Gear Bits

More Than a PR Gimmick, Apple Sells a Record 9 Million iPhone 5s and 5c In Opening Weekend

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More Than a PR Gimmick, Apple Sells a Record 9 Million iPhone 5s and 5c In Opening Weekend

When the news came of ‘record lines’ at Apple’s NYC store, it felt like a contrived move for headlines – and it probably was. But while that seemed like a desperation move, Apple’s press release today is a triumph of the continued consumer demand for the iPhone. The iPhone 5c and 5s sold over 9 million units in the opening weekend! In the press release, Apple highlights a few interesting numbers from the last several days: – The 9 million sales are just the iPhone 5s and 5c, and happened in spite of constrained supply, particularly of the coveted Gold 5s….

Superhot Becomes Fastest Game to Be Greenlit on Steam

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Superhot Becomes Fastest Game to Be Greenlit on Steam

In non-Grand Theft Auto V related gaming news, a new browser-based shooting game is creating some buzz.  Superhot is a first-person shooter where time only moves when you do.  Therefore, if you’re standing still, time moves extremely slowly.  This brings a very cool sneaking aspect into the game.  Superhot has been greenlit for addition to Steam by the Steam community. Be on the lookout for upcoming news as to Superhot’s release, but in the meantime, check out the trailer below and click this link to play the short teaser game now!  Superhot has become the fastest game ever to be…

Simple Graphic Informs Us About Exactly Who is Confusing Fantasy and Reality!

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Simple Graphic Informs Us About Exactly Who is Confusing Fantasy and Reality!

Every time there’s a tragic school shooting or mass killing, we hear about video games. We hear that they’re ‘killing trainers’ and need to be regulated and controlled because they are dangerous and poisoning the minds of our youth. Studies show all violent media consumption desensitizes us, but that is very different than making us killers, as the image shows. Image Source – QuickMeme

It's Not Your Imagination - Every Other Phone Has a Laggy Response Compared to iPhone

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It’s Not Your Imagination – Every Other Phone Has a Laggy Response Compared to iPhone

Laggy Android touchscreen response has been covered so much it’s practically a meme; we’ve heard with each device and OS version they’ve solved it ‘this time for sure’. But here is the blunt and simple reality – the flagship Samsung Galaxy S4 is even slower to respond than the iPhone 4S, let alone the iPhone 5 or the newest devices! And before Windows Phone folks start feeling smug, the Nokia Lumia 928 from Verizon falls in just behind the Galaxy S4. Check out all the results here.

Neat NeatConnect Direct-to-the-Cloud Touchscreen Scanner First Look

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Neat NeatConnect Direct-to-the-Cloud Touchscreen Scanner First Look

I went hands-on time with Neat’s new NeatConnect Direct-to-the-Cloud Touchscreen Scanner this evening. It really does, “Introduce a whole new way to get organized!” The NeatConnect sends scans straight to NeatCloud, Skydrive, Evernote, Box, Dropbox and Google Drive without a computer.. You can also send to email, an SD card or to Neat’s Desktop Software. Shipping in October for $499. We can’t wait to spend more time with it! Find the Full Press Release here.

JBL Spark Wireless Stereo Speaker System First Look

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JBL Spark Wireless Stereo Speaker System First Look

The JBL Spark Wireless Stereo Speaker System is one of the funnest (yeah I know it is not a word) speakers we’ve seen. Offering “legendary JBL sound in a funky, fun shape” it has two high-performance 40 mm JBL drivers and offers wireless Bluetooth streaming from your smartphone or table. Just $129 each! Check it out.

