Smart Comparison Shopping with Pebble

I am a shopaholic love to shop.  Now that I can access millions of sites, companies, and products online, at the click of a button, I rarely go into a brick and mortar store (unless it’s for groceries).  Now while I enjoy shopping, it actually takes me some time to make a purchase.  I do a ton or research.  I compare different brands and models.  I price compare.  My husband often jokes with me that what I’m looking for will no longer be available by the time I actually make a decision.

I’ve recently discovered a new comparative shopping site called Pebble (cute huh?).  In the type of unstable economy we’re living in, I want to make our money go as far as possible.  I like the ability to search for a wide variety of products in one location (as opposed to going to site after site in search of the best price).  My time is precious and limited and I like having the site do all of the research for me.  There are a ton of comparative shopping sites out there.  What makes Pebble different is the incorporation of a forum where users can ask questions about a product’s features before making a decision about a  purchase.

I browsed around on the site and even submitted a question about a product (you do have to include your email for a response).  The ability to ask questions and receive answers from others who have purchased the product, provides valuable information you won’t find readily when researching a product.  Consumers are looking for personal opinions and experiences about a product before they make a purchase.  You can also join the forum and provide your own opinions, presuming you feel you have enough expertise to answer such questions.  Pebble is a valuable resource for comparative shopping.

Are You Living In HD Yet?

This post was previously published…

I have been promising my husband an HD TV for months now.  After he painted our entire house, that was (and is) going to be my thank you to him.  We’re just waiting on the right time to make the purchase and he’s still doing the research on brand, model, size, and price (and if you have any recommendations please feel free to leave a comment!).  I have recently dabbled a little in HD technology with the new Vado HD I’m testing out (a review is coming very shortly) and I love the quality of the picture I get when I view my videos.

What is HD and why do we need it?  That was one of my first questions to my husband.  HD or high definition basically has to do with resolution although anyone in the technology field would probably shutter at my simplicity in explaining the concept to you. The concept is very technical but the result is phenomenal.  Higher resolution equals a clearer, crisper, more detailed picture.

If you would like to find our more information about HD, I encourage you to check out a brand new community called Living In HD, created by Panasonic.  One of the ways I am using HD is to create video memories of my family, particularly my son.  My hope is to create something of quality that he can look back on years from now.  Here is a little more information about this very cool site:

The site serves as an interactive forum where individuals can share their real-life experiences and expertise–with the goal of helping one another use technology more creatively in their every day lives.

The site is packed with information and there is relevant content for beginners (like me) and experts (like my husband…or so he says).  Living in Southern California means that we always worry about the possibility of an earthquake so the video on mounting our new TV safely is going to come in very handy when the time comes to purchase it.  The ideas gallery contains a ton of media and I really enjoyed learning how to display fridge art, how to make a photo block puzzle, and how to make black and white photo prints.

I encourage you to take a look at the site and join the LiHD program where Panasonic outfits families with a whole suite of interconnected HD products so they can learn (and teach others) how technology can enrich our lives.

Print, Prosper, and Save With Kodak

I’ve been hinting about my involvement with Kodak for the past week or so (and you’re probably wondering when I’m just going to get on with it!).  Last week I had an opportunity to participate in an online briefing with personal finance expert Laura Rowley and Kodak, to talk about about the numerous ways we can save money in every room of our homes.  The briefing was timed perfectly, considering the state of our economy.  30 bloggers joined together both live in NYC and online to learn and share information.  And how impressive it was to see over 700 “tweets” during the online briefing.  If you missed the event, here is a summary of the tips Laura Rowley provided:

LIVING ROOM: MAKE A LIVING FROM YOUR LIVING ROOM

Use your family room to unplug, literally. Vampire drain of electricity in “standby mode” –turned off but still plugged into the wall – drains our wallets $3 billion per year. Plug items into fuse-protected power strips that don’t suck energy from the wall when turned off.

Watch a little closer. Americans pay an average of $60 for cable, but only watch 15 channels, according to the Consumers Union. If you pay for premium cable, call your provider and put the service on “vacation mode.” You’ll still receive basic service but save temporarily on the extras – and get a good sense of whether you miss them. If you don’t, call the cancellation department and say you’re considering eliminating service altogether – this department has the best deals on hand to keep you as a customer.

HOME OFFICE: CREATE A HOME (OFFICE) TO CALL YOUR OWN

Rethink your ink. Equip yourself with items that stretch your dollars like Kodak’s All-in-One Inkjet printers, which can save you up to $110 a year on ink.

Channel your inner freegan. Sign up for free services like Skype that lets you make long distance calls online without spending a penny and faxzero.com, a service that allows you to fax for free by adding an ad coversheet to your faxes.

