Nicole Blades

It's springtime! Bring on the warmer weather, chirping birds, flower blooms, lighter layers, and the fabulously stylish wearable fitness trackers that look more and more like cool jewels. Why should you be stepping into the sunny skies w…

Yes, we went with the slightly sanitized version on the name, because this is a family show here. But that doesn't take away from how much we love the hilarious, crazy-popular FB page turned full-fledged blog, I F'ing Love Science , also…

Look, you and I both know that those cheap-y car chargers we get at the pharmacy, mall kiosk or as free giveaways at conferences have a limited usefulness before they fizzle out on us -- usually at the most inopportune time. So I went lo…

Whenever my husband and I manage to squeeze in a date night dinner, I have to be very conscious of my iPhone usage. He does not appreciate the lemme just check this one thing real quick business, not in the slightest. I get it, though. H…

Of course I've heard about Minecraft . How could I not? The crazy best-selling, square-loving video game is practically everywhere and has been for years now. I also knew the super skinny basics on Minecraft: It's all about virtual, 3-D …

We're definitely fans of the way Avokiddo tackles educational apps for young kids. And its latest release, the DNA Play app keeps our praise parade going. This time kids get to delve into genetics, but it's not heady or complicated. Quit…

Just when you think you know everything there is about your iPhone, here comes a new tip for turning on the LED flash alert that I think will help a whole lot of people. You know how sometimes you'll miss a call, text or important notifi…

Honestly, haven't we all rocked out to an air guitar at some point in our lives? (Or maybe this morning in the shower -- ahem .) Pretending to be Lenny Kravitz or Joan Jett shredding the axe and professing our love for rock 'n' roll out …

Next up in our 2015 Holiday Tech Gift Guide series, we’ve put together 14 really cool custom photo gifts for anyone on your list We're talking sleek photo books, unique prints, amazing keepsakes, even a tasty photo treat or two -- basica…

Each year around this time, we love sharing our favorite shopping apps with you. Because who doesn't love going shopping and landing a fab deal? Exactly. And how much do you love it when you land that fab deal in the middle of the madnes…

Sending holiday photo cards is as much a part of our holiday season as sugar cookies, sparkling lights, hot cocoa, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire -- or at least listening to Nat King Cole croon about it. I always look forward to …

H i Cool Mom Tech, Have you written about a tech solution that gathers photos from all the family computers and phones into one place for backup purposes? - James We've been exactly where you are, James: looking at all the options and sc…

There are two things folks typically say when you tell them that you work from home. The first is: You’re so lucky. You get to be in your pajamas all day and wake up whenever you want! Uh, sure. And the second is something along the line…

As you may have guessed, we're officially smitten with the new Polaroid CUBE+ . It all started last year, when we first laid eyes on the 1.0 version of this bite-sized, lifestyle action camera. Back then, we were totally impressed with t…

A large chunk of parenthood is about communication: With your partner, your kids, other parents, teachers, coaches, you name it. And too often, mishaps pop-up and communication goes wonky -- especially this time of year, when it seems li…

These days, one of the best parts of parties of all kinds, are photo booths, whether we're employing pro photographers, or some great photo booth apps installed on our own laptops or tablets. The fantastic pics they yield of our costumed…

For so many of us, Facebook is like a having your own personal time machine and their On This Day feature can definitely make for a fun throwback, plus let you re-share those important digital memories. But there's a flip side to skippin…

Its pronunciation may be in the tomayto/tomahto zone, but when it comes to GIFs there's no debate about their popularity. So, last week when our favorite social network rolled out the Boomerang app that basically lets you produce and sha…

Calling all you ghosts, pirates, zombies, superheroes, and that small army of Queen Elsas -- it's time for your closeup. Because one of the best parts of Halloween for us, besides stealing our kids' fun-size Snickers, is getting photos o…

So, you have tons of photos on your iOS Camera Roll, right? Yeah, same. Now, how would you like to preserve those memories -- with audio -- forever and a day? Yeah, that's what I said. Bring it! That's why I was happy to discover the eve…

