iRobot Roomba 780 ($599)

Who doesn’t like a freshly swept floor, or a just-vacuumed carpet? Well, meet Roomba, the floor-sweeping and carpet-vacuuming robot who has nothing but time to scoot around your house, sucking up dust, dirt, grime and even pet hair. The programmable Roomba (read my review) will navigate its way around your furniture while avoiding tumbles down stairs, and it comes with both a charging dock and a remote.

Mint Cleaner ($199)

No, it doesn’t do carpets, but the Mint Clearer is an ace at sweeping hard-wood floors. Just give it a Swiffer cloth, place the “indoor GPS” navigation cubes at strategic locations around your house, and let the Mint (check out my hands-on impressions) work its magic.

iZon Remote Room Monitor ($130)

Want to keep tabs on the nursery, your home office, or even the babysitter? Just put the iZon Remote Room Monitor in the room you want to keep an eye on, then watch a live video feed on your iPhone or iPad. The free iZon app can also alert you whenever the remote camera detects sound or movement—and yes, it works anywhere in the world, so long as you’re in range of a Wi-Fi or 3G signal.

Belkin iPad Chef Stand ($40)

Want to pull up recipes on your iPad without mucking it up with messy hands? Say hellow to Belkin and its clever iPad chef stand, which comes with a “non-slip” base and a touchscreen-friendly stylus that you can clean in the sink.

Philips GoLite Blu Light Therapy Device ($199)

Here’s the perfect antidote for anyone with the winter blues. Armed with “Bluewave” technology that mimics the light of a clear, blue sky, the GoLite Blu Plus promises to give you a daily boost after just minutes of use. Just turn it on, put it at arm’s length, set the timer, and (supposedly, anyway) you should start feeling better within 15 minutes or so.

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Made of “shatter-resistant” plastic (fingers crossed), the Crayola “Trace & Draw” case ($39) promises to turn the iPad 2 into an tablet-sized easel.

Just snap your iPad 2 into the plastic shell (which wraps all the way around the iPad’s back panel), attach the included screen protector, clip on a sheet of drawing paper, and fire up Crayola’s free iPad app, which features more than 35 digital drawings to trace.

Oh, and make sure your tykes use only the Crayola maker that comes in the “Trace & Draw” kit—and not, say, a ball-point pen or a sloppy paint brush. That wouldn’t be good.

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Sometimes the hassle just isn’t worth it.

But here’s the thing: daily deals are everywhere and if you’re not using them, you may be spending more money than you should. It only takes a few minutes to get set up and start buying at discount prices.

Here are 10 tips that can save you cash on daily deal sites, starting with…

1. Find the sites that work for you
There are five well-established and organized sites you may want to consider: Groupon, livingsocial, BuyWithMe (BWM), Bloomspot, and HomeRun.

Most sites offer a wide range of products, while others are a bit more tailored. If you are looking for deals on vacations or airfare, then Bloomspot and BWM would be a good match. For spa services, try Living Social and HomeRun. And Groupon has a variety of deals, including great restaurant and drink specials.

Other top sites you may want to try include Gilt City, Lifebooker (New York and Los Angeles only), Social Buy, Scoutmob, The Dealmap, 8coupons, Yipit, and Tippr.

2. If you feel like it’s a scam, it probably is
You can’t get something for nothing. If the deal seems too good to be true, well … it probably is, so beware.

3. Beware of price inflation
Some companies are all too willing to boost their prices purely to sweeten the deal for a given coupon. If a deal promises 50% off of a $100 service, make sure the service really is worth $100—and not, say, fifty bucks.

4. Don’t skip Yelp (or another customer review site)
So, got a coupon promising half-off for the best sushi in town? Don’t just take the restaurant’s word for it. Read customer reviews of the places offering the deal before you plunk down your credit card. It only takes a few minutes to read some reviews and get a flavor for whether people love it or hate it.

