Gear Bits

MediaTek Makes Sure Your Phone’s Engine Keeps up with New Features

Do you know what kind of engine is in your car? It’s ok if you don’t; most people don’t pay attention to what makes their car run, they’re just glad it does. The same goes for your smartphone’s internal processor. The phone does its thing, and you’re happy. Just know that MediaTek is on it with constantly improving processors, including the new Helio G85.



Help Settle Anxiety and Manage Panic Attacks with 45 Days of Free Premium Access to Rootd

We’re all going through the pandemic together, yet in many ways, many of us have never felt more alone. Money worries, employment woes, health fears, cabin fever, and anger at this situation, in general, can result in irrational arguments with your partner or other quarantine-mates, angst, malaise, a general sense of depression, and anxiety attacks. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Rootd wants to help.





Streaming Guide and Show-tracking App Reelgood Comes to Android!

More than two years ago, I wrote about the new service called Reelgood that had been launched to help you track shows and movies across a wide array of streaming services. Since that time, Reelgood has quietly gotten better, providing notifications of new episodes of your tracked shows, adding new services, and just refining the experience in general.


Vivint Helps Protect Packages with Vivint Doorbell Pro

Vivint products have made my home much smarter and more secure. The company keeps innovating, recently announcing the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro. “Customers want us to do more than just record and report crime—they expect us to help prevent it,” said Matt Mahar, vice president of cameras at Vivint Smart Home.



Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Makes Pretend Reality Even Better Than the Real World

Virtual reality has gone from sci-fi to living rooms, though sadly we aren’t yet at Holodecks. However, we’re getting closer, thanks to the innovations of companies like Qualcomm, which is rolling out the Snapdragon XR2 Platform. It may not sound exciting, but don’t let the dry name fool you — it’s a reference design for eXtended Reality, aka better virtual reality!



Resolve to up Your Charging Game in 2020 with Aukey Omnia Series

Everything we own these days needs to be charged. Phones, computers, earbuds, toothbrushes, watches, hats…if it’s an item you carry, it probably has a charging cable. Which means you need lots of power bricks. Aukey wants to help, and their new Omnia Series will make your life at least a little easier, even if you need to charge your shoes.


Skin Concealer Goes High Tech with Spot Reduction from Opte

Buying skin concealer is big business, but it also can be extremely complicated. There are different shades, different consistencies, and sometimes you just want to cover a particular area but then have to deal with blending the coverage. Opte thinks they have a solution with a special wand and serum that helps to blend and target problem areas.




Light up Your Closet with Luminook

The light in my laundry room doesn’t work properly. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it flashes so rapidly I’ve had friends joke it’s like a strobe light. One thing I learned from this is that there’s no really great solution for lighting in odd spaces, which is why Luminook has me so excited! See, Luminook is exactly what I’m looking for to deal with my laundry room that thinks it doubles as a bad club. It’s a powerful strip of LEDs that can be placed around a doorway in a closet or other poorly lit space that aim outwards to…


ChiliBLANKET Is the Weighted Blanket You Thought You Were Getting on Black Friday

After Reviewing the Chili Ooler Sleep System back in 2019, one thing I didn’t think I needed until the company made their announcement at CES would be a weighted blanket. The makers of world-class sleep improvement products has announced their chiliBLANKET, and here’s why it should be on your 2020 list of things to anticipate. The chiliBLANKET isn’t that cheap weighted plastic bead blanket you purchased on Black Friday as a White Elephant gift that you didn’t know exactly who might be receiving. Most blankets like these tend to increase your body temperature because of their obvious weight but specifically…




Nokia Updates the Nokia 7.1 with Android 10 and a Sale for the Holidays

If you remember the dark days before smartphones, you probably have a nostalgic reaction to Nokia phones … everyone had one of those Nokia candy bar style phones that played Snake and made calls. Well, you can still get a Nokia phone, but if you pick up the Nokia 7.1, you’ll now have Android 10 and a lot more power (and sure, you can install snake!)