Articles by Dan Cohen

Carry Your Laptop in Style This Summer with the New booq Boa Squeeze

  Last summer I was on a train going down to Washington, and as I was getting off at my destination, the person in front of me was carrying a backpack that caught my eye. It had an unusual shape, was rather refined, and it looked great. I got close enough to see that it was a booq backpack. When I got to my hotel I grabbed my iPad, searched the booq site, and I learned that it was the booq Boa Squeeze. Fast forward to this yearm and booq has just announced the new Boa squeeze. Like the original, it looks…


Monster Diamond Tears Headphones Bring Bling to Your Ears

BLING! That’s the only way to describe the Monster Diamond Tears Edge Headphones. These fashion headphones stand out thanks to their crystal encrusted ear cups and music control. The sharp edges of the headphones immediately remind you of the facets on diamonds, and the transparent crystalline look of the Clear Diamond review sample we were sent (they also come in black) catches light and makes the appearance even more striking. Clearly targeted to a female audience, the Diamond Tears Edge headphones make as loud a fashion statement as you are going to find. There is no doubt what Monster was…


Harman Kardon NC Noise-Cancelling Headphones Review

When shopping for a pair of headphones, it seems that things keep getting harder and harder. After all, in the battle for your ears there are an ever-growing number of headphones vying for attention. Admittedly we haven’t done much of anything to make the task any easier. After all, in just the past few months we’ve reviewed headphones from Phiaton, Monster, AKG and many more. Worse- or better- yet, pretty much all the headphones we have reviewed recently impressed us enough that we would recommend them to a family member looking for some new cans. Is there room for another pair…


Waterfield SFBags Has Your Samsung GALAXY S4 Covered!

Whenever I get a new device I always jumped over to the Waterfield SF bag website to see what the company might have to protect it. Waterfield cases, pouches and bags are high-quality, well designed accessories that promise to protect your device for its life and beyond. I can honestly say that I have used/currently use a Waterfield product with every device I own. And while I don’t have a Samsung GALAXY S4 (yet…) I know many of you do and if you are looking for a stylish way to protect the new Samsung super phone you’ll want to check…


Head Over Heels for the Just Mobile HeadStand

Don’t let this happen to you… “Elana do you know where the Harman Karden NC headphones I’m reviewing are?” “Where did you last use them?” “If I knew that I wouldn’t be searching for them… Oh, got ’em!” “Where were they? Buried under the pile on your desk?” Yes, there is an advantage to keeping your headphones hung up and close by the way they are when you use the Just Mobile’s HeadStand. It prevents them from getting lost under a pile of papers. It keeps them safe and protected from someone who might sit on them after yo accidentally…


HTC First Was Last and It’s Now Almost Free

A few weeks ago we got exclusive information that the HTC First was in big trouble. As we first reported, sales number for the first phone designed specifically for Facebook Home were close to nonexistent. Our inside information told us that the pre-order and first weekend sales numbers of the HTC First were less than 500 total units on the East Coast. In other words, the HTC First was all but dead on arrival. My conclusion at the time was that: I cannot begin to imagine what stock AT&T is currently holding of the device, but I have a pretty…


Underwater Audio: Why is This Shuffle Different from All other Shuffles?

Here is a picture of two iPod shuffles. Yes, they are different colors but have the same shape, design, controls and capacity. If you look, touch or listen to these iPod shuffles, the ONLY difference you might notice is that the buttons on one are a tiny bit stiffer than the other. There’s no other difference. You would, however, only be willing to do this with one of those iPod shuffles… Put the wrong one in this ramekin of water, and you will be left with a tie clip (read: malfunctioning iPod shuffle) rather than an mp3 player. Put the…


HTC ONE: A Review from Two Continents

One of us is in the US while the other is in Australia; both of us have been using the HTC ONE for the last bit. With HTC pushing the phone this weekend through special sales promotions, we thought it would be a good time to share some of our thoughts. Dan: A couple of weeks ago, I wrote some of my first impressions of the HTC ONE Android Smartphone. My initial impressions have only continued to be positive, and I am more enamored with the device now than when I first gushed about it. At the time, I described…


Travel HoodiePillow Hooded Travel Pillow Review

Welcome to part two of my two-part hooded pillow review humiliation. In Part One I came clean and related that, while still watching the good folks from HoodiePillow make their pitch on SharkTank, I ordered a hooded pillow case from them. The HoodiePillow is a quality pillowcase made from sweatshirt material. What makes this pillow case special is that, as the name indicates, it has a hoodie built right into it. And as if that wasn’t enough, the HoodiePillow also has drawstrings, a pocket for your phone or mp3 player and a cable pass-through so the headphones can run from…


Just Mobile AluFrame for iPhone 5 Review

Leave it to our friends at Just Mobile to get the aluminum bumper frame for the iPhone 5 just right. Yes, Just Mobile AluFrame for the iPhone 5 is an aluminum bumper that makes all the right moves. It’s gorgeous and refined, protects the sides and edges of the iPhone admirably, and, perhaps best of all, I’m not seeing any signal degradation when I use it. That last point is particularly striking considering the fact that this aluminum frame doesn’t have any cuts or openings in it. (Many companies looking to create an aluminum frame without signal degradation resorted to…


