Now that I've been using my Energizer Inductive Charger to charge my iPhone, I can happily say that it is everything it is cracked up to be. I just lay my phone down on the charger and that is it.

Right now, because most devices have not been made to be Qi (pronounced chee) compatible, a Qi sleeve for the iPhone or a Qi Door for the Blackberry must be purchased for the charge to work. The iPhone sleeve makes a nice looking protective sleeve and can be used as your regular everyday sleeve. Eventually Qi will be built into all devices and there will be no need for these sleeves and doors for inductive charging to work.

To better understand the Energizer Inductive Charger, take a look at this video



I absolutely love not having to plug in my phone anymore. When your eyes start going at my age, and the lights are dim, sometimes just seeing where the plug goes can be difficult. And then, where to keep the the wires so that I can find them but that they aren't making a mess. You can place two phones down on one charger which can be a real help, especially if you have a large family. There is even a USB post for a 3rd device. And, for those that care about aesthetics, the Energizer Inductive Charger just happens to be extremely nice looking.

Full disclosure: I received a free charging station, sleeve and door for review. All opinions are completely mine.

See also:  Powerbag for Teens, Travelers and Techies

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Many of you have already found out that by downloading Skype onto your computer, you can talk to others that have Skype downloaded on their computers for FREE. But did you also know that you can talk Skype-to-Skype for free from your mobile phones?

Blackberry or Android 3G from Verizon Wireless

If you have a Blackberry, Android 3G (and recently a few additional phones have been added) with a Verizon wireless plan, Skype Mobile will be simple to use, it is all built in. It takes less than a minute to set up your Skype account on your phone. Skype is always on so you can receive calls anytime, anywhere as long as you have your Verizon phone with you. All Skype-to-Skype calls and IMs are completely free. And, you can use your Skype account to call land lines and non-Skype mobile numbers and the cost is extremely low.

iPhone

If you are an iPhone user, you can receive many of the benefits of Skype Mobile, however it is not built in and not as easy. First you need to download the Skype for iPhone or iPod Touch app (yes, Skype mobile does work on the iPod Touch, 2d generation on). After that, Skype mobile works mostly the same for the iPhone as it does for Verizon phones with the biggest difference being that Skype isn't always automatically on in your iPhone. Therefor you may miss incoming Skype calls. (Update: The Skype App was recently made available in 3G, in addition to WiFi, so now it can always remain on, and you can do other things on your iPhone while Skype is running in the background).

Skype is the perfect tool to help families connect. When at home, families separated by distance can video chat for free use Skype and a webcam. When on the run, families can now call each other for free by making Skype-to-Skype calls with their mobile phones. When I was in college, long distance calls were so expensive, I would only talk to my parents once a week, and even then, we had all kinds of methods set up to make sure they wouldn't have to pay if I wasn't in. Now, it isn't just cheaper, it is completely free with Skype.

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We all know when our kids are sick but they don't always let on when they have ongoing ailments, especially teenagers. That is another benefit of connecting with your teens. The more you talk with each other, the more you can learn about how they are feeling and discover that they have an ailment which you might be able to help them with. And there are natural health and healing products to do just that.

SinuSense
Sinus problems plague people of all ages. I've been taking medicine my entire life for it and I know that isn't good. There are natural, holistic ways to help your sinuses. For years, many people have used the neti pot, a device for irrigating the nasal passages. This is a good device, however there were many flaws. Waterpik, the maker of the SinuSense products, took the idea of the neti pot and improved upon it with four great products:

• Neti Pot - The SinuSense Neti Pot looks just like the original neti pot, however the cover, larger handle and gravity-fed flow provide the gentlest sinus cleansing available. For those that still want the old fashioned look of a neti pot.
• Neti Bottle - Similar to the pot with a design that provides a more comfortable grip.
• Squeeze Bottle - Instead of pouring the water, you can now just squeeze it and therefore completely customize the flow of the water yourself.
• Water Pulsator - This is the coolest one, and my favorite. A battery operated device, it creates a gentle pulsating water flow to clean sinuses while massaging and moisturizing the sinus passages.

