Gear Bits

Boomerang NFC Speaker Is a Home Theater On the Go

The Boomerang NFC Speaker is a crescent-shaped wireless audio dock that “offers a portable home-theater for your mobile device or tablet”. NFC technology makes pairing simple and the unique “Expansion Sleeve Design” lets it work with numerous devices. Available in two sizes, the large Boomerang ($79.99) has two 6W speakers, while the mini Boomerang ($59.99) has two 4W speakers; both arrive in mid-December.


Flipside 3X Wallet Offers RFID Shielding for Your Cards and Much More

I’ve been carrying the unusual Flipside RFID-shielded wallet or another since first writing about them three years ago. Now they are back with the 3rd generation Flipside 3X Wallet. It improves upon its predecessor through structural reinforcements a redesigned and stronger lock, an enlarged cash slot, a new clip system and more. Available in numerous colors for $39.95.


HTC One Max Arrives at Sprint this Friday

If you love the HTC One as much as Judie, but always wished it had a bigger screen, then you are in luck. HTC One max has a 5.9” full HD1080p display, UltraPixel camera, large 3300mAh battery, and quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor. Sprint will launch HTC One max this Friday, Nov. 15 for $249.99 on contract. Learn more here.



Check Out the Official Trailer for ‘The Shadow Sun’

If you are a fan of iOS role-playing games (RPG), chances are you’ve been tracking The Shadow Sun for a very long time (I first wrote about at the end of August … in 2010!). What started as an iPhone-only game now supports the iPad, and even takes advantage of the iPad Air! Today we get the official trailer!


Get Power On the Go with the PowerBinder

I am on the go a lot — almost always without access to electricity. Whether I’m hunting or coaching, being a geek in the great outdoors can sometimes leave me with dead devices. The PowerBinder is a simple to use solar charging mobile power solution. I have the $199 PowerBinder in hand, so look for a full review soon! Check out the PowerBinder at the PowerStick website.


Evercontact Flashback Mined My Contacts and Found Treasure

Most of your business contacts probably include their contact information in their email signatures. But unless you have an assistant, mining all of that incoming data and inserting it into your address book would be a huge chore; trying to glean that information from past years’ emails would seem incredibly daunting. But not if you use two magical products from Evercontact.


Monday Mystery: Scientists Discover Unknown Knee Ligament

Image courtesy Science Daily Several years ago I tore my ACL. I sat with the orthopedist and he showed me a model of the knee to explain where the ACL was, what it did, and how they took other bits of a tendon to replace it. I was left with the impression that surgeons know exactly what’s in there, but a new study indicates they’ve discovered a previously unknown ligament! Yes, apparently there’s another one in there, the Anterorlateral Ligament or ALL. The new theory is that this ligament causes the “pivot shift” sensation when you tear your ACL. Pivot…


LifeProof fr? for the iPhone 5s- First Look

I love using the iPhone 5S and am quite happy with the security the TouchID fingerprint reader provides. I do, however, miss my LifeProof case. Thankfully the new version of the LifeProof fr? is shipping and it works with the iPhone 5S. Here’s an early video demo! As LifeProof explains, The most advanced phone technology led to the iPhone 5s. And, the most advanced case technology led to this — fr? for iPhone 5s. Thinner, lighter, stronger and more protective than any case available, fr? keeps your iPhone 5s waterproof, dirt proof, snow proof and drop proof, so you can…


Walk Like an Egyptian, Die Like a Pharaoh

When I was a kid my mother overpaid for scalped tickets for the King Tut Exhibit. I was still captivated when, years later, I again saw the exhibit in Cairo. New evidence tells us Tut died in a chariot crash! (Drunk chariot races= bad idea.) But there’s more… Like his mummy spontaneously combusting. It is a fascinating read on Smithsonian.



Pre-Order Skooba Design’s Upcoming iPad/Tablet Courier V.3 and Save!

Check out Skooba Design’s collection of bags, and you’ll quickly see their penchant for East/West cases and briefs (devices are oriented in landscape inside the bag). That changes with their awesome new iPad/Tablet Courier V.3. This North/South bag has all kinds of Skooba goodness. It will be $89.95 when it arrives, but if you pre-order you can save 25%!


What’s Black or White and Cleans Your Teeth? Philips Sonicare DiamondClean

Philips Sonicare is the #1 dentist recommended power toothbrush in the US, and now their DiamondClean comes in a sleek black color. Available for a limited time, it removes up to 7x more plaque compared to a manual toothbrush. It ships with an awesome inductive charging “glass” and a USB travel case. Judie and I will be going “teeth on” shortly.



Star Wars: Tiny Death Star Puts You in Charge of an 8-Bit Death Star in this Tiny Tower Remake

Developer NimbleBit has teamed up with Disney and LucasArts to bring you Star Wars: Tiny Death Star, where you take the helm of the Death Star in order to build, develop, and prepare the planet-sized Death Star.  The gameplay is extremely similar to NimbleBit’s Tiny Tower.  It’s available for free on the App Store, Google Play, and Windows Store. You hire outer space “bitizens” in order to build the commercial and residential floors of the Death Star.  Like many freemium games, Star Wars: Tiny Death Star employs the use of premium currency that help speed up certain in-game actions.  On…



Can You Spot the New Colors of the Soundfreaq Sound Spot?

Both the sound and the design of the Soundfreaq SoundStep Lightning impressed us. Now Soundfreaq is looking to take the audio market by storm with new colors of their Sound Spot Available in ten new color combinations, the $69 Sound Spot is just 5″ square. Use it at home or on the go, the Sound Spot even charges your phone.


IK Multimedia iLoud – Hands-On First Impressions

Earlier today I posted about IK Multimedia’s new iLoud Bluetooth speaker system. This is their entry into the portable speaker market, but with a twist – rather than just releasing yet-another Bluetooth speaker, they designed an audio system with musicians in mind. I have had a chance for a first look, and it is awesome. Check out my first-impressions video!


Contort Power Solves Two Powerful Travel Dilemmas

It seems like all the hotels I’ve stayed at in the past few months have only had one free electrical outlet near the bed. That would be fine if I didn’t have a phone, iPad, and sometimes a laptop that all needed to be charged from the same plug. The $24.99 Contort Power from Quirky might just be my solution.