Grand Theft Auto V Generates More than $800 Million, Which is a LOT of Money

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Grand Theft Auto V Generates More than $800 Million, Which is a LOT of Money

You might have heard of the Grand Theft Auto games, which are either the cause of all evil or just a video game depending on your perspective. The fifth entry (or 7th counting Vice City and San Andreas) was just released – and has already sold over $800 million during its first 24 hours of retail and digital sales. Wow. By comparison, GTA4 sold 3.6 million copies for $310 million on launch day – 2K games isn’t telling how many units of GTA5 were sold. And in the UK GTA5 replaced Call of Duty: Black Ops as the fastest selling…

Google Completes QuickOffice Assimilation, and It's Now Free

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Google Completes QuickOffice Assimilation, and It’s Now Free

In June of 2012, Google picked up Quick Office and for the longest time, didn’t do anything with it. Today Google has pushed out a brand new version of Quick Office completing the assimilation of this office suite.  They have added the ability to save work to Google Drive as well; it’s also now free to download for all. Google has made some significant changes to the mobile office suite they picked up over a year ago.  Namely, a brand new look for the application and the ability to use your Google Drive storage. You can also view Google Drive…

Check Out the Trailer for the Upcoming Dungeon Defense Game 'Evil Master Overlord'!

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Check Out the Trailer for the Upcoming Dungeon Defense Game ‘Evil Master Overlord’!

I love the under-served genre of dungeon defense games, such as the 90’s Dungeon Keeper games. In these games rather than playing the dungeon-raiding hero you are the master of the dungeon, warding off adventurers! A great looking new entry to the genre ‘Evil Master Overlord’ is coming to iOS and Android soon. Check out the trailer! From the developers: Evil Master Overlord (EMO) is an exciting dungeon defense game with a recognizable tile-matching puzzle style mechanic that will soon be available on the iOS and Android platforms. It will appeal to gamers who cannot get enough of the dungeon…

Unintended Reveal of New iPhone Speed Test: Samsung Galaxy S4 Is Slower Than iPhone 5!

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Unintended Reveal of New iPhone Speed Test: Samsung Galaxy S4 Is Slower Than iPhone 5!

We all know both the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4 are excellent phones. But since the iPhone 5 is now ‘obsolete’ and the S4 is just a few months old, it might surprise you that in ‘real world’ tests the iPhone 5 is considerably faster than the S4. The tests were intended for the iPhone 5s, which is insanely fast. You can see all results here, but I do realize that these sorts of tests are seldom an indication of exactly the experience someone will have. For some it is all about app-switching, others are data-throttled, and so on. Personally…

Pocket Adds iOS 7 Capabilities Including Instant Sync to Offline Reader App

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Pocket Adds iOS 7 Capabilities Including Instant Sync to Offline Reader App

Pocket has been around iOS users for quite a while (previously as ‘Read it Later’), and it provides excellent offline reading capabilities that integrate with several other apps to let you read what you want, when you want. For iOS 7, Pocket has gotten better in several important ways including speed and responsiveness, updated design, and background capabilities. Here are the main things included in the newly released Pocket 4.6: Fresh New Design – Changes to every screen in Pocket, as well as a new app icon to complement the look and feel of the new version of iOS. Instant…

Phiaton's Fusion MS 430 Brings Audio Quality and Style Together

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Phiaton’s Fusion MS 430 Brings Audio Quality and Style Together

Phiaton‘s latest over-ear headphones are the new Fusion MS 430. “Every detail in the Fusion MS 430 Headphones was skillfully combined, fusing brilliant materials and sound technology to deliver a powerful, aesthetic and resilient headphone.” The Fusion MS 430s bring aluminum and red accents to Phiaton’s signature carbon graphite fiber design. Lightweight and durable, the 40mm drivers and oversized Neodymium magnets help create beautiful music. We’ll have links and a closer look soon.

Cut the Cords and the Noise with Phiaton's New Chord MS 530 Headphones

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Cut the Cords and the Noise with Phiaton’s New Chord MS 530 Headphones

Phiaton has been adding depth to their headphone lineup and their latest, the Phiaton Chord MS 530 Headphones, is set to impress. These headphones offer “incredible sound, active noise-cancellation, the flexibility of wireless Bluetooth and an unrivaled design that stands apart from competitors.” With 18-30 hours of talk and listening time these $349 headphones do it all. Check them out.