Other benefits over the old fashioned neti pots include:

• The soft-seal nozzle - extremely comfortable
• One way flow control valve - prevents back flow
• Saline packs - pre-measured, easy open, easy pour, contains soothing saline formula with eucalyptus oil and aloe vera extract.

Whether family members have chronic sinus problems like me, or just a cold, SinuSense products are the perfect way to find relief and help you breathe better. If you do have chronic sinus problems they must be used regularly to work, but the benefits will be worth it. SinuSense products sell for $14.99 each, except for the battery operated Pulsator which is $39.99. There are currently coupons and promotions on the SinuSense website.

Topricin
Topricin is a natural pain relief and healing cream. It is used by doctors and in hospitals across the country. It relieves pain by bringing together 11 homeopathic medicines that work synergistically to relieve pain associated with a wide range of ailments and injuries. Rather than masking pains, as many other OTC remedies do, Topricin stimulates the body's natural healing process.

Topricin sells three products (you can read much more about each area by clicking on the link):

• Topricin Pain Relief and Healing Cream - for adult injuries and pains
• Topricin Junior - Specially formulate for children's injuries
• Topricin Foot Therapy Cream - For foot and ankle pain

Topricin is the perfect natural pain relief medicine for your family. Do your kids participate in sports? Do they get many bumps bangs and bruises? Moms, do your fit ache after wearing high heels? Dads, are you still trying to act like you are in your twenties, even though your body won't go along with you? If you said yes to any of these, keep some topricin in your medicine cabinet, your first aid kit and your purse. You won't be sorry.

Conclusion
Not all medicine or healing devices have to contain chemicals or have side effects. There are many natural healing and healthy products that you can treat your family's ailments with. You just have to find them. I hope that introducing you to Waterpik's SinuSense and Topricin Pain Relief and Healing Creme was helpful to you. Do you plan on purchasing either of these for your family?

Full Disclosure: I received review samples of all these products.

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While parents can bond with their teens by watching their teens favorite television shows, parents and teens can also bond by developing favorite shows together. Certain shows are better than others for connecting over. The leading factor being whether the TV series inspires discussion, with the second factor being the topic of the show. (some of these shows are off the air but can be found on DVDs, Blu-ray or online).

1. Lost - No suprise here. No TV series in the history of televsion has inspired more discussion than Lost. If you family has never watched Lost, rent or buy the series and watch it together. You will talk for hours about the mysteries, characters, philosophy and what the heck is going on and that crazy island. Best bonding show ever. 2004-2010

2. Freaks and Geeks - Judd Apatow's first TV series, this critically acclaimed comedy drama set in 1980 was a brutally honest look at high school and those that didn't fit it and the parents of two of the teens. You will recognize many of the cast regulars as they have almost all moved on to bigger careers. 1999-2000

3. 4. The Daily Show / The Colbert Report - Watch the news the way that the younger generation do. It is more fun and you might learn just as much. Laughing together over the terrible things happening in the world might be a springboard towards discussing them. Current running.

5. 6. Modern Family / The Middle - Two incredibly funny situation comedies about modern families, one about an extended middle or upper middle class family, the other about a small blue collar family. Both families have teens and both have very funny, realistic situations involving the teens that all families can relate to, laugh about and discuss. Currently running.

7. M*A*S*H - This 70s comedy, which turned more into a dramedy in its later years, is the best television show on war ever in the way that it made such a profound statement on the nature of war. A great way to introduce your teens to one of the best TV shows ever made and a great way to get into the discussion of the costs of war. 1972 - 1983.

8. The Gilmore Girls - As much as I hate to include a series that most likely only moms and daughters will like, no list of parent teen bonding shows would be complete without the Gilmore Girls, the mother/daughter bonding team of all time. Extra points if you love pop culture references. 2000-2007.

