You see, I recently won an iPad (how cool was that?) and my husband downloaded some kid books into it to read with the boys. And they LOVE it, but I can’t exactly hand them my iPad and say go for it. The V.Reader is made just for them, with a protective covering, big buttons, sturdy design and “bumper” around the edges. At ages 2.5 and 4 years, the boys aren’t naturally gentle, so I appreciate the design.

The V.Reader is made for kids ages 3 to 7. The story is read at a steady pace, slower than the kid e-books on my iPad. The boys don’t seem to mind at all, but don’t expect it to read fast. There are two “play options”. The boys can listen and follow along to the story as read by animated characters or touch the screen and play reading games to learn each word or sentence. As you go through the “pages”, not only is the story animated, but by pushing sections of the screen you can make different actions occur during the story. There are also complementing games to enhance story comprehension and a story dictionary for new words.

One exciting development is the library of Downloadable Stories for the V.Reader. And many of these stories are going to be FREE with over 100 titles to choose from! I can’t wait to check it out. The V.Reader does come with a USB cord to attach to the computer to download the stories. This option will keep the e-reader fresh if you don’t have time to stop by the store to get a new cartridge for the e-reader.

If you prefer cartridges to the tech-savvy downloading of stories (which is not as scary as it seems), then there are great stories to choose from. It came with one cartridge, “What’s That Sound?” about a dog that moves to a new city with a lot of strange sights, sounds and smells. The boys LOVE this story. We also had a chance to check out the new V.Reader Cartridge – Toy Story 3!  Toy Story 3 is specifically for ages 3 to 5. It has a story, plus games encourage letter identification, proper punctuation, categorizing, sequencing and beginning sounds! I have to say that if you haven’t watched the movie, the game has a spoiler, though. We played the game before watching the movie – but I was happy to know what to expect!

Other V.Reader Story Cartridges include:

• Mr. Messy and the Missing Sock
• Shrek’s Vacation
• Scooby-Doo and a Mummy, Too (the boys REALLY want this one! I saw it at Toys R Us!)
• Olivia Takes Ballet
• Dora and the Three Little Pigs
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• Disney Princess Cinderella and Belle

Plus, there are LOADS more. You have to see the whole e-reader collection at V.Tech Kids. They retail for $19.99 each – remember it’s for the e-book and educational games.

The V.Reader has a huge 4.3 inch color touch screen and a SD memory card slot for memory expansion. You can plug in the V.Reader with a supplied USB Cord to get progress reports and reading certificates for the kids.

Right now the V.Reader is available exclusively at Target. It just came out June 20! It will be available nationwide in August at all key retailers and online at www.vtechkids.com. The V.Reader is available in Blue or Pink and retails for $59.99.

Win a V.Reader from VTECHKIDS!

SECOND: EXTRA ENTRIES:

To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED/MANDATORY entry. But for extra entries, you can do the following – leave a comment for each:

• Add theMomBuzz to your Twitter and Tweet the contest. Leave your Tweet Link. (1 tweet per DAY is allowed)
• Subscribe to the Mom Buzz
• Enter the Bebe-O Contest.

• Become a Friend on Google Friend Connect (Right side sidebar)
• “Like” VTECH TOYS on Facebook
• Leave a comment on VTECH TOYS Facebook site saying: I saw the A1455 Review on the Mom Buzz! Visit http://tinyurl.com/28pc3ag to learn more.
  
• Add the Mom Buzz button to your site or onto your blogroll (Feed: http://themombuzz.com/feed/)
• Follow VTECHTOYS on Twitter
• Tweet: #Win @VTECHTOYS V.Reader from @themombuzz – Visit http://tinyurl.com/28pc3ag

Contest ends 7.23.10. This is open to the USA. Please refer to complete contest rules. The entries listed above are the ONLY entries for this contest. Winners will be notified by e-mail (if supplied in the entry or on profile page), as well as on the Winner’s Wall.

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 given a V.Reader by VTech for my review. I was allowed to keep the product, but the opinion I am sharing remains my own V.Tech is supplying a random winner with a V.Reader.

• Show kids how to enable the camera’s Auto Scene Detection feature. This will help them avoid overexposed or blurry images and easily capture clear shots during a bright, sunny day or even a fireworks display.

• Tell them to look for vibrant colors, which make for beautiful photographs and striking scrapbooks to share at school. Think of a carousel horse against a sea of lights or a bright flower in front of a white picket fence.

• When photographing a group of friends or the family, encourage kids to take one nice photo and another that’s crazy and goofy. If someone closes his eyes during the serious shot, Blink Detection alerts budding photogs to take another picture before everyone runs off.