Shopping online has been Captain Convenience for so many of us for years now, although when you're shopping for clothes, it can sometimes lean into "this is such a hassle" territory if you've got six open tabs to compare prices at six di…

Where would any of us be without our to-do lists? Probably reclined somewhere on a beach having sweet nothings whispered into our ears by our hot-to-death boyfriend Idris Elba. (Okay. That's just me. Big Driis and I have history.) The po…

We're always looking for cool educational videos for kids, whether they're the funniest videos on YouTube , or educational videos and YouTube channels that our own kids love. In fact, we've joked that we could just do that, full time, ev…

As the days start to get shorter (sob) and we realize some of us will soon be heading home from work or walking around a college campus in the dark at just 5PM, it's nice to know that walking home alone just got a lot less nerve-wracking…

Warning: It's a jungle out there. No, really. There's a crazy, colorful jungle filled with wild animals and plants for kids to explore, and it's right there on your smart device. Since we always love the kinds of educational apps that ki…

Often, when I see something that claims to be made "for kids, by kids," my suspicious brow goes up and I prepare myself to be underwhelmed. Not the case with #MetsKids , a new website that is -- ahem -- made for, with, and by real life k…

It may sound a tad hokey, but reading really is fundamental to school and life in general, which is why we've worked hard to put together 8 of the very best reading apps for older kids as part of our Back to School Tech Guide 2015. Wheth…

Next up in our Back to School Tech Guide 2015, we're happy to share 10 of the best reading apps for little kids. Because as plenty of us parents know, getting kids hyped about reading isn't always an easy road. So when they're first star…

Let's hear it for organizational apps this time of year! What would we ever do without them? After all, back to school also means getting back to routines, which can highlight some of our old systems for staying organized and keeping the…

We're big fans of dedicated kids' tablets around here. We even have a list of our favorite tablets for kids , for those parents who aren't quite ready to hand over a $500 iPad to a preschooler. Even if it is a hand-me-down. And this is w…

Along with the diapers and burp clothes and countless other pieces of baby gear, perhaps the most valuable things that new (and newish) parents can receive are the BTDT words of wisdom from other parents who are boldly and actively doing…

For well over a decade, people have been talking -- or more like yelling -- about being hamstrung by cable companies. Some had-it-up-to-here folks have started cutting the cable cord and looking for more manageable, customized ways of wa…

If we asked you to count the things you'd rather spend a day doing than iPhone photo organization, what number would we be talking about here? Fifteen? Fifty? Eleventy hundred other things you'd rather do? Yeah, wrangling the tons of pho…

Last year I told you about the greatest pen that has ever penned : also known as the Livescribe 3 smartpen . Well, this year, kicking off back-to-school season with class, comes the new Echo Smartpen 8GB Pro Edition . Very similar to Liv…

I recently found myself caught out there without portable, backup battery power . I mean, I had a Plan C -- my iPhone charger in my purse -- which was more like a Plan E, because trying to locate a conveniently-placed wall outlet at a ma…

I am pretty sure that it's written somewhere in the fine print of the Parenthood Contract that we're supposed to take tons of photos of our kids. So it's always a nice bonus when the subjects of our countless pics develop their own inter…

Ever since becoming parents, it's the thing that so many of us crave, covet and perhaps miss the most about our pre-kid lives: sleep, glorious sleep. And on Cool Mom Tech, we're all about sharing helpful tips and tech for getting better …

Getting our kids on board with STEM early in the game seems like a great way to go. And just because it's summer doesn't mean that gentle parent-ly nudge in the right direction has to take a break. An easy way to get kids hyped about thi…

To say that we like iPhoneography is like saying Frozen was a marginal success. Yeah. No understatement: We are huge fans of iPhone picture-takin' over here. Which is why I'm always excited to see what cool, new accessories are popping u…

Think about the last email you sent off in haste. Maybe it had a ridiculous typo. Or, worse, you spilled out all your anger or hurt feelings across the QWERTY instead of taking a breath -- or a night's sleep -- before hitting send. Ugh. …

