money by trying to sell virtual items while a child is playing a game, or link to another related app that requires payment to download. Select apps from trusted, reliable sources, and make sure that they are not trying to market to your child.

Once the device is cleaned, load it up with age-appropriate apps.  With more than a thousand apps in the iTunes store, choosing the right apps for your child can seem overwhelming! Here is a hint – PBS KIDS has a suite of educational apps that are perfect. You can even gift them as rewards for good behavior! Here are some of PBS KIDS’ recent top apps for mobile devices which can be found on pbskids.org/mobile:

• FETCH Lunch Rush for iPhone/iPod Touch, Free (PBS KIDS First augmented reality app)
• SUPER WHY Alpha Boost for iPhone/iPod Touch, $2.99
• SID Science Fair for iPhone/iPod Touch, $2.99
• LITTLE PIM French and Spanish for iPad, $2.99

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contestsso you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz.

With a wireless dual-band travel router you can stream video and access content from your hotel room to multiple mobile devices simultaneously. All you need to do is pay for ONE hotel internet connection, attach the Ethernet to your travel router and ALL of your devices – laptops, tablets, laptops – will be online.

If you are planning to watch movies, stream television shows or surf the web, consider Welkin’s wireless dual-band travel router for advanced performance. It runs simultaneously on dual bands – 2.4GHz  and 5GHz.

You also don’t have to rely on an unsecured network. The Belkin wireless dual-band travel router is pre-configured with 256-bit WPA/WPA2 security encryption, so your personal data will remain secure.

And it is so COMPACT! It measures approximately 3″ x 2.5″, so it’s easy to take on trips without taking up too much valuable space in your carry-on or laptop bag. The Belkin wireless dual-band travel router includes the router, a power supply with USB cable, use-changeable power plugs, networking cable, travel case and a quick install guide.

You can review complete product specs here: Wireless Dual-Band Travel Router. It has an MSRP of $79.00. You can currently find it on Amazon for $69. (Belkin F9K1107 Dual Band Travel Router)

Who Needs a Wireless Dual-Band Travel Router?

1. Professionals Who Travel

2. Bloggers on Conferences

3. Summer, Spring and Winter Vacations

4. Weekend Trips for Weddings, Bachelor Parties, Baptisms, Birthdays, etc.

In other words, if you are EVER in a hotel room and want internet access to your mobile devices, you’ll want a Wireless Dual-Band Travel Router.

Purchase a Belkin Wireless Dual-Band Travel Router:

• From Belkin.com – $79
• From Amazon, $69 with Free Super Saver Shipping

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The MomBuzz did receive a Belkin Travel Router for review.

Didn’t get the tablet you were hoping for this Christmas? While high-recognition tablets come with high prices, there are a number of smaller manufacturers that are delivering value-packed tablets to consumers that want the functionality at an affordable price. Leader International recently launched their Impression 7 Tablet , which features a 7-inch resistive TFT display, 800×480 resolution, Android 2.2 OS, and .3 MP camera. The Impression 7 is currently available through Kmart and Sears at $129. My tech reviewer, Kevin, recently had the opportunity to test it out and gave us his opinion below!

KEVIN’S TECH REVIEW

A variety of tablets have hit the market and there are a wide range of prices and a lot of competition hitting the market this year.  Recently entering the tablet market is a new company called Leader International with their 7 inch and 10 inch Android Tablets.  Doing a recent search, prices range from $159 to $179 – within Amazon and other online stores.

Testing out the product some challenges came about while getting the tablet up and running.

Touch Screen – The screen is 7inches diagonally 800 x 480 resolution. This isn’t crystal clear, but for reading or viewing pictures it isn’t bad. The touch screen itself didn’t quite work as expected – with big hands, the screen didn’t have the sensitivity as others with Resistive Touch Screen (it’s been on the market for about two years)

Software – Leader International decided to use Android 2.2 or Froyo, which came out in 2010. The software is pushing close to two years. Recently, software featuring Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich has begun to hit the market and I haven’t heard about the possibility of this product having that update. The software itself moves at a decent clip, the internal support of a 1ghz processor and 512 of RAM make it a little slower than most devices, but this product is meant to compete with lower priced tablets.

Switching over into the software a little more, I attempted to use the Android Market and add a few more apps to the mix. After spending a lot of time trying to get this established, it turns out Leader International did not add Android Market for their product support. Installed and ready to go out of the box is a new app market called SlideME – which is another Android Market Place. Viewing the list of apps, the selection was far and few between, the search began for an alternative.

