Technology & Gadget Blog

A vintage style camera that’s pretty-in-pink is just too hard to resist. This retro Mr. Pink Diana F+ camera from Urban Outfitters is a cool reproduction of the classic Flash Diana — only now with a limited edition pink hue. It uses all varieties of medium format 120 film and has 3 different aperture settings. Not too shabby for a blast from the past!

$110 US, available at Urban Outfitters.

Just the mention of IKEA makes me all warm and happy inside.Their designs are modern, super affordable and they go to great lengths to keep things eco-freindly. Basically, IKEA rules.

However, if I were to nit-pick, I do find the task of writing down aisles and bins and trying to find all the products in the warehouse a little tedious. I’m more of a ‘I see, I like, I pick-up’ kind of gal.

The iPhone app store has come through once again, this time with an awesome application called SwedeShop, where you can track the IKEA items you want for easy finding at the end of your trip.

5 cool features:

1 Record items you see in the showrooms and organize by section (cooking, textiles, etc.)

2 Add details to items like the name, quantity you need, price, and priority on your shopping list

3 Take pictures of items for reference and add to the item’s folder

4 Differentiate if the item is self-serve (i.e. in the warehouse) or in housewares (IKEA Marketplace)

5 List items you will need to order from the store

To purchase for $0.99, visit the iTunes App Store.

It was a dark day when Polaroid announced they were no longer producing their old school cams that used film to print out automatic pics. The white border around the image was iconic, and the vintage wash over the shot made every picture seem more interesting than it probably was. Those days are long gone…or are they?
Check out rollip.com, a great website that lets you upload your personal pics and then transform them into Polaroid-style shots. The site lets you play around with your pictures too, allowing you to add text on the bottom and pick what type of exposure you want. Plus, it’s free — sweet!

Check it all out at rollip.com

As much as I love iPhone apps, I get bummed out when they cost more than $1.99 (I did buy The New York Times Crossword app for $10, but that took several days of convincing myself).

Style at Home assistant editor Jenn Houlihan just forwarded me a link to the absolute coolest app I’ve seen in awhile. Best thing about it? It’s 100% free! It’s Benjamin Moore’s Ben Color Capture app, and it basically lets you take a pic of anything you want, tap on any colour in that image, then shows you the Benjamin Moore paint swatches that most closely match your colour. Brilliant!

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It seems these days that technology is moving at the speed of light. You buy the latest iPod and then a couple of months later, that puppy’s old news. How’s a gal to keep up?

If you’re not ready to let go of your outdated tech-cessories, why not wait until they turn vintage? On a recent scour through the Etsy site, I found tons of fab vintage tech goods that may not work half as well as today’s products (or may not work at all), but gosh-darned-it, won’t they look cute sitting on your bookshelf or countertop.

Here’s a few of the fierce finds I stumbled across on Etsy — keep in mind they sell fast, so you may have to do some hunting of your own.

Cooler than cool 1950s typewriter, $210 US, PoeticHome.

Mod 1960s GE clock, $32 US, AquaVelvet.

1970 Polaroid Swinger Camera, $20 US, VintageEyeCandy.

Circa 1948 Hamilton Beach mixer, $74 US, AuntMaryGraceshouse.

1960s Imperial record player, $95 US, Thrush.

Vintage Italian Marble phone, $45 US, TheRubyKitten.

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I’ve had to keep my mouth shut about this product for so long, and it’s actually been painful. From the time I witnessed its supercool features until about 5 minutes ago, I’ve been bursting at the seams wanting to spread my love. Here we go…

From the creators of the Flip video camera comes the superslim, incredibly chic Flip Mino. The size of a pocket digital camera, the Flip Mino takes a-ma-zing crystal clear video footage that is stored on internal data, waiting to be uploaded onto your computer through a flip-out USB key. This fab-fabby-fabulous camera’s software comes with all the trimmings as well, allowing you to edit footage, create still images and send videos through a private link to avoid massive e-mail files (or upload directly to YouTube, for all those attention-seekers).

I am over-the-moon obsessed with my Flip Mino and now, I want to give you a chance to win one for yourself! All you have to do to enter to win is leave a comment below telling me what cool things you would shoot with your Flip Mino, and I’ll pick the best comment as the winner.

Good luck, fellow techies!

*Contest closes June 30th, 2009. Open to all residents of Canada, except those in Quebec. Not open to any Transcontinental Media employees, their families, or any other persons with whom they reside.*

To me, nothing screams summer more than having a cocktail and some chit-chat with friends while sitting on a Toronto patio. Ah, ‘tis the life. And whenever I can document those fun times by taking pics, I become a snappy-happy paparazzi. With the grass green again and summer just on the horizon, I was on the lookout for a camera to reflect my mood. Enter the Olympus bevy of bright beauties, a selection of vibrant cameras to fit every lifestyle.

The FE 3010 (magenta) is a super slim 0.7-inch digi-cam with 16 shooting modes for any situation ($180). The Stylus Tough 6000 (citrus) is a do-it-all camera – shockproof, freezeproof, waterproof, crushproof, and shakeproof ($350). Ready to go under the sea? The Stylus-550WP (blue) is designed to work just as well below water as it does on land ($250).

With pretty punches of colour and pricepoints to fit whatever your budget, these colourful cameras are a summer must.

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