• Encourage kids to watch for things growing out of a subject’s head, like a beach umbrella or tiki torch. While these distracting backgrounds are funny, they also take away from a great shot.

• Panoramic pictures capture the vastness of a seaside sunset or large group of people. Features like Pan-Capture Panorama make it easy for the kids to create these elongated shots by stitching the image for them; all they have to do is pan the camera across the scene.

• Waterproof cameras are ideal for a day at the pool, beach or lake. Select one with an internal zoom lens to keep it clean from sand, seaweed and water drops. Waterproof cameras are also great for snapping fun pics in the rain!

To help kids create memories with their very own camera this summer, Sears, Kmart and Walmart.com offer a wide range of affordable choices for aspiring photographers. And don’t forget to enter to WIN A GE DIGITAL CAMERA here at the Mom Buzz!

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 provided these tips from GE Camera.

There are ten cameras to choose from in the Smart Series – for every summer need and a range of prices. When shopping through the series you can at-a-glance see if it has the features you want with their colorful icons indicating options like Panoramic Photos, Smile Detection, Blink Detection, and Image Stabilization – just to name a few. These featurific cameras are priced from $69 to $129 – and all offer amazing megapixels and zoom capabilities. I will say upfront, though, that if you want a camera that can handle getting wet you want to look at the Active Series and their waterproof cameras which are affordably prices between $149 to $179.

The Mom Buzz received the A1455 to review. I was able to use it quickly out-of-the-box, once I added a memory card and batteries. But I didn’t need to fiddle with buttons and menu options to start capturing cool photos of my boys, thanks to the intuitive features and amazing capabilities. With the Smart Series A1455 you get some features you want, lots that you need and some that you didn’t even know existed … but you want them anyways. This includes:

• 14.1 Megapixels: You can choose to shoot in 14, 12, 10, 8, 5, 3 or .3 Megapixels. The higher the Megapixels, the higher the printing quality for enlargements. For example, 3 Megapixels is suitable for 4″ x 6″ – but if you want an 8″ x10″ or larger it is best to shoot with higher megapixels. So far I always leave it at 14 megapixels.

• 5x Optical Zoom: Optical zoom is different than digital zoom. With an optical zoom you can magnify the image you are trying to capture without reducing the quality. Now don’t be fooled by “Digital Zoom” on other cameras which does sacrifice quality. Now, the question is how much zoom do you want on your compact digital camera? Seven of the Smart Series offer 5x Optical Zoom. The other three have 3x Optical Zoom. To me, the option of more zoom is always a good thing – especially if you are trying to capture your kids on stage at Star Wars Jedi Training or across a soccer field. This way when you show a picture to grandma or a friend, they will actually be able to recognize your child in a field of faces or from far away.

• 2.7″ LCD Screen: Large screen for easy reviewing of images and menu options.

These next features speak for themselves – but they are a great addition to digital cameras. All the cool cameras have them – and it allows an amateur photographer to capture moments a little easier.

• 

  Macro Setting

  Smile Detection: The shutter automatically releases when the smile appears so you can capture smiles the moment they happen.

• Blink Detection: Blink Detection alerts you if your subject’s eyes were closed so you can immediately retake the picture.

• Face Detection: Face Detection identifies the faces in a photo and will automatically focus and optimize exposure for sharp, brilliant pictures. In other words, the A1455 will compensate for dark scenes or scenes with an illuminated background.

• Image Stabilization: For shaky hands and wobbly situations, the camera will auto stabilize for clearer, sharper pictures.

Now here are some cool perks that come with the Smart Series A1455.

• Pancapture: You can capture Panorama images with the A1455 – a 360 degree scene that is merged into one photo. You can shoot between 2 to 3 photos to be merged into this singular image.

• Auto Scene: On the top dial of your camera there is an ASCN option, which stands for autoscene. When on this option, the camera will detect the “conditions” of the photograph you are trying to capture and will select the one it thinks is best for sharp vibrant pictures. It is detecting Landscape, Portrait, Night Portrait, Backlit Portrait, Night Landscape and Macro shots.

• High Dynamic Range: Okay – here is the best way I can explain this one. Ever try to take a picture that might include a window and all you see is white outside the window, as opposed to trees and a view? High Dynamic Range does what used to be a photoshop application and gives it a better light balance, so what you see is what the camera captures.

• Movies: You can record short videos with the A1455! The optical zoom is fixed at 1.5x digital zoom, but it still sufficient for capturing spur of the moment memories.

Sepia Option

So those are some of the notable features the camera has, along with common ones like red-eye reduction, flash options, self-timer and choosing to shoot in color, black & white, sepia or “vivid”.