9. Jeopardy - Match wits against your teens. Currently running.

10. 11. 12. 13. American Idol / Dancing with the Stars / Survivor / Amazing Race - Although I'm not a big fan anymore of these type shows, the one thing I do love about them is that they can bring families closer together. When watched together, they do inspire discussion, whether in all rooting together or arguing over the plusses and minuses of each contestant. Currently Running.

14. Parenthood - A one hour drama about parenting, many of the kids on this series are teenagers. Great cast, great stories, great show. Currently Running.

15. The Secret Life of the American Teenager - This ABC Family series deals with teen pregnancy, however both teens and parents play integral parts in the series. Great show to bring up discussion about sex with your teens. Currently Running

16. BattleStar Galactica - The 2000s version, similar to Lost, this series is ripe for several discussions. Sci-Fi is only one small aspect in this TV show that deals with politics, religion, philosophy and many other complicated issues. 2004-2009

17. Glee - Its about teens, its also about adults. There is singing and dancing. Both teens and parents can both love it and everyone can relate to somebody in the show. Many issues are brought up that can be discussed, and even the songs are ripe for discussion. Currently Running

18. 19. The Cosby Show / Family Ties - The two best 1980s family sitcoms, if your teens have never seen them, you should introduce them to these great shows. Cosby 1984-1992, Family Ties 1982-1989

20. The West Wing - One of the best shows ever to learn about our government and politics and many of the issues our country faces. An educational, informative and enjoyable show for all. 1999-2006

Have you watched any of these shows as a family. Are these any on this list that you plan to watch in the future? Are there any great parent teen TV bonding shows that you would like to add to this list? Please add them in the comments.

See also: 
Majors & Minors - Teen Singing TV Contest with Celeb Coaches
Falling Skies Trailer, Comic, Synopsis and More
Top 10 TV Series With Pop Culture References
Top 5 New Series for Parent and Teens to Connect
Top 50 Most Discussed TV Series 
Roundup of Best of 2010 Lists, Articles, and Video

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This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PlayStation MOVE. All opinions are 100% mine.

Motion Gaming has become the hottest thing in video gaming systems. The PlayStation 3 came out with its entry into motion gaming last month with the Move controller. And with it they also released many great games for families.

Imagine if you will, that a little genie appeared and gave you and your family the PlayStation® Move. How would this change your family?

1. Family game nights?
2. Good outlet for sibling rivalry?
3. Exercise for the whole family?
4. All of the above?

If you already have a PS3, you can buy the PlayStation Move Starter Bundle which includes the Move motion controller, the Eye camera peripheral and the Multiplayer PS3 Move game Sports Champions for $99.  Or you can buy a brand new PlayStation 3 with the Move Bundle for $399.

These are some of the great PS3 Move games that families can really have fun and connect with:

• TV Superstars - Star in different TV shows, win challenges, gain popularity, become famous
• Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest
• SingStar Dance Party Pack - Includes dance game and microphones
• Toy Story 3 The Video Game - Ability to download mini-games that will be playable with the Move motion controller
• Brunswick Pro Bowling - Fun for all ages

Which of the above games are you most excited to play? Why? Which do you think will bring your family closer together? The PlayStation 3 Move controller gets you and your family moving, so video gaming no longer produces couch potatoes. However it does produce good old family fun.

See also: PS3 Dance and Sports Games for Family Fun and Exercise

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Have you heard about the new television network for kids and families? It is called "The Hub" and it launched on October 10, 2010. The Hub is a combined effort of Discovery Communications and Hasbro, Inc. and is meant to be a hub or destination where the family can come together and connect.

While the Hub has many original television series and reruns of classic shows currently airing, the series that I think that teens and parents will most likely enjoy together is Family Game Night. Real families compete against each other in life-sized Hasbro Games such as Cranium, Bop-It!, Connect4 and more. Family Game Night is hosted my Todd Newton of E!'s Oscar and Emmy shows and the game shows "Whammy!", "Hollywood Showdown" and more.

