Audio & Visual Gear

Reviews December 24, 2011

JLab b-Flex X-Bass USB Laptop Speaker Review

I practically live on my MacBook Pro. All of my Gear Diary posts are done using it, most all of my internet browsing and I even use it full time at work instead of my supplied Windows machine. Some would say I love this computer since it is with me everywhere I go. There is one problem with the MacBook Pro. The speaker is terrible! It is too small and provides thin, weak audio quality. The machine is so beautiful, it is a shame that the audio quality is so poor. I have tried several options to improve the audio,…

Reviews December 23, 2011

Eskuché 33i and Control-i Headphones Review

Back in November we brought a pair of on-ear headphones to your attention that look great, sound good and don’t break the bank. At under $70 for each pair eskuché’s 33i and Control-i headphones are worth considering if you’ve been looking for a pair of on-ear headphones that include an in-line mic. We’ve had both of them here for the past few weeks and have used them to listen to a variety of music. In this lightening review we will take a quick look at both, give you some of the upsides and some of the potential downsides and then…

Reviews December 23, 2011

Gear VS Gear: The JawBone JamBox Faces Off Against the Spar Zephyr 300

The JawBone JamBox is one impressive device. It is a Bluetooth speaker, a speakerphone and one of the best gadgets of 2011! At $199 it isn’t inexpensive but it is a quality device that is well worth the money. Spar’s Zephyr line of speakers looks to step into the fray with the JamBox and one up it by including a backup battery that can charge your device on the go. They even got Wired to run a piece entitled “Like a JamBox, Only More Generous” despite the author never having heard one. So how do the Zephyr’s (which cost between…

Reviews December 23, 2011

The Arctic E461-BM Earphones Review

I have reviewed a number of earphone solutions in just about every price range; yes, I do have a problem. If it were up to me, I would try all earphones with the goal of finding the perfect fit and sound. Earphones are an interesting product because you can find them anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars. One has to be cautious when formulating an opinion on them and make sure they are comparing apples to apples. A pair of $250 earphones should be superior to a $35 set, logically. That is not to say that…

News & Features December 19, 2011

Rebecca Minkoff’s Offbeat Fashionista iPhone Accessories, Knuckles and Zipped Up

If most of the iPhone 4 and 4S cases you’ve seen have been too boring, then you might enjoy the “Knuckles” case by Rebecca Minkoff ($58). You certainly wouldn’t have to worry about dropping your phone when it’s in this silicone case, and the added benefit (?) is that when you hold the case a certain way, no one will mess with you. An offbeat case deserves an offbeat headset, so while you’re at it — take a look at “Zipped Up”, the new wired headset also by Rebecca Minkoff ($48). Both of thee items (and a few other gems) may be…

Editorials December 18, 2011

Where’s my “Made for Android?”

My eldest son had a birthday recently, receiving numerous presents. This in and of itself is not unusual, but there was an aspect to one of those presents that triggered a revelation of sorts for me. Before I delve into that, let me preface it with a disclaimer: I currently own no Apple products. Zip. Nada. Zero. In the realm of cell phones, I’m partial to Android. I love the customizability of it, the screen widgets, and how I can choose to integrate it with my PCs. My son, not yet a cell phone user, owns an iPod. Consequently, towards…

Gear Bits December 17, 2011

The Voices of JAMBOX…

I love the JawBone Jambox that I purchased a few weeks ago. It came on vacation with me and was quite handy to have around. I like it even more now that I discovered Jawbone’s MyTalk portal. It let me set up the button on the device to activate Siri, and it also let me change the voice used for notifications on the device. Here’s a look at some of the options …

Reviews December 16, 2011

The Orb Audio Mini-T Amplifier (and Much More!) Review

In terms of audio systems for small spaces, home users are not too demanding: they simply want something that sounds fantastic, looks great, is incredibly small, and is affordable. That might sound like a simple enough goal, but the subset of companies able to meet all of those requirements is incredibly small. Orb Audio recently launched the Mini-T Amplifier as well as compact systems that provide complete solutions for desktop or home speaker systems. Do they make the grade? Read on and find out! The Hype: The Mini-T is based on legendary T-Class amplifier technology, known for its audiophile sound…

Reviews December 4, 2011

ZAGGsmartbud Review Redux

Back in February of 2010 I reviewed the ZAGGsmartbuds. At the time, this was my conclusion So are the ZAGGsmartbuds worth their $79.99 price? Absolutely. They are comfortable to wear for extended periods, sound very good and, thanks to the Hangin’ Tight system, have what is probably the best cable-management system I have used. At under $80 I would say that they are not only worth their price tag but that they are a good deal to boot! The ZAGGsmartbuds have an MSRP of $79.99 and are available directly from ZAGG. And right now ZAGG is including a free dual…

News & Features November 30, 2011

Mophie and Rocketfish (Best Buy) Issue External Battery Pack Recalls

Two recalls just crossed my inbox; these may be products that you all own, so please check: The first item is the Mophie iPod Touch Rechargeable External Battery Case (shown above); it’s being recalled due to a burn hazard. If you have one of these, check to see if your serial number has the first five alphanumeric characters of TR113 through TR120. Cases that fall in between those numbers are affected by the recall. WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should…

Reviews November 29, 2011

Twelve South Bass Jump 2 Portable Subwoofer for MacBook Review

The MacBook air isn’t designed to be an entertainment device. The anemic speakers on it make that point quite clearly. Sure, they work well enough, but I would be hard-pressed to call them anything more than functional. The speakers on the iMac are far better but even they still fall a bit short. That’s where Twelve South’s BassJump 2 Portable subwoofer for MacBook comes in. Let’s take a look.