Uploading the images on the computer is easy. I attached the camera using the supplied USB cord, opened the folder with the images and moved them into the appropriate folder on my computer. Some of the photos I pulled into my photoshop program to crop. The photos I took can be printed to a width of 60 inches – that’s 5 feet wide! The full-color photos I took of the boys are fantastic, love the light balance. I chose the ASCN option for the photo of the flower and Sepia color option for my dog Sookie. Overall, the photos are awesome for a compact digital camera.

Win a GE Smart Series A1455 Digital Camera, a $119 Value.

SECOND: EXTRA ENTRIES:

To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED/MANDATORY entry. But for extra entries, you can do the following – leave a comment for each:

• Add theMomBuzz to your Twitter and Tweet the contest. Leave your Tweet Link. (1 tweet per DAY is allowed)
• Subscribe to the Mom Buzz
• Enter the Bebe-O Contest.

• Become a Friend on Google Friend Connect (Right side sidebar)
• “Like” GE Camera on Facebook
• Leave a comment on GE Cameras Facebook site saying: I saw the A1455 Review on the Mom Buzz! Visit http://tinyurl.com/3×8csje to learn more.
  
• Add the Mom Buzz button to your site or onto your blogroll (Feed: http://themombuzz.com/feed/)
• Follow GE Cameras on Twitter
• Tweet: #Win @GECamera from @themombuzz – Visit http://tinyurl.com/3×8csje

Contest ends 7.23.10. This is open to the USA. Please refer to complete contest rules. The entries listed above are the ONLY entries for this contest. Winners will be notified by e-mail (if supplied in the entry or on profile page), as well as on the Winner’s Wall.

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 an A1455 for review. GE Camera is providing an A1455 for the give-away.

I also thought the handhelds had a lot of potential – the graphics were so much better than the games I played as a kid. Plus, they had educational value. But I have to say that I am in awe of the graphics and intelligence of the newest Leapster handheld game – the Leapster Explorer.

The Leapster Explorer has a lot of features that my kids love about my iPhone (and the new iPad). Not only can you play games via cartridges, like the older Leapsters. But you can also:

1. Upload e-books (Tag books),
2. Upload apps and videos (Leaplets)
3. Connect to the computer to track learning
4. Care for a virtual pet

And more forward-thinking than the iPhone or App, the Leapster Explorer uses Flash for awesome visual performance and a Linux-based operating system. The screen is big (3.2″ – 420 x 420 resolution), bright, full-color and touch sensitive. It has a peripheral slot for expandability, an onboard memory of 512 MB and a download capacity of 250 – 300 MB. The handheld, games and apps were designed for children 4 to 9 years old.

A. GROWS WITH YOUR CHILD:

One of my favorite things about the Leapster Explorer is that it is always at your child’s level. With other learning systems, some games become too easy, while others always remain too challenging. Neither enhances learning. But the Leapster Explorer games auto-adjust so that the kids learn at their own pace. This smart handheld is providing a customized learning experience for your child.

B. GAMES

There are a few games that the Leapster Explorer comes preprogrammed with. The rest are added either as Leaplets, which are videos, Tag Books and small games you can upload. Or, just like the previous Leapsters, you can play cartridge games. My son LOVES the ones he’s tried so far, like Toy Story 3 and The Penguins of Madagascar: Operation Plushie.

Cartridge Games that my son played includes:

• Disney Pixar Toy Story 3 – This game teaches phonics, spelling, letters and physical science. Kids can play as Buzz or Woody and move around on an interactive board game to save other toys in the Caterpillar Move. Even I learned a few things as I played and it’s a  must-have game, especially with the movie soon to be in theaters.
• The Penguins of Madagascar: Operation Plushie – Who doesn’t love the Penguins of Madagascar? The graphics are really good in this game as the penguins maneuver around the zoo, meeting up with alligators, rats, cockroaches and educational challenges. Kids will learn addition, subtraction, animal facts, logic and reasoning.
• Mr. Pencil Saves Doodleburg – I think this game is a must-have when you first purchase the Leapster Explorer. The reason I think it is must-have is because it has an art-studio, where kids can color, stamp and do cool graphics. That is something the original Leapsters had pre-programmed into them. If you want the Leapster Explorer to have that function, this game will do that plus more – like how to make different colors, trace shapes, number-writing and letter-writing.
• Disney Princess: Pop-Up Story Adventure – This game teaches phonics skills, story comprehension, letters, musical rhythm and pitch. Yes, my son has played. I have to admit, I learned neither he nor I are princess material, as it took even me a while to figure out how to get the cat to get out of the courtyard to feed the chickens. But as my son and I played I knew my niece would LOVE this game – right up her alley. Seven mini-games are in this 3-D, pop-up book adventure.

