Get Ready for the 2012 Olympics in London! All of the websites you need to know about, plus toys, books and more!

The 2012 Olympics in London are almost here! With the opening ceremony this Friday, July 27th, this week is your last chance to make completely sure you’re prepared! This morning I appeared on the TODAY show to discuss the hottest websites you’ll need to follow to make sure you’re up to date, as well as some of the coolest video games, toys, iPhone accessories, books and even clothes you’ll want to make sure you have before the games begin!

Jump to: Electronics | Websites | Video Games | Toys | iPhone Accessories | Maps | Books | Clothes

Electronics:

Sony 3D 46″ LED HX750 Internet TV · $1399 at Sony.com

This will be the first Olympics ever to be broadcast in 3D! Nearly 80% of US households will be receiving the 3D broadcast, including every major cable operator, Verizon FiOS, and DirectTV. NBC will be broadcasting the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as 10 of the major Olympic venues including gymnastics, swimming, and track and field in 3D, promising 12 hours of 3D Olympic coverage per day. However, it’s important to keep in mind that none of this footage will be live—the 3D coverage will be broadcast on a 24-hour delay by NBC. For my segment on the TODAY show, I show off one of my favorite 3D TV units, the edge-lit LED 46″ Sony HX750, which you can check out online at Sony.com.

Websites:

London2012.com

· Official home of the London Olympics and Paralympics
– Covers everything from the torch relay, to photos, sports, schedules, results, and more
– Facts and history of the Olympics
– Shop for official Olympic gear

NBCOlympics.com/LiveExtra (a website and a mobile app)

Available on computer, laptop and as a mobile app on tablets and smartphones!

· If you have pay TV service with NBC’s MSNBC and CNBC channels, you can watch a LIVE STREAM of every Olympic event!
· Over 3,500 hours, all 32 sports, all 302 medal events can be seen
· Whats REALLY cool is you can watch different feeds, For example, during a session of track and field, instead of viewing a single feed that moves from event to event, a user can watch a stream dedicated to a specific event, like the long jump or javelin.
· Get alerts about upcoming events so you don’t miss anything
· Watch full event replays at any time, day or night

Follow & connect with Athletes on the Athlete’s Hub—hub.olympic.org

– Follow athletes from past and present
– Connect with the athletes via Facebook or Twitter and learn all about them and their likes, dislikes, training, etc.
– Earn rewards by following your favorite athletes and participating in the community.  Unlock badges, win prizes, and see which of your friends is the ultimate Olympic fan.
– Great way to get up close and personal with the athletes

NBC Olympics’ Social Guide to the 2012 Summer Games

This Olympics is going by many names, but one of the most important in my opinion is the “first social Olympics.” No previous Olympic games have had so complete a social media component for you to follow & connect with as the 2012 games in London.

– This page is a guide to NBC Olympics coverage social media outlets
– Info on why you should follow the official NBCOlympics Facebook and Twitter pages

Video Games:

London 2012, the Official Video Game (Available at Best Buy and other retailers) – $39.99-$44.99

Available for multiple gaming systems: PS3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, OnLive (Cloud for Mac, PC and tablet)

· Compete in over 45 events-includes track and field, swimming, diving, volleyball & more
· Many games feature a co-op party mode where multiple people can play compete at the same time
· Take the completion online with leader boards tracking personal medal counts, and earn National Pride points with each medal you win for your country!

Toys

Barbie – “I Can Be Team Barbie” Olympic Dolls (Available at Amazon – $13.99 each)

· All of the “Barbie I Can Be Team Barbie Olympic” dolls come with great accessories for their individual sport

· 3 different dolls available from Amazon: Track and FieldTennis, or Gymnast
· Track and Field doll includes hurdle and baton for relay races
· Gymnast Barbie has a ribbon wand for dance routines

Accessories:

Vintage Flags Hard Shell Cases by Proporta for Apple iPhone 4 &4S · $34.95

· These cases are being made exclusively for Apple devices and you can buy them directly from the Apple online store.
· Show some spirit for your country with an iPhone case!
· Available for a variety of countries including the USA, Mexico, Canada, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Japan, Korea, and more!
· Cut-outs allowing access to all functions
· Provides protection against impact damage
· For non-USA cases, if you buy directly from Proporta you can take advantage of a promotion for a free sports armband for your phone or mp3 player with purchase.

Maps:

LeapFrog Tag World Map – Available at LeapFrog.com · $19.99

The LeapFrog Tag system (designed for children aged 4-8) is a wonderful product that helps kids learn develop reading skills. Once your child has the $34.99 Tag pen (less when purchased as part of a bundle) you can buy different modules that work with the Tag learning system. The $20 Tag World Map is one such addition, and a great toy for your kids to use and learn how to read the names of the different countries of the world as well as how to say “hello” in a variety of different languages when they watch the Olympics with you. After all, the Olympics offers a great chance to teach your children about far-away places and different cultures. So on top of being able to witness a world-class sporting event, this year make the Olympics viewing experience a learning one for your kids with the Tag World Map.

Books:

Gold Medal Summer by Donna Freitas

· Read the story of Joey Jordan, a girl that loves gymnastics!  With all of her talent, she’s never quite made it to that gold medal stand.
· Drawing on her real-life experience as a competitive gymnast, acclaimed novelist Donna Freitas delivers both a terrific gymnastics story and a classic novel about stretching some limits, bending the rules, and finding your balance.
· Recommended for ages 10-14
· Available from Amazon in hardcover and Kindle editions, from the Sony Reader store, and from Barnes and Noble in hardcover and for NOOK.

Ring Force by Brian Brown

· This is the story of Booker, a boy who has an incredible talent for running.  He teams up with other super athletic (almost super-human) kids to head to Olympus to fight an evil rogue god and to keep the Olympic flame burning.
· A chapter book featuring full-color illustrations
· Recommended for ages 8-12
· Available from Amazon in paperback and for Kindle, from the Sony Reader Store, and from Barnes and Noble in paperback and for NOOK.

Gold by Chris Cleave

· Story of Zoe and Kate, world-class athletes who have been friends and rivals since their first day of Elite training.  They have loved, fought, betrayed, forgiven, consoled, gloried and grown up together.  Now at the verge of the London 2012 , their last Olympics, both women will be tested by their physical and emotional limits.  It begs the question, “What would you sacrifice for the people you love, if it meant giving up the thing that was most important to you in the world.
· A novel for adults, Gold is a NY Times bestseller, a Martha Stewart Living book club pick, and was selected as an Amazon.com book of the month for July 2012.
· Available from Amazon in hardcover and for Kindle, from the Sony Reader Store, and from Barnes and Noble as a hardcover and for NOOK.

Clothes:

Custom 574 Tennis Shoes, available at New Balance online · $114.95

· Can’t find the perfect shoes for your team? Make a custom set! We designed the USA 2012 shoes to the right in just 5 minutes online using the custom shoe design tool
· Every pair of these custom 574s are made in the USA at a factory in Maine
· Available in a variety of sizes for both men and women
· Once ordered they can be delivered in just 4-8 days
· You can mix and match colors on 15 separate areas of the shoe to create a million different color combinations!

 

Soccer Jerseys from soccerpro.com – $47.99-$76.49

· Official National Jerseys from countries that will be competing in the Olympics
· Support your favorite country by “representing” with their Jersey.
· Almost all the jerseys are between 10-20% off on Soccerpro.com
· FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $65.00
· Come in Womens, Mens and Youth sizes