Family Game Night airs on Friday nights from 7-8pm ET. You can find the channel for your area on the HubWorld channel locator. Other new shows that teens or tweens may enjoy on The Hub are Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless and R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour. On Monday through Thursday nights, both parents and teens will enjoy tuning in to classic reruns of Family Ties, The Wonder Years, Doogie Howser, Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. Have fun watching the new TV network, The Hub.

See also: Majors & Minors - Teen Singing TV Contest with Celeb Coaches

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The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal ball, by Risa Green, is a young adult book for teens. The description from the back cover:

When Erin Channing's favorite aunt dies, Erin is bequeathed a pink crystal ball and a set of weird instructions. Granted, Aunt Kiki (aka Aunt Kooky) always lived "outside the box." But now Erin and her two best friends are convinced that the pink crystal ball holds the key to their future-or at least the key to getting dates...

Erin Channing is the perfect student and has the highest GPA in 10th grade. She needs to write an essay to win an all-expenses paid trip to Italy to study art. However she thinks her life is boring and she has nothing to write about. Then she gets the pink crystal ball and Erin and her best friends realize that the things she asks it for are coming true. Erin's life becomes anything but boring.

This is a wonderful book for teenage girls in that it is about many things that interest them such as best friends, dating, magic, and high school crushes yet it also deals with issues which they can learn from such as thinking about the future, responsibility and bullying.

The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball was loads of fun and the characters were completely endearing. Moms will also enjoy this book and it make for great discussions between moms and daughters. I highly recommend it.

Full Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book to review.

See also: 3 New YA Books for Teens

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If you are a helicopter parent, you probably already know it. Many parents are proud of it. But for those parents of teens that think they have escaped that label, why don't you see how many of these questions you answer yes to.

10 Signs you are a Helicopter Parent to your Teens

1. Under no circumstances will you ever turn off your cell phone, unless all your kids are with you. It doesn't matter how old they are or where you are.

2. Your teens are away in college yet you still speak to them every day, often multiple times.

3. You have many of your teen's teachers or professor's on speed dial.

4. If you are out and realize you left your cell phone behind, you panic and hyperventilate and run home immediately before, heaven forbid, you miss a call from your teens.

5. When you are out with friends on a Saturday night, you will inevitably get at least one call from each of your teens.

6. You know your teen's school schedule and when every test and paper are due better than they do.

7. You filled out your teen's college application and essay and had the most say in which college they chose to attend.

8. You have more contact with your teen's guidance counselor than they do.

9. You are a loving, caring parent trying to help your child.

10. You are helping your teen so much that they aren't learning how to make decisions, remember due dates, fend for themselves or do anything on their on.

That is the sad thing about helicopter parents, they love their kids so much that they are overprotecting them and are hindering them from becoming adults.

See also:
3 Books on How to Help GenY Become Adults
Resources for Parents of Teenage Boys   
Applying to Law School? - Think Twice
Make the Most of College Campus Visits
.

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When I was first contacted to review Boom Boom! cards, I thought they were just a game. I couldn't have been more wrong. Each pack, Teen, Family, Green or Original, contains a deck of cards in which each card suggests an act of kindness for each person to do.

The Boom Boom! cards can be as simple as just doing the intentional (rather than random) act of kindness or it can be much more. Each card has a tracking code number. You can register the cards at boomboomcards and after you do your act of kindness, go back to the website and tell your story. Then pass on your card to a friend and follow it on the website.

I received a copy of the Teen Edition of Boom Boom! cards and the ideas are great and ones that teens might actually do. Some examples are:

• Burn a Cd or create a playlist that inspires and motivates; give it to someone you think needs it.
• When your parents or guardian asks, "How was your day?" actually tell them. (I love this one).
• Help someone study for a test.

The family cards allows families to work together doing acts of kindness. With the Green Boom Boom! cards, players will perform simple, easy intentional acts of greeness for planet Earth and the original set of cards are meant for anyone to perform revolutionary acts of kindness. If everyone starts buying these inexpensive cards, and then passes them on after using them, we might actually have a better world to live in.

