News & Features

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.


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.


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?


The Dart Stylus-Great for Android, Terrible for iPads

I began my technology love back in the days of Palm OS, so I have a soft spot in my heart for the lowly stylus. The Dart Stylus brings back some of that old-school nostalgia, since it features a 2mm tip instead of a large rounded one, but will this “active stylus” replace my finger for precision work?


Traveling with the Chromecast or Any Other Set-Top Box

Two weeks ago, I went on another business trip.  Since I had just bought the Chromecast, I thought I would take it with me to have something to watch in my down time. While I was able to get it to work, it wasn’t the easiest thing to do, so that might be enough to make you rethink taking that tiny Chromecast. It’s not impossible, though!



The Naneu Adventure K4L Hiking Camera Pack Impresses

I’m currently working on a review of the most complex and impressive camera backpack I have ever seen. The Naneu Adventure K4L Hiking Camera Pack is a camera backpack that converts into a separate standalone day pack and camera pack. It is a large pack and the more time I have spent with it the more surprises I have found.


SWASH May Free You from the Dry Cleaning Cycle

Have I mentioned that I live about 40 minutes from the nearest dry cleaners? And of course I have items which are “dry clean only”, so once or twice a week (when I make the drive to San Angelo) I bring along and pick up my weekly dry cleaning. It’s inconvenient and time-consuming, so I’m about to try SWASH.


Waterfield VertiGo 2.0 Laptop Bag Is Stylish and Functional!

We always love it when Waterfield SFBags announces a new product. In this case, the Waterfield VertiGo 2.0 is a new take on an old favorite. This new laptop bag takes tons of feedback into consideration is a good example of how this company is constantly working to offer the best-designed, most function and most attractive products possible.



Gear Up for the “Mercedes Cup” Mario Kart 8 Tournament

August 27, 2014 will be the 22nd anniversary of the initial Super Mario Kart game release (now available for $7.99 in Nintendo eShop for Wii U), the beginning date of the Mario Kart 8 online worldwide “Mercedes Cup” tournament on the Nintendo Wii U and the earliest date that Mario Kart 8 players can download three free Mercedes-Benz cars.


Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited Isn’t Quite Unlimited

“Kindle Unlimited” has a nice ring to it. That’s probably why Amazon uses that name and not, say, “Kindle 10-at-a-time”, which is the more accurate assessment of the service. If you plan to load up before a vacation, bear in mind, you’re capped at 10 books before you have to “return” one!



HTC Desire Family Picks Up Two New Members

I love my HTC One M8; the Boomsound speakers, sharp screen, fast processor, and excellent Sense UI skin all make for a fabulous experience. If you’re looking for a similar phone on prepaid services at a reasonable price, then you should check out the new HTC Desire 610 and 816!


Take Off with the Xtreem QuadForce Video Drone

The Xtreem QuadForce Video Drone comes from Swann and is part of their latest line of products. The drone gives you impressive features at a low price of $89.99. If you have been wowed by all the cool drone video but balked at the price here’s you chance to fly a drone and record HD video while you do.



The Polaroid Cube Is a Cute and Reasonably Priced Action Cam

We have an entire generation of people who grew up watching shows such as MTV’s ‘The Real World”, and so to them it probably seems normal to have a camera following them around, catching everything they say or do. If you think you and your friends are interesting enough, you can life-blog while wearing the $100 Polaroid Cube.



Theatrhythm Curtain Call Contest Celebrates Final Fantasy Music

The new Theatrhythm Curtain Call Contest gives you a chance to showcase your musical skills by performing, recording and submitting your version of the Final Fantasy main theme to win final fantasy music-themed prizes and more. Theatrhythm Curtain Call Contest celebrates Square Enix’s upcoming Nintendo 3DS video game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call™, which will release on September 16.