Consumer electronics company Digital Blue gave us a preview of its new line of gadgets for the holidays, geared toward "tweens": an exclusive line of Disney-themed digital cameras and camcorders. It's refreshing to see gadgets for kids that are made this well: All the products were sturdy and good-looking, and they seem like they'll be easy and fun to use.
 
Products include the Pix-Click Micro (left, click to enlarge), an ultra-compact digital camera (CIF resolution); the larger Pix-Click Digital camera, with a 1-inch color screen (unusual for a kids' camera) and VGA (640 by 480) resolution; the Pix-Max, a 3-megapixel camera with a 1.5-inch color LCD screen on which  you can view and enhance your photos with Disney images; and the Disney Princess Digital Movie Maker, a digital camcorder with 32MB of built-in memory and VGA resolution. Digital Blue will also have a redesigned version of its USB microscope, now called the Smithsonian Computer Microscope; that'll retail for $79.99. 
 
Both Pix-Click cameras will be available in a variety of Disney designs. They're cute, as you'd expect, but also surprisingly chic; you can almost imagine, say, Paris Hilton carrying the Micro around. The Pix-Click Digital will even have removable face plates, so you can swap out themes.

With the Princess Digital Movie Maker, kids will be able to shoot video and do stop animation in AVI format; the resulting files will be small enough to upload to the Web or e-mail easily. It can record for up to 4 minutes away form the PC and unlimited time when attached to a PC via its USB cable and can double as a webcam.

All of the cameras come with Disney Pix, a kid-friendly editing software suite that lets you add animations, music, sound effects, Disney images, and more to your pictures and video. 

The cameras will be priced from $19.99 to $99.99. The Micro and Movie Maker will be available September 1. Look for the Pix-Click Digital around mid-October and the Pix Max November 1. Click here for more pictures.

Thanks to intern Errol Pierre-Louis for this post!

 

Pix-Max Camera

Pix-Click Digital Camera

Princess Movie Maker Camcorder

The Icemat Siberia Headset provides pretty righteous sound, but it has a few comfort issues.

The headset comes with a uni-directional mic, which you can clip to the screen or to your shirt. Also included is a volume regulator on a 1.8 meter (about 6 foot) cord. The extra-long cord gives you plenty of slack to work with, or you can unplug it from the volume adjuster if you want to cut down on cord length. Also included is a mini-jack to plug into consumer audio outputs (MP3 players, laptops, radios, and so on), and an extra-wide 6.3mm (about 1/4 inch) jack to hook up to professional audio equipment.

Sound quality is excellent, crisp and rich. But Icemataudio seems to have skimped on cushioning. When I left the headphones on for a long time, my ears started to ache. Otherwise it's great for music, movies, and of course, gaming; and the separate mic would be perfect for VoIP.

Icemat sells the Siberia in white or black for $79.99.

Thanks to intern Errol Pierre-Louis for this review!

CMU has a big rep for robots that, among other things, traverse deserts, survive battlefields, and balance on ball feet. But how and where does it build all that automated innovation? In a non-too-secret location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. PC Magazine Editor, Reviews Lance Ulanoff got the grand tour and even took pictures.

 

Well, actually, he took pictures half the time (the other half, there were, um, issues). He also got some inside stuff on how robotics education and robo-business blend together, and he managed to capture CMU's slideshows on all this, for his own slideshow. Take a look at his column; it's like you were there next to him, without the fun of actually seeing and touching the robots or going on the trip. Okay, so it's not so much like you're there, but it is pretty interesting.

Ever watch the latest commercials for Orbit gum? Well, I love the tagline: "Dirty mouth? Clean it up with Orbit gum." Because we all know Snoop Dog has a dirty mouth!

But seriously, chewing gum isn't going to keep your mouth healthy. And being a stickler for clean gums, I'm excited that there are finally affordable power toothbrushes on the market!

Proctor & Gamble announced yesterday the Oral-B Vitality rechargeable toothbrush. Costing less than $20, the Oral-B Vitality uses Sonic technology to remove plaque and stains.

In the U.S., the Oral-B Vitality toothbrush will be offered in three types:

• Oral-B Vitality Precision Clean: reduces up to 2x more plaque than a regular manual brush and  features an oscillating-rotating brush head, which moves at 7,600 times a minute compared to 260 times with manual brushing.
• Oral-B Vitality Dual Clean: features DualAction brush head and Oral-B's signature oscillating-rotating brush head
• Oral-B Vitality Sonic: features Oral-B's patented Criss-Cross bristles that vibrate side to side with nearly 20,000 movements per minute while massaging gums; uses advanced sonic technology.

Why Do You Care? Dr. Paul Warren, Vice President of Global Professional and Scientific Relations for P&G says, "toothbrushes that rotate and oscillate are more effective than other types of toothbrushes in reducing plaque and gingivitis." I agree, because unfortunately I had gingivitis, so my dentist gave me the Rota-Dent--an electric-powered toothbrush. After using the Rota-Dent for a couple of months, I noticed a significant difference in the reduction of gingivitis in my gums. But, the Rota-Dent  costs $135, and extra tips are $18. My Rota-Dent stopped working after awhile, so now you know why I'm excited about a $20 rechargeable toothbrush!

Look for the Oral-B Vitality at your local pharmacy or grocery stores and at Amazon.com for $17.99.

For some plaque-reduction fun, play Oral-B's game by clicking on Try It Out!

[via press release]

Back in June, Gearlogger Dan Costa discussed his experience with the MasterCard PayPass on the subway--a portable RF credit card that fits on your keychain in which you wave in front of a card reader instead of swiping.

However, Dan's not the only one using contactless credit card technology. In fact, according to USNews.com, more than 10 million cards have already been issued under AmEx, MasterCard, and Visa for use at 30,000 merchants, including 7-Eleven, CVS, and McDonald's. By the end of this year, the Nilson Report expects 15 to 20 million Visa and MasterCard contactless cards to hit the market. And imagine how many AmEx chip cards will be issued as well!

Seeing a need for the protection of smart cards, Geb Masterson, president of the newly-formed California-based company Kena Kai, designed DataSafe Wallets for both men and women. "The new DataSafe Wallet line will include bi-folds, tri-folds, credit card wallets, women's wallets, and passport holders in full-grain Italian leather. Each style will incorporate a patent-pending design of RF shielding material that will block any attempt to access the credit card's Smart Card chips. This lightweight, metal infused fabric material was originally developed for NASA to protect satellites from harmful radio-waves."

Whether you think you need to own a DataSafe Wallet is up to you. Your contactless card can only be read within approximately 4 inches, but I wouldn't mind obtaining extra protection from someone stealing my personal information!

The DataSafe Wallets will begin shipping September 30th and will retail for $40-$120. They are available now for pre-order.

See more photos of the DataSafe Wallets.

Thanks to Kena Kai President Geb Masterson for this information.

Updated 9/25/06 to provide buying info.