Other games that are available, but we didn’t play, are Dora the Explorer: Dora’s Worldwide Rescue, Globe: Earth Adventures, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan: Super Happy Day!, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Disney Fairies: Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure, Wolverine and the X-Men, NFLRush Zone, Spongebob Squarepants: Fists of Foam, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Disney Princess Cartridge Game on Leapster Explorer

C. LEAPLETS

Leaplets are more diverse in what you can get. Currently there are three videos, some fun apps and you can even use the Leapster Explorer as an e-reader and upload some Tag Books. Here are the Leaplets my son tried:

E-Books: I am sure a lot of parents are familiar with the Tag and Tag Jr library. Now, just like an iPad, you can upload some Tag titles for kids to read, touch words, listen to the story and tap pictures for audio surprises. The title that we read was Ozzie & Mack. The story is cute, as Ozzie the Otter brings his pet bug to school. It could lead to disaster, but instead the teacher makes it into a learning experience. There was one picture in the story that covered a few words, but I think the LeapFrog team is fixing it.

To turn the pages, you just swipe your finger across the screen. If you want to hear a specific word you tap it. You can also grab words into a reader on the bottom of the page. And my son has figured out how to make the Leapster Explorer read the entire book to you.

The title I am most looking forward to reading with my son is Scooby-Doo! Shiny Spooky Knights – but I have to wait until October 2010 for that one! Very appropriate for it to come out around Halloween. Other titles that are available now are Dora the Explorer: Dora Goes to School, Go Diego Go! Underwater Mystery, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan: Kai’Lan’s Super Sleepover, Learn-to-Read Volume 1: Casey Cat Has a Bat an T-Rex’s Mighty Roar. I think the T-Rex one is something my sons would really love.

Videos: LeapFrog has a great library of videos, so it’s no shock that you can upload some to watch on the Leapster Explorer. I am not quite sure how it works yet – or how the videos are divided. I know that the available videos are Letter Factory, Talking Words Factory and Math Circus. I have the actual DVDs of Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory and they are great. I honestly think the Letter Factory made learning letters and their sounds easier for my kids, so it’s a great video. But the video we have on our device is only Part 1 – so I need to figure out how to get the other parts. I’ll learn! I think when you officially upload a video into your device you get the whole thing and that I just have a trial video. That said, the quality is just like watching it on tv – but smaller. It’s great!

Game Apps: There are also small game apps that help teach learning skills, along with other life-skills. Some of the apps we’ve tried and enjoy are:

Jewel Train – This is definitely a keeper. It’s a fun game, but really it helps with logic as kids have to move train tracks so the train can move across the screen.

Harmonies – My son LOVES Harmonies as he sings along with a quartet to tunes like Row, Row, Row Your Boat or Twinkle, Twinkle Litte Star. There are around 5 or 6 songs (I can’t pry the Leapster out of his hand to find out) – I know Bach is in there, along with She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain. It’s so cute to hear my 4 year old sing along! Plus, he can conduct the 4 singers on the screen, turning their voices on and off. And he can also add sounds, like cymbals, a dog, a cat and drums.

Sugar Bugs - This is a fun application. You get to take care of teeth, as they have all sorts of bacteria, dirty teeth, food stuck between teeth, etc. And you have to use the right tool, like toothbrushes, floss, fluoride, a sucker, etc to get the mouth clean. It gets progressively harder as you play. And if it is supposed to teach good brushing habits, I agree! My son wanted to brush his teeth to keep the sugar bugs off!

Wheel Works – This one my husband thinks is too hard for our 4 year old. It teaches physics, as kids adjust ramp angles and speed to keep their wheel rolling in a prehistoric world. I agree it’s challenging, but I think once my son masters Jewel Train, this is the next app to get.

Other apps currently available include Alphabet Stew and Dice Ahoy.

MORE:

There is a Pet Pad game on your Leapster Explorer ready to play once you open it. This doesn’t require uploading or cartridges to start play. You can create, modify and take care of three little pets. You choose their name, color, features and more. My son has created a rabbit, sheep and dragon. Once you create them you can feed them, “fling them”, and bathe them. The only catch is you DO have to connect your Leapster Explorer to the computer to restock their food.

ACCESSORIES:

The Leapster Explorer will come with a USB cable to connect to your computer for additional interactivity. It uses 4 AA batteries, which do drain pretty quickly when your kids play with the Leapster whenever they aren’t outside.