Full Disclosure: I received a free copy of the teen version of these cards to review (retail price $10)

See also:  
Family Volunteer Resources 

Heart Gallery NYC - Unique Program Finds Adoptive Parents for Foster Children

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On 10/10/10, I attended the AllyKatzz Tween Summit in NYC. Hundreds of tween girls from across the nation attended and met with people from the media, entertainment, fashion, sports and celebrities. AllyKatzz also provided a separate room for parents and a wonderful group of experts that spoke on various issues that deal with parenting teens and tweens.

I was lucky enough to interview some of these fabulous women that are making such a difference in the lives of girls and women today:

1. Carole Isenberg - Host for the parents events. Co-founder and Director of Development for Events of the Heart,an organization that raises awareness about heart disease by storytelling. Carole was previously a teacher in the NYC school system and the creator of workshops for mothers and daughters (with the occasional father/daughter workshop also). Her message to parents of teens is to not lose sight of compassion. Think about the importance of your words and how you say them. You are a mentor.

2. Alison Trachtman Hill - Allison owns a consulting company called Critical Issues for Girls. They work with youth, parents, educators, philanthropists, and community members to address the complex and ever-changing realities in girls' lives in society. They realize that to help youth, they need to work with adults that deal with youth. Right now much of what they are working on are the issues of conflict resolution, bullying, cyber-bullying, ethical decision making, dating violence and healthy and unhealthy relationships. A lot of character education, peer pressure, self esteem.

 As a sociologist, the research part is an important area for Allison. They need to know outcomes before programs begin so they design, pre-test and test. An important aspect of what they do is to deal with how something like bullying affects not only the victim, but society as a whole. They work with people at all income levels. Allison is extremely bright and committed to what she is doing. It was very inspirational speaking to her.

3. Larysa Didio - Larysa is a personal trainer and co-author of the book, Sneaky Fitness, producer/star of the Get Fit with Larysa fitness DVDs for tween girls, and has a website, Get Fit with Larysa. Sneaky fitness is getting your kids to exercise without them knowing about it. She co-authored with the Sneaky Chef for their book. The Sneaky Chef shows parents how to put healthy food into food kids love.

Sneaky Fitness is about getting kids to do fun things like competetions or hip hop instead of calling it exercise. For tween girls she will usually recommend things like videoing and dancing. There are all kinds of games for younger kids to stay fit. Larysa is extremely friendly and energetic and I can see her easily getting kids moving.

4. Vanessa Van Petten - Vanessa is an author and Youthologist and runs the website Radical Parenting. If you are a regular reader of Connect with your Teens you might have seen her mentioned on this blog before. Vanessa wrote her first book at the ripe old age of 16. Still in her twenties, she writes a website for parents of teens, from the teens perspective, with a group of teen interns for help. While most of the interns are writers, she hires some for marketing and trendspotting. Writing on similar topics, I've known Vanessa for some time now and she is an amazing women.

5. Tara Suri - Tara was not a speaker at the Summit, she was one of the award winners. Although she is now 19, back in 2004 when she was only 13, Tara started the Turn Your World Around organization which both implements social-change and helps youth turn their passions into action, thereby fostering a global movement for change. Tara currently attends Harvard as a Social Studies major.

There were so many other amazing women at this event that I could never feature all of them. The Tween Summit was created by AllyKatzz founder Denise Restauri. Some of the other moderators, speakers and performers present at the AllyKatzz Tween Summit 2010 were:

• Jess Weiner - Author, Self-Esteem Expert, Media Consultant
• Monique Coleman - Actress, GimmeMo', High School Musical, Dancing with the Stars
• Tiffany Thornton, Actress, Sonny With a Chance
• Lt Col Jill "Raggz" Long - Commander, 2d Air Support Operations Squadron
• Heather O'Reilly - Professional Soccer Player

For much more on the 2010 Tween Summit and to read about all the speakers, go to the AllyKatzz Tween Summit website and you can see the actual conference program and much more.