News & Features November 25, 2011

Eskuché 33i and Control-i headphone Headphones Look Great and Won’t Break the Bank

Is it more important to have headphones that look good, sound good or are priced right? eskuché doesn’t think it needs to be a choice and their $69 33i and Control-i headphones are here to make the point. Here’s a quick look at both and what the company has to say about them. We’re hoping to have some in hand for review shortly. First up are the eskuché 33i headphones. As the company explains, The 33i looks to one of our first headphones, the 33 1/3, for its chassis, and merges it with the improved structural components of the 45….

Editorials November 9, 2011

Tales of Apple Product Obselescence: iPod Touch First Generation

I have been highly critical of the impact of Android ‘fragmentation’, which is something I am acutely aware of as a hardcore gamer who loves playing games on smartphones and tablets but has constantly been thwarted in spite of having a dual-core Tegra 2 device. That criticism has led some to think I ‘have it in’ for Android. Not true, not true – I have it in for EVERYONE! Look at the way I have taken Apple to task repeatedly, and Sony has also been a frequent target. Today, I have yet another axe to grind with Apple, which is…

News & Features October 28, 2011

Twelve South’s BassJump 2 Pumps Up the Bass!

The folks at Twelve South always have a way of surprising us. They make awesome leather cases like the BookBook for iPad or iPhone but they also make an amazing iPad stand called the Compass. (I use mine all the time.) Now they have something even more outside the box- the BassJump 2 speaker. The new BassJump 2 is a portable, USB-powered subwoofer that “turns MacBook Pro or MacBook Air into a travel-friendly sound system”. Powered by a single USB connection, the BassJump 2 uses proprietary software that “blends the sound output of the BassJump subwoofer with the output of…

Reviews October 20, 2011

Home Audio Review: Orb Music Streaming System

Elana is all but sick of hearing my content refrain of “Have I told you how much I love our Sonos System?” It is at that point that she reminds me that, while she enjoys the music when it is on, the Sonos system is definitely my baby. She’s right. It is one of the best purchases I have ever made. Here is the thing though: the Sonos system worked for me for two reasons. First, at the time I didn’t have a serious music system in the house and, second, I was willing to make the investment to set…

News & Features October 18, 2011

FanVision provides NFL Fans an Enhanced Stadium Experience

I have spent the majority of my life in stadiums. Some are big, some are small; in some I am a fan, in some was a player, and in some I am coaching. Bottom line is that I feel comfortable in a stadium. It is just who I am. My father went to high school in Houston, so while growing up we made many a trip to stay with my aunt who happened to live just a few miles from the Astrodome. By the time I was in Jr. High, I knew the dome like the back of my hand….

Gear Bits, News & Features October 13, 2011

Ask Siri anything…as long as you’re in the US

Having trekked down to the Apple Store this morning, I had no trouble picking up my brand new white 64GB 4S. The feature I was most interested in trying was Siri, the “Personal Assistant” included with every new 4S, but unfortunately between the US and the rest of the world, everything is not equal. Asking Siri to find the closest petrol station greeted me with this unexpected rebuff: Having had a look through the Apple Australia website and rewatched the Siri section of the keynote (link), I can’t find anywhere that it says that business listings are not available outside…

Reviews October 13, 2011

iOS App Review: MyTunes from SRS Labs

In my experience, new iOS applications fall into one of a number of categories. There are “Wow” apps; these are the ones that are released into the iTunes App Store that blow you away from the very start. There are “Ow!” apps; these are the ones that are released into the iTunes App Store, and you wonder how they ever got through Apple’s screening process in the first place. Then there are “Not quite now” apps; these are the applications that show a great deal of promise but are not quite there… yet. You want to keep them on your…

Game Diary, Reviews October 4, 2011

Game System Retro-Review: iPod Touch, the MP3 Player That Killed Nintendo and Sony’s Gaming Systems

Last September Apple unveiled the iPod Touch 4th Gen, with super-slim design, dual cameras, and great performance. The Retina screen and top-notch graphics clearly marked the iPod Touch as the ‘gaming system to beat’ – and games like Infinity Blade still defy the competition a year later! With Apple about to unveil their latest ‘next big thing’, I wanted to step back and take a look at the iPod Touch, the oversized MP3 player that has changed the gaming industry at a fundamental level. The Nintendo 3DS came out earlier this year, and Michael Siebenaler did a great review here….

Reviews September 28, 2011

The Synology DS211+ Review: A Pint Sized 2-Bay NAS with some Really Big Features

Image courtesy of Synology You can’t be too cautious these days about backing up your data. Time and time again friends, family and co-workers come to me about trying to recover pictures, music and documents on a failed or virus ridden drive. Some even have their small business data lost when the main computer goes down. My first advice to anyone is that they should get themselves some sort of backup device, whether it be Desktop Attached Storage or Network Attached Storage and some good software to automate the backups. I have wanted to upgrade my 2TB external drive to…

Reviews September 23, 2011

Headphone Accessory Review: Sinch Let’s You and Your Phone Go Tangle Free

Cords and cables… they seem to be everywhere. and most of the time they are a tangled mess. Sure you can use a Bluetooth headset but they need to be recharged and Bluetooth is less than reliable at times. (I’m being nice.) The Sinch seeks to end the mess of tangle headphone wires that plague modern society. Using a unique design that includes two strong magnets it creates a “pocket” that can hold your earbud cord when wrapped around a device or when used in isolation. Let’s take a look at this rather unusual new accessory. From…

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