Reviews

Reviews February 3, 2011

The Notion Ink Adam Unboxing and Initial Hands-On

So the day has finally come for the Notion Ink Adam to become a reality. On pre-order day I ordered myself a Pixel Qi WiFi model and my brother a LCD WiFi model. Unfortunately due to some broken hardware reported during initial shipping, mine has yet to even post a ship date. Today the LCD model arrived on our doorstep and so far I can tell you it was worth the wait. After all the bad mojo Notion Ink was experiencing, I think the tablet was well worth the wait and heartbreak, well at least as far as I can…

Music Diary, Reviews February 3, 2011

Music Diary Notes: For the Love of Drumming – Bill Bruford Autobiography

I have been reading drummer Bill Bruford’s autobiography lately after reading an article announcing it at AllAboutJazz. I had thought about doing an actual review, but the WAY in which I read the book told me I should do it differently. This is a true autobiography – not like one of those unattributed, ghost-written Sarah Palin books. The style varies between academic, allegorical, conversational, formal and casual. The writing won’t have you shelving your James Joyce (I had actually just finished re-reading Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man … so there was a bit of a difference). But…

Reviews February 3, 2011

iPad Case Review: iSkin Aura for iPad

I have a new favorite case and it comes from iSkin. It has the familiar (and personally favored) folio styling. It looks good and feels great in the hand. Its styling is conservative enough for using the iPad in a business setting yet stylish enough that it is anything but boring. And, despite its seemingly simple design, it offers tremendous flexibility with regard to use. Yes, iSkin’s aura for iPad has it all… Including a high price tag. So is it worth it? Read on and decide for yourself. Bear in mind however; “I have a new favorite case and…

Game Diary, Reviews February 3, 2011

EA SPORTS Active NFL Training Camp Wii Game Review

Fitness fans can experience physical football all year long by tackling this Wii exclusive game with friends, online alone, or try the NFL Combine 60 Day Challenge.

Reviews February 2, 2011

Arctic Gear Review Pt 1: P531 USB Powered 5.1 Surround Sound Headset

I’m pretty particular when picking out my PC gaming gear. I have been through a pretty good amount of hardware over the years and keep up my life cycle of gaming gear. Arctic sent us out some gear to check out and review a few weeks ago. I had a chance to check it all out and see how it fared on a few solid hours of Call of Duty Black Ops for the PC. I had a chance to check out some gaming oriented hardware including 2 headsets, a mouse, and a standard slim profile keyboard. Arctic offers some…

Music Diary, Reviews February 1, 2011

Music Diary Reviews: Trey Gunn and Nik Bartsch Produce Two of My Favorite 2010 Recordings

Welcome to another edition of Music Diary Reviews! Since I started doing these reviews I have simply collected up stuff from a time period and reviewed it all. For the last few I have separated Jazz, Pop and Re-issues. But still it is just whatever comes along reviewed as it comes along. Don’t get me wrong, there are some awesome releases in there like Mary Halverson’s Saturn Sings. But there were also a couple of recent releases that struck me so much for one reason or other that I simply needed to look at them apart from everything else. So,…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear February 1, 2011

2011 Mitsubishi Outlander GT Super This Week

What a difference a year makes. It was February, 2010 that we received a record snowfall here in North Texas and almost one year later we get socked in with ice and sleet just as teams arrive here for the big football game. I hope they feel right at home. For me, I am just thankful that this time around for the frozen weather I can actually get out of my driveway. No roadsters or performance cars this year, no sir – sitting in the front drive is the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander GT with Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC) complete with…

Reviews January 31, 2011

Review: Epson Artisan 725 All-In-One Printer

I’m a huge fan of Epson’s printers. I find they work well, offer a huge range of excellent features and are priced competitively. A while back I had the chance to review their Epson Workforce 600 all-in-one printer/fax/copier. I was impressed and continued to use it until my father needed a printer. I gave it to him and he used it until a friend broke it while trying to replace the printer cartridge. (Don’t ask!) When I asked my father what he wanted to replace it he replied, “The exact same one.” That says it all. Over the past few…

Reviews January 31, 2011

iPad and iPhone Accessory Review: i.Sound Power View Pro

I have an iPad, an iPhone and a nano. Each of them gets a serious amount of use and, at times, they all need to be charged at the same time. Up until recently I either had a number of different charging cords strewn across my desk or I used the IDAPT i4 we reviewed a few months ago. The iDAPT works great but I have always had a bit of concern regarding placing the iPhone on the adapter since it doesn’t have much support keeping the device vertical. There’s no ISSUE but I always worry that if I bump…

Reviews January 31, 2011

iPad App Review: Lightning Was Here: My Puzzle Book

My three and six year old sons are definitely a chip off the old block. They are both gamers (even though we limit them) and love technology and all of my gadgets. They both are heavy iPhone users with the oldest even being able to search for free apps on the app store. I do not let them use my iPad unless we are using it together since replacing it is not in my budget, but when they get a chance, they love to get their hands on it. I also love being able to review kid friendly items and…

Reviews January 30, 2011

Jabra’s Lineup: an Overview and a Review of the Stone2

Football mania is in high gear, and it seems that Jabra’s Bluetooth headsets and speakerphones have recently become favorites of three NFL players – Jake Long, Brian Orakpo and Michael Griffin. As a recent press release notes, Whether they’re rocking out to tunes after practice, kicking back at night with video games, or passing the time watching Hulu or YouTube on the weekends, Jabra’s headsets and speakerphones offer wireless connectivity in-style – and with a 30 foot operating range. Jabra’s catalog is extensive, but there are 5 key products in the current Jabra lineup that stand out. Among them —…

Game Diary, Reviews January 30, 2011

uDraw Studio Game and Tablet Wii Game Review

Wii owners can rejoice with this unique artistic game accessory and included uDraw Studio game that lets players create and save works on SD cards.