5. Read the fine print
The devil’s in the details, particularly when it comes to coupons. For example…

• The quoted prices on your coupon typically don’t include tax (but don’t expect these deals to be tax-free), so make sure to factor that into your budget.
• Look out for “New customers only” or “Limit one per person,” since you don’t want to end up with five massage sessions when the spa will only allow you one. (Although these extras can make great gifts!)
• Don’t forget about the expiration date. There is some ambiguity here and laws vary from state to state but most of the time, the customer is refunded the value by the merchant, not the daily deal site.
• Some deals have specific instructions (e.g. call ahead to reserve a spot), so make sure you’re up to speed with their policies. This will save you time and headaches.

6. Manage your inbox
Daily email blasts from your favorite coupon sites are a nuisance, no question. Unfortunately, you can’t really avoid them unless you opt out of all e-mails—and that means you might miss out on some good deals.

Carefully setting your email preferences and signing up for only the sites you like can cut down on the spam. Another option: consider creating a separate email account devoted just to coupon deals.

7. Complain if you’re not happy
The best coupon sites generally have a large network of customer service reps, and they know unhappy customers will destroy their business. So if you’re not satisfied, let them know! Often they’ll offer another coupon, voucher, or a credit.

8. Don’t buy something only because it’s an amazing deal
Whitewater rafting for 80% off? Great! But if you don’t know who’d want to go with you, or you’re not quite sure how you’d get there—or maybe you’re not much of a swimmer—you might want to pass, regardless of the savings. After all, just because it’s a good deal doesn’t mean you need to buy it.

9. Don’t let the ticking timer scare you into an impulse buy
If you’re not sure about it, don’t click “buy” just because you’re short on time. There are always similar deals out there, you won’t be missing out.

10. Get a do-over on your coupons
Having buyer’s remorse about a deal, and customer service isn’t being sympathetic? Never fear; you can always trade or sell your coupon at sites like Lifesta.com, DealsGoRound.com and CoupRecoup.com.

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Enter the Mint Floor Cleaner and its new big brother, the Mint Plus, which I saw for the first time at a Manhattan trade show Wednesday night.

A good $100 cheaper than the most inexpensive Roomba model, the $199 Mint robot exchanges the Roomba’s circular body for a square shape, all the better for tackling tough-to-reach corners.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dVORwuW6zs&w=550]

And instead of vacuuming up dust and dirt, the Mint sweeps your hardwood floors with dry or wet microfiber cloths—so yes, we’re basically talking a robotic Swiffer (and the Mint does, indeed, work with Swiffer refill cloths).

Like the Roomba, the self-guided Mint feels its way around your floor, scooting around obstacles and avoiding stairs with the help of a compact, cube-shaped module that sends out a wireless navigation signal. (“Indoor GPS” is how Mint manufacturer Evolution Robotics describes it.)

The new, $299 Mint Plus, which boasts more battery life and a wider cleaning area than the original Mint.

The Mint, which has been on the market for more than a year now, will sweep 800 square-feet of floor space for about three hours on a single charge.

And then there’s the just-announced, $299 Mint Plus, which will go for four hours and cover up to 2,000 square feet, provided you’ve got two NorthStar navigation cubes handy. (An extra cube goes for $39.)

Pretty neat—although if you’ve got carpeted floors to clean, you’re better off ponying up for a Roomba.

So, any Mint owners with experiences (good or bad, of course) they’d like to share?

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Slated to land in stores this October for $130, the short, stubby camera sits on a swiveling, built-in base and connects to your home Wi-Fi network.

Just plug it in to a standard wall socket, strategically place it in your nursery, home office, or any other room you’d like to keep an eye on.

Once that’s done, you can take a peek at whatever the camera sees by pulling up the free iZon app on your iPhone or iPad.

The app also lets you record video clips, which you can save on your phone or on YouTube (you can keep those YouTube clips private or share them with the world, your choice), while the camera itself will send an alert to your iPhone or iPad if it detects movement or sound.