Oh, Instagram . Just when we think we couldn't love you more, you go an pull something like this? Yes, our fave photo social media app just got a really cool update that will help you discover new places and may just revitalize the way y…

School's out (finally). Time to really sink into summer's sun and fun. But for many parents, summer also means tackling this gnawing question, how are we going to keep these children entertained? Well, for your tech-head kid, we're happy…

Question: How many Beyoncés does it take to screw in a light bulb? Answer: As many as you're in the mood for, because these rad LED light bulbs are also Bluetooth wireless speakers. So basically whatever strikes your fancy when you're tu…

First, let's get this out of the way: There's an ongoing tomayto-tomahto situation around the correct way to pronounce the popular notebook-maker Moleskine -- is it skin or skine ? The official response according to the company is, your …

We've covered plenty of portable, Bluetooth speakers here at Cool Mom Tech, but I think the brand new JBL Charge 2+ basically blew all the other ones right out of the water. Heh. The JBL Charge 2+ is already getting plenty of use at our …

If you're always looking for the newest, coolest toys for your kids, we think you're going to want to know about the introduction of the wildly cool Disney Playmation this fall, because mamas? This could be a category changer. If it does…

Plenty of coolness was rolled out at Apple's World Wide Developer Conference this week, and we're here to share the intel with you that we think parents will care about most. And yeah, non parents too. The biggest news is that Apple iOS …

Wearable fitness tech is super hot right now. (Duh, right?) And with all the rad, new stuff coming down the line, it almost feels as if we're getting a mini workout just trying to keep up. I especially like these cool, stylish fitness tr…

Living in these fast tech times means having to pause to power up our devices. It's just part of the deal, right? And when we're on the go, this often means searching for a free outlet, sometimes in strange places. But what about when yo…

I am a longtime, shameless, all-things-Apple fan. But that doesn't mean I don't tip my hat frequently to cool, non-iOS products. And, when it comes to this new Google Photos app? I'm basically standing up and doing a slow-clap, because t…

Let's be honest, one of the best parts about having a new, snazzy iPhone 6 (or well-kept iPhone 5/5s) is nabbing a fun, funky case for it, right? And trust, we know our way around cool cases. It's kind of our jam. Which is I was were eag…

Like we always say, the safest way to use your phone while driving is to not use your phone while drivin g. Duh, right? And it's something that's really top of mind for us this holiday weekend, when cops are out on the roads full force, …

With an estimated 37 million Americans hitting the road on the Memorial Day holiday alone, it's going to be the biggest travel weekend in a decade. Clearly, after enduring a long, miserable winter, folks are super hyped for the (unoffici…

Watching our kids maneuver their way through all this new tech is a joy. It's just so cool to see how much they're doing and learning on these glowing gadgets. But the other side of that is trying to stay on top of what they're watching,…

Penny for your thoughts? Better. How about a penny for portable chargers for your smartphone? It's true: Powerskin, one of the leaders in portable chargers, launched a super promotion this weekend offering its popular PoP’n portable batt…

We're very pro-photo book around here. Actually, we support any service or app that helps us get all the digital pics we snap off of our devices and on display for all to enjoy. And with Father's Day and graduation season officially unde…

What might seem like a small problem, is actually a big pain in the butt. Or maybe pain in the bud? I'm taking about wearing in-ear headphones or earbuds that are too big for your on-the-smaller-side ear holes. It's not only uncomfortabl…

We all love our smart devices until they start flashing "low battery" signs at us. Which is why we're always on the lookout for fast and easy ways to charge our tech devices. And if the juice boost method happens to be cool too? Icing. L…

I have a close-knit family. My sisters and I talk a lot any given week. The thing is, we all live in cities spread miles (and countries) apart, so we rely on social media, texting and, when time zones line up nicely, video chats. And wit…

Hold the phone! No, seriously. Hold the iPhone, because there's something new(ish) and neat and cool happening with its Message app that you'll definitely want to hear about if you haven't yet. While this fun feature has been around sinc…

