mySimon.com Shopping Blogs

iRiver Mplayer Mickey Mouse MP3 Player

(Simon) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:18:19 +0000

iRiver Mplayer is a 1GB music player that comes with headphones on a lanyard, so you can wear the player as a pendant. Control the volume with Mickey's left ear, skip tracks with his right ear, and twist both ears at the same time to go into shuffle mode. There's no display and it doesn't hold much music, and it's probably not a good idea to let young kids play with something so tiny, but the Mplayer is cuter and cheaper (Amazon has it marked down 75% to $50) than the Hello Kitty MP3 player.]]>

Nike Zoom Victory Spike Shoes

(Simon) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:51:00 +0000

Nike Zoom Victory spike shoes on its list of the "Best Inventions of 2008." Designed for running 800-5000 meters at a time, these Nike+ iPod-enabled training shoes are the lightest "middle distance" spike shoes Nike has ever made. They have what Nike calls Flywire technology: Thin nylon fibers that provide strength, durability, and hold your feet in place without slipping. And somehow the sole is thin enough for "optimum feel and aggressive maneuverability" but still cushions your feet.]]>

Darth Vader Toaster

(Simon) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:52:24 +0000

Darth Vader toaster. It won't be available until January, but you can preorder it now. There's not much to say about it except that it burns an image of Darth Vader onto every slice, doesn't require "Force" power to operate, and costs twice as much as a toaster should cost. But Mr. Lucas has bills to pay, right?]]>

AT&T Quickfire Phone

(Simon) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:29:22 +0000

AT&T Quickfire, a new phone that combines a slide-out QWERTY keyoard and a large 2.8" touchscreen. The 3G phone has a full HTML browser, MP3 player, 1.3-megapixel camera, and A-GPS (so you can use AT&T's traffic and turn-by-turn direction service). The Quickfire may not be as pretty as the iPhone, but CNET says the phone's "impressive feature set and intuitive controls make it one of the better messaging phones out there," and it's just $100 with a 2-year contract.]]>

Sony PRS-700 Digital Book Reader

(Simon) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:19:28 +0000

Sony PRS-700 Reader has a 6-inch touchscreen display that understands gesture-based commands (like the iPhone). You can highlight with your finger, make notes with the virtual keyboard or a stylus pen, and even adjust the font size. And the device, which weighs all of 10 ounces, holds up to 350 books. Our backs and shoulders are bitter this wasn't invented back when we were in school. It even has a built-in LED light for reading in the dark.]]>

Mustache Key Holder

(Simon) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:09:50 +0000

pendants to pint glasses to stuffed animals, the mustache is popping up everywhere, including Target. This mustache key holder is a great place to, um, stash your keys, dog leashes, jewelry, or anything else you want to hang on it. It's made out of recycled wood, measures 18" across, and costs just $39.99.]]>

A Colbert Christmas - The Greatest Gift of All!

(Simon) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:29:40 +0000

A Colbert Christmas - The Greatest Gift of All!, starring Stephen Colbert, "dirty liberals" Elvis Costello and Willie Nelson, and "real American" Toby Keith. The special include Yuletide songs like "There Are Much Worse Things to Believe In" and "Little Dealer Boy," a book-burning video yule log, and 3 alternate endings.]]>

Sili-Sling Silicone Food Lifter

(Simon) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:23:21 +0000

Sili-Sling this year. The Sili-Sling helps you get a turkey up to 18 pounds safely from roasting pan to turkey platter. It's dishwasher-safe, heat-resistant up to 600 degrees, and (unlike your stomach this time of year) it won't stretch out.]]>

Ultimate Wall-E Programmable Remote Control Robot

(Simon) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:12:39 +0000

Wall-E movie, they will love the Ultimate Wall-E robot. Designed for children ages 8 and up, the robot stands 16" tall and uses 10 motors and 2 microprocessors to play music, dance, talk to you, follow you around, explore, and more, all using the programmable remote control. If it also ran errands and washed dishes, we'd buy one in a heartbeat.]]>

Logitech Z-5 Computer Speakers

(Simon) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:47:54 +0000

Logitech Z-5 speakers, because 1) they're omnidirectional (the sound comes out of all sides of the speakers), 2) the sound, while not blow-you-out-of-the-water-amazing, is 1000 times better than what we have now, 3) they connect via USB so there's no enormous power adapter, 4) they work with both Macs and PCs, 5) there's an auxiliary input for other audio sources, and 6) we can get them for $80. More Logitech PC speakers.]]>

