June 2012

Mo’Beats Portable Stereo Bluetooth Speaker Stand Brings Sleek Design and Good Functionality to a Tablet Near you

I’m really loving some of the new gear iLuv is offering these days. We are currently working on a full review of their iMM377 MobiAir Bluetooth Stereo Speaker Dock for Smartphones. (Check it out here.) Now they have released another Bluetooth speaker and this one is truly universal… and practical! The Mo’Beats Portable Stereo Bluetooth Speaker Stand looks great, holds your tablet or smartphone at just the right angle for view and includes a Bluetooth stereo speaker in the base. As iLuv Notes: Mo’Beats is a slim, compact portable stereo speaker stand that comes with a cradle that can hold…

Crowdfunding

Metal Medal Hangers with a Shelf, Kickstart This!

If you participate in any organized sporting events, there’s a good shot you will end up with a medal. Running races generally give out medals for half-marathon and marathon distances, and championships in team sports often also reward players with hardware. Yes, there’s an easy joke here about how these days “everyone gets a medal” but they make great souvenirs to remember athletic experiences. However, once you take one home, how you do you display it? One or two can be hung on a hook, but above that you want a better way to show them off. Enter the Kickstarter…

Editorials

Microsoft Previews Windows Phone 8 (But it’s not for Everyone)

Many of you know that I recently made the move over to Windows Phone as my daily driver. On the whole I’ve been pretty happy with it, but my big hopes have been pinned around the potential the platform has. Today MS made some announcements about the upcoming Windows Phone 8 (OS and devices)– some good.. some bad. As a recent Windows Phone convert, these announcements definitely had an impact on me, and I thought we might take a look at exactly what was announced… and what it might mean for the future of Windows Phone. Apps: Windows Phone currently has…

News

TabToolkit Receives Update and Opens the Tab Store

My iPhone has become an invaluable tool while playing the guitar. Two apps pretty much cover everything I need, and both are developed by Agile Partners. GuitarToolkit takes care of tuning, chords and scales and TabToolkit keeps all of my tabs in order. As a hobby guitarist, I love to collect all of my favorite song tabs in one place. When playing on the deck with friends, it is best to have the chords and words to look at. TabToolkit has been my go-to app for both my phone and iPad to keep everything with me at all times. When…

Game Diary, Reviews

Lumines Review: Electronic Symphony for PlayStation Vita

This latest installment in this kinetic puzzle game series, which began in 2004 on the PlayStation Portable (PSP), represents the first original iteration in about five years and offers amazingly colorful visuals, electronic music, challenging puzzle play, and deep statistics.

News, Vehicles & Gear

Ford Opens Silicon Valley Lab, Enshrines SYNC in Computer History Museum

There has been quite a bit of technology news coming from Ford over the past week including its announcement of the new Silicon Valley Lab opening and its SYNC system being enshrined in the computer museum. Founder namesake and Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford was on hand in California to participate in both events saying, “We have been innovating for more than a century at Ford, but we acknowledge we don’t have a monopoly on creativity. Our new office will complement our existing research efforts by allowing us to tap into the region that has been driving consumer technology forward…

News

Nuance Introduces Swype Platform for Android, Mobile Keyboards the Way They Were Meant to Be

Nuance has just announced their new Swype platform. It is, to use their words, “Swype’s new living, learning keyboard” that “gets smarter every time you use it”. I had the opportunity to use it for the past few days and it almost makes this iOS guy want to consider jumping over to Android. Yeah it is that good. Swype, which the company bought last fall, is, a four-in-one keyboard that is a revolutionary step forward in the way people communicate and input text on their mobile devices. Swype now combines touch and voice input with unique adaptive capabilities to understand…

Outdoors, Reviews

Gear Diary Outdoors, MyGunDB Intelligent Firearms Solutions

As a South Texas country boy and an avid hunter, I have a love for firearms. Shotguns, pistols, rifles, if it goes bang, I want one. I often tell people owning a firearm is like eating potato chips…you can’t have just one. While my collection is far from finished, I do have several pieces and am always looking for ways to keep records of them. They are all under lock and key in a large gun safe both to protect against theft as well as keep my kids’ hands off of them. As the number of weapons grows, so does…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

2012 Kia Rio Review

For the last several days, I have had the opportunity to tool around in a 2012 Kia Rio. It’s a cute, sporty, very compact car, and it has been quite a difference from my usual car, a Toyota Prius, and Sarah’s car, a Volkswagen Jetta. It has a lot of impressive features, and a few things I found to be annoying. Read on to learn more! So, let’s start with the basics. This is what Kia calls an “entry-level” car, and it retails for around $18,000, making it very affordable. Now, to get the price that low, there are certain…

Reviews

Twelve South BookBook for iPad Review; It’s Updated and Awesome!