W e are a house divided. My husband is an Android user (but I love him anyway), and I am an iPhone user. We need a calendar app that works with both, allows for the importing of Google calendar an iCal and automatically refreshes it. Is …

As we start looking around for cool Mother's Day gifts, we realize not every mom is into keepsake pendants and baby footprint artwork. So for the photographer mom in your life who is always trying to capture those special moments with he…

Hey Cool Mom Tech! Do y'all know of an Instagram app for iPad that allows you to add text or make a collage? -Delilah, via Twitter Hey Delilah! The short answer to your question is: Indeed we do. And we totally get it, too. Sometimes you…

When I first heard about the V.ALRT personal emergency alert device I immediately went to I've fallen and can't get up. I figured it was just some newfangled version of those Life Alert medical bracelets and it turns out, it kind of is -…

We have all been raving about the gorgeous Knomo laptop bags for a while now. And judging from the London-based company's new high quality, thoughtfully-crafted collection of laptop totes , we're going to keep doing just that. Each one o…

Do you have some basic tech chore to do -- say, deleting old digital photos -- but you just never seem to find the time to get to it? It's like permanently etched in your to-do list, and every time you scroll through your loaded smartpho…

I'm always a bit leery of apps the moment they ask to have access to my location. Sure, it makes sense with Google Maps , weather apps and certain social apps that help me locate a specific store or get a restaurant review. Those kinds o…

I didn't even know there was a term for it, but of course there is. O versharenting . It's that thing that so many of us parents do on social media -- especially on Facebook -- where we share, or overshare, info about our kids that range…

Have you ever wished you could literally bookmark a favorite restaurant in a new town you're visiting? Like, just magically click a button in your brain that lets you put an asterisk next to the name of the place so you'll always remembe…

The selfie stick struggle is real, friends. From major museums, like the MoMA and The Met in NYC to the Palace of Versailles in Paris, to sports stadiums, to musical festivals Coachella and Lollapalooza, the ban on selfie sticks shows no…

Truth be told, I abandoned my BlackBerry for the iPhone specifically because of Instagram. And, believe me, I was quite the keyboard-over-touchscreen loyalist. But the lure of the obvious fun of sharing square photos -- with filters! -- …

Have you ever been scrolling through someone's fashion-fabulous Instagram feed and spotted a pair of shoes or a clutch or scarf (or ahem, Liz's stack of bracelets ) that you really like? I'm talking really like, to the point of wishing y…

We are so excited about (and kind of in awe of) so many of the things that computers are doing for our kids, but the reality is, sometimes we need help managing their screen time. So many readers have written to us thanking us for tips l…

Just last year, we gave you the straight intel on the best Instagram collage apps . And now, finally (some might say, including us) Instagram has jumped in the game with Layout from Instagram , their very own app for making photo collage…

Sure, Spring Break is cool when you and the family are jetting off somewhere fun, but what about those of us who decide to stay close to home? Are we not entitled to enjoy some rollin' good times, too? Short answer: Yes! Indeed, we are. …

It's no secret that we're way into the indie designer bag and accessory label Hayden-Hartnett . And with their new Spring 2015 colors for the Mission Tablet organizer , we can definitely add one more thing to our ever-growing H-H Obsessi…

Spring is (finally) rounding the corner. That also means that prime travel season and spring break is about to begin, and when it comes to family vacations -- be it a long weekend or a 10-day stretch -- there are plenty of moving parts t…

So rad. Honestly, those were the first words that popped out of my mouth when I saw this crazy-cool new drawing experience called Masterpiece . It is the latest offering from Osmo , the groundbreaking, iPad-powered gaming device built by…

As parents, we are not shy about our love of cool camera apps since that's easily half the reason we all own smartphones in the first place. And we've experienced first-hand how a really great camera app -- like the Camera+ 6 app -- can …

It's clear that sleep tracking is all the rage in 2015. And I get it. Listen. If it were possible to marry one's bed, I would have been in deep mattressmony (ha) long ago. So when I heard about the Luna Matress Cover , the first one that…