The iZon iPhone app works over both Wi-Fi and cellular 3G networks, meaning you can keep tabs on your iZon camera wherever there’s 3G coverage. The app will also connect to multiple iZon cameras at once—say, one in the den, another in the living room, and a third in the garage.

So, that’s what the iZon camera does … but what will you use it for? Personally, I can see using the iZon as a baby cam, although it also might come in handy for monitoring your house while you’re off globetrotting.

And yes, you could keep taps on your kids or the babysitter—although whether that counts as being prudent or merely creepy is pretty much up to you.

Looking for more iPhone tips and how-tos? Click here!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXLGLtwYcbU&w=550]

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What took me so long to give the Roomba a try? Good question.

Maybe I’ve simply never lived in an apartment that seemed big enough to warrant a floor-sweeping robot. Maybe the price seemed a bit steep. Or maybe the whole idea of a self-guided discus flying around my living room was a tad too intimidating.

Indeed, I only decided to give the Roomba a chance after the PR representatives at iRobot persuaded me to test-drive their latest model: the top-of-the-line, $599 Roomba 780. But hey—I’ll try anything once.

The Roomba arrived in my two-bedroom, 800-square-foot Brooklyn apartment about two weeks ago, and I’ll tell you, this thing comes armed to the teeth with impressive sounding features.

Resting in the charging dock.

We’re talking optical and acoustic sensors that literally look and listen for dirt and debris; ultra-fine filters that catch particles of dust less than a micron across; redesigned motors and cleaning heads that are less likely to get snarled with pet or human hair; and a roomier bin that collects more dirt, debris, and gunk than any previous Roomba.

All very nice—and were I more of an expert on all things Roomba, I could tell you how the Series 700 stacks up against the older, cheaper models, and whether the new Dirt Detect Series 2 system out-sniffs the old Dirt Detect sensors.

Unfortunately, I’m a complete and utter Roomba newbie; quite honestly, I’d never heard of a Dirt Detect anything until a few weeks ago.

Related: Mint (and new Mint Plus) floor-cleaning robot: a cheaper, Swiffer-using alternative to the Roomba

So instead of comparing one Roomba series to another, I’ve been asking myself a much broader question: Do I really need a $600, floor-cleaning robot scooting around my apartment?

The answer? Well, allow me to explain first.

My test Roomba arrived in a large, flat box, complete with plenty of spare parts and brushes, a few extra filters, a docking station, a basic remote control, and a DVD that explains all the basics.

I was also expecting a somewhat involved set of assembly instructions, an Allen wrench, and a baggie full of nuts and bolts. To my relief, however, setup was a snap; I just ripped a small plastic strip off the Roomba’s battery contacts, removed a piece of protective cardboard out of the dust bin, plugged the base station into a wall outlet, and docked the robot into its new home, where it charged overnight.

The next day, I was ready to see the Roomba in action—but before I could press the big green “Clean” button, I had to do a little Roomba-proofing. First, you need to make sure there are no little puddles of water on the floor. I also had to scan for any loose wires that might get wrapped around the Roomba’s cleaning head—no small thing, given all the speaker wires, HDMI cables, and power cords strewn about my apartment.

Finally, I was ready. I pressed the “Clean” button.

Go, Roomba, go!

“Beep, beep, beep!” went the Roomba, sounding an awful lot like a truck thrown into reverse as it backed out of its charging dock. Then it spun around, thought for a second, and made a beeline for the dining-room table, where it spent the better part of 10 minutes bumping, circling, and otherwise feeling its way around the chairs and the foot of the table.

It can be frustrating to watch, but all the spinning and to-and-fro in just a single corner of the room seems to be the way of the Roomba, as it gets a sense for the shape and size of a room and works out its cleaning routine accordingly.

Given enough time—and assuming it’s reasonably free of obstacles, of course—the Roomba will eventually cover plenty of ground, zipping under beds and couches, dusting in corners (a three-headed, spider-like brush sees to that), and avoiding tumbles down staircases (quite successfully, I might add).