Creepy Jewelry Made from Barbie Dolls

(Simon) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:26:09 +0000

jewelry made out of Barbie doll parts. Shown here is the "Sassy Smile Pin" perfect for lapels, scarves, and anywhere else you want to make a statement. Just what kind of statement, we're not sure. The artist also makes rings, earrings, and pendants, but so far, nothing out of Ken dolls.]]>

Pat the Husband Book

(Simon) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:03:42 +0000

Pat the Bunny (or read it to your kids), you'll appreciate this new parody book called Pat the Husband. The book is just as interactive as the classic: You can remove the Velcro pants from the husband and put them on the wife, pull a tab to make the husband nod his head in agreement, and more. Wrap this one up with the Porn for Women 2009 calendar.]]>

The Cosby Show - 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition

(Simon) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:59:06 +0000

Cosby Show box set, which comes with 26 DVDs plus a commemorative hardcover book. Bonus features include an interview with the director, a blooper real, and a new interview with Bill Cosby.]]>

Pantech Slate Phone

(Simon) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:13:50 +0000

Pantech Slate. At less than 1 centimeter thick, the Slate is the "world's thinnest messaging device," so it just might fit in the back pocket of your skinny jeans. The phone's slim design, big QWERTY keyboard, and price point ($50 with a 2-year AT&T contract) are its main selling points, but it also offers a 1.3-megapixel camera, wireless Web browser, Bluetooth, and speakerphone. More AT&T phones.]]>

Wrap Boots from Toms Shoes

(Simon) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:54:18 +0000

Toms shoes? They're the Argentinian style espadrilles that got so much attention because for every pair sold, the company donates a pair of new shoes to a child in need. Well Toms now makes these crazy wrap boots that seem to be inspired by Ace bandages. They're basically the same as the regular espadrilles, with a long piece of elastic wrap that extends from the ankle. You use that long piece to wrap your legs up however you want - it's held in place with multiple (included) Velcro fasteners. At least this way you don't have to worry if your calves are too big or too small for the boots.]]>

Budget Sony GPS

(Simon) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:38:01 +0000

Sony NV-U44 has a 3.5" touchscreen, text-to-speech functionality, and dual view mode with lane guidance. It's also got a photo viewer and what Sony calls Gesture Command, which sounds like what we do to drivers who cut us off, but is actually a feature that lets you "draw" on the screen. For example, making an upside down "V" (a symbol for a roof) on the screen means "take me home." More Sony GPS units.]]>

Acme Made Trixy Laptop Tote Bag

(Simon) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:33:34 +0000

Acme Made Trixy laptop tote bag this morning in San Francisco's SOMA district, we apologize for stalking you. We were just trying to get a better look at your bag, and the little "Acme Made" tag was so small that we couldn't read it from a respectful distance. We admire your taste in bags, especially after looking this one up. The Trixy is actually 3 bags in one: A rugged, fashionable laptop bag good for businesswomen and students alike; a matching padded and removable laptop sleeve; and a matching zippered and removable accessory pouch. It comes in several colors, but the brown with the pink trim is definitely our favorite. Santa, are you listening?]]>

Flip Video MinoHD Pocket Camcorder

(Simon) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:12:58 +0000

Kodak Zi6, they're now recording in HD. The new Flip MinoHD, a 3.3-ounce camcorder, lets you shoot up to an hour of 720p HD video on its 4GB of internal memory. Connect it to your computer using the built-in USB connection, and use its PC- and Mac-friendly software to you edit your masterpieces with your own music (and add titles and credits) before you publish them online. Have fun with it - make your own holiday greeting videos!]]>

Glow in the Dark LED Umbrella

(Simon) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:29:30 +0000

Rain Glo umbrella (ella... ella...), the shaft of which lights up, thanks to the built-in LED bulb that never needs to be replaced. Now that it's dark when we leave work, we like the idea of being more visible in rainy rush hour traffic. The umbrella has a 46" arc when open, comes in several colors, and requires 3 AAA batteries to light up.]]>

Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD Plasma TV

(Simon) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:35:10 +0000

Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD 50" plasma TV "the best HDTV you can get," in part because the 1080p TV "delivers the best picture contrast of any HDTV available" and a "shoo-in" for their Editors' Choice award. CNET agrees, saying "Best-in-class black levels and excellent all-around performance places the Pioneer PDP-5020FD near the top of the picture quality heap." The TV has 4 HDMI inputs, 1 PC input, an antireflective screen, and lets you stream photos, music, and video over your home network. The MSRP is a staggering $4000, but you can get it for less than $2500 online. More Pioneer Kuro TVs.]]>