Coming soon will be a Leapster Explorer Camera which will snap into a peripheral slot. It will be available around October 2010, giving kids the ability to take and customize videos and photos. It will retail for $24.99. Santa was planning on buying a kiddie digital camera for the kids this holiday, but I think he will simply go this route instead.

FINAL SAY:

Overall, we love the Leapster Explorer. It will grow with my son, challenging him at the appropriate level. Plus, more games and Leaplets will be coming out to keep it fresh and fun. The only bummer is the drain on batteries, but we always go through this when we get a new handheld.

BUY:

The Leapster Explorer will be ready for pre-order on June 7th, 2010. It will be on shelves July 15th. It will be available in pink or green for $69.99. Cartridges will be around $24.99. A pack of two Leapster Explorer Leaplet Learning App Download Cards is $14.99.

Win a Leapster Explorer to be DELIVERED to your door the day it hits shelves on July 15th!

SECOND: EXTRA ENTRIES:
To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED/MANDATORY entry. But for extra entries, you can do the following – leave a comment for each:

• Add theMomBuzz to your Twitter and Tweet the contest. Leave your Tweet Link. (1 tweet per DAY is allowed)
• Become a Fan of theMomBuzz on Facebook
• Sign up for the FantasyJewelryBox newsletter – where they will send you special deals and news!
• Become a Friend on Google Friend Connect (Right side sidebar)
• Add the Mom Buzz button to your site or onto your blogroll (Feed: http://themombuzz.com/feed/)

Contest ends 6/28/10. This is open to the USA. Please refer to complete contest rules. The entries listed above are the ONLY entries for this contest. Winners will be notified by e-mail (if supplied in the entry or on profile page), as well as on the Winner’s Wall.

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 the Leapster Explorer for review and is allowed to keep the review item. The sponsor will handle prize fulfillment.

With the V.Smile Cyberpocket, I needed to provide more support to help my boys move the stylus across the pad, so they could perform an action on the screen. But the MobiGo uses only a touch screen, so your kids can move, pop and slide objects by touching their finger on the screen in the appropriate place. There is no stylus to break in a car door. (Yes, I’ve done that before.) And I love that you can touch the screen, not a pad below the screen, to perform an action. Some games call for a keyboard, though. In that case, simply slide the screen forward and a QWERTY Keyboard is revealed underneath.

Games are not “pre-programmed” on the MobiGo. You do need a cartridge to begin play, but it comes with a Touch & Learn Game Pack. My guess is that it saves on memory if the games aren’t pre-programmed, allowing for better animations and graphics. The games on the Touch & Learn Game Pack are very awesome and appropriate for little ones. Both my 4 year old and 2.5 year old are anxious to play with the games, which can be played on an easy or difficult level. The games include:

Shooting Gallery: It is like an old-style target game. “Wooden” ducks go by with a letter on their body. You “shoot” them down by pressing the appropriate letter on the QWERTY keyboard.

Space Challenge: This is a number sequence game. There are two numbers on the bottom of the screen. Spaceships go by with numbers and you touch the spaceship with the appropriate number to finish the sequence.

Fantastic Forest: The kids LOVE this game. LOVE LOVE LOVE. There is a squirrel that you have to help gather nuts by connecting dots and drawing shapes. As you do this, it forms objects that the squirrel uses to maneuver around the forest. The animations and graphics are awesome here.

Wild Fun: This is one of those games where you have to tap an animal that is different from the others. There are elephants, lions, hippos and more. My kids probably find this one to be the most challenging thus far.

Ice Escape: This is another game that the kids go crazy for. You have to help a penguin maneuver around ice blocks by sliding ice blocks out of the way, into holes and melting snowballs so that the penguin can reach the fish. It’s quick, fun and even I like to play. It would be a cute app for an iPhone.

Music Maestro: The boys also love this game. They just get so excited over  music. Here musical notes appear over drums, keys and strings so that you can help play well-known kid songs. You can play in game mode or free-style mode.

The touch screen is a sizable 3″ and crystal-clear. It’s sturdy for toddler and preschool hands, with rubber grips. I love that the games emphasize important skills kids need to prepare for school, like math, problem solving, letters, numbers and fine motor skills. This summer, when the kids are not in the pool or playground improving spatial awareness and gross motor skills, I definitely see them improving their cognitive development with MobiGo.

PURCHASE: The MobiGo comes with the game system, 1 cartridge, a cleaning cloth and a USB Cable. Four AA batteries are necessary for play. MobiGo will be available exclusively at Toys R Us stores and online beginning June 7^th. The MobiGo will retail for $59.99.