That’s not to say the Roomba didn’t get tripped up. On its first two attempts to clean my apartment, it got stuck under one of my leather sofas and eventually gave up with a whimper—but not before a good half-hour of twisting, grinding, and thrashing.

On another occasion, I turned the Roomba on before heading out to dinner with my wife, only to find the robot motionless in a corner when we returned. I bent down and immediately saw what happened; the Roomba had tried to eat a loose piece of speaker wire. Bad Roomba! Luckily, neither Roomba nor wire were worse for the wear.

Up close and personal.

So yes, Roomba-proofing your home is essential to the whole Roomba experience—and after a few tries, I got it more or less right. For example, moving a single chair kept the Roomba from getting trapped under the dining room table, while pulling our coffee table an extra foot away from the sofa saved the robot from another life-or-death struggle under the couch. I also pulled a few loose wires tight to keep Roomba from chewing on them.

Once Roomba got the hang of our apartment—or rather, once I got the hang of the Roomba—the whole cleaning process became much more smooth, with a full sweep of our apartment taking between an hour and 90 minutes.

How clean was the floor? Well, while I did manage to find a few bits of junk that the Roomba missed, the overall floor was about as clean and dust-free as I’d ever seen it—particularly beneath our beds, where dust bunnies love to hide.

And one look in the Roomba’s dust bin was proof enough for me—yuck! All that dust and hair, after just 24 hours between cleanings? Have we been living in filth all this time?

As far as care and feeding are concerned, iRobot recommends you let the little guy take a nice long rest in its charging dock between cleanings, while the debris bin needs to be purged once every couple of cycles. You’ll also need to give Roomba’s cleaning heads a regular once-over; iRobot thoughtfully provides a plastic tool with a safety blade for cutting through any hair wrapped around the spinning brushes.

You can also schedule the Roomba to do its thing while you’re at work or on vacation—nice, although the Roomba’s digital clock is about as clumsy to program as an old-school clock radio.

Also in the box: a remote control, along with twin, battery-powered “lighthouses” that can either help the Roomba navigate or create a virtual “wall” that the robot won’t cross.

The Roomba’s dust bin after a few minutes of cleaning; you should see it after an hour.

So, is the Roomba 780 worth it? Will it replace a standard vacuum cleaner?

Well, even execs at iRobot admit that the Roomba isn’t intended to be a Hoover replacement—particularly if you have deep-pile carpets with which to content. The Roomba is more of a companion to a stand-up vacuum than a replacement, there to give your floors a daily sweep and to reach under places where you and your vacuum can’t.

Alright, then, so $600 for a companion to your vacuum cleaner. Worth the cash?

Well, if we had a bigger apartment, yes, I’d definitely consider the thing. It didn’t take long for my wife and I to get spoiled by our clean-as-a-whistle floors—and remember, dealing with dust is no small thing in New York City. Getting rid of the dust bunnies under our beds and sofas was another rewarding Roomba benefit.

But the 13-inch-diameter robot doesn’t exactly have a low profile, with the Roomba 780 taking up a good-sized footprint in our bedroom. The only other option for the Roomba and its charging stations—our living room—turned out to be a non-starter.

In a larger living space with a discrete hideaway for the Roomba, well … that might be another story. I could definitely get used to a Roomba in a carpeted 2,000 foot bungalow.

And if $600 sounds pricey, keep in mind that iRobot sells cheaper Roombas stripped of the 780’s bells and whistles. The $299 Roomba 530 will still do a number on your floors, but lacks the touch-sensitive buttons, timer settings, and optical dirt sensors in the Roomba 780.

So, any Roomba owners out there have some thoughts? Any iRobot holdouts thinking of springing for a Roomba? Let us know what you think!

Note: iRobot supplied me with a loaner Roomba 780 for review purposes—and yes, I’ll be sending it back once I’m through testing it.

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