Reviews January 29, 2011

Review: H2OAudio’s Surge 2G Headphones

As a frequent headphone wearer, I go through a lot of headphones. Nothing kills headphones faster than water and sweat. I have headphones literally fall apart because sweat and moisture caused the glue that held them together to weaken and they fell apart. H2O Audio has a full line of headphones that do not have this issue. They were kind enough to send me a set of their new Surge 2G Headphones. The Surge headphones not only are water-resistant, they are waterproof. They are designed not only to be rinsed in water after a workout, but to actually use in…

Reviews January 29, 2011

Review: Kensington PowerLift Back-Up Battery, Dock and Stand

One of the small, but impressive, accessories we say at CES was the Kensington PowerLift Back-Up Battery, Dock and Stand. The diminutive accessory serves a dual purpose by letting you use your iPhone (or iPod touch) hands free AND giving you just enough extra battery power to help you avoid running out of juice mid-day. Here’s a look… From Kensington: Converts for in-hand use The Kensington PowerLift™ Back-Up Battery, Dock and Stand gives your iPhone hours of extra power, converts for in-hand use and offers a hands-free stand. The 1200 mAh battery pack provides rapid charging while the kickstand flips…

Reviews January 29, 2011

Gear vs Gear- Flip Camcorder vs… Flip Camcorder

When the iPhone first gained the ability to shoot video I thought it was all over for the Flip camcorder. When the iPhone began shooting HD video I knew it was all over. I was wrong on both counts. Turns out there is still a huge market for relatively inexpensive dedicated camcorders. They often do a better job recording sound, they are specifically designed to shoot video and, in a world where battery technology is still way behind, they let you shoot video without burning through your phone’s charge. Flip recently updated a number of their camcorders. They can now…

Reviews January 28, 2011

The Wilson Electronics SignalBoost DB Pro Cell Phone Signal Amplifier Review

I live in a rural area which is fantastic for wide open spaces and natural beauty … yet not so great for timely FedEx deliveries or wireless service. We have much better GSM (AT&T & T-Mobile) coverage than CDMA (Sprint & Verizon); 3G is not here yet, so we must be content with EDGE. The nearest tower is several miles away from our home, and our area is hilly, so although we do get a cellular signal, it can be weak.

Reviews January 28, 2011

Review: i.Sound Portable Power Max 16000 mAh External Battery

Our mobile devices have become more powerful. The screens have become brighter and crisper. Our reliance on such devices has exploded. And battery technology seems to have hardly improved. Often times the best you can do to get longer battery life is to just increase the size and capacity of the battery. It is not a great option but it is what it is. Battery life was a huge issue at CES once again this year. As a result, since getting home we have gone in search of large, high-capacity batteries that would have kept our devices juiced with ease….

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear January 28, 2011

2011 Toyota Camry Hybrid Boring, and Boring Is a Good Thing

“Boring.” That is how my spouse described the 2011 Toyota Camry Hybrid I tested recently. “The interior is boring, the ride is boring … it’s just boring.” It is also based on one of the best-selling cars in America for more than a decade. I guess boring is what REALLY sells when it comes to passenger cars here. The Toyota Camry has also garnered quite a few automotive accolades as well including, for the second year in a row, being ranked No. 1 on the “American-Made Index” as compiled by the editors at Cars.com. The 2010 Camry was also rated…

Music Diary, Reviews January 28, 2011

Music Diary Quickie: Billy Franks – Euphoria

As I have said, one cool thing about doing Music Diary Reviews is the contacts with various music folks, from established artists to young upcoming players. But one item came in a round-about way through Judie the other day that simply screamed out for me to check it out. If that sounds ambiguous, it is intentional – we had no idea if it was going to be good or crap! Here is the message Judie got: Free Billy Franks (Your FourSquare Friend) Compilation Album Download As I am relatively new to FourSquare, I thought I would offer all my new…

News & Features, Reviews January 27, 2011

Gear vs Gear: iPod nano Watchbands

No less than Steve Jobs himself quipped that the new iPod nano would make a great watch. From that moment, people have been thinking about way to use the recently shrunk iPod as a piece of wearable jewelry. Well, since the beginning of January I have gone from having zero iPod nano watch bands to having a choice of three different ones. Each take a slightly different approach to making the nano wearable and each brings with it its own sense of style, or lack there-of. So let’s take a look at each of them and ask, “Which nano watch band…

Music Diary, Reviews January 26, 2011

Music Diary Reviews: Haven’t I Heard You Before?

Welcome to another edition of Music Diary Reviews! In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a bit of a tear since the new year, converting all of those hours listening and taking notes into actual music reviews! 2010 was an interesting year for music, because while there were a number of very good releases, the sales numbers were awful and folks were talking about reissues that put the new releases to shame. And that is my focus this time – reissues. While I have stated that my reviews would be rank-ordered from now on, that is only partially true…

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