See also:  
Five: All Star Cast in Breast Cancer Anthology on Lifetime
NYT on Tween Girls, Judy Moody and Movie Audiences
Heart Gallery NYC - Unique Program Finds Adoptive Parents for Foster Children
YA Authors and Musicians Take On Bullying

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Energizer is leading the way with one of the first universal Qi technology products on the market.  The brand new Energizer Inductive Chargers allow for charging of consumer devices with installed batteries (BoB) to be charged without directly plugging the device into anything. The chargers should be available by the end of October at Target.

I will be reviewing one of these brand new Energizer Inductive Chargers next week, right around the time they will hit the stores. Please check back.

Added:  Energizer Inductive Charger Review

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One of the many reasons that I love popular culture is that the use of a shared pop culture reference can often be the best way to tell or explain a story. One of my fondest memories is one day when this happened with my sons.

One of our favorite shows throughout most of its run was Friends. Even before my kids were old enough to understand much of it, they loved Friends and we all watched together every Thursday night. Our sons were aware that my husband and I knew each other for many years before we got married. One day, after Friends had ended its run, they asked, "So, you and dad were like Monica and Chandler, right?" And I replied, "No, we were more like Ross and Rachel." Them: "Ahhhhhh!"

See also: Top 10 TV Series With Pop Culture References


 

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Linda Samuels, a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization, has written a wonderful little book, The Other Side of Organized. What makes this book special is that she encourages you to get organized enough to reduce the stress of life's details. Don't spend so much time organizing that you don't have time to embrace life's passions.

Linda was nice enough to write a guest post for Connect with your Teens on helping teens get organized. She offers 4 excellent tips for parents:

Helping Teens Get Organized 

            Depending upon your teen and your relationship with him or her, helping them get organized can be stressful. To make the process less challenging, consider these ideas:

    * Let them lead. Instead of directing the process, encourage them to tell you what works or doesn’t work organizationally. Really listening to them will make it easier to know how you can help.

    * Make it fun. Most teens love listening to music. Have them play their favorite music while you organize together.

    * Honor their style.  We all process and think differently. Respect the fact that you may each have different ideas about what “organized” needs to look like.

    * Be a role model.  We can’t expect our teens to do what we ourselves are not doing. So, if you want your kids to stay organized and you are not modeling this yourself, start with getting your areas in order first. Once you are organized enough, then begin to help them to do the same.

For more advice from Linda Samuels, check out her The Other Side of Organized blog and take a look at The Other Side of Organized book.

See also: Organize Cord Clutter with Colorful Dotz Products

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On Monday, October 18th, the 3rd annual i-stage awards were held at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. The Consumer Electronics Association gives these awards to inspire innovation in consumer technology. The big winner this year was AutoBot, a piece of technology that allows you to integrate your car with your mobile lifestyle (more below).

8 finalists competed in the i-stage competition. They were each given 3 minutes to sell their product and then were asked a barrage of questions by the panel of 4 expert judges:

1. Frank Gruber, co-founder of TECH Cocktail
2. Richard MacManus, founder and CEO of ReadWriteWeb
3. Rick Rommel, SVP of emerging business for Best Buy
4. Jeremy Toeman, founder and managing partner of Stage Two Consulting.

The 8 gadgets presented were some of the coolest gadgets I've seen. They are:

1. First prize winner and fan favorite winner (voted by audience) - Mavizon Technologies AutoBot - Allows your car, cell phone and computer to work together. Control your car, track its GPS, monitor its health and security, send out emergency alerts and more. Once you buy the gadget, it is free to use. No service agreements.

2. Second prize winner - Tremont Electric nPower PEG - Attach this device to your cell phone, place it in your backpack or purse, and walk. Your motion will charge the phone. Great for anyone that does a lot of walking.