FINAL BUZZ:

Overall, MobiGo has successfully combined entertainment with education. I love how easy it is for little ones to use the touch-screen learning system, plus the games they’ve played hold their interest so they keep learning new skills. In fact, even though the system is meant for ages 3 to 8, I honestly think some of the puzzle-like games would be perfect apps on my iPhone – so I am a little jealous! Without a doubt, MobiGo is great entertainment for long car rides, hotel stays, waits at a doctor’s office and everyday learning.

Stay up to date on the release of the MobiGo! Follow VTECHTOYS on Twitter and become a VTECH TOYS FAN on Facebook!

Win a MobiGo from VTECHKIDS!

SECOND: EXTRA ENTRIES:
To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED/MANDATORY entry. But for extra entries, you can do the following – leave a comment for each:

• Add theMomBuzz to your Twitter and Tweet the contest. Leave your Tweet Link. (1 tweet per DAY is allowed)
• Leave a comment on any non-give-away post at theMomBuzz.com – let me know where.
• Follow VTECHTOYS on Twitter and tell them you saw the MobiGo review @themombuzz
• Become a VTECH TOYS FAN on Facebook! Leave them a comment letting them know you saw the MobiGo review on theMomBuzz.com!
• Add the Mom Buzz button to your site or onto your blogroll (Feed: http://themombuzz.com/feed/)

Contest ends 6/30/10. This is open to the USA. Please refer to complete contest rules. The entries listed above are the ONLY entries for this contest. Winners will be notified by e-mail (if supplied in the entry or on profile page), as well as on the Winner’s Wall.

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 MobiGo by VTECH for review and has been allowed to keep the product, since my sons enjoy it so much. OgilvyPR will handle prize fulfillment.

This is one of those little gadgets that I surprised my husband with, who has owned an iPod in the past, but now is a proud iPhone owner. It is a simple little accessory that acts as a hard case for your iPhone, iPod or iPod nano – depending on which case you choose. When flipped open, the idox Traveler case turns into a horizontal stand for viewing your device while keeping your hands free.

This is super for dads! I know my husband often uses his iPhone as a distraction for the boys when we have to wait somewhere. So it would be great for families traveling, when waiting in the terminal, entertainment on the plane, in the car, at a hotel or even waiting at a restaurant! Dad can use byhimself too, but I am sure he will appreciate it if it just gives him some time-off after a fun-filled day!

It can keep working at night, too. When at a hotel, the idox can turn your device into an alarm clock on the nightstand.

My husband immediately popped his iPhone in when I showed him his cool new toy. He loves it for business travel and will be taking it with us on our overnight trips to Disney! All of the buttons and ports on his iPhone remain accessible. When not in use, he does take his iPhone out of the idox and carry it in his leather case attached to his pants. But I think it’s great for iPods, because when not in use, the idox can be snapped shut for full protection of the device – just toss it in a tore, diaper bag, or workout bag and head on out!

idox Features at-a-Glance:

• Hard Cover provides wrap around protection.
• Flip-Cover Snaps closed to provide unsurpassed protection for your iPhone.
• Soft-Touch feet establish stable base for Stand viewing.
• Easily connect to Bluetooth, Ear Phones, or Power Adapter.

The idox is available in black, pink and silver. I loved all three colors, but the black and silver are good for dads! The idox is proudly made in the U.S.A. depending on the case you choose, prices range from $24.95 to $34.95.

Now, even though Leapster wanted to be hush-hush about the release, if you Google around you’ll find out that some details have been released:

“We hear tell it will have … app and video downloads… and there’s a digital camera and video accessories planned for the kid-friendly gadget’s future …”

Even with that “spill”, I am still excited about an iPad-like device that is appropriate in design and price that has top-notch graphics, a touch screen, and video play ability. But the truth is, we still don’t have the whole scoop on what exactly the Leapster Explorer looks like or its full capabilities. And although you can watch more videos about it on Leap Frogs Facebook page – the product itself won’t be unveiled until June 7th! It will be available in stores July 15th.

You know you want one, right? And one lucky reader of theMomBuzz.com will get one delivered to their door… the same day it’s released in stores!

Win a Leapster Explorer – just as it’s released into stores!

SECOND: EXTRA ENTRIES:
To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED/MANDATORY entry. But for extra entries, you can do the following – leave a comment for each:

• Add theMomBuzz to your Twitter and Tweet the contest. Leave your Tweet Link. (1 tweet per DAY is allowed)
• Become a Fan of theMomBuzz on Facebook
• Fan/Like LeapFrog on Facebook
• Become a Friend on Google Friend Connect (Right side sidebar)
• Add the Mom Buzz button to your site or onto your blogroll (Feed: http://themombuzz.com/feed/)

Contest ends 6/06/10. This is open to the USA. Please refer to complete contest rules. The entries listed above are the ONLY entries for this contest. Winners will be notified by e-mail (if supplied in the entry or on profile page), as well as on the Winner’s Wall. The winner will receive their prize on July 15th.

