USB

Kanex DoubleUp Dual USB Charger Review

Two years ago, I left for CES carrying my iPhone and a Samsung Galaxy Tab. I thought I was packing efficiently because instead of bringing each device’s USB wall charger, I brought a single wall charger that had dual USB ports. So of course it was on that trip, when I needed my gear the most, that I found out that just because a charger plugs into the wall and has two USB ports, it won’t necessarily be powerful enough to charge even one of your devices — especially when one of them is a tablet. To add insult to…

News

USBFever Releases Universal USB Hub and Card Reader for iPad & Galaxy Tabs!

You know, I wonder what they put in their coffee or beverage of choice over at USBFever, because it never ceases to amaze me the constellation of gizmos that pop up in their online offerings. Take for example USBFever’s latest item, the Universal USB Hub and Card Reader for Apple iPad / Galaxy Tabs. USBFever claims that this USB hub will support 90% of the tablets out there, but what exactly does this Universal USB hub do? Does it slice and dice or even julienne? No, but this hub is getting darned close with its three primary functions: – With…

Gear Bits, Yum Log

Desktop USB Fundue Set from ThinkGeek.com – You Can Fondue It

I occasionally wonder why they even bother to manufacture new fondue sets. Considering the number of folks who bought one of these contraptions in the late 1970’s to melt cheese or chocolate so that they could dip bread or cheesecake chunks in them, I imagine that there are thousands of these things tucked away in garages and attics all over the country. (Including mine. Don’t judge. It seemed like a good idea at the time.) Perhaps due to the sensual pleasures that were promised from the creamy hot food and the atmosphere of sharing that was encouraged by multiple people…

Reviews

Avengers USB Drives – Suit Up and Plug In!

Dane Electronics offers The Avengers collectible figure/sliding USB drive set of four – Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, and Captain America.

News

StarTech’s New USB 3.0 HDD Docking Station

If you build computers or do any maintenance on computers or just want a quick way to offload the data off of an old hard drive, then StarTech.com has a new solution for you. Their new HDD docking station supports 2.5 inch or 3.5 inch SATA or IDE hard disks and connects to your computer with the faster USB 3.0 standard. It’s supported on pretty much every OS out there as well. The dock will allow you to: Connect a SATA and IDE hard drive at the same time or separately, through a single USB 3.0 connection at up to…

Reviews

The Startech USB 3.0/eSATA Quad Bay Docking Station Review

Image courtesy of StarTech Those of us in the IT business know that you simply can’t have enough tools to get the job done. Anything to make life easier, and give you more time to for other things is usually worth it’s weight in gold. StarTech makes some of the coolest and hard to find computing equipment on the market. Almost everything I have used from them works exactly as they said it would and stands up to the harshness of the IT worker lifestyle. Today we are taking a look at one of my favorite products from StarTech,…

Events

ioSafe Shocks Us Again at CES 2012

ioSafe is known for keeping your data SAFE. How safe? Well, first we took the initiative to burn and water-soak a drive, and the data was still recoverable. Then, starting with CES 2010, ioSafe decided to show everyone that their drives are capable of withstanding burning, soaking, dropping, and crushing. In 2011, we upped the ante again and took shots (yes, using a gun) at an ioSafe drive, and the data saved on the ioSafe drive came out unscathed. Well, we wondered what they would do next and, at CES 2012, we found out. Honestly, what we saw shocked us…

Events

First Look at the myCharge Portable Power Bank 6000

Things are winding down at CES 2012, which was nice for Francis and me, as we were able to walk around more freely due to less traffic and spend more quality time with some vendors. Luckily for us, we were able to stop by and visit our friends from myCharge and PowerBag. We have reviewed the PowerBag Messenger and PowerBag Backpack in the past, and Dan mentioned how useful a PowerBag can be. They also have a great brand called myCharge, which is a set of portable batteries for recharging mobile devices, including iOS and Android devices. The team at…

Reviews

JLab b-Flex X-Bass USB Laptop Speaker Review

I practically live on my MacBook Pro. All of my Gear Diary posts are done using it, most all of my internet browsing and I even use it full time at work instead of my supplied Windows machine. Some would say I love this computer since it is with me everywhere I go. There is one problem with the MacBook Pro. The speaker is terrible! It is too small and provides thin, weak audio quality. The machine is so beautiful, it is a shame that the audio quality is so poor. I have tried several options to improve the audio,…

Reviews

Kingston DataTraveler 109 with urDrive Review

When it comes to USB drives I tend to be fairly utilitarian – I want something fast, portable, durable, and reliable. The top brand drives all offer that stuff, so what makes you choose one $20 8GB drive over another? Kingston is hoping that their urDrive software embedded in the DataTraveler 109 will offer users a differentiating factor that will be a deciding factor for a purchase. Let’s take a quick look! The Hype: Kingston’s DataTraveler® 109 is a fashionable USB Flash drive available in seven colors that make it fun to connect and share photos, music, videos and more…

Reviews

Digital Innovations AllTerrain Wired 3-Button Mouse Review

Mice seem to be ubiquitous. Everyone has one. Not many people even consider buying one that didn’t come with their computer while some are fanatical about the mice they use. I tend to be one of the former. As long as it has a scroll wheel I am usually happy, but now I have a new favorite wired mouse in the Digital Innovations AllTerrain Wired 3-Button Mouse. What makes this mouse All Terrain? Well anyone who has used an optical mouse and tried to use it on a glass surfaces knows that they usually will not work on glass table top…

