KING-TV's New Day Northwest w/Margaret Larson: Back To School Gadgets - 10 August 2011 (KING-TV)

Once upon a time, we sharpened our pencils and bought notebook paper to go back to school, but times have changed. Now, there are more gadgets and gizmos than we can count... but how do you know you're buying the right ones for your kids whether they're headed off to middle or high school, or college? Tech expert Brian M. Westbrook shows a bunch of high tech gadgets for Back To School... including:

Kobo eReader Touch— The well-designed touch-screen Kobu sports a lightwveight design and using E Ink technology to provide an easy-to-read display. Available in four colors, this lightest-weight eBook reader supports a variety of open standard bookstore formats. ($130, kobobooks.com)

Amazon's Kindle— The standard-bearer of the eBook revoluation, the Kindle continues to dominate e-reading. New this year, the Kindle store offers textbook rentals of any length from 30 to 360 days which can be read on your Kindle or any of a variety of phone/computer platforms. ($114, amazon.com)

Epson Stylus NX625— All-in-one printer that has build-in WiFi and prints from mobile devices (including the Apple iPhone). Sporting a 2.5-inch color LCD and built-in memory card slots, you'll be printing those reports and homework in brilliant quality. ($130, epson.com)

HP Pavillion G6— An ideal PC-based laptop for those heading off for college that won't bust the bank. Improved cooling, a biometric swipe for sign-on, and an HD webcam for keeping in touch with family back home. The brilliant 15.6" LED screen and optional Blu-ray player make it perfect for winding down after a long week of studying. ($600, hp.com)

HP Wi-Fi Mobile Mouse— The first mouse that connects using Wi-Fi to your PC, the innovative mouse contours to your hand and has multiple controls to easily navigate the web. ($49, hp.com)

Verbatim: Store 'n' Go® Clip-It USB Drive— These tiny USB thumb drives are perfect problem-solvers for transferring photos, projects, or notes back and forth between machines or as a backup. Starting at $23, they're cheap insurance for students of all ages. ($23-60, verbatim.com)

RageGage: RageGage Smash Pad— a stress-reliever button that contains fun and cheeky expressions to blow off steam during late-night study sessions. A perfect gift for those students heading back to class—sure beats taking your frustration out on the dorm walls. Save the damage deposit and pick up the $20 Smash Pad instead! ($20, ragegage.com)

And finally, a handy organizer for your tablet from cocoonbags.com!

For more visit http://tech.brianwestbrook.com or follow Brian on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMW/

KING-TV's New Day Northwest w/Margaret Larson: Eco Gadgets - 5 April 2011 (KING-TV)

Holiday Gadget Gift Ideas on The Lars Larson Show

Today I jumped on The Lars Larson Show (nationwide) to chat tech gift ideas. Lars and I have known each other for nearly 10 years and it's always great talking gadgets and gizmos with him both on and off-air.



Listen (MP3) for yourself. We talk HP's DreamScreen, Joby Gorillapod, SPOT Personal Messenger, and more.... What gadgets are you giving (or hoping to get) this year?

Happy Gadget-giving!

KING 5 Morning News on KONG 6/16 - "Travel Tech" (26 Mar 2009)

Thursday morning, on KING5 Morning News on KONG 6/16, we talked "Travel Tech" with the latest high-tech gadgets for Spring Break travel. Watch this blog for more gadgets and look for the video clip to be posted here shortly!

MoboSteady - personal, inexpensive, "steadicam" for taking smooth video using small cameras, 3-in-1 device (steadicam, tripod, shoulder-mount). ($95, http://bit.ly/modosteady)

Casio Exilim EX-FC100 - new high-speed cameras takes pictures BEFORE you press the shutter so you never miss the shot. ($349, http://bit.ly/ex-fc100)

Nikon D90 Digital SLR - innovative digital SLR takes stunning photos and records high-definition video! (body only: $890, http://bit.ly/d90body / kit w/lens: $1150, http://bit.ly/d90kit)

Creative VadoHD - pocket high-definition camcorder records movies with built-in USB connection for easy transfer. ($195, http://bit.ly/vadohd)

SPOT satellite messenger - life-saving satellite (not cellular!) tracker tells friends, family you're okay, notifies emergency services when you're not! ($110, http://bit.ly/spotmessenger)

HP 2140 Netbook - ultra-portable computer loaded with features incl. hard-drive parking accelerometer to keep data safe during tumble. ($449+, http://bit.ly/hp2140netbook)

iPod charging station - compact charging stand with night-light, perfect for hotel rooms. ($38, http://bit.ly/revivelite)

CES Gadgets on The Square Live @ 7 w/Stephanie Stricklen (KGW-TV)

Watch the video at KGW.com: Click here

HP Netbooks are award-winning solutions for business users and consumers alike. The new HP Mini 2140 starts at $500 and has lots of connectivity options -- video out, USB, an ExpressCard slot, even an SD card reader. The Vivienne Tam-designed digital clutch, also from HP, is touted as the world's first digital clutch. They're a bit of a premium at $699, hey... it matches Stephanie's outfit!

