By Lauren Brill, Guest Contributor
Look out retailers. Mobility gives the “Precision Shoppers” the ability to rule this holiday season as they will be equipped with competitive deals from a host of retailers. As smartphones, tablets and iPads have become more affordable and faster, there has been shift from shopping via the PC to the mobile device. More and more consumers are walking around with a small computer in their pockets when they are out shopping. Companies like Amazon, Google, and Westfield Malls have taken notice and developed apps to help make shoppers more confident and position them to get the [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
I am very excited about this new app for the iPhone. Viddy is another Social Media outlet similar to Instagram. Where with  Instragram you can add filter effects to your photos and share them, with Viddy you can do the same with videos.
Viddy is a simple way to share 15 second vignettes of life around you with movement, audio and music. There are a variety of different effects to enhance your video. Connect with other would-be cinematographers, Facebook and Twitter friends, plus share on YouTube and Tumblr. Just one more way to bring the fun [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
Now that I have completely devoted my techno-self to Apple products, I am all about accessorizing them. If you have yet to make the leap to everything starting with an ‘i’ these products just may persuade you.
Stands, Tripods and Grips:

GorillaMobile Yogi – Joby has designed the perfect flexible tripod for either your iPhone or iPad. Wrap it around a rock or tree when out capturing yourself in the wilderness or wrap it around your treadmill so you can watch a movie while you exercise. Buy the GorillaMobile Yogi for iPhone from [...]

We have been exploring lots of websites, products and companies in our quest to bring you the latest and the coolest ideas for Father’s Day. It’s during this exploration that that we can across this organization, the ISPO BrandNew Awards.
As Succulent Wives, sports paraphernalia is not often on our radar, but we love everything about the concept for the Ipso BrandNew Awards. Reminiscent of the Kickstarter crowdfunding program (which we wrote about here), the Ipso BrandNew Awards also encourages inventors and entrepreneurs to submit their creative concepts. Except that in this case, the awards focus on sporting-goods industry entrepreneurs by [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
Are you planning on traveling with your pets this summer? You may want to check out the Blanket Online ID for your feline or canine. The British Columbia based company uses the web to facilitate getting a lost pet home, no matter where they are in North America.
The tags come in a variety of stylish colors and patterns. Once the pet owner registers with the company, they create an online record with photos, medical notes and other details. If the pet goes missing, BlanketID will broadcast an email to local SPCA, animal hospitals, shelters and [...]

You know the scene. Where’s my phone. I know I left it here. Where’s my phone. Shoot, it’s on silent/out of battery. Where’s my phone…
I’d love to say this happens only to my husband and to my kids, but to be honest, it happens a lot to me too, mostly because I have way too many options to carry my phone. Handbag? Clutch? Computer bag? Gym bag? Phone wallet? Coat pocket? Oy!
So, as you can guess, I’m going to tell you that this little device solves the locating problem. It does, and then some. It’s called the Zomm and, [...]

I thought I was completely done with Halloween. I actually gave all – every single last piece – of my Halloween paraphernalia to my neighbor when I moved. My kids confirmed that they were done with the trick-or-treating thing a couple of years ago. And, since I lived in a gated community, where mainly arrogant un-costumed teenage boys would knock for candy, I closed shop long ago.
But now, since moving to the Chicago North Shore, with nary a gate or wall  in sight, and small children galore, and the Halloween “spirit” already omnipresent (and adorable), I’m thinking that I might [...]

Too bad that this product isn’t released until later this summer, otherwise it would have been a perfect Father’s Day gift idea for those husbands and dads that keep quoting from movies or recalling favorite scenes. Or that have still have an unfulfilled yearning to be in the movies. But, that can be almost anyone.
Yoostar allows users to star in scenes from their favorite movies alongside famous actors. With the proprietary camera, software and green screen kit, anyone can recite their favorite lines and appear in a chosen movie scene. How’d they do it? Actors are digitally “removed” from certain [...]

I going to sound like a back-of-the-1950′s-magazine-advertisement now, but strangely enough, it’s a case of  download this iPhone game app and “impress your friends”. The graphics of the little steel ball rolling around the mini wooden labyrinth are just too perfect. It feels like you are playing the real thing. You can even calibrate your phone to make sure that the steel ball rolls on the correct plain. I showed off the game to subjects in every age category from 8 to 68 and all marveled. It’s challenging enough for gamers and just manageable enough for neophytes.
The best part: it’s [...]