This evening, blogs editor Brian Heater and I visited the new Times Center building in NYC to attend the annual ShowStoppers event. Over 25 companies were there, including Sling Media, Griffin, Nickelodeon, and BlueAnt. Perhaps the strangest moment was when one company, who shall remain nameless, handed me beef jerky as a token of their appreciation: teriayki and pepper-flavored—yum!

Most of the products on display will be at our DigitalLife show at the Javits Center in NYC, but since I'll be working the PCMag Digital Village booth, I was able to spend this time chatting up the companies.

Nickelodeon showcased its adorable Npower brand, consisting of more than 20 products, which includes the SpongeBob SquarePants-themed Flash Micro Digital Camera ($21.99), Invision 7-inch Digital Photo Frame ($99.99), digital music player ($39.99), digital media player ($99.99), Progressive Scan DVD Player with Remote ($59.99), and my personal favorite: the SpongeBob SquarePants Clock-It Alarm Clock ($29.99) that feels like a sponge when you hit the snooze button! Many of these products are also offered in other popular character themes such as Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, and The Naked Brothers Band. The full Npower line will be available in the electronics section of major U.S. retailers next month.

CEIVA 7-inch & 8-inch Digital Photo Frames

I stopped by the CEIVA booth, to witness the company's newly redesigned digital photo frames. I think I said, "That's awesome!" like 10 times! The company has really thought long and hard about the photo frame market, setting apart its frames from the competition. The CEIVA 7-inch ($149.99) and 8-inch Digital Photo Frames ($199.99) feature a high-res LCD screen, built-in memory card readers (a new feature), refreshed interfaces, various slideshow transitions, automatic on/off timer, and the ability to display photos that are sent from your friends or family through your landline, broadband or wireless connections. This luxury does come at a cost though—$6.95 per month. However, just think about how convenient it would be to receive photos without actually having to open your e-mail or search your computer!

What really piqued my interest, however, is that CEIVA is integrating its digital photo frame into—you heard it here—Whirlpool refrigerators! (Insert "That's awesome!" here.) Debuting October 18th in Best Buy stores, the CEIVA for Whirlpool refrigerators ($249.99) will stream photos wirelessly from Windows-based PCs, with the monthly subscription plans.

RBRC's Call2Recycle Program

On a more serious note, I spoke with Call2Recycle, a non-profit program led by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), which recycles rechargeable batteries and old cell phones for free. Simply find one of RBRC's 50,000 locations here in the U.S., including Best Buy, Sears, RadioShack, The Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, and Circuit City. After you drop off your rechargeable batteries and old cell phones, the store will ship them to a recycling and refurbishing facility. Since 1996, RBRC has collected more than 36 million pounds of rechargeable batteries.

ZipIt Wireless Messenger 2

BlueAnt Bluetooth Headsets