In the last year or so, I’ve noticed smartphone/tablet adjacent accessories have become big giveaway items. Instead of a crappy free pen, you get a crappy free pen with a rubber capacitive stylus tip on one end. Yay? At least pens are useful…the sticky card holder I received today is just weird, ugly, and useless.
Synology Inc., manufacturer of award-winning Network Attached Storage devices (NAS), has launched its first router, the RT1900ac, in the US. The 802.11ac WiFi router broadcasts both 2.4GHz and 5GHz signals for combined data transfer speeds of up to 1900mbps. Boasting a slew of software features, the RT1900ac is perfect for home or office and comes with an MSRP of $149.99.
If your TV watching reality includes a basket filled with six or seven different remotes, then I understand your pain. That was how things were at my house before Logitech sent their Harmony Elite Remote to review. I have to say that after a relatively painless setup, the results of consolidating have been so worth it.
It’s easy to find a tablet case with a built in stand, but most phone cases with kickstands tend to be pretty bulky. Tiltcard offers a better solution than choosing between a bulky case and propping your phone up against an assortment of objects by offering a collapsible stand that fits in your wallet.
Apple’s MacBook MagSafe Charger is big, clunky, and gets in the way. From the large white cube, down to the all-white cable being just an eyesore from across the room, I wanted a bit more, so when Zolt sent me over their Zolt Laptop Charger Plus, I knew I’d never use the charger that came with my MacBook Air again.
You can never go without enough power for your smart devices, and one company by the name of Proper gets this. I’ve followed them for a while and finally got my hands on their Proper External Battery Pack and honestly, it’s the slimmest and most stylish battery pack I’ve ever used. The Proper Power is a battery pack that speaks for itself in its look. If you’ve ever used a battery pack before, you know how bulky they tend to be, according to how much mAh you actually get out of it. I’ve reviewed plenty of 6000mAh and above battery…
I’ve had the pleasure of being able to review LaCie’s 4TB Rugged Mini, and I love it! A Portable external hard drive, the Rugged Mini is everything you saw from the original (and larger) LaCie Rugged Raid, but in a smaller design that maximizes its portability, all while giving you a nice flashy orange bumper that protects the device from being dropped. While the Larger Rugged dons both a Thunderbolt connection option, and a USB 3.0 connection which obviously connects to your computer, the Rugged Mini stuck to having just a single USB 3.0 port which sits at the top of…
It’s been exactly eight years since I unboxed my first Litter-Robot and reviewed it. Since then, I have convinced several friends and family members to buy one, I’ve purchased two more, and I’ve given the two older versions I had to friends with cats — all of these Litter-Robots are still going strong!
Sleep and I have a sometimes erratic relationship. Some nights I deal with insomnia, and I might sleep 4 or 5 hours at best; other nights I’ll need to catch up on sleep so badly that I’ll pass out for 12 or more hours. Ideally, I should get 8 hours sleep per night. Obviously, what I’ve been doing isn’t ideal.
A once successful Kickstarter program, I finally had the opportunity to try out the Powerstick Mosaic Powerstream, and honestly, I have mixed reviews in regards to it. Designed to be a tool to give you more storage, the Mosaic is essentially a wireless external hard drive that will get you through a long flight by allowing you to stream your media directly through the Mosaic. The model I received is the 16gb version which means I didn’t actually stream very much. My only issue with the Powerstick Mosaic is the fact they even have a 16gb version. Now granted, not…
Have you found that it’s pretty jarring to deal with bright overhead bathroom lights when you get up in the middle of the night to relieve yourself? Bright lights can wreck our sleep ability and cause health issues, it’s proven, but you still need to be able to see where you’re going and what you’re doing.
Is the phrase “I’m sorry, what did you say?” a common part of your day? It is for me. My hearing is…questionable, or, as my wife put it, “It’s not normal to be 34 and need the closed captioning.” The good folks at Etymotic have clearly experienced this too, and that’s where the Bean Quiet Sound Amplifier can shine.
When the summer faded away last year, I wondered to myself how I would go without my grilled veggies and meats now that I could no longer grill outdoors. I’ve tried many options in the past, from George Foreman Grills, to even stovetop grill pans for $20 on Groupon that honestly do not work. So when Kenyon sent over their Revolution Grill, I knew that I had a product that would make the neighbors in my building jealous now that the outdoor grill has been shut up for the winter. Let’s start by saying this: The Kenyon Revolution Grill gets…
Do I really need an app-enabled water bottle? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself since Judie and I each received a Thermos Connected Hydration Bottle with Smart Lid at CES. This looks like a regular water bottle, but it’s Bluetooth-enabled and monitors your water intake over the course of a day. Is this something worth purchasing? You decide.
CES is now over and activity trackers and other wearables were all the rage at the show this year. With Under Armour, Casio, and others releasing devices, it looks like almost everyone has a tracker now. Avia, who I know more for sneakers than electronics even has one, and they sent me an Avia Stride; I am underwhelmed.
Synology, my top-rated NAS manufacturer, announced their new DS416j NAS this week. The DS416j is a budget-friendly 4-bay network attached storage (NAS) server built for home and small business use to store data, media, and more. The DS416j is ideal for storing as well as streaming media to all of your screens and speakers. The DS416j is now available!
If you’re a coffee drinker like myself, you know the struggle of waking up in the morning, creating your own brew, and even worse, finding that mug of cup that will keep that House Blend warm as you go on your daily commute. Well over the course of CES, as well as a few weeks prior to that, I had the pleasure of reviewing the HeyJoe Coffee Mug which solves a lot of problems we all have throughout the morning. Originally a Kickstarter that has since been in full production, the HeyJoe Coffee Mug is the first coffee mug to…
Do you have so many keys that you can’t keep track of them all? Can your family hear you approaching from down the street by the jingle of your keyring? Could you slim down your keys, but you just can’t part with your flashlight, pocketknife, and that mystery key you found in a drawer? Enter the Keyport Slide 3.0 and Keyport Pivot!
It’s official, we’re living in the future. Not only is virtual reality quickly becoming everyday reality, but now you can wear a heads-up display while you’re riding a bike, literally seeing your ride statistics floating in front of you like a biking terminator. That’s the future that Solos Smart Eyewear is promising!
Our team at CES ran into the folks at Trackr, and they were able to get a quick update on some new features, partnerships, and products being offered. For those who aren’t familiar, Trackr is a small coin sized Bluetooth device that helps make sure you never lose your valuables again! Intrigued? Watch the video below for more news and details!
Announced today at CES, the eBlocker is a completely new and innovative way to reclaim your internet privacy! The eBlocker and eBlocker Pro are two products now being featured on Kickstarter that allow you to combat unauthorized consumer data collection and ad blocking while browsing online. “The internet has evolved into mass surveillance, and most people have no idea how much data is collected without their knowledge and then used against them,” said Christian Bennefeld, founder, eBlocker. “User profiles employed by third parties can result in you paying more for goods, flights, hotels and can even influence insurance rates and…