Looking for a gift for those hard to buy for teenagers? Look no further than the Rock Buds – the stylish ear buds!  They are compatible with iPhone, iPod, CD player, MP3 player, DVD player, airplane connector – pretty much any listening device.

Rock Buds are the latest inner ear designer series made by chicBuds. They are tricked out in cool designs as well as functional.

I don’t know how many times I get wrapped around my head phones. With the Rockbuds, the retractor allows the cord length to expand and retract to five stopping points. So no more tangling when not in use! Rockbuds retail for $19.99.

chicBuds also offer a pretty line for women. Check out these adorable chicBuds encrusted with Swarvoksi Crystals. Get your ear buds blinged out!

chickBud doesn’t limit their stylish, hip line to just ear buds. They also offer iPod cases, “Pinktooth” wireless headset, stereo cables, and retractable charge and sync cables!

Right before Christmas, T-Mobile sent me their new G1 phone to test out. I really, really don’t want to send this back. It was recently made the TIME Magazine Best Invention of 2008 list. This phone has every feature I could ever want and is very user friendly. I currently have a buggy Samsung phone through another provider and the G1 blows it out of the water. First, the touch screen is easy to use and not too sensitive. The buttons are just the right size for my fingers compared to the touch screen phone I currently own. The G1 also has a trackball which is very convenient for navigation. (This is a feature that my husband & 8 year old show had to point out to me!) The screen is large enough to read and touch while not being too heavy or bulky.

Since it is from google, the G1 is fully functional with already favorite google applications like Google map Street View, Gmail, You Tube, one touch google search screen (which my daughter enjoyed googling herself),etc. Google maps synchs with the built in compass on the phone and allows you to view locations and navigate 360 degrees by moving the phone with your hand. Using my gmail account through my phone was very convenient.

In addition, there is text, full web browser, 3.2 megapixel camera built in, music player, pre installed 1 GB Micro SD Memory card, bluetooth enabled, myfaves-enabled, GPS capabilities, voice recognition, voice dialing, and speaker phone. The battery has a 5 hour talk time life with 130 hours standy.

One of the coolest features is the Android Market. Here you can access new and innovative software applications to fit your life. There are many free programs to choose from. My favorite is ShopSavvy, which is completely free to download onto your G1 phone. Shop Savvy is designed for people like ME who want to comparision shop. What you do is use the built in camera feature to take a picture of the barcode. Once scanned, the ShopSavvy will search locally finding your location by using the phone’s built in GPS and online for the best deal. You can watch my video demonstation below:

Get rid of the post it notes, scraps of paper, and your memory with the SmartShopper. The SmartShopper is a electronic grocery list/to do list organizer. I purchased one of these for my mom for Christmas not knowing how well this would work or how well she would like it.. I also received one from SmartShopper to try out and have been quite surprised at its functionality. We are both loving it! It is making my grocery list fun again.

Say it.
Simply press the “record” button on the Smart Shopper and add items to your grocery list by speaking into it. While it comes with over 2,500 pre-loaded grocery items, you can customize it very easily. You would want to customize brand name items or items which may not be in the pre-loaded list. One thing you will note is that you sometimes have to say items in a different way than you think. Don’t worry about background noise either while you are speaking into the list, I’ve had 6 kids running around in my house at one time and SmartShopper was still able to recognize items I was adding.

Print it.
When your list is complete, simple hit the print button and your list is printed in seconds. My kids have had fun printing the list before I was ready for it!

Go get it.
Then take your list, organized by categories and shop!

Since this has a built in magnet and is compact, I placed it in a central location on our refrigerator. This way anyone in the family can add needed items to the list. If someone needs deodorant, then just speak into the SmartShopper and it is added to the list. If I have a coupon for an item, I can specify I have a coupon for that particular item and when the list prints it will designate that item as one with a coupon so money saving coupons are not forgotten.

In addition to adding grocery items, you can keep track of errands with the SmartShopper. You can create two separate lists if want to keep track of your errands or grocery items separately. If you track them together, errands will print at the top of the list.

This is a MUST HAVE product and a great gift idea. Get more organized and save time while shopping. You can watch the Smart Shopper in action below:

I purchased a Apple Nike + iPod Sport Kit this past summer and love it. Since, I’m a dorky numbers person, I love how it keeps track of your total minutes, mileage, and average pace. It is a big motivator to keep exercising – especially to try to beat your personal best. I have become so addicted to my stats that I don’t want to exercise if I can’t use my Nike + IPOD system.

The actual Nike + IPOD system is very reasonable at $29.99. You obviously have to have an IPOD to use it and Nike + Shoes or the shoe pouch/adaptor. I highly recommend using the Nike + Shoes with this product as it is more accurate and easy to use unless you already have a favorite pair of running shoes – then you can purchase an adaptor for around $9.99.
So now you have your kit, you simply insert the wireless sensor in the custom built pocket in your Nike + shoes. Then you plug the receiver into your IPOD nano. If you have an IPOD Touch 2nd generation or earlier, it has a receiver built into the product. Now you can begin your run or walk. As you run or walk, the sensor will send information to your IPOD. It tracks your time, distance, pace, and calories burned. You can click a button at any time to hear your current stats or look at the screen to get your information.

Once you complete your exercise, you can synch your IPOD to send your stats to ITUNES and nikeplus.com. Once on nikeplus.com, you can check out your performance history, set goals, and participate in challenges with other users. Very interactive and user friendly. When you make your profile public, you can share your runs and goals with your friends, like my personal best run back in September 2008.

I highly recommend this product to anyone who wants to track their performance to keep themselves motivated. I will be honest, I haven’t done much exercising the past two months because of the weather but I plan on getting back on track this January with an indoor setting. I’m addicted to my Nike+ System and keeping track of my stats. I think most novice and intermediate runners/walkers will find this system sufficient. I have read reviews where it appears more advanced users want functions like GPS, which you can get with a more costly item. If you are already an IPOD user, then the Nike + System makes the most economical sense.