give tots a tablet all their own
Toys “R” Us is the latest major retailer to create an information and entertainment e-tablet. Unlike Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Amazon’s Kindle, Tabeo is for kids only: its WiFi-connected, 7-inch touch-screen includes effective parental controls. Pre-loaded with 50 child-friendly apps, Tabeo can occupy little fingers for 10 hours on a single battery charge. Available from Toys “R” Us, $149; toysrus.com
grab great low-light pix
Sony’s DSC-RX100 may be the last, best reason to buy a digital camera in an era of easy cellphone snapshots. Small enough to fit in most pockets, its wide-aperture Carl Zeiss lens and serious-sized sensor can capture after-dark scenes in pro-quality richness—even without a flash. The slim digicam also records crisp hi-def video. Available from Sony, $649.99; sony.com
thank your stars for this appÂ
Forgot long-ago planetarium talks on identifying planets and stars? Now you can tell Saturn from Cygnus in your backyard with The Night Sky from iCandi Apps. It draws upon your iPhone or Android phone’s GPS and motion-sensing abilities to display the names of the heavenly bodies you tilt it towards. Available from iTunes or Google Play, $.99; icandiapps.com
get moving with a peppy coach
Sometimes all it takes to find motivation for an exercise regimen is a bright new face. The recently introduced Fitbit Zip could be the Carly Rae Jepsen of fitness monitors: Call it maybe as cute as a ’90s Tamagotchi digital pet, while it tracks your steps and calories and analyzes them online so you get fitter. Available from Amazon, $59.95; fitbit.com
see if win 8 was worth the wait
The much-anticipated Windows 8, the latest update of Microsoft’s foundational PC operating system, is supposed to be a game-changer, with instinctive simplicity on touch-compliant screens. The VivoBook S200 from ASUS offers a feather-weight, travel-friendly laptop with Windows 8-specific enhancements. Test for yourself whether Microsoft got it right, or just jumped the shark, Fonzie-style. Available from Micro Center, $599; asus.com
unlock the light-up padlock
They’ve digitized just about everything else we use, so why not Tron that gym-locker mainstay, the combination lock? You don’t have to twirl open Master Lock’s 1500eDBX dialSPEED; it yields to taps of the glowing arrows on its dial, corresponding to letter and number combinations only you can set. Available from Master Lock, $24.99; masterlock.com
web surf with a sleeker mouse
Form smoothes out function on the Manhattan Stealth Touch Mouse. Tailless and buttonless, it looks more like a surfboard for Stuart Little than a computer-input device. The wireless-equipped desk accessory senses fingertip pressure for left and right clicks and up or down scrolls, providing an elegant sculpted contour to enable agile online navigation. Available at Best Buy, $44.98; manhattan-products.com
watch a bigger, smarter hdtv
Just when it seems high-def TV technology has hit a plateau, Samsung ups the ante with a room-filling, 75-inch, razor-sharp flat-screen, the ES9000. Richer contrast and a brighter picture are among the enhancements on this computer-augmented, 3D-ready LCD set. It’s so smart, it recognizes hand gestures to control it. Available from P.C. Richard, $8,999; samsung.com