During my initial test drive with the device, I was a little frustrated until I downloaded the Amazon Marketplace for Android devices and we were up and running.  From there the options to download Kindle and their Appstore links could be added onto the Impression 7 and I was able to link it with my current Kindle account and transferred a few books onto the tablet. For reading, the device isn’t bad and this will be my main use of the tablet.

I will add, the first book I bought for the tablet was an Amazon book order – Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.  (It’s a good book for the record.)

The Netflix app which was downloaded was painless with the Amazon Appstore, but when starting to watch a video the graphics card wasn’t up to par and it appeared pixilated. If I’m in a pinch and my phone isn’t available I’ll use this for viewing.

There are other media options available, but with a 4 gigabyte internal hard drive; I would recommend purchasing a memory card for the expansion Micros SD drive.

Starting up the device is a little cumbersome, several screens move through before the main home screen appears and it takes about 41 seconds to boot up and ready to go once you turn the device on.

Camera – The Impression 7 Tablet has only one camera which is on the front. I was a little disappointed with the 0.3 megapixel camera, so I probably won’t use it.

FEATURES AT-A-GLANCE:

• 1Ghz Processor and 512MB RAM
• 4GB memory
• 802.11 b/g/n
• Two USB 2.0 ports
• Micro SD slot (supports up to 32GB)

FINAL THOUGHTS:

For what it is, the Impression 7 Tablet is a fun little device once the setup is complete. I am mostly using it as an e-reader, which it is well-suited for. It may not be the latest and greatest in multimedia, but for$179.00 it provides some features you may enjoy.

LEARN MORE: Leader International

OTHER REVIEWS FROM KEVIN

• OOMA Telo – Get rid of your home land line
• Roku 2 XS

Released by Disney Publishing Worldwide, this newest interactive storybook app for young readers is narrated by comic book legend Stan Lee! My four year old uses my iPad daily and his first words when he saw it on my iPad was a soft, “Wow…” So yes, just seeing the app instills awe.

Right from the get-go, you hear Stan Lee’s recognizable voice read the title. You can choose for Stan Lee to read to your child, auto-turn pages and be in Young Reader Mode so they can read to themselves. It doesn’t appear that it will read specific words when they tap them, though. I tried with no luck. Also, touching the images doesn’t cause an action to occur.

There are interactive elements, though. To access them you touch the Spider-Man face on the bottom of the screen. Games include:

Spider Hunt: Look for Spiders on the Page! There are 6 to locate in the story.

Electricity Generator: Simultaneously rotate your fingers on generators to generate electricity. I was expecting to see electricity go on the page as I did, but it didn’t. But it did keep a score on the bottom of the page.

Shake the Spider: Shake the device to get the Spider off Peter Parker. As you shake it you see an image of the Spider flying off.

Balance: Balance Crusher Hogan over Spider-Mans head by following the directions given by arrows. Tilt the device left or right.

Color: Move your finger to color in Spider-Man’s costume.

Web Sling: Web Sling through the city by tapping the screen when the spider-sense tingles.

Targets: Tap the screen at the right time so that Spidey will hit the moving targets. It’s funny because as Spidey hits them you hear Stan Lee saying,”Whip” or “Pow” or “Bang”.

You can keep track of achievements and story completion by touching the trophy.

Music automatically plays throughout the story, but you can turn it off for a quieter read. And updates to the app will include other languages, currently it is just available as English though.

The story is just as the title says, it describes how Peter Parker became Spider-Man. Many kids will be familiar with the story, but it is a new, exciting way to read it. Overall, both my sons (4 and 5) loved the app and I think it’s a great addition to out e-book library!

The Amazing Spider-Man: An Origin Story app is available for download for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch at the App Store for $6.99: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-amazing-spider-man-an/id479938276?mt=8

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contestsso you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was provided with a free download to review.

Cancelled my home phone line. Hullo VOIP! (Can you hear me now?)

Immediately one of my friends FB’d me telling me she has been using VOIP for 10 years successfully! Think of the money she has saved, no longer having that monthly phone bill! The average consumer spends $40/month on a landline. By cutting ours, we will be personally saving around $25 a month.

