August 2014

The Harman Kardon Esquire Mini Will be Music to Your Ears

I reviewed the Harman Kardon Esquire Bluetooth speaker a few weeks ago and was completely blown away by its build quality, feature set and, of course sound. It is a Bluetooth speaker that looks and feels more like jewelry than anything else. Now the company has announced a new speaker – the Harman Kardon Esquire Mini Bluetooth wireless speaker.


EyeFly 3D Nanoglass: Will It Protect the iPhone In 3D?

It is always smart to utilize a screen protector to keep your iPhone screen safe and sound. What if you were able to protect the precious screen while also achieving 3D media viewing? This is actually possible with the EyeFly 3D Nanoglass screen protector. For just $29.95, the screen protector and free apps promise to bring the iPhone to life. 


Is ‘Windows CE Syndrome’ Hurting Tablet Adoption?

Somewhere between Apple’s and Samsung’s last quarterly earnings reports, Dan’s review of the Galaxy S5, Dan & Judie’s Sony Xperia X2s, the Ultra, discussions with friends about a variety of tablets we’ve all used, along with the statement by the Best Buy CEO that ‘tablet sales are crashing’ something occurred to me – we’ve been here before — with Windows CE.



The Ascent Vaporizer by DaVinci Review: Intelligently Vape Herb Blends

WARNING: The products discussed may contain or use nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical; in many cities and a few states, you must be 21 to purchase vaping products and/or products containing nicotine. Please familiarize yourself with and obey the law in your location. About a month ago, I went over to a cousin’s house and noticed for the first time that he had a small hookah on a side table in his sitting room. It made me feel less self-conscious about mentioning that I was soon going to review the Ascent Vaporizer by DaVinci. You would think that things like this shouldn’t matter, but…



Plantronics BackBeat PRO Wireless NC Headphones Now Available

Just yesterday,  Plantronics announced the availability of their new Plantronics BackBeat PRO Wireless, Noise Canceling Headphones. The latest audio offering from one of the best-known headset producers, the BackBeat PRO takes the company’s experience and know-how in a new direction. The $249.99 headphones are wireless, noise-canceling and comfortable. And that’s just the beginning of the tricks they offer.


Fiat’s Ad People Have Lost Their Minds

I have a coworker who just had an awful experience with Chrysler over her Jeep. We joked that she should have called Fiat directly, but after seeing this ad, courtesy of Jalopnik, I think I’m just going to avoid making eye contact with my local Fiat dealer at all. And I won’t look at forest animals the same way again.


FaceTime Needs FaceMail

My wife Sarah’s phone died a watery death this week. You might feel a slight sense of deja vu, and that’s because this already happened a few weeks ago. We’re having a rough month for phones in our house. As a result, we’ve been FaceTiming a fair amount while I am at work, and we’ve concluded FaceTime really needs voicemail.


DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Returns to Gaming Consoles

The DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket gaming console package is back on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Xbox One! This service celebrates 20 years with a return to consoles, which began on the consoles like the PlayStation 3 three years ago. Last year’s users got service access codes (e.g. on PC) when purchasing Madden NFL 25.


Samsung Gear S Could Be a Wearables Contender

Are you still trying to figure out which smartwatch is going to get your money this fall? Samsung is hoping that you’ll consider their new Samsung Gear S, with its 2″ curved Super AMOLED display. Sure it has Bluetooth and WiFi, but it also offers a trick that none of the others have yet — its own 3G source.


Blue Mo-Fi Headphones Are High-End and High-Fidelity Headphones

For the past few months, Blue (as in, Blue Microphones) has been hinting at their entrance into the headphone market. Well, the Blue Mo-Fi are here, and I can’t wait to experience these $349.99 headphones. With a built-in audiophile amplifier that offers six times more power than typical mobile devices, these headphones will reportedly take your music to new heights.


Chicco Activ3 Jogging Stroller: A Fantastic All-Around Stroller!

The stroller is probably the most important items you own when you have a baby (besides maybe the crib). It is a means to transport the baby, but it’s also a gateway to getting outside, especially if you have a jogging stroller. There’s no shortage of choices, and today we are looking at the Chicco Activ3 Jogging Stroller.


Terrapin Hybrid Rubberized Sony Xperia Z2 Case: Affordable Protection

Inexpensive cases that offer some degree of protection for the Sony Xperia Z2 are widely available. They add a dash of color to the phone and give you that extra bit of coverage you’ll want when carrying something as pricey as this super phone. The Terrapin Hybrid Rubberized Sony Xperia Z2 case is one great, affordable example.


HTC One M8 ‘Double Tap to Wake’ Leads to Disaster

The HTC One M8 has a double tap to wake feature, which is great. The One also has a security feature where 10 failed password attempts resets the phone. These two features came crashing together disastrously for me yesterday afternoon, so for now I’ve turned off the ‘double tap to wake‘ feature as a result.


Sony PlayStation Network / SEN Services Go Down

Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN) and the Sony Entertainment Network had another outage Sunday from outside sources trying to “overwhelm” Sony’s servers. Sony stated the outage is now ended, and no personal information was accessed, which unfortunately occurred on PSN in mid-April 2011and took services out for over a month.


Things We Used to Care About: the Graphing Calculators Edition

When I started college in 1989, I was going to school to get my Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics Engineering Technology. Graphing calculators were brand new; before that, we had Texas Instrument calculators as well as Casios, and my first weapon of choice for busting out math problems was an HP 28S. Do you remember?


“Theater To Go”, Thanks to the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 – Part One

I’ve heard of churches using projectors to beam words to songs, images, and page numbers onto a screen during services, and we’ve been considering it for our sanctuary; we wanted to test it out during the summer. Fortunately, I had a review sample of the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 2D/3D 1080p 3LCD Projector in hand.   It turns out that the projector is phenomenal for home use, and it held its own during services as well.


Minimalist iPhone 5/5s/6 Koala Case is now Funding on Kickstarter

The Koala Case is very different from most iPhone cases; it has a minimalist design, allowing the timeless iPhone design to shine through while still protecting your phone from drops. The Koala Case clips onto the corners of your iPhone while crossing the back in an X shape with its unibody design. The Koala Case is now campaigning on Kickstarter.


GMYLE Hard Case Metallic Color, a Sony Xperia Z2 Case Review

Looking for an inexpensive way to protect your Sony Xperia Z2? Still want to be able to access the magnetic charging port and the lanyard holes? The GMYLE Hard Case Metallic Color Sony Xperia Z2 Case may be the case for you. Best of all this case is under $7.00! Here’s our video review.


Tomodachi Life Review on Nintendo 3DS

Tomodachi Life keeps a social focus through a unique Japanese cultural perspective where players care for their Miis. Feeding, nursing, and entertaining are the main course on the life simulation menu here. Players’ main goal is getting their virtual person to meet that special someone while populating an island setting with their Miis – Nintendo’s current player avatars.