Fun New Stuff @Brookstone

I was given the opportunity this week to visit Brookstone and receive information about some of their new products. Many of them were thought to be at least somewhat helpful for those going back to school. I'd have to aim them primarily at college age students and older, though. I'm going to feature some of those that I found the most fun and useful here.

One of my favorite gadgets was the Virtual Keyboard. It utilizes laser technology to create a keyboard that it projects onto a table top. It connects via bluetooth to your device (in our case an iPad). It's not in stores yet, though it can be preordered. It should be available in August and retail for $99.99.

My picture isn't as good as theirs, but you could see the keyboard just fine.

No sensitivity issues using it. It responded very quickly and accurately when we tried it.

The next "big ticket" item was a projector for your iPhone/iTouch. It will project up to 60" in size (the farther back, the bigger the image). It might be useful to those who travel and do presentations on a regular basis. Load a video/movie onto your phone and you have your presentation in your hand.

It actually projected a very nice image into their booth. Speakers are in the projector unit itself.

This will be the HDMI version of the projector. It's not out yet, but it will be available soon.

One other thing that was pointed out was a cool set of bluetooth speakers. You control them via app from your iPhone (or other device) and have great sound. The smaller unit can be used as a speaker phone for your iPhone too. It will switch over to voice for the phone and when the call hangs up switch back to music.

On the not for school side, I took the time to play with some of the other items at Brookstone in Lenox Mall. This was the Anti-Gravity chair. It has an automatic reclining version and a manual version. It does actually take the weight off of your back and help it relax, though it did seem to be an odd position for me. I could see my kids arguing over the chair and it ending up broken, though they'd enjoy it in the mean time.

I tried this device before. I still don't know if I like it. It's a foot massage, but it also squeezes and pushes on your foot. I think if my feet were very tired, they'd enjoy it more. I can say, though, that I spent 6 hours volunteering at the aquarium before trying it. My feet were tired and while I won't say it was comfortable to use, my feet did feel better after.

The last item I'm going to feature is this gadget. I have it on my Christmas list this year. It works with MyFitnessPal and would be a great way for me to keep track of my exercise and such. It's similar to the Nike trainer for the iPod, but it seems to have more capabilities than the other. It runs about $99.99 as well.

Brookstone always seems to have a lot of cool gadgets and more. They had lap desks (both with and without speakers), more cool toys for kids (and adults) and ways to pamper yourself. I love going in and just playing with what they have. If you get the chance, check it out. The staff at Brookstone in Lenox Mall (and any other Brookstone) will be happy to help you out.

I participated in a media tweet-up at the Brookstone store. In return, I was given a wonderful gift for tweeting and reviewing their products. The opinions expressed here are my own and are honestly given.

Fun at Brookstone

I was given the opportunity to go to Brookstone (my favorite mall gadget store) to check out some of their products. I've always enjoyed wandering through their store to see what was new. So, when I jumped on the chance to go with some blogger friends. Unfortunately for me, my phone wouldn't let me on to twitter, so I couldn't tweet from the event. I'll resolve that issue soon by getting an iPhone.

In the meantime, the first of the items I found that I think is cool was this clock. I have a projector clock, but to maintain the time on the clock and the projector, you have to set them separately. Of course, if the power blinks, the clock itself has a backup battery. The projector does not. This clock from Brookstone was cool because other than the time zone, you don't have to set the time. It uses the atomic clock to set itself automagically.

I gave out digital picture frames to the grandparents one year. I didn't use this particular one, but an offbrand. I have since wanted one of my own. So, for family watching my blog, you can put this on my Christmas list.

The next two items are true toys. They're both controlled via iPad/iPod/iPhone. The first is a little rover. It has a camera mounted on it and seems to be quite sturdy.

This one was pure fun. It's a Hover Drone. Meant primarily for use inside it has a second body that can be put on it for outside. It has a camera on the front and underneath. The camera will send pictures back to your iToy for you to see. Very cool.

These on the other hand are health related. The one on the left is a wake-up/wind-down light. It has an alarm that can trigger the lamp to come up by degrees as your wake-up signal. It can reverse as well to dim. The lamp on the right is what Brookstone called a Happy Light. It's a full spectrum UV lamp. Very nice.

A couple of other fun things I saw, though I didn't get pictures of, were the massage tools. I loved the full foot massage. I sat with that on my feet a good 5 minutes before I decided I should let someone else have a turn. I also enjoyed the shoulder massage items. One was a shiatsu type massage, the other was a percussion. I think I preferred the percussion style better. Then there was the CHAIR. A full body massage chair. I had to tweet my chance to win one of those when I got back from the event. That would be SOOOOO nice to have.

To get away from massages, I loved the soft nap blankets too. I could just curl up under one of those and stay there for a long time. Or the electric hot pad. Not like the type that have to remain plugged in to stay warm, this one uses electricity to get it hot. Then you can unplug it and it will stay warm for 4 hours. It comes with a belt pouch so that you can put it on areas that need the heat.. (like for the ladies that have the monthly issues, or for when you've lifted a child too many times and need help for your back).

So, as usual, I was happy to get a chance to play with the gadgets at Brookstone. I left my kids at home so I could have the opportunity to visit with adults and play with stuff meant for adults and not feel guilty about it. Thank you to those that invited me there and then gave me one of these just for visiting. It will come in handy when I replace my phone.

Blog Design

I haven't played with my blog design in a long time, so I decided it was past time to do so. After several attempts, I've (at least for now) settled on this one. I tried the one Warner Brothers gave me for Fringe (my fav show), but it was impossible to read. I've also fixed the buttons that were supposed to be on the side that were deleted during the process (apologies to those whose buttons they are).

Now on to the next thing to keep me occupied for a while..

scheduling posts

I have to admit, I really like the fact that Blogger now has scheduling set up and working. Now, when I think of a post for my blog, I can go ahead and type it in. I won't forget about it, forget to publish it, or what not. I can set it to publish the day after the last one I wrote. Now I can get multiples all typed up in a day because I had way too many ideas in my head all at once. I could get spoiled this way.