Morning Express with Robin Meade

Editor’s note: Mario Armstrong is HLN’s digital lifestyle contributor. He breaks down complex technological concepts to help people incorporate the latest gadgets, applications, and digital devices into their lives. 

Once upon a time, speakers were big and bulky. They had to connect to other machines with a lot of wires and hassle -- you were totally anchored down. These days, there are TONS of options when it comes to being mobile and listening to your favorite tunes. Here are just 3 suggestions I have for listening to your mix anywhere and anytime you please:

Coming soon: Shoes that talk to you and computers that react with a wave of your hand.

Digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong shows off two gadgets that are getting a lot of buzz at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music, Film and Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas.

A new app from the folks at Twitter lets you post tiny videos. It's called Vine, and just like the little messages Twitter is famous for (tweets can only be up to 140 characters long, max), Vine videos have to be short. Just 6 seconds or less. It turns out, that’s more than enough time for porn.

Vine was instantly popular and already has millions of downloads.

Most of us who work on Morning Express with Robin Meade are extremely jealous of HLN digital lifestyles expert Mario Armstrong this week. He's covering the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for HLN. It's the equivalent of 7 football fields full bright, shiny, drool-worthy, future-tech. Basically the Super Bowl for gadget nerds, early adopters, and that guy who has to be the first of his friends to have the latest... well, the latest ANYTHING.

Speaking of "the latest," 4kTV is one of the big buzzwords at CES this year. Mario says these screens have a picture quality "four times" greater than your normal HDTV. Right now these uber-high definition screens cost tens of thousands of dollars... but these thin, bright, massive screens could be the future of home entertainment. 

Thinking about buying a tablet computer for a kid this year? There are TONS to choose from. Devices like Apple's iPad or Amazon's Kindle Fire are great for adults, but are they good choices for kids?

HLN's digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong takes a look at two alternatives which are designed for little fingers:

Are you hard to buy for?

HLN digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong highlights some apps that promise you will never get another 'bad' holiday gift again. How? Because you get to tell everyone exactly what you want! You can even crowd source your present!

Tablets and smartphones are great ways to keep kids busy in the backseat on holiday road trips. And you'll be glad to know that there are plenty of them that will not only keep them occupied but actually teach them something too!

HLN's digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong recommends four apps to download before you hit the road with your little ones: 

Today Microsoft is rolling out it's long awaited operating system upgrade: Windows 8.  It's a total redesign -- even the ubiquitous Microsoft 'Start' button is gone (though it appears as though the word itself does survive on the new home screen).  

In its place are 'tiles' designed to be operated by touch.  Each tile represents an app.  Some can even display information like weather conditions, or Facebook updates without you ever having to launch the program. 

This is the first election to really go mobile. 

Both candidates have an official app, but they are definitely not the same. HLN's digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong shows you the differences.