Discovery Kids Puterbugs Game

Geared for children's ages 8 and under Discovery Kids Puterbugs is designed to take kids beyond apps and playing games.  This new website teaches kids how to use technology as a tool in a healthy way. 

It works like this- there is a virtual, cowboy hat wearing teacher, "Mr. Scott",  (my daughter thinks he is hilarious) and a set of little bugs called,  'Puterbugs' for each letter on the keyboard.  It's that simple but watching my child play it showed a whole lot more.  Mr. Scott takes her on a self-guided tour of games, activities and missions on the Puterbugs site that goes with only her level of knowledge.  Everything unfolds in various ways and avenues based on her level of competency.  Games like "Frozen Pizza Pops" have her using the mouse, space bar and learning all the letters on the keyboard in no time.  While she normally plays games on other television websites it usually results in her watching videos or designing cakes and dresses.  Not collecting microchips, driving with a mouse or using learning to spell, add and work all the components at one time.  Words like 'luau' are now part of her vocabulary and list of words she can spell.  Call me happy and impressed.  I love that the site keeps her focused while building concentration. It is beyond anything I have seen her do on other websites. 

Imagine Tomorrow along with the experts at Discovery Kids (Discovery Channel) identified the 'Top 100 Tech Skills' that children should learn.  Concepts like typing, texting, swiping and more are definitely involved and used frequently in Puterbugs.  While I am still limiting her time this game is now at the top of hers and my 'favorite' list. 

MPR Rating:  Five Stars. 

Disclaimer:  MPR was not paid for this post.  Products received are for review purposes only.  Opinions are MPR's only.



Toshiba U505 Satellite Laptop

I have had a blast working with Toshiba this summer (more reviews coming).  I toted my little pink laptop all over the place on family vacations, to Blogher'10 in NYC and more.  The Satellite U505 ($689.99) really is quite stylish and travel-friendly.  Despite its size it is a full-featured laptop that suited my needs perfectly. My four year-old daughter had a case of 'love at first sight' due to its bubblegum pink color.  It is available in a chic brown, red or white finish as well, if pink isn't your color.  One of my favorite things about the U505 is its ability to have a lot of programs running at once without lag time.  If I shut it and forgot it the programs came back up without any issues even a day later.  The battery (6-cell) life is amazing!  I have never had a laptop perform this well in terms of battery life.  Additionally, the power cord is incredibly long and I found that quite handy when traveling and outlets were not as abundant as they are in my home. 

The Satellite U505 comes with the Toshiba Bulletin Board feature which enables the user to organize their busy lives by personalizing their desktop with schedules, extracurricular activities, job interviews, etc. I used it for scheduling and daily reminders and found it intuitive and easy to format and create.  Other standard features include the following:  Intel® Core™ i5-430M processor, Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD, 4GB DDR3 1066MHz memory hard drive, Slot-Loading DVD SuperMulti (+/- Double Layer) with Labelflash®, 13.3" widescreen that is incredibly clear and works well indoors and outside, a microphone jack (mono), standard stereo speakers, built-in microphone, S/P DIF output port (shared with headphone port), Headphone jack (stereo) and Skype that just needs registration.  In five minutes I was up and running and my kids were talking to their grandmother who had just had surgery and was unable to visit for a while. 

Overall, I did fall in love with the Toshiba Satellite U505. In fact, I didn't want to give it back.  I liked how zippy it was and clear.  While smaller than my 17" sized laptop that I normally use I quickly adjusted to the Toshiba's more demure but lighter size and weight.  It made toting it around pleasant instead of a chore.  I also like how it is not just Energy Star Compliant but also Eco Utility enabled allowing me to monitor my power usage with just a click of a button.  The screen is touch screen enabled too as an added bonus. 

Toshiba laptops can be purchased directly from Toshiba here.  There is a wide array of Satellite laptops available too.

MPR Rating: Five Stars. 

Disclaimer:  MPR was not paid for this post.  All products received are for review and testing purposes only.  Opinions are MPR's own. 

My Summer with Toshiba

This summer I'll be testing out two new products from Toshiba.  The Satellite U500 laptop (mine is pink) and the Camileo H30 camcorder. 

The laptop works well for home use and for everyone in it.  It's pretty versatile, fast, lightweight and compact. It also goes with a variety of budgets, can be customized, has a stylized Fusion™ Finish and a built-in webcam with Skype.  Look for it and me at Blogher '10 this year in NYC! 

Also compact and sleek in design is the H30 Camcorder. We've already used it on our daughter's last soccer game and post-game party and we were amazed at the clarity.  It fits in the palm of your hand, easily converts videos to YouTube and records in HD quality if you want it to.  It's fun, easy to use and we plan on taking it with us on more than a few trips this summer season.

So stay tuned as I update you and show you how these products work and rate this summer.

Fun Find- Litl Webbook Coupon!

As an exclusive to MPR readers I'm offering $100 OFF with free shipping and a free remote on a Litl webbook!  This webbook($399) is simply amazing and it makes a great gift for Dads or new graduates this summer.  It's perfect for everyone at every age actually. 

To get this deal go to litl.com/momdeal by July 1, 2010 and you are all set!  Enjoy!!!

Toshiba mini NB-205

Toshiba has just released the "perfect for moms on-the-go" mini notebook. The mini NB205 is portable with key usability, durability and style. It has features that have yet to be seen in other mini notebooks at a competitive and affordable price point - $349-399.

Available features include:

. 10.1-inch diagonal widescreen TruBrite™ backlit LED display (WSVGA)

. Windows® XP Home operating system

· Intel Atom N280 processor[ii] (1.66GHz)

· 1GB DDR2 800MHz RAM[iii], upgradeable to 2GB

· Spacious storage with a 160GB HDD[iv]

· 802.11b/g wireless[v] and 10/100 Ethernet

· Bluetooth V2.1 + EDR (only available in mini NB205-N310)

· TOSHIBA Hard Drive Impact Sensor

· Lightweight and very portable at only 2.9 lbs.

· Long-life 6-cell battery delivering up to 9 hours of productivity

· One USB port with Sleep-and-Charge and two USB 2.0 ports

· Built-in Webcam, speaker and microphone

· Toshiba PC Health Monitor

· RGB port for connecting to external displays

· Memory Card Reader Slot

· Security Lock Slot

· One-year international limited warranty and award-winning Toshiba service and support

This little notebook comes in a variety of colors and has a lot of power. It is a great addition to a tech savvy household! Visit the Toshiba website for more details.

All-in-One Gadget for Dad by SanDisk

SanDisk's largest mobile phone memory card has a 16GB MicroSDHC and M2 might just be the perfect gift for the Dad in your life this Father's Day. This tiny (fingernail-sized) memory card has amazing storage capabilities from 2GB to 16GB meaning your Dad can store thousands of pictures, videos and even his music collection. This means lots of high resolution pictures. Photos and videos can be transferred to a PC with ease. It can also be used in many cell phones that contains a microSD slot. You can even simply drag and drop music from your computer to the card.

The SanDisk Memory card makes it possible for the kids to create something really special for Dad this Father's Day and enable him to take memories with him where ever he goes. Not only that but it is part of SanDisk's 'Wake Up Your Phone' initiative. 'Wake Up Your Phone' is SanDisk's way of helping its consumers learn about using their memory cards. Prices range from $10-100 depending on the capacity.

MPR Rating: Four Stars.