Tiny, barely there Bluetooth earbuds have been all the rage so far this year, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a market for big, powerful, immersive headphones. Skullcandy asked us to take a look at their new Crusher Wireless headphones, which eschew the skinny in favor of bold, powerful sound. Do they live up their promises?
Microsoft is intent on proving Windows 10 runs on hardware that looks as good as the software, and their latest partnership with Porsche Design is a big step in that direction. Porsche Design’s laptop looks like the Surface Book and Macbook Pro realized their rivalry was due to a deep and forbidden love. Basically, it’s shiny, metallic, with a huge touchpad, but it also has a removable touchscreen AND a 360 degree hinge. Now, this isn’t a cheap laptop, clocking in at over $2500, but it sure looks good! We’ll have to wait and see, but if the insides match…
Samsung has been busy at Mobile World Congress, and two new tablets took center stage: the new Tab S3 and a Surface competitor called the Galaxy Book! The Tab S3 is the latest version of Samsung’s Android tablet offerings, and it has all the usual features like an S-Pen and solid battery life, but it goes way above and beyond for media. There’s quad core speakers from Harman Kardon, as well as 4K video capability! Before you whip out your wallet though, be sure to look the Galaxy Book over as well. This is a Windows 10 tablet/notebook hybrid that…
Fitness trackers are one of those gadgets that sound really great on paper; they will motivate you to move by telling you how sloth-like you are! Some people swear by them. Others think they’re a gadget destined for the fad junk drawer. Unfortunately, even if they have staying power as a trend, a new study indicates they probably aren’t helping you lose weight!
I am an unabashed fan of the “Jurassic Park” series, even Jurassic World and Bryce Dallas Howard’s ability to run in heels while leading a T-Rex. But just because I like the moves doesn’t mean I want to live them. Scientists apparently feel differently, and some are predicting they can cross an elephant with a woolly mammoth in real life.
I love being barefoot. I work out barefoot, and in the spring and fall I wear Vibram FiveFingers when I need shoes and flip-flops in the summertime. While being barefoot is free, minimal shoes tend to be really, really expensive, as well as really polarizing in appearance. Fitkicks Shoes handily solves one of these issues!
If you haven’t yet read Dave Egger’s “The Circle“, I highly recommend it. It’s fantastic, building a world around a company that is part Facebook, part Google, where your privacy is an obstacle to their success. When I heard there was a movie being made, I was partially excited and partially concerned. Based on the trailer, the movie will have even more bite than the book! Yes, that was Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, Karen Gillan, Patton Oswalt, and John Boyega, among many others. It’s coming out this April, and I am beyond excited. We already live in a world where…
I rarely do this, but I am reviewing the Bozlun B15P Band on a bit of a curve. If it were priced in line with comparably equipped fitness trackers, I would not be nearly as generous as I am going to be in this review, because the band is only $32.99 on Amazon.
I am usually a big advocate for keeping notes and logs digitally. First of all, it’s far more efficient to make notes searchable, and second of all, my handwriting looks as though the evil hand from “Idle Hands” went on a bender and then started taking notes for me. But I’ve stumbled upon one very productive exception: a workout log.
So, who’s excited for Lego Batman? Apparently, Chevy is, since for a cool $48,000,000, they’re listing the all-new Lego Batmobile on their site. The whole landing site is really an excellent marriage of car and movie marketing, with lots of winks to the movies but also played as a deadpan legitimate site. My favorite is the car comparison chart, but the whole site is great! Now all we need is the release of Lego Batman…
Streaming video is where everyone wants to be, and the newest entry is a modern take on portraying a hungry zombie, desperate to return to its old life and consuming the living as a poor substitute for true life force. Yes, Apple Music is entering the video business. Oh, and Netflix has a cool new show with Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant!
The cofounders of Lyft have an op-ed on Medium today suggesting that carpooling is the way to end traffic in America. They have some interesting ideas, and the plan they propose makes a great deal of sense in cities. Unfortunately, they seem to think because it might work for LA, it will work for everywhere, and that’s a terrible idea.
CES always has a few wacky gadgets that make you do a triple take, and this year Withings stepped up to the plate with their “Hair Coach” device, aka a connected hairbrush. Yes, you can now track your hair brushing, and get a full report on how dry/oily/split your hair is that day. No word on whether it also tracks your calories from brushing, however.
Misfit is determined to conquer every level of the fitness wearables market with devices that place style on the same level as function. They started with the Shine, then the Flash, and post-Fossil acquisition they’ve released the Ray and the Phase Hybrid. Now they’re looking to tackle the true smartwatch market with the $199 Vapor! Vapor appears to tick all the usual smartwatch/fitness watch boxes. It has GPS, can function as a standalone music device, tracks heart rate, and is waterproof for swimming. Where Misfit hopes to shine (no pun intended, given their flagship product) is in the style. The…
It appears that wearables aren’t as dead as suspected. That, or companies still had product in the pipeline and figured they would go ahead and release them anyway. In any case, Garmin, Casio, and Intel/New Balance have all thrown their hats into the tracking ring (wrist?)!
Chromebooks have been able to run Android apps for about a year now, but it’s been hit and miss. Not all Chromebooks have touchscreens, and even the ones with touchscreens aren’t necessarily optimized for use as an Android device as well. Samsung and Google seem determined to change that with the newly announced Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro. These look an awful lot like most touchscreen Chromebooks these days. There’s an Intel processor for the Pro and an ARM for the Plus, and the screen can be flipped 360 degrees so you can use it as a laptop, tablet, or…
There’s a big flaw in the concept of fitness wearables; they really only work for running or biking. Weightlifting, calisthenics, boxing, and other workouts just aren’t conducive to having a watch on, and it cuts out a big chunk of the fitness market. Twelve South may have a solution with their new ActionSleeve Armband for the Apple Watch.
Every year at CES, there’s a slew of technologies aimed at parenting. Some are genuinely useful, and some are more of a “well, we can, so why not?” Mattel has announced Aristotle, an Echo-like AI speaker, that falls squarely in the second category.
Fitness, especially home fitness, has evolved quite a bit in the last few years. Suspension straps, kettlebells, and just plain bodyweight workouts have become extremely popular, and it’s been fascinating to watch equipment evolve to meet these new needs. So when I stumbled across The Yoak, I had to learn more.
We see some very odd product pitches here at Gear Diary. Every once in a while, we get one that is odd all by itself, but then the marketing material just zooms it right past ludicrous speed to plaid…and that’s where the Hand Liberation folks landed with The Butt Case.
It looks like Pebble isn’t the only wearables crash in 2016. Jawbone appears to have quietly imploded, leaving their website like one of those cars on the side of the road. It looks functional, but there’s nothing inside.