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 the two books described above. Silver Dolphin is handling prize fulfillment.

The new IS9181 WiFi Internet Radio from VTech let’s you tune into over 11,000 stations from around the globe, so you can listen to your favorite music, sports, talk radio and more anywhere in your home or office. There is no charge for tuning into these stations – Internet Radio is completely free! Plus, you can wirelessly stream music from your computer or plug in your iPod or other digital audio player using a supplied cord. The IS9181 is compatible with PCs and Macs. A remote control and wall adapter is included. If you aren’t near an outlet the radio can run on 6AA batteries. The MSRP is $149.95.

Why Grads will Love it: College students and recent college grads will love the IS9181 since they will be able to listen to music from home, even when they are on campus or in a new city. And the best part – Internet Radio is FREE for cash-starved students or professionals who are just learning how to juggle rent, car payments and more. You might not be able to wake up your son or daughter for work or school, but the IS9181 does have an alarm function either music or a buzzer.

Why Dads will Love it: I can speak from experience on this one since my husband has brought the IS9181 to his office to listen to. Dads will love it because of its sleek appearance that blends in on an office desk and fits right in at home. It can tell you your local weather based on your zip code, so you always know what the day will bring. Plus it will work with any home wireless network. My husband loves the color interface, which is easy to read and attractive.

Features At-A-Glance:

• Stream music across the 802.11 b/g WiFi network with “Best-in-Class” range. Broadband Internet service and a home WiFi network router are required
• Listen to Internet radio from the available 11,000 stations with no monthly fee
• Access Internet radio stations from our user-friendly online site or on the device itself
• Play music from any audio device (i.e. CD player, MP3 player, etc)
• Connect to any stereo system or powered speakers to access streaming Internet radio or music files stored on a PC or Mac
• Built-in FM radio tuner for local FM broadcast service. Preset your favorite stations
• Hi-Fidelity built-in 3W tuned stereo speakers and a 10W subwoofer with class D amplifier for each speaker that can fill any room with dynamic sound
• Digital alarm clock radio-wake up to your favorite Internet or FM radio station or the internal buzzer.
• Automatic clock set and adjustment via the Internet.
• Battery-operated option allows you to take the device outside the home or office.
• Convenient remote-browse, select and control your music from across the room using the remote control
• Access local weather and 5-day forecast
• Large full color display
• Product dimensions: 6.3″ x 12.4″ x 3.5″

Overall: Honestly, my husband was so excited about the WiFi Internet Radio. He loves techy toys – and this was a huge one. Internet radio with fewer commercials, streaming music from his iPod, listening to weather (which he loves as a meteorology student) and … it just looks cool. If the person you have in mind loves gadgets, electronics, music and things that come with tiny remote controls – definitely consider the IS9181 WiFi Internet Radio from VTech.

Keep tabs on fab new gift ideas from VTech on Twitter! Follow them @VTechMusic!

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 WiFi Internet Radio from VTech to review.

If you think it’s a fab idea, too, then you can get a TAO Digital Photo Keychain at WholesaleKeychain.com for only $14.99. It comes with a cute little stand to display it, has a 1.5″ screen which is bigger than other models I’ve seen, and has a 16MB memory. It can hold approximately 100 photos!

To use is simple. It comes with a USB cord to plug it into your computer. Once attached, it turns on the program. You add images and use a little cropping tool to choose the perfect part of the picture you want displayed in your keychain. You can enlarge and reduce photos to make this happen. It is completely user-friendly. Here is a quick video to show quality on the pink TAO digital photo keychain with stand.

At WholeSaleKeyChain, you can also choose to have your digital photo keychain engraved. There is room for three lines and the cost is an additional $5.99. And with these great prices, there is no reason not to have it engraved!

You can choose a digital keychain without a stand, for only $9.99, which is $5 off the suggested retail price. Colors you can choose from include pink, silver, black, blue, red, yellow, green, purple and gray. There are even digital photo keychains with leather accents – perfect for dad!

Overall, I think it’s just fab. It’s perfect for sharing pictures of my boys … and even for me to go through reliving those tiny memories! It’s a totally wonderful gift idea. You can give it as-is, or you can pre-fill it with memories that you want to share with loved ones. Put pictures of the grandkids in it for your mom, pictures of vacations for your spouse or pictures of friends and family for the grad who is about to go to college! The possibilities are endless!

