Kohls for Christmas: Vivitar Camelio 7” Android Family Tablet #HolidayGiftGuide2013 #TechReview

How much Christmas shopping have you already written down? Do you have certain items you are getting certain people already thought up? If someone on your list asked for a new tablet, or you just want to get them one—and you aren’t sure which to get them.. let me help.

The Vivitar Camelio Family Tablet from Kohls is a 1GB memory, 7’ touch screen with a built in camera (front and rear facing), HD video, speaker slot for headphones, and microphone. It also has a mini sd card slot, so you can add as much storage as you wish.

The Camelio is a unique, Android tablet that allows you to customize and personalize the tablet with your favorite characters! The Camelio Tablet lets you have the option of “personality packs” that have licensed themes like Hot Wheels, Barbie, Monster High, Hello Kitty, and more.

The “personality packs” are sold separately but come with a tablet case, as well as a special code that unlocks branded content such as videos, music, books, wallpapers and widgets designed around the theme pack.

I created a profile for Aidan & one for Adisyn. It comes with a variety of apps already installed and available to each profile. There aren’t many “games” that were downloaded to the tablet but  I immediately connected via Wifi and started downloading more apps from the Google Play store.

It is lightweight yet very durable. It isn’t a tablet that is going to get broken easily. I love that my kids can easily play with it without me worrying about an accidental drop. It has a textured back that makes it easier to grasp. If we HAD gotten one of the character play packs with the rubber case, it would most likely seem almost unbreakable.

This would make the perfect “first tablet” for any age child. I love the fact that it is customizable. Even without the personality pack, each user can decide which apps/games are on their homescreen. As soon as it opens their name, all the games they play are already RIGHT there! Pretty cool.

The Camelio also has a 1.1GHz processor and 1GB of memory for running apps and games, as well as a 4GB flash hard drive that's expandable up to 32GB using SD cards for storage. This makes ANYTHING possible. Pictures, music, games/apps galore!

Most of the tablets made for kids don’t have access to the Google Play Store. There are so many free games and educational apps that make having access awesome. We didn’t have to pay anything extra to get the games/apps we downloaded. It’s an option to buy BUT it makes it unique to kids because most work with THEIR own cartridges/discs that have to be bought separately.

At least as a parent we have the option of searching for free games/ educational apps with this one. I downloaded some cute little preschool games for learning with my daughter. She absolutely LOVES them. We count flowers, learn letters and their sounds, and shapes. It makes it so worth it.

If you are worried about their access to the store, everything is parental controlled. YOU get to say if they do/don’t. If you give them access to the web you can control the websites they visit, which is also cool. There are tons of amazing websites geared to making learning fun with games now, so that makes is a great plus for having for homework!

Aidan really liked the race car/truck games that were available from the Play Store. He would stand over my shoulder saying “yeah, that one Monster Truck game mom.” It really helped having this waiting in the doctors office waiting room forever. I was able to keep them busy while we waited for 3 hours!

Alex came over and the Cut the Rope game pulled him in. Adisyn and I had been playing it and I was showing her how. When Alex came over, she asked him to play it with her and he loved it.

My kids have had fun with the camera. It has both front and rear-facing cameras. The camera doesn’t have a flash, but it makes for great daytime camera or for use inside. My kids ran around taking pictures of everything.

See a picture of our new puppies? The kids just love them! I love that it has everything they need to learn, to play, to be inspired at an affordable price. It comes with certain apps/games and more can be downloaded. It is more convenient and cheaper than buying each “game” that has to be bought for other kid tablets.

You can use this as an on-the-go book reader. I downloaded the Kindle app, which already had access to the books in my Amazon list online. So I could immediately start reading a book from my own chosen list! I have a smartphone, but if I didn’t—Facebook, Gmail, and all the social media apps are available to download for us parents!

Get it:

Vivitar Camelio Family Tablet $134.99

 

 

Jessica Renee

Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 Generation 3 Flash Drive Tech Review

I have never said this before, but I have fallen madly in love with a USB Flash Drive. YES, I said it! The Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 G3 64 GB is all around AMAZING ! I’ve been in some very bad situations because of USB flash drives that didn’t hold up to their promise/standard, so I was happy to be introduced to one that did!

I am a collector, a learner, and have TONS of information that I download on a daily basis. I have to have flash drives that meets my requirements. I can’t have it flunking out on me once I’ve stored all my information on it, WHICH has happened! I ended up going to Wal-Mart last year and buying 4 USB flash drives that were 32GB a piece (as well as 2 16GB SD Cards and a 32 GB SD Card). The cards ALL still work perfectly, but NOT one of those USB flash drives do.