We only have to pay taxes and fees, which is approximately $3.50 a month. The average consumer will have to pay $3.98 in local fees. You can see how much taxes would be for using a VOIP in your area by visiting www.ooma.com/taxes. And I have to say, I’d rather pay $3.50/month for a seldom used landline compared to $25 – $40/month!

By using Ooma Telo, the average customer will save $432 a year! Personally, we will save $258. A basic Ooma Telo system retails for $199. (A wonderful gift idea for a parent, spouse and sibling!)  So let’s say you are the average customer, your system will pay for itself in less than 6 months!

Now, I had my husband install the Ooma Telo, because he does all the tech in the house. He has been trying to get rid of the landline for ages and just use the cells, but I feel more secure having the landline since the kids may need to dial out and they don’t have cell phones. This is what my husband has to say:

KEVIN’S TECH REVIEW:

We finally made the plunge and disconnected the copper home telephone line for VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) aka – using the internet as a telephone.

There are a lot of options in terms of companies that offerVOIP, but the costs seem to add up and the savings aren’t quite there. Ooma Telo makes the cost savings worthwhile and the transition to set-up the device takes about ten minutes.

Setting Up

Setting up the device was pretty easy and it took a few steps – unlike other devices that typically involve a lot of troubleshooting and tooling around with wires, plugs, software or typical craziness. This was fast and easy.

• Step 1: Log onto Ooma, input the device number and register the device. You’ll need a Credit or Debit card to allow payment for taxes and additional features if desired.
  During this process you have two options.
  • Transferring your old line, which is not immediate
    or
  • Get a whole new phone number – which is practically instant and calls can be made within five or so minutes..
  • Step 2:  Plug-in the Ooma device to the Router and the telephone line.
  • Step 3: Make a call – overall easy and the quality of the call is pretty good. Erin’s mother didn’t know the difference in the call.

At our house, I’m considered in-house IT support and I can breakdown pretty much any device, hook it up, build it and re-configure code.  This was about the easiest device hook-up I’ve done. In terms of simplicity – I consider this about as user friendly as some of my Apple Devices (plug and play)

Requirements:

High Speed Internet Access:

Additional Features and Dimensions:

The device itself is pretty compact measurements are 5.5 x 2 x 7.5 and weighs in at a light 14.1 ounces.

Beside the basics you have the option for additional features.

• Telemarketing Black Lists – “Community blacklist allows you to tap into Ooma’s extensive list of telemarketers and phone spammers. Choose what message you want played to the caller or have the call sent directly to voicemail.” – there is also an option to personalize this feature.
• Call Forwarding
• Google Voice – still in beta, you can choose a dedicated line just for Google Voice
• Ooma Mobile – “Ooma Mobile allows you to use your mobile device to make phone calls using Ooma outside of your home”  The feature is currently supported by the Apple and Android products.  Ooma Mobile Faqs
• Options to block your caller ID number – assisting in further privacy.
• Voice-To-Text – Have your voicemail texted to your mobile phone.
• Ooma Premier
  • Instant second line
  • Personal / Community Blacklists
  • Call Forwarding and multi ring
  • Enhance Voicemail
  • Over 20+ features  

International calling, you can bundle minutes to over 60 countries. 

•  500 minutes of international calls – $4.99.
• Prepaid Plans – based on your budget

Cost:

Basic Service for our house added up to $3.47 per month – just taxes. To figure out what your payments would be click on http://www.ooma.com/taxes

The Ooma device can be found at several retailers – so far the best price I’ve found for their latest Ooma Telo device is $191. Amazon has the most competitive prices in the neighborhood.

Kevin’s Thoughts:

Once we finished installing Ooma, we tested out the line and had a little fun calling the house and chatting with the boys. Erin called Brighthouse and canceled our landline. Through the process, they asked what service we planned on using to replace the phone line.  The response was Ooma Telo – which caused a little confusion.  Ever being the promoter, Erin began selling phone services to the salesperson from Brighthouse and I believe they were more than just interested when she was done.

BACK TO ERIN & PURCHASING INFO:

We just received the basic Ooma Telo ($191 on Amazon) to get started. There are additional Ooma Telo devices that can help bring together your in-home communication hub. There is the Ooma Telo with handset ($249), Ooma Telo with BlueTooth Adapter ($229) and Ooma Telo Air ($249). You can purchase these items direct from Ooma.com, Best Buy and Amazon.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contestsso you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz was not compensated for this buzz. The MomBuzz did receive the products above for review.

