The NES Classic is back. Back again.
So this is how the story goes. Nintendo brought back the NES Classic in November, 2016 and it sold out almost immediately. Then lots of people were sad and gnashing their teeth (okay, slight exaggeration. Maybe). Well, it's back. Again. Related: Got a Nintendo Switch?...
Science Activities for Grade Schoolers (Part 1): The Cool Mom Tech Science Guide for Kids
While kids are born to love science, every kid at every age has different abilities, inclinations, passions and skills. We started Cool Mom Tech in part to help parents foster that love of STEM in their kids, which is why we couldn't be more thrilled to bring you this...
The Pop Ups kill it with their new synth pop album Giants of Science.
Brooklyn-based kindie music geniuses The Pop Ups's new album is out today, and (thanks to a sneak-preview) my kids are already hooked. To be honest, I am too. If you're new to the kid-music scene, you might recognize The Pop Ups's psychedelic synth-pop sound from...
Target’s new AR Beauty Studio lets you try make-up on at home. But does it work?
I'm always a little hesitant to shop for make-up from home, because unless I've tried something on at a store, then waited to go home to order it, I have absolutely no idea how a certain color is going to look on me. Plus, even when I'm in the store, I'm not super...
The best way to sign-off on your emails. Hint: It’s not “best.”
Back a couple of years ago, Liz and I addressed our email pet peeves in one of our first Spawned podcast episodes. It was actually Episode 4, to be exact. Aw. Sniffle! Well, apparently, the debate about how to sign-off on your emails is back, except now, with actual...
These 3 tips can help you simplify your tech life. Try them!
We declutter our closets, and rotate our kids' toys, but what about all those apps on your phone right now? Or the notifications pinging you every few minutes? Do I even need to bring up how many photos you have on your phone? Related: 6 ways to simplify your tech...
Mother’s Day tech: 4 gadgets that make life easier and better for busy parents
Happy Mother's Day, cool techie moms! We celebrated today with fellow mom Becky Quick on CNBC's On The Money, sharing four of our favorite tech gadgets that help make our lives easier and better. We hope you love them as much as we do. Tile I can't live with my Tile,...
Poll your friends with the new Instagram emoji slider!
If you were already a big fan of the Instagram Story poll feature, but felt like it was a little limiting (why only two answers, Instagram?), they just launched a new emoji slider poll that might just give you the voting nuance you were hoping for. Related: How to...
These funny Mother’s Day cards are so 21st century
I always say that when it comes to parenting, if I wasn't laughing, I'd be crying. Maybe that's why I love these funny Mother's Day cards that you still might be able to grab before Sunday if you hurry, or in a couple of cases, download them. Yay 2018! And heck, even...
A cool Mother’s Day gift for your favorite mobile mama.
No, sorry! It's not an iPhone case with your kids' photos all over it. Though, look, we love those too. But for the tech-savvy mobile mom who's happy to show you photos of her kids from her iPhone gallery, she needs this fun, glittery Hey Mama iPhone case by Rebecca...
Carmen Sandiego meets Cooking Mama, in this cool cooking game for kids
News flash: our kids love video games. But they also love to help cook in the kitchen. So when we saw that the new Issa's Edible Adventures app teaches them to cook virtually and IRL, we knew we had to try it out. It's part Carmen Sandiego, traveling the world to...
Have a little bit of Star Wars Day fun, courtesy of your Amazon Echo.
If watching your favorite Star Wars movies on loop isn't a big enough celebration for your May the 4th, you can tap into your Amazon Echo for a little extra fun. Related: Star Wars slime recipes. Yes, they exist. According to the Daily Dot, Alexa now has a bunch of...
Tech Tips & Tricks to Make Life (Way) Easier
Blue light filtering glasses: The one back-to-school item you probably haven’t thought to buy. Yet.
If you're like us, you're deep into back-to-school shopping, but there's probably one purchase you might not have thought of yet: children's blue-light filtering glasses. Blue light from our computers, iPads, and every other device we have -- especially at night --...
Burst mode is the iPhone camera feature every parent should be using.