If there's one thing that will throw off my whole zen vibe, it's seeing that "you're out of memory" alert pop up on my tech devices when I try to download an app or take a video. I almost want to turn to my gadget and say: You're the sma…

Clever always wins, in my book. That's why I snorted pretty loudly when my editor Liz emailed me a link to this most excellent Men In Black phone case from Society6. I will also admit that it took me half a beat to catch the full joke, l…

Ready for the best tips to help you spring clean your tech? Hey, it doesn't even have to be spring. The way we are constantly putting our hands all over the faces of our smart devices, you would think we were John Travolta at the Oscars.…

My appreciation for opera came early, and I credit a combination of ballet and piano lessons for this. But I can totally see how plenty of kids (and, real talk, adults too) can find opera boring, at least until they really take the time …

The black and white standard-issue cables that come with your devices? Bor-ing . Just because we can't live tech life without cables doesn't mean they can't be fun. They not only can match your decor, or stand out in your bag when you tr…

It's very #firstworldproblems, true, but it's a tad annoying to click away from your work and log into a new app in order to see what's happening with your streaming music. The genius Skip Tunes , makes sure this little inconvenience is …

I've always been partial to kids' apps that play around with words and letters. They just feel like good, clean fun. And after trying out the new Metamorphabet app , I have just three words, ten letters: So. Much. Fun. The idea is simple…

If you're like me, and you heart Valentine's Day and all of the red and pink and sweetness that comes with it, you can spread that love everywhere -- even to your iPhones. Here are three fun Valentine tech gifts to help you wear your hea…

Football fans or not, millions of viewers flock to the Super Bowl for the commercials. Pretty much everyone wants to see the ads that will have everyone buzzing the next day -- or in real time on Twitter. But if you want a pre-game sneak…

Trying to find appropriate content on YouTube for kids can be a challenge. Because you know, YouTube isn't always super kid-friendly -- especially YouTube comments . Good news: we found two new kids' channels on YouTube that I think pare…

When it comes to the Super Bowl, half the fun is cheering for one team and trash-talking the other. And with all the hashtag wars and pseudo scandals swirling this year, Super Bowl XLIX this Sunday is gearing up to be flaming hot. If you…

We dress up every other part of our smart phones, from gorgeous cases to pretty wallpaper. So why shouldn't your keyboard get a little makeover too? We found 3 fun keyboard apps to perk up your phone and make it look cooler than ever. 1.…

We've already declared that 2015 is the Year of Better Sleep , so here we are with even more helpful techie ways for all of us to get those good Z's. I tried two more of the latest sleep tracking apps to see whether they'd be a good fit …

I have seen a lot of really cool wireless speakers, but the first thing to catch my eye on the Aether Cone was the shape. It felt like a throwback to the old-timey gramophone, and the copper and black color combo totally amplified the co…

Sometimes the best part of editing a digital photo is messing around with fun filters. And with all of the photo editing apps that we've recommended, filter options are overflowing. So it's always refreshing to find a new photo app that …

New year, new you. Of course, we've all heard (and probably said) this catchy line each time January 1 rolls around. But instead of promising to completely overhaul our lives with major changes, we're starting small and smart with this r…

Everyone likes singing karaoke. Well, everyone except maybe my husband, who prefers to do a Leonard Cohen-style speak-singing thing when it's his turn up at the mic. Still, even he would get a kick out of Hook'd , a fun social music app …

When it comes to fun educational apps for kids, the folks behind Cool Mom Tech faves Endless Alphabet and Endless Reader just won't quit. (Guess that's where the whole endless thing comes into play, huh?) The creative development team at…

Having kids means having a nightlight. These handy little things keep beneath-the-bed monsters at bay and light the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. So it was only a matter of time before this classic plug-in got an upgrad…

Let me guess: If you add one more item to your to-do list, it's going to burst into flames and take you with it, right? I know. I'm right there with you. That's why I'm loving the MyTime app and website. MyTime takes a help me help you a…