You know where I made my mistake? Buying those that were plastic and had a retractable tip. That’s all they had left when I went shopping though, and I didn’t think anything about it. THIS (the picture above) isn’t the brand of USB drive that I bought. I just wanted to show you what I was talking about. It’s the push/pull in/out USB Drive. After awhile of using them they kept getting harder and harder to flip out. Then there were MORE issues as the tip was coming lose from the inside of the flash drive and would BARELY connect at all to my computer.

This is what left me in a sticky situation. See, I downloaded EVERYTHING to all my USB drives. This not only saves space and memory on your computer but it helps with the speed. Once you download so much stuff, your computer is basically going to bog down with information and there is no memory left for other stuff.

One day I woke up and was determined to revamp my blog and create an entirely new layout and design. I got the USB drive out, inserted it, and NOTHING! It wouldn't connect for the life of me! I managed to sneak a peek inside and sure enough the USB port was disconnecting from the frame! Did I mention that BEFORE I had these issues, I’d sit for quite some trying to coax them to download my stuff in a quicker manner? S.L.O.W



NOW—onto the Kingston DataTaveler Ultimate G3 64 GB USB 3.0
I will never have to worry about this one disconnecting from the frame for absolutely ANY reason. It isn’t cheaply made, so there isn’t any room for it to start unhinging itself from the inside. It is built with quality and happiness of the product in mind—not making it as cheaply as possible. Instead of the cheap plastic the others are made of, Kingston has made nothing but the absolute BEST! The DataTraveler is built with a inflexible brushed aluminum casing, and the looks are definitely not deceiving! It definitely protects the USB from getting broke or getting dirt/dust in it!

In the box:

• 1 Data Traveler Ultimate 3.0
• 1 key ring tie
• 1 Set warranty in 3 languages

This is brilliance bundled into a USB Flash Drive. This sweet piece of machinery has tons of space on it. You can store tons of data files, pictures, media files, powerpoints, huge zip files.. whatever it may be that you find Important and don’t want to lose—there’s more than adequate space for it on the DataTraveler.

I hate to say this, but I lost almost all my craft tutorials (sewing, crochet, simple crafts for the kids). I had all of them stored on one of the USB flash drives that messed up on me, and there was nothing I could do. I am happy to say that even though I had to start over, the DataTraveler is holding out quite nicely.


I spent more than 3 hours the other day re-copying and downloading files to the Datatraveler. This is all stuff that is going to help me grow my crafting business in the long-run. I love the fact that I have room for all the know-how (nitty gritty craft stuff), the business aspect of starting a business, plus taxes and all I need to know about the craft market. All those files I downloaded haven’t even used 1 GB of memory yet! I am SO excited that I have so much more room for other stuff!

I don’t have to search and store on separate USB files anymore, which is SO awesome for me! I can even store a ton of already made mini DVD slideshows that I make that showcases my work. How awesome is that? To have that much quality and space at the same time?

Not to mention how durable it is. I really REALLY put this one to the test. I put it in my pocket and sit on it (didn’t break), clipped it on my keychain (still there), and even left it in my computer for more than 2 days (all the files are still there).

Truly, what amazed me the most is the quickness and accurateness that it transferred the files I was sending to it. How many times have I sit there and watched the progress bar slip slowly by and think to myself “how much slower can you get?” That’s something you’ll never have to say about the DataTraveler. It transfers very large files without any issues at all in the snap of a finger. KA-BAM, and all your stuff is in one spot and ready to GO!

I am definitely thinking about buying a second one for my blog/writing stuff. I have tons of PDF’s, Ebooks, and Word documents that need to go with me on Blog Conferences. The DataTraveler will make it so much easier if I have to work on someone else’s laptop or computer while I am there. If a blogger needs help with a certain “subject” or if I need to download something—It’s all right there with me.

• Time saving with powerful USB 3.0 transfer speeds
• USB 3.0 provides up to 150MB/s Read and 70MB/s Write
• PC and Mac ready; complements stylish portable devices with USB 3.0 ports
• Dramatic time savings when transferring large media files; 8x faster than a standard USB 2.0
• Guaranteed with the Kingston five-year warranty and free technical support

	USB 2.0 Drive	Data Traveler Ultimate 3.0 G3
	Approx. 48 minutes	Approx. 5 minutes

Powerful transfer speeds up to 150MB/s read and 70MB/s write. It's up to 8x faster than a USB 2.0 drive. I no longer had to sit and watch as time was slowly ticking by.. this had the data/images flying by. Everything was super quick. If you look above, the transfer of a 12 GB HD Movie would take almost 48 Minutes with a USB 2.0 Drive, yet it’s 8 times faster transferring with the DataTraveler at 5 minutes.