The rest are in random order as there were no other awards:

3. Anybots - If you saw the episode of the Big Bang Theory where Sheldon uses a robot in his place, you will have a pretty good idea of what Anybots is. Sold to businesses, employees can work from home or abroad and still have a presence at work with their own personal avatar bot.

4. Eyecon - Your personal media manager. Find, preview and retrieve video, audio and images from your home network and Internet on your smartphone and route them to play on any of your connected devices.

5. Seeker Technology PipSqueak - This sounds great for people like me, who miss cell phone calls because my phone is in my pocketbook and I can't always hear or get to it. PipSqueak is a tiny Bluetooth device that you can easily wear that notifies you of incoming calls, displays caller ID (so you can decide if you want to get your phone), offers unlimited time to get your phone, alerts you if you leave your phone behind!! and provides the date and time. I loved this one.

6. Oxygen audio - Fully integrates the iPhone into the car entertainment system

7. Sonomax Technologies Soundcage  Earphones - New custom-fit earpiece technology that lets you custom fit your own ears right out of the box. The technology lets you instantly shape the earpiece to your ear canal.

8. Pomdevices Sonamaba - A Wellbeing Monitoring System for seniors living alone. Sends status alerts to caregivers and also includes medication reminders and social communications functions. The frame has a touchscreen interface and is a digital picture frame while not in use.

CEA's i-stage was one of the most fascinating shows I've ever been to. Seeing these new technologies in their infant stages, vying for recognition, was an amazing experience. The top two winners not only received money, they were also given booth space at the Consumer Electronics Show. The last two year's winners were Boxee, which allows you to watch movies, TV shows and video from your Internet on your TV and Regen, which makes premium solar products. The exciting thing with technology is we never know what will be coming next.

See also: CEA Tech Enthusiast Membership - Great Benefits for Early Adopters who Enroll

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Three fun and interesting news websites for teens have recently launched - TeenTribune, Drew and MTV Geek. All three are spinoffs from other websites. While many teens turn only to Facebook to get their news, these sites do offer an alternative teens might enjoy. And parents, browsing these teen news sites could be a great way to help you keep up with teen pop culture and technology and their other interests.

1. MTV Geek - A new section of the MTV website, MTV Geek is the home of MTV Comics and also serves up the latest news in comic books, games, animation, toys, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, technology and more. Anybody who has ever gone to Comic Con or has always wanted to attend, this is the website for you.

2. TeenTribune - TeenTribune was recently added as a separate section to the TweenTribune daily news site for tweens. News articles are submitted that are relevant to teens on topics such as education, entertainment, national news, art, book reviews and more. Teens are encouraged to comment. Teen and Tween Tribune are also used by educators in classrooms.

3. Drew - The place to go for teen pop culture news. Sections on entertainment, events, extras, sports, style, tech and videos. Bright, colorful website for anyone that loves pop culture.

Three new news sites for teens, however they are all very different. MTV Geek for your comics and sci-fi news, TeenTribune, a more educational type of news site, and Drew for general music, celebrity, movies type pop culture. At least one should appeal to you or the teen in your life.

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Sewing a Friendship is a wonderful book for young tween girls and their parents. The most amazing thing about the book is that it was written AND illustrated by a 10 year old girl, Natalie Tinti.

Sewing a Friendship is about 7 year old girls, friendship and a sleepover. Before the story begins, we are given a complete introduction to each character, with illustrations, favorites, family and birthday. However Natalie's real message is that friendships are created when you have the courage to include others in the important parts of your life. Each character in the book is unique and yet they all are able to be friends without hiding who they really are.

Natalie is an elementary school student in Southern California and has already won many awards. For Sewing a Friendship she was awarded with a Pinnacle Achievement Award and a Silver Medal by the nationally recognized Readers Favorite Book Reviews. Back when she was 5 years old she won first place in a poster contest and received many more accolades for her artistry.

Natalie Tinti now has a new mission in addition to writing books. She is helping to promote the theme "Kindness is Cool" at her elementary school. She assists others in writing thank you notes when somebody does something nice.