Docupen Scanneris a pen-sized color scanner capable of storing up to 100 pages. The gadget's barely larger than a pen, and perfect for taking notes or quick scanning. Grab one for $300 (http://planon.com).

PrintStik PS900. Print your boarding pass from your hotel room, invoices in the field, or any other portable printing task with the grayscale "print stick". About the size of a paper towel core, it's thermal printing means no ink to mess around with. Load it up with paper and you're set. Print from a Bluetooth computer, phone, or other device. Take printing with you for $200 (http://www.planonstore.com ).

A CES award-winner, Clickfree's line of backup solutions makes protecting your data foolproof. Plug it in, click "go" - the software's built-in to the device so it's simple to operate. Already got a hard drive you like? Use the $60 cable to upgrade your existing USB drive to a Clickfree backup solution. (http://www.goclickfree.com)

Speaking of HD video, Creative Labs brings high-definition video to a pocket-sized camera with the Vado HD. Simple integrated USB port and a 2x zoom, the camera is a compact on-the-go HD solution. They're $229 from Creative.com and even cheaper on Amazon.com.

Swann Security is well known for surviellance gear -- it's no wonder they'd be showing off a covert Pen Camera at CES. With 2GB of memory and a built-in USB port to download video -- even Bond would be envious. No price yet, but you'll be able to find them at http://www.swannsecurity.com soon.

The Scuba Series HD 320 snorkel mask has a forehead-positioned camera capable of high-defition video and great stills. They're not quite available yet, but check the announcement at http://www.liquidimageco.com

Web Bonus:

LG Solar Bluetooth Car Kit HFB-500 is a solar-powered speakerphone for your car. Suction cup the card-deck sized gadget to the inside of your windshield, pair to your phone, and enjoy handsfree calling. The HFB-500 uses solar-power so no need to run cables to your cigarette lighter. One hour of charge equals two hours of use. More info at http://www.lge.com.

CES: Hottest Electronics for 2009 (KATU-TV)

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas offers a sneak peek at the newest electronics you won't be able to live without. On Monday, I showed some of these new gadgets on KATU-TV's "AM Northwest".



Here are some of the gadgets I brought back from the show:

SanDisk SlotMusic is the new way to buy music. With songs pre-loaded onto a fingernail-sized MicroSD card, they'll play right in many cell phones. Or pick up the SlotMusic Player for added flexibility. Bonus? All songs are DRM-free so you can shuffle them off to any MP3 Player. (http://www.sandisk.com) While there, check out the new 16GB SDHC card announced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.

The Scuba Series HD 320 snorkel mask has a forehead-positioned camera capable of high-defition video and great stills. They're not quite available yet, but check the announcement at http://www.liquidimageco.com and watch for pricing (about $250) and final availability.

LG Solar Bluetooth Car Kit HFB-500 is a solar-powered speakerphone for your car. Suction cup the card-deck sized gadget to the inside of your windshield, pair to your phone, and enjoy handsfree calling. The HFB-500 uses solar-power so no need to run cables to your cigarette lighter. One hour of charge equals two hours of use. More info at http://www.lge.com.

Another CES award-winner, Clickfree's line of backup solutions makes protecting your data foolproof. Plug it in, click "go" - the software's built-in to the device so it's simple to operate. Already got a hard drive you like? Use the $60 cable to upgrade your existing USB drive to a Clickfree backup solution. (http://www.goclickfree.com)

HP Netbooks are award-winning solutions for business users and consumers alike. The new HP Mini 2140 starts at $500 and has lots of connectivity options -- video out, USB, an ExpressCard slot, even an SD card reader. The Vivienne Tam-designed digital clutch, also from HP, is touted as the world's first digital clutch. They're a bit of a premium at $699, but fashion has a price!

Speck Products launched a new series of portable computer bags at the Consumer Electronics Show. Check 'em out at SpeckProducts.com. The PortPack Notebook Shoulder Bag is $80.