Linksys Expands its Smart Wi-Fi Router Portfolio with AC 1200 Advanced Multimedia and AC 1600 Video Enthusiast

Linksys recently announced the addition of new models to its Smart Wi-Fi Router portfolio and they promise to be a great way to get, and stay, online. The $169.99 AC 1200 Advanced Multimedia, EA6300, is already available and the $189.99 Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router AC 1600 Video Enthusiast, EA6400, is coming by the end of May. The AC1600 is a dual-band router that allows for five to seven connected devices at a time and offers Wi-Fi speeds up to 1300 Mbps on the 5 GHz band and up to 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. The dual-band AC1200 offers up to…


ContourROAM2 Action Camera Is Built for Life in Motion

Perry recently wrote up an awesome action camera that allows you to shoot video in two different directions at once. The Oregon Scientific ATC Chameleon is a neat idea that lets, for example, not only see where you are going but also shows you the slow-pokes behind you on the ski slope or in the bike race. (Check out the review here.) The camera Perry wrote about is only one of a growing number of action cameras that offer quality, durability and great features. We received word of another one yesterday and it looks quite interesting. The ContourROAM2 action camera gives you…


Findables Cases for iPhone 5 and iPad mini Review

The more I review tech accessories, the more I find that I’m less inclined to use gadgets that rely on app-gimmicks than ever before. What I mean by that is, if there is something that lends itself to having a specialized application great. But if the inclusion of an app is a little more than a gimmick that differentiates the case from the other players in that space, I’m not interested. That’s why I wanted to check out some of the cases from Findables; Findables describes itself as offering the first cases that come with an app. Findables makes a…


HoodiePillow, a SharkTank Product Pitch Product Review

I was watching SharkTank a few months ago when I saw the HoodiePillow pitch. I laughed … out loud. In part because the product sounds so silly, but also because we were pitched this product or something like it quite some time ago, and I thought it was a joke. What’s a HoodiePillow you ask? The Sharks asked the same question, and they were more than amused by the answer. The HoodiePillow is exactly what it sounds like — a hoodie that is also a pillow case. Put the HoodiePillow on your pillow, and you now have a “pillow with…


3 to 5 Hours of Streamed Music from the MiPow Boom mini? Not Even Close!

We brought an exclusive first look at the MiPow Boom mini (read the post), and then we shared the first ever review of the diminutive new speaker coming from MiPow. As you might recall, Judie and I met with MiPow in January when they were showing off their newest offerings at CES 2013. We were impressed by the company and its products and were glad that the company, unknown in the US but widely popular internationally, was finally bringing their products State-side. Here’s our unboxing of the MiPow Boom mini. So here’s the thing, the MiPow Boom mini sounds great,…


Just Mobile AluCup iPhone Accessory Review

Just Mobile has made some of our favorite iPhone and Mac accessory. We met with the company at CES 2013, and they showed us a few of their upcoming products. One of them, the AluCup, struck me as one of their less compelling products. Still, there was something about it that intrigued me, and I looked forward to using and reviewing it. They sent one to us, so let’s take a look at this cup-shaped iPhone and iPad stand. The Just Mobile AluCup is the result of a combination of an aluminium cup-shaped frame that provides rigidity and a rubber insert…


RokForm RokShield v3 Case Kit for iPad Mini

Some weeks ago we took a first look at the RokForm RokShield v3 Case Kit for iPad Mini. I was impressed with the RokForm RokShield V3 for iPad mini and excited by the various possibilities it offered thanks to the kickstand, good protection and the option to add on additional accessories. After all, the case ships with an “easy-stick RMS” (remote mounting system and a 6 position KickStand for viewing, typing and browsing the web and those are just the included accessories. I liked the case enough that I put it on my iPad before leaving on vacation and used…


Leap Motion Makes the Right Move, Even Though it Means a Delay

The piece of tech I’ve been most excited about is something I have not often discussed, since all we’ve had thus far are a few promo videos of the actual product. The Leap Motion controller promises to transform the way we interact with our computers. It has the potential to truly allow us to interact with our hands moving in the air rather than with a stylus, keyboard or by voice. Just take a look at this promotional video of the device in action and you’ll see what I mean. I took one look at the video and joined the…


Rokform Rokshield v3 and v3 Suction Mount for iPhone 5 Review

Some weeks ago, I had the opportunity to review the Rokform Rokshield v3 for iPhone 5 (read the review). The case itself offers nice protection, but that wasn’t what stood out for me. No, what stood out when I reviewed the case at the time was the numerous possibilities a case like this afforded any iPhone user. Why is that so? Simple, the Rokform Rokshield v3 for iPhone 5 is more a system than it is a case. The Rokform Rokshield v3 for iPhone 5 is a hard case, but it also ships with a rubber bumper that wraps around it…


Sony’s Cyber-shot HX50V: A 30x Optical Zoom in a Small and Light Camera

When the smartphone market exploded the point and shoot camera market went into a nosedive. That's not a surprise since, for many of us, our iPhones or Galaxy 3 does a perfectly good job of letting us grab shots on the go. In addition, thanks to powerful applications and ubiquitous connectivity we are now able to play with our pictures on the go and then share them… In seconds. Still, there is a market for cameras that are small and powerful and sit somewhere between a smartphone camera and a big, bulky DSLR. Songs been doing some nice things in…