BATHROOM: DON’T FLUSH MONEY DOWN THE TOILET
Go with the low-flow. Water bills can be cut back 25 to 60 percent by replacing showerheads and faucets with low-flow aerating models for $10 to $20 each. Look for a model that’s 2.5 gallons per minute to save on average $200 per year.

A prescription to save. Only one-third of prescription drugs are mostly covered by insurance, according to a recent Consumer Reports survey. Prices can vary as much as $100 between designer and generic drugs so make sure you ask your physician for a generic equivalent, which can cost up to 40 percent less.

LAUNDRY ROOM: DON’T GET TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS ON YOUR DRY CLEANING
A dirty secret. Households spend an average of $1,500 a year on dry cleaning, and 65 percent of those clothes are washable, according to Proctor and Gamble research. Wool, cashmere, silk, rayon, polyester and spandex can all be laundered, saving America $750 a year.

This is just the information shared by Laura during the briefing.  If you do a search on Twitter for #printprosper, you’ll find creative, unique tips from moms about how they save money.  Be sure to check out Kodak’s Print and Prosper website, complete with an overpayment calculator (don’t be discouraged…you’re not the only one and today is a new day).

As part of the campaign, I had an opportunity to test out the brand-new Kodak ESP 7 All-In-One Printer.   And yes…the printer is amazing!  It prints, scans and copies photos and documents for less money, saving you 50% when compared to similar inkjet printers.  Black ink cartridges retail for approximately $10, color ink cartridges retail for approximately $15.  By using this printer (or one like it), you can save $110 a year on printing costs without sacrificing speed or quality.

This printer will print a 4 x 6 in 28 seconds and 32 pages in black ink / 30 pages in color ink in one minute. That means I don’t have to wait until next Mother’s Day to get all of my son’s photos printed and sent off to the grandparents.  The quality of the photos I printed was amazingly professional.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that they were printed at a photo lab.  The colors are crisp and distinct and I love the high quality photo paper that I was sent to print out my pictures.  I just completed two ZoomAlbums for my mother and my mother-in-law for Mother’s Day on this printer.  I did this same project on MY printer and there was a definite difference in the look and feel of the book.

One of my favorite features is the fact that it’s enabled with wireless printing because I’m lazy and don’t want to get off of the couch to plug my computer into the printer.  The printer comes with a built-in, secure, mechanism that allows for Wi-Fi printing.  The printer is so smart that you don’t even need a computer.  Take your memory card from your camera, stick it in the printer, and print!  Here is a little video I did of the printer in action:

The  Kodak ESP 7 All-In-One Printer retails for $199.99 and is available for purchase directly from the site.  Be sure to come back Monday for your chance to win this printer!

This phone plays like your PC

Have you been to the mobile phone store lately? If so, then you’re fully aware of the abundance of phones on offer. Phones that play music, flip phones for easy texting, and the classics for those that JUST want to make a stinking call… you name it they’ve got it. But does one phone do it all? Absolutely, and more! And on a platform you’re probably already used to: Windows Mobile.

One of the phones featuring the Windows Mobile platform is the Samsung Omnia. This phone offers a sleek contemporary design with a fully functioning touch screen and a great looking interface for easy navigation through its many features including a 5MP camera, a music player with FM radio and 8GB internal memory.

With so much to offer, I almost want to trade-in my current Windows Mobile Smartphone! Don’t get me wrong, my phone- really the Windows Mobile platform- has made a real impact on the way I use my phone. It has literally saved my butt many times! So many stories, where do I start… I had flown into Sacramento for a business meeting to last 3 nights, hopped in the cab and made my way to downtown to find the hotel. Unfortunately, my room hadn’t been reserved until the next night and with some big convention in town, they couldn’t squeeze me in. OK, launch Windows Live Search on my phone and found another hotel in about 5 minutes; even had the built-in GPS route me directly there! What else are you looking for? Japanese food within walking distance of your current location, traffic reports on your freeway, movies, local gas prices and so much more are literally at your fingertips.

Syncing the phone with your PC is a breeze too. I am an organization freak and keeping up with all my contacts, meetings and email is so easy, and if setup to sync with a server, like my phone, its all automatic. I actually sync 4 email addresses, my work Calendar, a Google calendar, and my contacts all over the air.

The Samsung Omnia features an amazing 5MP camera that rivals your standard digital camera, takes video, and lets you crop and send pics to your loved ones, or download them straight to your computer… no more memories forever lost in an old phone that only connects to the wall!

It may not replace your computer, but I can tell you from experience, I feel far less compelled to drag my laptop around hoping to find a wifi signal because I still need to respond to an email or lookup an address. This phone is the perfect holiday gift for that parent always on the go. For more information on the Samsung Omnia, visit www.windowsmobile.com.