News

Victorinox Swiss Army Releases Innovative Luxury USB Line

Need an expensive and colorful device to store your extremely important personal or professional data? Want a USB stick with a self-destruct function? Look no further. Consumers may be surprised to learn that Victorinox Swiss Army’s latest products, the Slim and Slim Duo USB lines, have just one function. Marketed as an innovative and decidedly “Bond-esque” luxury flash drive, the new Swiss Army USBs are ready for anything, that is, unless you need a can opener or knife. Buyers can now not only store their personal data, but also keep it protected via passwords and a vaguely described “unhackable” feature….

Reviews

Office Gear Review: Sennheiser OfficeRunner Headset

I spend a lot of time on the phone and have long thought about getting a good headset to use. I was close to buying the OfficeRunner some time back but did not. Why? In part because I read a fairly scathing review of it.The “review” that turned me off to a great extent and prompted me to not purchase the headset talked about the fact that this headset doesn’t work with cordless phones and that the volume that was so low that the person on the other end couldn’t hear the conversation. Both criticisms were, as I discovered, unfair. (I…

Reviews

Blue Microphone Yeti Pro Review

Blue Microphone has consistently impressed me with their line up of microphones. From consumer USB microphones to professional units that plug into existing sound systems, the company puts out quality devices. This time, Blue Microphone took my favorite USB offering, the Yeti, and added a professional twist thanks to an option that now lets you plug it into professional audio equipment. Yeti Pro on Left, Yeti on Right As you can see, the new Yeti Pro looks almost the same as the original with two exceptions. The first is a very obvious color and texture change that yields a textured…

Reviews

Review: Belkin Conserve Valet

As time goes on I seem to gain more and more devices that charge off of a USB port. My phone, my iPod, Bluetooth Headphones, Kindle and even the Zi8 that I recently reviewed all charge off of a USB port. So it just makes sense to start to see devices like the Super Travel A/C USB Wall Charger I reviewed a while back. That’s fine for travel and works well. However, it sure would be nice to actually have a place to manage the cables as well as to hold the devices as they charge. That’s why I was…

News

Earth Day Gadget: Belkin Conserve Valet

Earth Day is coming up! What better way to support mother earth than to save a bit of power when charging your devices? At least that is what Belkin must have been thinking when they released the new Belkin Conserve Valet. The Conserve Valet is a 4 port charging station that has a unique ability. It detects when an attached USB device is charged up and when detected, it shuts down the power to the port. This helps us conserve at least a little bit of power; it also lets you manage those many cords with some built-in cord management….

Reviews

CarCheckup OBD II Scan Tool and Data Logger Review: A Worthy Addition to Any Toolbox

Everyone has that one friend or family member that seems to be the guy you go to when having car troubles. CarCheckup recently sent me their latest automotive scanner and data logger to review, so I happily obliged and ran it for a few days in a late model Mazda 3. The CarCheckup is kind of like swiss army tool for your automotive computer and does a great job exporting the data to a very usable and readable format. The device is a small plastic module that connects to your OBDII port under your dash which is a direct link to the…

Reviews

Review: Charge All Of Your Devices At Once With Arctic C2 USB Charger

I do not know about you, but I have collected quite the array of USB devices. From iPhones and iPads to battery chargers, it seems that my life is constantly filled with charging via a USB cable. For a while I did have a wall adapter with a USB port that I could use to charge some devices, but only one at a time, which was not working. One day, my wife said, “look at all this junk we have sitting here waiting to charge, and you only have one plug?” After explaining that none of it was junk, I…

Reviews

Review: Arctic K381 Slim Keyboard For Windows

Our school finally recently replaced the teacher workstation computers with updated machines running Windows 7. One thing they did not replace was the old keyboards. I am not sure how old the keyboard I had was, but it was enormous. I remember a few years ago when keyboard seemed to have the bigger is better phase and this was a remnant from that era. The keyboard was so high that I had to use a wrist pad to raise my hands up to even use it. I was not a fan of the large spring-loaded keys either. (I know some…

Reviews

Review: Philips Notebook SoundBar

Like many of you, I rely heavily on my laptop. Even with an iPad, I use my MacBook Pro all day and every evening. As much as I love this computer, one thing that totally annoys me is the speakers. It is not that I expect theater sound and booming bass, but half of the time I just cannot hear. When I am watching Hulu or Netflix I want to know what is being said and not strain to be able to pay attention. I have tried many laptop speaker solutions, but the Philips Notebook SoundBar is a clever and…

Reviews

Review: Hello Kitty Mimobot USB Flash Drives

I don’t normally go for USB flash drives that are shaped as pretty much anything. I am just as happy with a Sandisk as I am with a Lexar or even a no-name brand flash drive. Unless you have specific needs, they all pretty much work the same and the looks have been secondary to the amount of storage. That was until I came along the cuteness of a flash drive that looked like a Hello Kitty character . Mimoco sent me a 2 GBflash drive that looked like Badtz Maru, the little black penguin with pointy hair. The one thing that…

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