NYC: A pop-up shop for well designed, travel-themed products

Tomorrow (Thursday), Bose puts on sale its new QuietComfort 15 noise-canceling headphones, which aim to be the "gold standard" of such devices. The price is $300. The new device replaces one of the company's previous high-end models, the QuietComfort 2. It adds an external microphone to each ear cup, providing additional information to help cancel out more noise. It also improves upon the device's processing power as well as the design of the leather-and-foam ear cushions. I tested the QC15s this morning under the supervision of Bose staff people. Stereos blasted a recording of a jet plane mid-flight. A sound pressure level meter measured a 90 decibel reading, well above an approximately 50 decibel reading for the ordinary noise level in a city store. I found that the QC15 headphones dramatically reduced the sound of the jet plane noise, noticeably more so than with the previous version of Bose headphones, the QC2. Audio quality and headset comfort are what distinguish Bose's products from comparable high-end products. In a test of the QC15, sound reproduction of a song was note perfect, and the earcups rested gently around the ears rather than push down on the ears itself. The headphones are iPhone-compatible out of the box and are powered by triple-A batteries tucked discreetly into one of the earcups. [Bose] ELSEWHERE Gizmodo's review

I rarely get this excited about tech gear, but this morning at a Samsung press preview, I didn't want to let go of the new DualView TL220 ($300). Due out next month, the 12.2-megapixel "smart" camera has two LCDs: a 3-inch touch-screen on the back and a 1.5-inch front display. The front screen lets you take better self-portraits while on vacation or when updating your Facebook profile. (Oh, the vanity!) When you turn on the self-timer, the screen goes black and bright blue numbers count down "3, 2, 1." Now if you want to get in the shot, you don't have to run back and forth. Plus, none of your friends can claim they weren't ready. To make kids look at the camera, the child mode on the front screen shows an animated clown cartoon. (For kids who are afraid of clowns, Samsung will have other downloadable videos to swap out.) Also new is the TL225 ($350), with a larger 3.5-inch LCD screen. As with the TL220, the touch-screen technology means you can delete pictures simply by drawing an X with your finger. Both versions record HD video, and have a 27mm wide-angle lens and a 4.6x zoom. Ships to major retailers the first week of September, but Sears.com is taking pre-orders. Personally, the last time I was this thrilled about a camera was when Nikon streamlined its swivel-lens technology on the Coolpix back in 2002. MORE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY Shoot Like a Pro

I could probably think of something I like better than a chocolate chip cookie that's just come out of the oven, but it would take me a long, long time. Which is why I think the new Warm Cookie Radar on the Specialty's Café and Bakery website is perhaps the most genius idea I've heard in months. The concept is simple: Click on the Warm Cookie Radar link, and a map pops up with little pulsating cookie icons at all the locations where cookies have just been baked. True, I don't live anywhere near the cities where Specialty's has its shops—the San Francisco Bay area, Seattle, and Chicago—but to my mind, the promise of a freshly-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie is reason enough to schedule a trip.

Summer's in full swing—and to survive those backyard barbecues and camping trips, you're probably slathering up with sunscreen and bug spray. But here's a quick tip: Don't use a product that combines the two. Sure, it seems like a great time-saving idea, a product that has both sunscreen and DEET (or another bug repellant, like IR3535) in it. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends avoiding just this type of commodity. Because DEET and sunscreen products have different instructions for proper (and safe) use, you risk overapplying DEET when using a combination product. For instance, you should reapply sunscreen every two hours, regardless of what you're up to (that's just good practice for avoiding sunburn). But DEET has a longer wear time, sometimes up to eight hours. So in protecting yourself from sunburn, you might be overexposing yourself to DEET. The solution? Joseph Conlon, of the American Mosquito Control Association (an organization of mosquito-control professionals), says to apply your chosen sunscreen first, and then the DEET or bug-repellant product. That way, you can continue to put on sunscreen over the bug spray when you need to. We're not promising you'll make it through the rest of summer sunburn- and bug bite- free—but that's all part of the fun, right?