By Richard Macias, Jennifer Auspitz, Amy Eller, Christine Eads and Susan Davis

SoundBot SB510 HD

Have you ever wanted to listen to your favorite music in the shower or had a call come in that you must answer? Well your prayers have been answered. The Sound Bot is a waterproof Bluetooth speaker so any compatible device (like your phone) can connect. This allows you to play any audio from the device including Pandora, Spotify, Youtube, etc. The quality of the sound is excellent for a little device and the best part is the price, set between $15 – $20 on Amazon and ebay.  I’ve bought over 20 of these as gifts for friends and family and the response is always the same, “I love this little gadget.”

The unit comes packaged in a terrible plastic box along with a USB power cable and an useless instruction manual. But worry not, the unit is mostly self-explanatory accept for the lack of volume buttons. The most common complaint is that the audio is too low but it’s easily remedied by pressing and holding the forward button to turn it up and the back button to turn it down.  When paired to your cell phone you can also answer calls that come in and the audio is clear on both ends. It may not be as useful in the shower but take this unit to the beach or at a park and it’s super handy.

The quality of the unit is excellent, with a smooth satin finish. It’s lightweight but sturdy, great quality touch buttons to operate the device and a sealed water resistant power outlet. The suction cup located on the back is well made and can hold to virtually any flat surface.

Aduro U-Grip Adjustable Universal Fridge

With prices dropping every minute and some tablet dropping in size and weight, many consumer are setting up their Tabs on a file cabinet or refrigerator for Apps and features that may require hanging up. Well this is one great solution for any metallic surface. Auduro can hold virtually any tablet including the Surface Pro 3 in land scape mode, IPads, Galaxy Note and many others. The magnetic holders use 2 strips about an in inch width on each side and are very powerful. I’m currently using a hefty Surface Pro 3 and it is safely carrying this unit land scape mode on my fridge with no issue. You can also wall mount it with screws if you have a non-magnetic wall you’d like to place it on.

 VocoPro’s TabletOke —

Turn that tablet into a fully functioning karaoke machine complete with a digital mixer and two wireless mics. This hybrid device makes any karaoke app sound much better. It’s a $150 and available at Best Buy, Amazon and Guitar Center stores.  http://www.bestbuy.com/site/vocopro-tabletoke-digital-karaoke-mixer-black-gray/1006046.p?id=1219460765652&skuId=1006046  www.vocopro.com

 BeatBuddy

So Mom (and maybe dad or a recent graduate in the family, likes to play guitar and sing, but has no drums?  No problem!  The new BeatBuddy ($300) is the first drum machine in a pedal that allows Mom or anyone in the family to have control over a live sounding beat. Cool little video here — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa7W8P_PkAY  www.mybeatbuddy.com
Hal Leonard’s PlayAlong

Very cool new FREE iOS App that lets Mom play along with pro-quality backing tracks to some of her favorite songs on piano, guitar, bass, violin, etc. This App will also be available soon for Android and Windows 8. http://www.halleonard.com/playalongapp/
Canon 5D Mark iii

Now let me start by saying that you do not need a great camera body to take great picture but it does help. The full frame sensor, improved ISO, 22.3 megapixels, 61 auto focus points and the Digic 5+ image processor all work harmoniously together to produce incredible quality. The interchangeable lenses are amazing, from the heavy 400mm lens to the light and nifty fifty.  You can always find the right lens for your photo needs.

This camera is truly meant for the professionals. I expected my photography to change instantly with this $2,500 shell. Honestly, the journey to a better picture was a gradual process. This was a challenge that required better equipment, lens, flashes, stands and much more.  If you buy this do not expect the camera alone to produce wonders. You have to learn all of the internal controls and, most importantly, you will have to learn how to use light and shadows to give you better results.

Kata KT D-3N1-30 Sling/Backpack

Our photographers camera bag is currently carrying a 5d mark iii, 2 nifty fiftys, canon 24mm to 105mm, 24-75mm, 3 600ex-rt,  3 Yongnuo YN622C, 1 Yongnuo YN-622C-TX and much more. Honestly we’ve used many Sling bags and have always had to sacrifice either ease of use or comfort. The Kata is capable of handling my walk around equipment while providing support in the right places.  The bag also has many buckles that secure the bag even further putting less strain on the zipper and giving you a bit of extra security. We do much of our photography in NYC and one thing that always worries us about camera bags is security. Since this sling bag is so easy to shift to your front, getting on the subway couldn’t be safer. Now all our expensive equipment is in a spot that I can see.

Safer Computing

Kensington, a worldwide leader in computer accessories, is an ultra-thin device that feature the new Kensington Mini Security Slot design for reliable physical security, even on the smallest of devices. Kensington’s first PC partner to use the slot is Lenovo which features the new Kensington Mini Security Slot in many of its ultra-thin devices.  Optimized for integration into ultra-slim devices slimmer than 12mm, the Kensington Mini Security Slot is compatible with the Kensington MiniSaver^™ Mobile Lock featuring Cleat^™ Locking Technology. Lenovo has implemented this advanced technology for mobile device security on many of its new systems including ultra-thin ThinkPad and Lenovo tablet, Ultrabooks and laptop devices, providing complete physical security for both BYOD and enterprise applications.

VIZIO moves up in class with its own Reference Series 

 With former market leaders Sony, Panasonic cutting their TV product lines and former brand leaders like Toshiba, Mitsubishi and Hitachi literally out of the TV making business, VIZIO, is trying to step into the retail void with its first-ever line of High Dynamic Range Ultra HD TVs to support Dolby Vision. The VIZIO Reference Series Ultra HD Full-Array LED Smart TVs – available in 65″ and 120″ class screen sizes is equipped with Dolby Vision for a dramatically different visual experience and Ultra-Color Spectrum for a wider color gamut, the Reference Series displays Ultra HD detail with over eight million pixels in every image. An 800-Nit, Full-Array LED backlight and 384 Active LED Zones create a vivid Ultra HD picture with striking contrast.  Several 4K Ultra HD Dolby Vision titles will be available from Warner Bros. streaming through VUDU, Walmart’s video-on-demand service for movies and television.  When combined with the integrated 5.1 sound bar system on the 65″ model, home theater aficionados will not only enjoy unprecedented cinematic picture quality, but a powerful home audio experience that delivers a Sound Pressure Level of up to 101dB. Presently only Samsung and LG can produce audio and video levels comparable to the Vizio Reference series.