HP Envy Touchsmart Laptop at Best Buy

April 24, 2015 by 4 Comments

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

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Laptops are a great way to keep your work with you where ever you go, from the afternoon commute to the beach- anywhere is your office.  The newest line of laptops not only run all those office applications, but also rock some excellent gaming and entertainment, giving users a real reason to bring their laptop with them on vacation. One of these new powerhouse laptops is the new AMD FX APU featured HP Envy.  The HP Envy Toushsmart 15.6″ touch screen laptop is built for multitasking and speed.  The processor makes daily tasks a breeze, as well as streaming movies, PC gaming, and loads those cat videos as fast as lightning.  The AMD FX APU makes short work of gaming and productivity applications, and all this with incredible performance to boot.  Laptops featuring the FX APU have the processing power of 10 cores, 4 CPU cores and 6 GPU cores.  The Envy also sports a 750 GB hard drive, 6 GB of RAM, and Beats Audio.  This leads to an unbelievable PC performance in gaming and entertainment, including video and music, bringing the laptop experience full circle including any application you could need (office stuff) or want (gaming stuff).
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Easter Skylanders , Limited Edition and Just in Time!

April 3, 2015 by 4 Comments

Easter is around the corner so its time for those last minute basket fillers. What better way to make your little one’s day then with a Skylanders Easter? Skylanders are available in special limited release Easter versions of some of your favorite characters and even a special trap for the newest Skylanders game, Trap Team. Skylanders have always blended their toys and games in fun ways, and this newest game turns it up a notch. The premise of Trap Team is, by using the newest portal, portal masters, the players can now capture bosses from the game and call upon them to use in the game itself. It is an interesting concept and makes for a very interactive gaming experiences, even further blending reality with the digital world of Skylanders.

weeskylandersThe new Easter limited edition Skylanders are two fold, one is this year’s official mascot for the Annual Dragon Egg Hunt, Eggsellent Weeruptor. Weerupter is a bit of a trouble maker who captured Spyro, Cynder and Drobot inside a Traptanium basket after disguising himself as a candy coated egg. Sure, it isn’t the best way to celebrate Easter but it does make for an ‘Eggsellent’ adventure.
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OurPact – New App For Families

February 24, 2015 by 2 Comments

 

Access-GrantedIn the modern day and age, there are few technological gadgets which have permeated society so fully as the smart phone. Just about every man woman and child has one, and its a model newer then yours. But with smart phones and kids comes a big, scary prospect. The internet, Facebook, Twitter and every scumbag with a computer or smart phone now has a direct line of communication with your little one. What are some ways to properly keep your child safe with a smart phone?

  1. Be honest. Tell them a few horror stories, hit close to home. Talk about kids their age or younger. Make the characters in your story relatable to your little ones.
  2. Software- you need something to help keep your kids online habits in check and keep them from becoming those people who spend more time on their phone then in real life. One such app is OurPact which brings new dynamic to the parents – child smart phone discussion.

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Mario Kart 7

November 24, 2014 by 2 Comments

And now, for a timely Mario Kart 7 review. Sure this review is taking place after Mario Kart 8, but something to keep in mind is that this is the 3DS’s Mario Kart, not the Wii U. So instead of huge races with tons of characters red shelling each other, you have tight turns and blood thirsty Princesses on your morning train ride.

20140919_171459Nintendo have made a new Mario Kart for every console and one of their most recent is Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS. This game sports more tracks, easy multiplayer over the internet, and a bunch of characters to zip around tracks with. As an avid Mario Kart fan, but not a very good racer, I thoroughly enjoy Mario Kart with every iteration. The fun, light hearted racing can go from item using fun at break neck speeds to nail biting close finishes in a matter of moments. Never in any series of games have I cursed so many times at so many cute characters.
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Yuggler – The Family Friendly Vacation App

November 22, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Finding things to do with kids can be difficult, especially if you are new to an area (or if you have been in an area for a while and seem to have done ‘everything’).  That is, unless you have a friend who knows all the great spots to go to.  There is a new app that acts as that ‘friend’, Yuggler.  Yuggler is a new way to share kid friendly activities in your area with other parents.  The beauty of the new app is its price, free.  With a smooth, easy to navigate interface, it couldn’t be easier to find the best classes, events, museums, playgrounds, and more!  There are also reviews and photos available for viewing written by other parents just like you.

