{"id":1833,"date":"2011-01-21T05:54:34","date_gmt":"2011-01-20T22:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=1833"},"modified":"2011-01-28T01:46:42","modified_gmt":"2011-01-27T18:46:42","slug":"ces-2011-great-technology-products-for-moms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/ces-2011-great-technology-products-for-moms\/","title":{"rendered":"CES 2011: Great Technology Products for Moms"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Lori Cunningham<\/span><\/p>\n

I wish I had the time to tell you about all of the\u00a0 fantastic things I saw at CES.\u00a0 As you learned from my Top 6 Tech Product Trends of CES 2011<\/a>, there are a lot of exciting tech products out there to make life easier.\u00a0 It is hard to narrow it down to my top 5 favorites products for moms from the show, as there are too many to choose from.\u00a0 But that’s OK, because I will continue to write about products I saw at CES throughout the year.\u00a0 I have already put together my list of products to highlight for Valentines Day, Earth Day, and Dads, Grads, & Do-Dads.\u00a0 I also will be reviewing a number of products I saw during the show.\u00a0 So stay tuned, more is coming!\u00a0 Also, my top 5 mom products from CES 2010 <\/a>are still great products too.\u00a0 Check out that post as well.<\/p>\n

Here are my top five products from CES 2011:<\/span><\/h2>\n

#1\u00a0 Valet Plus\"Cisco<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Valet Plus is the perfect home wireless router for families.\u00a0 It is probably\u00a0the easiest wireless network system to set up and use, making it perfect for moms.\u00a0 Using a USB thumb drive, you simply insert it into each computer or wireless device you want to add to your home network.\u00a0 Just follow the steps from there and you’ll be up and running in no time.\u00a0 You do not need any technical knowledge to set up your wireless network.\u00a0 The software does the work for you.\u00a0 You can add all of your computers (PC or Mac), laptops, netbooks, tablets, smartphones, gaming systems (X-box, PlayStation, Wii, etc.) and any other connected devices easily.\u00a0 Valet Plus has fantastic parental controls too.\u00a0 Get this…with your devices and gaming system connected, you can block off times so a device will be rendered\u00a0unusable.\u00a0 For example, you can lock down your Wii from 3pm until 7am to ensure\u00a0your little Johnny isn’t playing games when he shouldn’t on a school night!\u00a0 You can do this for each device on your network.\u00a0 Johnny is on restriction?\u00a0 Lock down the devices (Wii, tablet, PC, smartphone) he uses during the restriction\u00a0timeframe.\u00a0 If all you want to do is lock down particular websites, the Valet Plus helps you to do that as well.\u00a0\u00a0Another great feature is guest access.\u00a0 When guests come over and want to connect to your WiFi network, you can provide\u00a0them a guest passcode which allows them access to the Internet only…not all of your family’s private files.\u00a0 I love this feature.\u00a0 I have had guests ask me on several occasions\u00a0for access to our wireless network.\u00a0 This option will allow me to help them without jeopardizing our important family files.\u00a0 The Valet Plus retails for $129.99 regularly, but is on sale at the Cisco website <\/a>for $109.99.\u00a0 If you have a smaller home, you may be interested in the Valet with less reach, on sale at Cisco <\/a>now for $89.99.<\/p>\n

#2\u00a0 Eye-Fi Wireless Card for Your Camera<\/span><\/h2>\n

Wo\"\"w, this product is a cool one for us moms!\u00a0 The Eye-Fi Geo X2 4GB or Explore X2 8GB WiFi products are SD storage cards\u00a0to use in your camera.\u00a0 Most likely you are using a SD storage card now.\u00a0 When you replace your current SD storage card with the Eye-Fi wireless card, you no longer need to connect your camera to your computer via a cable or by\u00a0inserting your current SD card into your computer to download pictures.\u00a0 If your computer is connected\u00a0to your wireless network, the picture download process begins immediately after you bring your camera home and it detects your WiFi network.\u00a0 Pictures are automatically downloaded to your designated\u00a0folder on your computer.\u00a0\u00a0 You can even designate\u00a0copies of\u00a0them to go directly to your online picture account at Flickr, Picasso, Facebook, etc.\u00a0 Sharing your photos has never been easier.\u00a0 The Ey-Fi Geo X2 and Explore X2 also add geo tags to your photos so you will be able to identify\u00a0where you were when the picture was taken.\u00a0 Super cool!\u00a0 While at CES, Eye-Fi announced Direct Mode, a new free upgradeable feature for all of its X2 card users…now when you take a picture using a X2 cards, the picture is\u00a0immediately\u00a0\u00a0copied to\u00a0your smartphone\u00a0so you can instantly share with friends online without needing to be near a wireless hotspot.\u00a0 This way you can get a better resolution photo and send it via your phone.\u00a0 Slick.\u00a0 The Eye-Fi Geo X2 4GB retails for $69.99 and the Explore X2 8GB retails for\u00a0$99.99.<\/p>\n