One Winner will win a TAO Digital Keychain with Stand in Pink or Silver, winner’s choice.

Winner can choose to have keychain engraved for no extra cost.

SECOND: EXTRA ENTRIES:
To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED/MANDATORY entry. But for extra entries, you can do the following – leave a comment for each:

• Add theMomBuzz to your Twitter and Tweet the contest. Leave your Tweet Link. (1 tweet per DAY is allowed)
• Blog about the contest – add a link to this Contest Page on the Mom Buzz and the sponsor.
• Become a Fan of theMomBuzz on Facebook
• Become a Friend on Google Friend Connect (Right side sidebar)
• Add the Mom Buzz to your blogroll (Feed: http://themombuzz.com/feed/)
• Enter to win the $20 to Dick’s Sporting Goods at the Mom Buzz.

Contest ends 5/23/10. This is open to the USA. Please refer to complete contest rules. The entries listed above are the ONLY entries for this contest. Winners will be notified by e-mail (if supplied in the entry or on profile page), as well as on the Winner’s Wall.

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 Pink TAO Digital PhotoKeychain to review. The sponsor is handling prize fulfillment.

Late May we can expect a lot of students to walk the stage and get their diploma as they are ready to enter the REAL WORLD. And let’s face it, a lot dads are already in that real world. What can both of these people appreciate? Tech stuff – gadgets – things to keep them connected.

The VTech LS6245 does just that. It’s the latest in home or home office communications. This phone system allows users to bridge home and mobile communications by answering both landline and cellular calls. Enabled with BLUETOOTH, this phone system prevents the typical problems with using cell phones at home – dropped calls or poor sound quality. And for added convenience, you also can use a Bluetooth headset to answer landline calls hands-free. Plus, the sleek design with touch-sensitive dial-pad will put its owner in vogue with their home communications.

Why Grads Will Love It: Face it, many grads will be moving into their first place soon after graduation. It’s an item they will need to have for their new place! Practical, yet sleek, it will fit into their lifestyle perfectly. Plus, they will love that it keeps them connected with landlines or cellular calls, so mom can always stay in touch – or they can call dad for some fatherly advice. Speaking of dad…

Why Dads Will Love It: For the dad that is up-to-date with technology, he’ll love it for all the reasons the grads love it – accepts landline and cellular calls, bluetooth enabled, and a digital answering system. For dads that just want to look cool, it has a sleek design and awesome touch-sensitive dial pad. For dads who need to get with it, it is easy to see who is calling with large reverse LCD with white backlighting. And with the touch of a button the unit can be hands-free from either the headset of speaker phone. Plus, it’s expandable so you can additional handsets and still only need one phone jack. The additional units just need an electrical outlet.

Why I Love It: I haven’t reviewed this specific model – I can only share the buzz and give one away. BUT – I personally own a VTECH phone that has some similar features. Mine is also expandable, I have three handsets with only one phone jack. I finally can have a phone in the most used rooms of the house! And my phone also has speaker capabilities from the handsets, which is great when the kids are speaking to grandma, so I can here her end of the conversation. Plus, even with my kids dropping (throwing?) the phones, mine are still in great working condition. In other words, VTECH is a brand I trust for phones. I have a VTECH Phone, my sister had a VTECH Phone and I want you to have THIS VTECH phone.

More about the LS6245: This phone is RoHS Compliant, which means it does not use lead, mercury or cadmium. And it is an Energy Star Product.

VTech LS6245 Expandable Cordless Phone System with Bluetooth Wireless Technology (MSRP $79.95)

SECOND: EXTRA ENTRIES:
To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED/MANDATORY entry. But for extra entries, you can do the following – leave a comment for each:

• Add theMomBuzz to your Twitter and Tweet the contest. Leave your Tweet Link. (1 tweet per DAY is allowed)
• Blog about the contest – add a link to this Contest Page on the Mom Buzz and the sponsor.
• Follow VTech411 on Twitter and Tweet:

@VTech411 Great Father’s Day Idea @themombuzz http://tinyurl.com/ygrb8db

• Become a Fan of theMomBuzz on Facebook
• Become a Friend on Google Friend Connect (Right side sidebar)
• Add the Mom Buzz to your blogroll (Feed: http://themombuzz.com/feed/)
• Enter to win the Dick’s Sporting Goods Gift Card

Contest ends 5/21/10. This is open to the USA. Please refer to complete contest rules. The entries listed above are the ONLY entries for this contest. Winners will be notified by e-mail (if supplied in the entry or on profile page), as well as on the Winner’s Wall.

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. VTech provided the prize for the winner.