free or close to it Archives | Page 5 of 35

BrightNest app: Our cool free app of the week

by Christina Refford | Productivity Apps

The first word that pops into my head after I hear “spring” is “cleaning,” probably because three kids plus one dog equals a lot of cleaning at any time of the year. And with today being the first day of spring (yay!), my free app of the week...

Sago Mini Friends: Cool free app of the week

by Christina Refford | Fun Apps for Kids

When your preschooler wants to play, but you really need a few uninterrupted minutes to finish some work or get dinner on the table, we’ve found an entire menagerie of adorable friends who will be happy to set up a playdate at any time. And these friends are...

Bonjournal travel journal | Cool free app of the week

by Christina Refford | Travel Apps

Whether your travels this year take you halfway across the world, to your favorite beachside resort a few hours away, or to the campground you’ve been visiting since the kids were toddlers, I’ve found an easy, beautiful, and free app for iOS that will help...

Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector, the cutest app that isn’t just for kids | Free app of the week

by Christina Refford | Fun Apps

At first glance, Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector may look like a cute cartoony app for young kids to waste a few minutes of their day. Yet, it’s one of the few apps in my household that has the parents, teens, and my younger tween all hooked equally. And based on...

Operator app connects you with shopping experts| Free app of the week

by Christina Refford | Shopping Apps

As much as I love the vastness of the internet, sometimes I just want to find the perfect little black dress (should Liz and Kristen not be around to tell me just what to buy!) or the name of a great family restaurant at the beach without having to scroll through a...

Ditto: A wearable tech device to keep smartphone alerts on the QT and your phone off the dinner table

by Nicole Blades | Cell Phone Accessories

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. Having my face washed in that...

Presidents vs. Aliens Lite: Free app of the week is also great for President’s Day

by Christina Refford | Educational Apps For Kids

My kids get really excited about President’s Day because it means a day off from school. But I’d like to make sure that they spend a little bit of time reflecting on our former presidents too, so I love an app that helps with just that. Presidents vs....

Organization help: Decluttr app gives you cash for unwanted CDs, DVDs, and games. But is it worth it?

by Christina Refford | Helpful Services

Since starting to Konmari, or “tidy,” my home almost a year ago, I’ve found myself avoiding certain categories of stuff left to purge, like the four large bins of CDs we’ve had stored in our basement since switching all our music over to...

LumiKids Snow: Free app of the week

by Christina Refford | Educational Apps For Kids

Welcome to our new weekly series on Cool Mom Tech that introduces you to some of our favorite free apps to download to your devices. Because as much as we love all the useful, fun, and entertaining apps we recommend here, admittedly we love them even more when...

Two fun, creative, and (mostly) free apps for kids to keep them engaged when they’re stuck indoors.

by Christina Refford | Fun Apps

If you’re tearing through the list of snow day activities to keep the kids occupied when you’re stuck indoors, allow us help you with two beautifully designed, really fun new apps we’ve discovered from Seedling. As in, the same company whose...

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Tech in 2010 to help make our increasingly digital lives easier, more organized, more meaningful, and more fun, however old your kids may be.

We love that it's grown to become the go-to source for millions of parents who want commonsense info about tech delivered with a smile.

We even have the privilege of sharing our tips + tricks with The TODAY Show, CNN, HLN, GMA, Nightline, newspapers and magazines around the country, and our favorite -- regular parents who stop us at PTA meetings and ask us how old kids need to be to get a smartphone, and whether they really need to panic about Snapchat.

(Answer: It's complicated.)

We're so glad you're here! And we hope we can help you too.