I highly recommend this book for young girls. It is a wonderful story, has great illustrations and convey's a powerful message. Most of all, the fact that it was written by a peer might give the tweens that read Sewing a Friendship the desire to trying writing or drawing on their own.


See also: 

YA Book Review: The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball 
Tips for Teens by Teen Author in Brain Snacks for Teens on the Go
NYT on Tween Girls, Judy Moody and Movie Audiences

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Due to the popularity of the blog post 13 Top iPhone Apps for Students written over a year ago, here is a list of 10 new iPhone and iPad apps for students 2010. All apps that are available for the iPhone are also available for the iPod Touch.

1. Ace Flashcards (iPhone) $.99 - The first flashcard app to incorporate a dictionary so that students can create English vocabulary flashcards quickly. Students enter the words they want to study and the app automatically creates the flashcards.

2. Nasa App (iPhone, iPad) free - View thousands of NASA images, On demand videos, live streaming and more. The iPad app is in HD.

3. iStudiez Pro or Lite (iPhone, iPad) - Pro $2.99, Lite free - An app to arrange your school schedules and assignments that is easy to navigate. Each day it summarizes your current classes and tasks for the day and can send you push notification reminders.

4. Mathematical Formulas (iPhone, iPad) - $.99 - Retrieve formulas for every type of math: algebra, arithmetics, complex numbers, differentiation, geometry, integration, trigonometry and matrices.

5. Solar Walk - 3D Solar System (iPhone, iPad) - $2.99 - Beautiful graphics and animations. Features 3D Solar System, fly to planet, read info about planet, time machine, and moons of different planets. Available in ten languages.

6. A Life Cycle app (iPhone, iPad) - $.99 - Made for kids and tweens, this adorable app can be enjoyable and educational for any age. It is in the top 50 paid iPad apps in education in the USA and three other countries. With great colorful illustrations and narrations it shows the life cycles of frogs, water, butterflies, plants, pollination, photosynthesis, the Moon, Nitrogen, Oxygen and rocks.

7. 3D Brain (iPhone, iPad) - free - Discover how each brain region functions, what happens when it is injured and how it is involved with mental illness. Not so much meant for students, except medical and some college majors, but a great free app for anyone interested in learning more about the brain.

8. Stack the States (iPhone, iPad) $.99 - Great fun way for tweens to learn the states through play.

9. Wikipanion (iPhone, iPad) free - The easiest and fastest way to search Wikipedia from your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.

10. Manual for the United States of America (iPhone, iPad) $1.99 - Contains many important U.S. documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Gettysburg Address and bios of Supreme Court Justices, How Our Laws are Made, List of U.S. Presidents with Bios and much, much more.

Are there any other top educational apps for students that I left out?

See also:
8 Back to School apps for College Students
4 Mobile Apps for Parents of Teens and Tweens 
The Brain: The Inside Story - Fun and Learning for Families at Museum 
How to Find the Best Apps

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What do you get if you combine a board game like Cranium with conversation starters such as Table Topics and KidChat? You get the family fun game Do Tell: The Hilarious Game of Connection for families with tweens or teens.

Players reveal themselves using words and actions, sometimes thought provoking, sometimes side-splitting. The games helps family members get to know each other better, but provides fun at the same time. Do Tell is specifically designed for families to laugh, learn and relate to each other across the generations.

I love the fact that the cards have two options, so you don't have to tell or do something that you don't want to. An example Tell card: Describe your ultimate birthday party -or- Describe your worst birthday experience. An example Do card: Be your mother first thing in the morning -or- Be your father first thing in the morning.

I highly recommend Do Tell, the family version board game to connecting with your teens and tweens. If your looking to connect with friends and other adults, there is also a Do Tell Adult 16+ version for you to laugh, reveal and relate.

See also:  
10 Games for Teens from Toy Fair 2011
Grateful DeadOpoly Pop Culture Board Game 
You've Been Sentenced Game for Tweens and Teens
.

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