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The first step to using Yuggler is to download the app, which is available for iPhones, iPads, and iPods.  The nest step is to set your location then find fun things to do.  I would suggest first checking out some local stuff to get a feel for the app and what to expect.  Then bring it with you wherever you go.  On vacation, in some free time it can be interesting to check out the museums of the area or just a fun kids spot in a different state or country.  5 stars is 5 stars, especially when corroborated by others.  No matter where you are, you are almost guaranteed to find a good time for your family.  You can even promote special activities like holiday decorating, fun runs, and the like, so this acts as both a local message board as well as a reviewing platform/location sharing technique.  The possibilities are only limited by your creativity, so get looking.  The most recent update included it ability to link Pinterest to Yuggler to further expand its sharing power.
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Could you live without your Smartphone?

November 19, 2014 by 1 Comment

If Deloitte’s recent study is anything to go by, no, you couldn’t live without your Smartphone. According to The Journal, the research revealed that about one in six of us are looking at our phones more than 50 times a day.

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For many of us, living without our phones and not having constant access to the internet is impossible to imagine. We spend so much time using them to check emails, update statuses, post photos and message our friends – it’s safe to say many of us need to undergo a digital detox. So are you addicted? Here are five signs that you are:

It feels like you have lost a friend when you’re without it

If you happen to lose or break your phone, it’s the worst thing in the world. You feel like you’ve lost your best friend and therefore the only way to stay in touch with the online world is to log on to your bulky home computer that takes 15 minutes to load. If you realise you’ve left it at home when you’re half way to work, you’re likely to be the sort who will turn around and deal with the consequences of being late. If you accidentally break your phone, luckily LoveFone will be there for you.
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WIN Light in the Dark App

October 30, 2014 by 4 Comments

Disclosure- I received the below in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own and honest.
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Mobile gaming is a huge field right now and probably will continue to be one until cell phones are implantable, but that is another story completely. Today we are looking at a new game for iPhones, iPads, Android and Windows phones. This game is Light in the Dark, which was developed by Dreamgate Studios. Dreamgate is a relatively new company, formed in 2011, made up of industry veterans who wanted to bring AAA level games to the indie environment. Light in the Dark combines cartoon artwork with a light bending puzzle game which starts off easy enough for kids but ends up being mind twistingly difficult for kids and adults.

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School Zone Little Scholar Tablet

August 14, 2014 by 5 Comments

Disclosure- I received the below in order to facilitate my reviews. All opinions are my own and honest.

A tablet entering the market has to do two difficult things, one is to be unique and two is to do something no one else does. If it doesn’t do these two things, there is a good chance of failure and a valueless product. Thankfully the new School Zone Little Scholar does just this, with the help of a ton of educational apps and Google Android 4.2.2. These apps are used to boost math, reading, spelling, and other skills in a creative playful way.

pic5School Zone may sound familiar to many parents as an educational product company of over 35 years. Products include workbooks, flashcards, and software. With this much experience under their belt, a tablet made by School Zone features just what you would hope it would- many education apps to help school aged scholars. The apps included feature the complete Start to Read! eBook series, music, songs, Charlie and Company video series and many more premium educational apps. Besides the ability of your children to use the app for education purposes. Parents can also track their progress using A+ Report, which lets parents know how much progress has been made in individual topics and curriculum. The total value of the apps included with the tablet is over $400 all of which can be chosen using the App Management Tool to properly tailor the tablet for you little one.

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