Twelve South just announced a brand new product that isn’t brand-new. Their new BookBook for iPad is a complete redesign that warrants a post in and of itself because it takes an interesting iPad case concept and turns it into something extraordinary. I’ve had an early release version of it for about a week and I can honestly say this is one of the most interesting and functional cases I have used in a long time. I thought we would let the company speak about the case in writing while I talk about it on video so let’s take a…

News

TP-Link Brings Out New Power Over Ethernet Switch for Businesses

My experience with TP-Link is more from the SOHO and home product networking lines. Those routers and switches have had good performance and have been reliable in my home environment. TP-Link also has products for the enterprise as well. That also includes the new power over Ethernet Layer 2 switch they just brought out, namely the new TL-SG3424P switch. This switch packs in: Power over Ethernet supply up to 320W Complete lineup of layer 2 features, including 802.1Q tag VLAN, Port Mirroring, STP/RSTP/MSTP, Link Aggregation Control Protocol and 802.3x 4 combo SFP slots Provides high performance, enterprise-level quality of service,…

Reviews

Sonos SUB Reviewed; It Brings “Soul-Shaking Sound and Heart-Pounding Design”

If there is one line of products with which I have been totally enamored it is the Sonos system I purchased a bit over a year ago. To recall my experience with Sonos: I had long been interested in the company and their wireless audio system, but I had never actually seen or heard one in action. I reached out to the company, and they were kind enough to send a loaner system for review. I got it, opened the boxes, set up the system (it took me just a few minutes), and turned it on. I listened, then listened…

Reviews

Us+U Simple Swivel for iPad 2 and 3 Review

Two cases from Us+U arrived last week. One, for the Kindle Fire, is on the way to Carly for a full review since Sarah LOVES her Fire. The other, the Simple Swivel, is for the iPad 2 and 3, so I took it out and ran it through its paces. When I first saw it I was not impressed. After all, the case doesn’t protect the screen and is made from “synthetic leather” which is simply a euphemism for cheap plastic. Actually, it’s not cheap at all; it feels quite good, but it’s still plastic. In addition, because of the…

Reviews

SPIGEN SGP Ultra Thin Case for the New iPad, Review

I like a minimalist iPad case. Yup, I like a case that will help keep my iPad in pristine condition without adding a ton of weight to it. The balance between weight/bulk and style is often a difficult one to strike. The more fashionable cases tend to add to the size and heft of the iPad, while the minimalist protective systems often look and feel a bit cheap. With the Ultra Thin Case Series for the New iPad SPIGEN SGP has struck the right balance. The case all but disappears while still protecting the iPad from scratches. No, this is…

Reviews

Keen Waimea H2, the Ugly Sandals You Will Love, Review

Warning, if you care about style do not read this post. Warning, if you’re self-conscious don’t read this post. Warning, if you can’t handle a bit of ridicule don’t read this post. Okay, if you are still reading this post then you clearly don’t care about style, aren’t all that self-conscious, and can handle a bit of ridicule from your peers. Good let’s get started. A little over a year and a half ago Carly wrote a few posts that discuss Vibram Five Finger shoes. (Check out last year’s lineup here.) They are the ugliest things I had ever seen…

Crowdfunding

Kickstart This! EDGE.sound Bluetooth Speaker

I have come to love bluetooth speaker systems; their ability to stream audio from a phone or tablet is extremely convenient. In fact, when I am camping or outside on the deck, I almost refuse to use a wired speaker system. New technologies and design features make these products sound and look great. One feature I wish all companies would include is a microphone to allow the speaker to be used as a hands-free call device. I recently found a device that looks to provide a bluetooth speaker that includes style, quality and ease of use. All of that with…

News

The Proporta Quillit Stylus Pen Review

Remember when we carried electronic organizers called PDAs? Remember how they all used a stylus, which is how you would enter information on their resistive touch screens? Remember how fingers weren’t used to tap out anything, because leaving finger grease on a screen was gross? Remember how using a screen protector was an absolute necessity, because if you used a cheaper stylus you could leave deep gouges in your device’s screen? My how things have changed. In 2007 we saw a shift occur with the introduction of the iPhone; it soon became de rigueur for every device to have a capacitive screen…

Reviews

iLuv Epicarp Slim Folio for the New iPad Review

When iLuv’s Epicarp Slim Folio for the New iPad first arrived at my home, I was not impressed. It is thin, remarkably light and the plastic material feels… well let’s just say it does not feel substantial. (UNDERSTATEMENT!) The case truly lives up to its name when referred to as a “slim folio”. It is a folio design into which the new iPad easily, but securely, snaps. And it is quite slim. It is so slim, in fact, that I could not imagine that iLuv had been able to include the magnets necessary to activate the iPad’s sleep/awake functionality. Hey,…

Reviews

The Miniot Cover Mk2 for iPad Review

I have a secret that I never thought I would share with anyone, but I feel like I can tell you. I ordered one of the first magnetic covers that Miniot offered for the iPad 2. The idea of having a smart cover made of gorgeous wood was simply too enticing, so without reading the fine print (my fault, not Miniot’s!), I sent off for one and waited almost three months for it to arrive. And when it came, I was sorely disappointed. Although I absolutely loved the wood, and there was no denying the craftsmanship, the cover wasn’t exactly…

Editorials, Game Diary

Tomb Raider Preview Video

The Tomb Raider game preview video features Lara Croft’s origins and aims for a stronger player connection to her as her familiar adventurous free will is taken away.

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