#3\u00a0 Mavia – Know Your Car – Where it is, Where it’s been, What Need’s fixing!<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"I am still marveling at this device, I’ve never seen anything like it.\u00a0 The Mavia\u00a0is a device that you plug into your car’s diagnostic port (currently\u00a0used only by car technicians to\u00a0analyze your car).\u00a0 The Mavia\u00a0can then tell you numerous\u00a0things about your car and it’s use.\u00a0 For example, when your check engine light turns on, Mavia\u00a0will tell you in very understandable language what the problem is.\u00a0 Mavia\u00a0will also help you keep track of your maintenance schedules and notify\u00a0you of any needed service via your smartphone.\u00a0 Forgot where you parked the car?\u00a0 The Mazia\u00a0app on your your\u00a0smartphone\u00a0will provide you with\u00a0walking directions to your car.\u00a0 Curious where your teenage son is at 2am?\u00a0 If his car is equipped\u00a0with the Mavia, you can check the GPS location of the car.\u00a0 Have you set limits of where your daughter can drive the family\u00a0car to?\u00a0 With the Mavia, you can set GPS boundaries that when crossed, you will be sent\u00a0an alert via your smartphone.\u00a0 Worried about your child being in an accident while driving?\u00a0 Unfortunately, the Mavia\u00a0cannot prevent the accident, but it can automatically send a text message once an accident has\u00a0occurred\u00a0with the car’s GPS location to you, family members, 911, or even Facebook!\u00a0 Car stolen?\u00a0 Mavia\u00a0will help you track the car’s location through your computer or smartphone, making it easier to notify\u00a0police of it’s location.\u00a0 Mavia will be coming out on the market later this year and is likely to retail somewhere between $200-$300.\u00a0 Wait, there’s one more bonus…there is no monthly fee for the service!<\/p>\n

#4\u00a0 Gadget Trak – Keep Track of Your Laptops and Smartphones<\/span><\/h2>\n

<\/a>\"\"Another cool product.\u00a0 GadgetTrak\u00a0is advanced\u00a0Wi-Fi positioning software to install on your laptop, computer, netbook, iPod Touch, iPod, iPad, or smartphone\u00a0(Apple or Android).\u00a0 When you remotely activate it, GadgetTrak\u00a0will report to you the location of\u00a0your device with a high level of accuracy up to 10-20 meters.\u00a0 GadgetTrak\u00a0uses WiFi networks to obtain your device’s location, so no extra hardware is needed, as opposed to using GPS.\u00a0 Once you activate\u00a0tracking, a picture will be snapped\u00a0of the thief if your laptop\/netbook\/etc. has a front facing camera.\u00a0 Images and location\u00a0positioning will be sent\u00a0to you directly.\u00a0 Pretty amazing, huh?\u00a0 Furthermore, if someone takes out your SIM card and puts in their card, you will be notified\u00a0by e-mail with the new phone number.\u00a0 Now you can alert police with a lot of great information about the thief.\u00a0 Fearful of losing your precious pictures\/videos and even contact numbers?\u00a0 No problem, you can remotely back up your data and wipe your data clean from your phone!\u00a0 I have lost a couple of phones in the past and having this kind of information would have been terrific.\u00a0 I never knew if I just left the phone somewhere or someone stole it.\u00a0 Having GadetTrak\u00a0installed on my phone and netbook\/tablet would definitely give me some peace of mind.\u00a0 It would also be very helpful to put on your kids’ cellphones.\u00a0 Kids are notorious for leaving their cellphones\u00a0behind.\u00a0 Lost\u00a0your cellphone in the house?\u00a0 GadgetTrak\u00a0can\u00a0create an alarm stemming from your device so you can find it.\u00a0 I need GadgetTrak\u00a0for my son’s blanket too!\u00a0 We’re always losing it.\u00a0 LOL.\u00a0 \u00a0Now you can track your phone\/laptops\/tablet investments better!\u00a0 A one year license for one gadget sells for $34.95\/year.\u00a0 If you have multiple\u00a0devices, I recommend the Family Pack licenses which includes GadgetTrak for 5 devices for $99.95\/year.<\/p>\n

top 5 mom products from CES 2010 <\/a>\u00a0as well for more great mom tech gadgets.<\/label><\/p>\n