During the Season of Gifting at AT&T, AT&T will be featuring a deal of the day every day. Just go from December 1st – 20th and enter for the chance to win smartphones, tablets and more! You can also ‘nominate a friend’ and share your nomination to have others vote on your story, explaining why you think your friend should win. There will be two lucky winners each day.

If you are like me and forget to enter favorite sweeps and online contests, you can put in your name and e-mail RIGHT NOW on the site to be contacted daily as a reminder to enter. I LOVE THAT FEATURE. And you bet I did it! The chance to surprise my husband, sister or sons with a gadget from AT&T is just too great to pass up!

The sweeps may start on December 1st, but get ready to win by entering your name and email on the Sweepstakes Site now! Visit the link below to get started!

LINK: Season of Gifting Sweepstakes

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz.  M80 contacted theMomBuzz to feature this topic on behalf of AT&T, featuring a real deal! This is a compensated post. Other people may have different experiences with the products and websites described. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products!

Are you shopping for someone who would like to cut costs and save money each month? (Isn’t that EVERYONE?) Well, there is a fab new product on the market, Energy Star Approved TrickleStar’s New Advanced PowerStrips.

The average home entertainment center can draw as much as 500-800 watts of electricity. Even when turned off, standby power (also known as vampire power or phantom load) is consuming electrical energy as long as the products and appliances are still plugged in. And if the person you are shopping for is like my husband, who loves to keep everything ON and PLUGGED, you might be using even more! But by incorporating a TrickleStar 7 Outlet or 12 Outlet Advanced PowerStrip with an entertainment center or small office computer system, they can eliminate standby power that can account for 12% of the average electric bill.

TrickleStar’s Advanced PowerStrips cut wasteful energy use and help save money by:

• Automatically switching off peripherals when a TV or PC is not in use through an inbuilt current sensing circuitry
• Reducing the amount of vampire/standby energy consumed by PC and TV peripherals
• Providing premium quality, FIREPROOF surge protection for all connected devices

Typical energy savings, by eliminating standby power (using a 7 outlet strip), are $38 to $50 (or more) per year, with a product lifetime of at least 10 years. Savings can be higher or lower depending on the types of devices connected, hours of use, and the local area price of electricity. Savings can be more significant by insuring that all items are shut-off, not left on, inadvertently creating wasteful daily energy use.

You can purchase the TrickleStar Energy Saving Power Strip at TrickleStar.com. Prices start at $29.95.

Connect with TrickleStar on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TrickleStar and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TrickleStarUS.

Well, the idea behind the book has been turned into an app for iPhones and iPads. And this is the coolest e-book to date, because it’s by Mo Willems … and YOU! (Or your child.) You see, your child can record their voice and/or choose options to help create the story. From the trouble the Pigeon wants to get into to helping him complete excuses of why he should be allowed to do what he wants. It’s HILARIOUS to hear some of the ideas the kids come up with.

And there are three levels of play – Egg, Chick or Pigeon. Egg is best for little kids, maybe 2 years old. That’s because they aren’t recording their own voice, just shaking the pigeon to get a new story. Chick let’s them have more say in the story, as they answer the bus drivers questions by tapping multiple choice pictures. They also get to record their name. And Big Pigeon let’s them record lots of different parts of the story. That one is funny, because obviously the pigeon’s voice changes as their voice fills in for parts. But the pigeon just explains he’s a little hoarse.

After you’ve created your story, you can save it to the library. It can save 6 stories at a time. And there is also a fun activity where they get to learn how to draw the pigeon. And they might even see their drawing reappear when the story is being read! I was so surprised by that incorporation.

With so much interactivity – drawing, recording, making choices, helping develop a story, shaking the pigeon, etc – this is my most favorite e-book to date for preschoolers and elementary school children. Both my childre (4 and 5) love this. And I know from experience that my 6 year old niece would love this too.

This app was launched by Disney Publishing Worldwide and features the voice of three-time Caldecott Honor winner Mo Willems. “Don’t Let the Pigeon Run this App!”is now available from the App Store for $6.99 from the App Store on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore. For more info and e-book ideas, visit www.disneybookapps.com and www.facebook.com/DisneyDigitalBooks, or follow @DisneyDigitalBooks on Twitter.

This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz received a promo code to review this app.