With some of us still in summer vacation mode, and others of us heading back to school, the one thing we all have in common is that we're taking a crapload of photos of our kids. I realize we do this every day out of the year, but vacation and school time seem to be...
The one battery-saving iPhone feature you might not be using.
There is a chance that you've seen your iPhone ask you to turn on Low Power Mode when it gets to 20% battery life, but what you might not have known is that you can toggle it on and off manually when you're out and about to help you save battery. This way, you can...
Even More Coolness. Enjoy!
If you’re a Twitter user, you must update your password STAT. That’s 330 million of you.
As Twitter has just informed all 330,000,000 of its users in an apologetic but so far underreported post, you should really change your Twitter password right now, this very second. Not to be alarmist -- but out of an abundance of precaution. Evidently, a bug that...
I’ve tried the new Fitbit Versa for 72 hours and here’s what I think.
I've been a longtime Fitbit fan, since they launched their first activity tracker many moons ago, so it's not surprise my interest was very piqued when I saw the new Fitbit Versa and did an "is that the new Apple Watch" double take. I decided to pre-order one for...
These tech gadgets are totally worth the investment.
Over the years, we've tried myriad tech gadgets here over on Cool Mom Tech, and there are a good handful (maybe two) that we continue to use over and over again because they make our lives a whole lot easier. And cooler. Or at least we think so. If you're thinking...
Holy Asteroids! A new Atari is coming!
With all the throwback gaming consoles making their way back to the market (cough Nintendo cough), we probably shouldn't be surprised that Atari is making a comeback. But that doesn't mean we're a wee bit excited about it. Okay, try very excited. Related: A first look...
Emoji: A history book about our kids’ favorite way to communicate. Okay, ours too.
Little history lesson for you: did you know that the emojis designs we use today -- and communicate almost exclusively with our tweens in -- originated way back in 1999? Like, before we even knew what a smartphone was? Japanese designer Shigetaka Kurita created the...
These photo gift boxes are as easy as a Mother’s Day card, but even cooler
You know what's just as easy as buying and send a a card but packs a whole lot more punch? Greetabl, a cool photo gift box that we're so glad to have discovered, because sending a plain card for a big occasion like Mother's Day can sometimes feel a little...
Give the Mother’s Day gift of tech organization, wrapped in a swanky leather case
If the mom in your life (maybe you?) is like me, then she spends too much time unraveling her earbuds on a daily basis. That's why I'm secretly hoping someone in my life sees this post and orders me this leather earphone case from Pottery Barn, with a monogram please....
YouTube Kids app gets better parental controls, finally.
We've been fans of the YouTube Kids app ever since it launched a few years ago, but as more and more publishers are creating content on YouTube, it's not surprising that there have been some issues in terms of what ends up showing up as kid-appropriate. So, here are...
Cyborg, wormhole, exterminate…and 97 other first words little geeks need to know.
Geek parent alert: we've found the must-have language acquisition book for your offspring. With 100 First Words for Little Geeks, you can skip over the boring words like car and tree, and focus instead on the important additions to your child's vocabulary. We're...
Amazon’s Echo Dot for Kids is here. But there will be no “Alexa, buy me a pony.”
The Echo Dot has been one of Amazon's most popular speakers, so it's no surprise that they saw an opportunity to bring all the joy and magic and Orwellian fun of Alexa to kids in the form of the new Echo Dot Kids Edition available exclusively at Amazon. And it could...
These secret Netflix codes let you find hidden movies
Just when I thought I was the consummate binge watcher, I stumbled upon this post over at IHeartRadio that pretty much blew my mind. Turns out, Netflix has a bunch of secret codes, that when added to a url will allow you to jump to all sorts of hidden movies that you...
Is that poison ivy? The new Seek app can tell you that, and a whole lot more.
With the warmer weather finally here, I'm looking forward to getting outdoors with my family. We're avid campers and hikers, and I have to admit, I enjoy the time we spend away from screens. Turns out, it's also Screen-Free Week, so how perfect that we discovered an...