When to Expect the iOS 7 Update on Your iDevice

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When to Expect the iOS 7 Update on Your iDevice

Heads-up iPhone and iPad users! Before you rabidly start checking your phone for the iOS 7 update, keep in mind that Apple has typically released big iOS updates around 10:00 am Pacific Time.  This means for those on the East Coast, iOS 7 should be ready for installing around 1:00pm.  This has been a public service announcement. In the meantime, to help feed your iOS hunger, you can check out all the upgrades and enhancements that iOS 7 will bring on Apple’s website.

Apple Now Lets You Get the Version That Works on Your Crappy Old iOS Device

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Apple Now Lets You Get the Version That Works on Your Crappy Old iOS Device

While Apple is really good at upgrading operating systems on older devices, eventually they ‘sunset’ devices based on capabilities. This typically means you can no longer get an app that has been upgraded to require a newer OS version, but now Apple is allowing users who are looking for apps with an older OS to download the ‘last compatible version’. There seem to be limits on devices and apps, and some potential issues about non-working older versions – and nothing has been made official by Apple. But for now it works, and it is awesome.

Be Sure Your Apps Are Ready Before You Rush to Upgrade to iOS 7!

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Be Sure Your Apps Are Ready Before You Rush to Upgrade to iOS 7!

After Carly posted about B&N’s iOS7 ‘warning’, I got several emails from app developers warning me about potential issues with apps and iOS7 that would be resolved with updates released soon. Getting these is a reminder that it is critical that you fully assess the potential impact of updating on the apps that are critical to your daily life. So … unless you know your apps are all updated, or you only use Apple apps and basic functionality, then it might make sense to hold off for a bit. Also, be sure to (always) back up before updating the OS…

The Hidden Linux of the Week Is a Vending Kiosk

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The Hidden Linux of the Week Is a Vending Kiosk

Today’s hidden Linux system is one you probably never think about. Have you ever seen a kiosk like at the airport quick check in counter or running a vending area? Well my friend Dan Frey did at his office and he found out that the kiosk that Avanti Markets uses runs Linux. Dan, who is one my fellow co-hosts of The Linux Link Tech Show found this out when the vendor that runs his cafeteria at work was installing them.  They needed help setting up the network connections as the installers were primarily familiar with Windows networking. They asked him…

Don't Be an iFool, Set Up iCloud for Your New iPhone!

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Don’t Be an iFool, Set Up iCloud for Your New iPhone!

The iPhone is great, so is iCloud ability to automatically upload photos. It is great for viewing and sharing photos across devices, but most importantly it provides a backup in case something happens to your phone. My mother recently got her first iPhone and quickly regretted not setting up iCloud when her phone died and took two months of pictures! She got the phone through Verizon after a succession of Motorola Droid devices, and was looking forward to the whole family being on iMessage together across the country. But the Verizon folks didn’t prompt her to set up iCloud or…

The Rise and Fall of My Lumia 928

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The Rise and Fall of My Lumia 928

I know … you opened this to hear how I’ve given up on Windows Phone, regretted jumping ship, and am moving to more mainstream phones. Sorry, but the rise and fall here is far more literal: my phone took a spectacular triple flip dive out of my pocket today, and the results were right about what you’d expect when phone meets concrete. It started out as a pretty typical walk with my dog. I had my Lumia 928 in the pocket of my workout pants, a pocket that was deep enough to hold the phone easily. My dog was feeling…

Found- The World's Most Advanced Beer 'Koozie'!

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Found- The World’s Most Advanced Beer ‘Koozie’!

I’m an American. That means I eat french fries not chips, take the subway not the tube and like my beer cold. That last one is a challenge on a warm day but, thanks to the BottleCamo, keeping beer ice cold just got a whole lot easier and stylish. Made with quality stainless steel, and neoprene, you can pre-order now.