Get it: Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 G3 64 GB $105.00 $66.20



Jessica Renee

Boogie Board LCD Tablet Review & Giveaway

About: The Improv Electronics 8.5" Boogie Board Writing Tablet is a pressure-sensitive LCD writing tablet that you can use for composing quick notes. It comes with a stainless steel stylus for creating your input and it also has a quick erase button to instantly reset everything you have written. Its casing and LCD is made from durable plastic material so it is safe to use even for kids. You can utilize this writing tablet for home, office or school activity and you will never need a paper or pencil again.

The original Boogie Board tablet that started a revolution. Ultra light (4 oz.) and thin (1/8″). One just isn’t enough. Get one for on the go, in the office and multiple places around the house. Almost anywhere you’d keep memo pads, sticky notes or scrap paper.

My Review

Say bye-bye to paper with the LCD Boogie Board Tablet from Improv Electronics. It comes in  8 different colors. Black, White, Red, Yellow, Green, Pink, Cyan, Silver, and Gold. It is very lightweight weighing only 4 ounces, and very thin at 1/8”.

The Boogie Board makes writing and drawing fun. I received the original 8.5” Black Boogie Board. It comes with a stainless steel stylus pen, a screen cleaner, and instructions.

Although it comes with a stylus, you can use any non-marking, non-scratching instrument to write on it. You can even use the tip of your finger or your fingernail to create or write. The harder you push down on it, the stronger the lines are. Just apply pressure and ta-dah, your creation is in front of you.

The Boogie Board doesn’t require complicated software, and nothing to install. Just pull it out of the package and get to writing or drawing.

I like this product though. Even though it doesn’t have an attached stylus, I will just have to make me a cute little carrying case with a pen pouch at the front. They do sell cases, I just think it would be awesome to have one I made. I have been trying to teach the kids to write and count, and the Boogie Board is perfect for that.

I can write it lightly and have them trace it. Erase it, and go again. It is amazing for saving paper, and is fun for the kids. They get into learning more when they get to use the Boogie Board.

Adisyn is my little artist. She LOVES drawing. So much in fact, that now I have to repaint her bedroom door. She snuck into my “office” and got the fabric paints and permanent markers one day when I was washing dishes. So needless to say, I have her masterpiece all over the door.

This helps her with writing, and keeps her from writing all over everything else. I can just sit her down with the ewriter and let her draw her heart out. It makes my heart swell when she comes up to me with it and says “I made this for you mommy”. She just nods her head and smiles at me real big. =) Gotta love her creativity.

Aidan likes it also. He is more into trucks then drawing, but when he seen this he went crazy. I actually had to stop them from quarreling over it. I had to make them take turns.

The only thing I dislike about the Boogie Board is that the stylus isn’t attached. With kids who love to steal my pens and run off, I lose pens A LOT. Although it isn’t expensive to replace, it would just be the hassle of replacing it. I wish it had at least some sort of slot to stick the pen. The screen doesn’t light up, so in a lower light setting it might be hard to see.

The stylus is VERY awesome. It seems like it would be expensive because it is so accurate at writing, but it isn’t. I was astonished at how well the Boogie Board grasps each pen stroke. It feels just like writing on a piece on paper.

This isn’t like an Ipad or other active “tablet”. It is just a fun item to use when taking notes, making lists, or in my case- teaching my kids how to write.

I love how the battery is for life. You can use this 500,000 times. Can you do this with a notepad, sticky pad, or sketchpad? Sure can’t. If you had the New Ewriter, you can save your designs. Unfortunately on the original you can’t. It’s good for writing tasks and lists and taking them with you. It’s small enough to fit in a purse, yet big enough to not get lost.

Other Items they carry

They have made other products after the original. They now have a Tablet for binders. This is the same size as the original, but clips into 2, 3, and 4 ring binders. This would be perfect for a teacher, a coach, or a college student. Take notes or write down reminders, keeping them organized in a fun way. This only comes in black.

Now they have a 10.5 ewriter, so you have more room to write or draw. You can now create more with more space.  This is great for college students or artists. More room to doodle, or solve that complicated Math task. This also has the Stylus clip on the top. Only comes in black.

 

They also have the more advanced RIP tablet. It is more expensive, but allows you to do more things. You can save your work on this one, and upload it to your computer for later. I love this one. I could seriously benefit from it. As much as I write, I would save TONS of paper by being able to upload my work from the tablet to pc. You can even share your notes.. *Free Ground Shipping

Disclosure: This isn’t a sponsored post, I wasn’t compensated. All opinions in this post are my own. I did receive products in exchange for an honest review. This however didn’t influence my opinion. Your opinion may vary from mine.

I want to thank Improv Electronics for working with Made.By.Jess

This is part of my #BdayBonanza Event because it could certainly keep mom more organized when figuring out party details. Or it could keep your child a happy munchkin when receiving this. =)

Come back for the Giveaway.♥

-Jessica