What’s the worst part of wanting a cupcake at 2am? It’s a tough call; your options are usually limited to something in a plastic wrapper from Quick Check, plus you need to actually talk to another human being and admit you’re buying cupcakes in the middle of the night … unless you’re in NYC, where a 24-hour cupcake ATM is opening!
It is increasingly difficult to stand out in the world of portable audio. So many companies offer small Bluetooth speakers and a variety of headphones; to say the market is crowded is an understatement. Grain Audio accomplishes something very few upstart companies are able to do – they stand out, and they make impressive products.
HTC today unveiled the HTC One (M8) – an upgrade ( 5.0 inch screen vs prior 4.7 inch screen) front facing 5 mp camera – to their premium line of Android smartphones. Touting the continued use of metal housing and breakthrough antenna technology HTC introduces a phone with 90% metal (up from 70% in the prior version).
The iHealth BP5 Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor (electronic sphygmomanometer) measures your maximum (systolic) and a minimum (diastolic) blood pressure in a convenient system using a sleeved monitor shell device and free mobile phone app named iHealth MyVitals.
In June of last year we reviewed Sir Lancelot’s Armor. (Read it.) “The Holy Grail“, it is the first line of reusable screen protectors that are made from tempered bulletproof glass. With a rank of #9 on the Mohs scale of hardness — only a diamond ranks higher- it promises to keep your screen safe. And it is reusable.
Jabra is introducing a new phone system that gives you an assortment of different ways to connect. The new Jabra MOTION Office Bluetooth Headset System adds three different kinds of connectivity and a simple way to control it all. Based on the Jabra MOTION Bluetooth headset the system will be $380 when it arrives Q2. It puts Jabra to work.
I have a wide range of audio devices from which to choose. The one I use most? My Sonos system. (Check out our Setting Up Sonos video here.) Sonos has expanded their speaker offerings but the iOS and Android apps have remains mostly unchanged. Until now. New apps are on the way and they promise more music enjoyment than ever.
A press release recently came across the Gear Diary email transom announcing a new wine suitcase from Wineline that they call the VinGarde Valise. This prompted a discussion among our editors about who would possibly ever need a suitcase for their beverages. As usual, I had a real-life anecdote about something I did while traveling that proved the case for the case.
I’m a huge fan of AKG headphones. I reviewed the AKG K551 and continue to enjoy using them. When I saw the MSRP $699 AKG K712 Pro Headphones for just over $300 over on Massdrop, I jumped. They were still pricey, but you get what you pay for. These headphones are amazing. Here’s my first video look.
Google announced it has reduced pricing for supplemental storage for its Google Drive (As well as Gmail and Google+ Photos which both draw from the same storage bucket). Whereas the monthly fee for 100 GB used to be $4.99, the new price is $1.99/mo.
I’m a huge fan of Dropbox and make good use of my 150GB of cloud storage. Still, the fact that I have only 150 GB, have to pay for it, AND my files are on someone else’s server is a bit of a bummer. Connected Data’s Transporter may be the alternative; better still, it just got some great new features.
A rather unusual 911 call has been making the rounds of the Internet today. Apparently, a family in Oregon had a baby, and their cat was most displeased. The cat went on a reign of terror, scratching the baby and scaring the family so badly they locked themselves in the bedroom and called 911. To catch their angry cat.
As anticipated Apple just released iOS 7.1 for iPhone and iPad. This update includes several feature enhancements to Siri, iTunes Radio, Calendar as well as the new CarPlay feature which transfers your iOS display to compatible in-car displays. The download is a little over 200 mb in size for those who’ve stayed current on iOS 7. More details on the fixes and features below.
Babies not only require a ton of stuff, but they constantly rotate in and out of all that stuff. Just when you’ve mastered bottles, it’s time to move on to sippy cups. It’s a never ending parade of plastic pieces, but the Kickstarter project SipSnap hopes to make the transition easier with universal sippy cup covers!
Buffalo Wild Wings® (BW3) and NTN Buzztime are teaming up to give customers a deeper dining experience with seven-inch BEOND computer tablets. Guests of all ages will get the BW3 Buzztime BEOND tablet at their table by the end of 2015. This “all-in-one” interactive offering will eventually be coming to all North American BW3 restaurant locations and approximately 500 locations by the end of this year.
Because I know you all follow my posts like a kid following an ice cream truck, you’ll probably remember my review of the AL13 aluminum iPhone case by designed by m. Now, designed by m is back, funding on Kickstarter with its second version of the AL13. Designed by m boasts that the AL13 v2 will have ZERO signal loss.
Nuance has just announced a brand new version of Dragon Dictate. Nuance Dragon Dictate for Mac Version 4 offers voice recognition that is faster and more accurate than ever. In addition, Dragon Dictate includes powerful audio file transcription prowess. I’ve been using the new version of the voice recognition app for Mac for the last week, and I’m impressed.
Support scams have graduated to another level. If you use Skype, you’ve undoubtedly run across random scam messages which claimed you had a virus or other security issue. In some instances, a Skype call would claim to be Microsoft support; in both cases the goal was to get you to pay the scammer to fix a non-existent problem.
Apple announces CarPlay which makes extensive of their Siri voice control software to control your iPhone 5 (or higher) while driving. Available on select cars (initially Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, Volvo, and Ferrari) in 2014, the system will allow hands-free control of your iPhone and important apps such as phone, music, maps, messages as well as select third-party apps.
First and Third Person shooter fans can enjoy a video game paradise with two new downloadable content (DLC) packs. First up, the Call of Duty®: Ghosts Onslaught DLC, already available on Xbox One and Xbox 360, releases for PC, PS4 and PS3. The available Season Pass offers a nice advantage for a price break where players get Onslaught and the upcoming Devastation, Invasion and Nemesis DLC packs.
rePLAY: Symphony of Heroes premieres in North America with a unique video game music concert series, executive produced by Jason Michael Paul. Specially chosen video game musical scores combine with professional theatrics, visuals and orchestral arrangements in this upcoming tour.The first show will take place at St. Petersburg’s Mahaffey Theater on April 19.