Review: Fun in the Sun with the Eco Extreme All-Terrain MP3 Speaker
Ever since the app store first opened, I’ve pretty much become addicted to internet radio. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons I’ve chosen to keep my unlimited data plan for the iPhone – I pretty much have to have music everywhere, common courtesy and Wi-Fi be damned. And this summer one of my favorite places to listen to tunes is at the Jersey Shore, Snookie-watching. Of course, the idea of letting sand, water, or Snookie anywhere near my iPhone was almost as frightening as the idea of trying to listen to music via the iPhone’s tiny speakers, so I began searching around for a rugged, portable iPhone speaker that could not only crank out the tunes, but also protect my precious glass-backed iPhone 4 from the elements.
Grace Digital, more famous for their wireless speakers, has built a truly impressive portable iPhone/iPod sound system with their Eco Extreme All-Terrain MP3 Speaker. Available in black, blue, or orange and costing only $49.99, you might be surprised to find just how tough and rich sounding this somewhat “toy-looking” speaker is. Read more
Review: For the kids – 2 misses and a BIG HIT from School Zone
Any parent who has bought their kid an iPod or iPad, or even just let them borrow their iPhone to shut them up in a restaurant or car ride knows how addictive Apple’s devices can be for small children (or 30+ year olds, for that matter). But along with the blessed silence comes the unavoidable pangs of guilt in knowing your child has just spent three hours playing video games instead of talking to Grandma at dinner. Well, early on I found a way to avoid those guilty feelings and evil looks from Grandma by forcing my children to spend at least 5-10 minutes a day playing an educational game of some sort before they can play what they REALLY want. For the most part I’ve found this to work wonderfully, as the allure of the various games and videos I’ve loaded up on the iPad is stronger than my kids aversion to math.
But, what if the learning didn’t have to be so boring? What if there was a way to trick a child into actually WANTING to learn? Well, School Zone, makers of all those home study flash cards and workbooks you see in Super Markets and such has entered the iPod/iPad game arena in a big way as of late, and today we’ll review three of their iPad-only math apps, Addition and Subtraction Flash Action($4.99), Multiplication and Division Flash Action
($4.99), and Time, Money and Fractions On-Track
($9.99). Read more
Review: Magellan RoadMate App and The Magellan Premium Car Kit for iPhone
Filed under: Hardware, Opinion, Product Reviews, iPhone, iPod Touch
One of the great selling points of the iPhone is its ability to take the place of many of the individual electronic gadgets that rule our lives, and consolidate them into one all-powerful gadget that we cannot live without. In addition to a phone, MP3 player, and digital still/video camera, starting with the iPhone 3G, the iPhone can also serve as a standalone car GPS replacement. There are now a fairly large assortment of GPS apps available for the iPhone, and surprisingly many of them are from big name GPS manufacturers such as Tom Tom and Magellan. It’s apparent that these companies can read the writing on the wall and have realized that the future of GPS is the cell phone, and their future as a company will rely more and more on providing the GPS software over the hardware they are used to producing.
That being said, it doesn’t mean the iPhone’s GPS receiver is quite up to the task of replacing a dedicated GPS unit yet, and Magellan has recognized the need for a more robust iPhone/GPS solution. Their answer to the problem is their Magellan RoadMate GPS app, and their Magellan Premium Car Kit for iPhone, a hardware docking cradle with its own GPS receiver to replace the sometimes flaky iPhone receiver. Read more
Review: iMainGo2 Rocks the House, or at Least a Mid-Sized Room
I’m constantly amazed by how many people I run into who listen to music on their iPhones using the built-in speakers. Sure, the iPhone’s ear buds are nothing to write home about, but they’re certainly a step up from the tinny sound delivered by the speakerphone. Still, I know there are some who prefer to not be tethered to their phones when listening to their tunes, and you can’t exactly carry around a Bose Sound Dock with you everywhere you go either. Well Portable Sound Laboratories has a pretty good compromise between big sound and portability with their iMainGo2 speakers. Read more
Review: Novothink’s Surge solar iPhone charging case
Awww.. she could probably charge it from her smile alone…If you’re anything like me, odds are you’re worried about being able to charge your iPhone once the world ends via either a robot or zombie invasion. After the apocalypse, convenient access to AC power is likely going to be scarce, which is why I was excited to try out the Novothink Surge solar power iPhone charger/case. Read more
Protect yourself from imaginary Mac viruses for FREE with ClamXav
What the –? The MyDoom virus?!??! Well, that’s what you get for keeping mail from 2007…
As a Mac user there’s no greater feeling than hearing that a Windows-using friend of yours has lost important data due to a virus. Oh sure, you feel a little bad for them, but odds are as a Mac user of any length of time, you’ve smugly told them at least a couple times before how much you love your Mac and how great it is to no longer have to worry about things like viruses and Trojans and such, and they just didn’t listen. But as good as being able to say “I told you so” feels, you’d still feel like a royal ass if it turned out that it was YOU who passed the virus on to them, right?
“Wait,” you say” “How could I give them a virus? I’m a on a Mac!” True. But while at the moment you personally can’t be harmed by an e-mail attachment, that doesn’t mean you can’t accidentally pass it along to your Windows loving friends. Sure, it’s not YOUR job to keep them safe, but hey, like it or not the majority of the world still uses Windows, and a little internet common courtesy never hurt anyone. Besides, while it’s nice to think Macs are invulnerable to attack, ALL computers are susceptible to e-mail phishing attacks, and the truth is it’s only a matter of time before a hacker from some former Soviet Union republic gets bored of writing Windows viruses and turns his attention to the Mac OS. And remember, if you’re a user of a Windows emulator like Parallels or Fusion, believe it or not you’re now as vulnerable to a Windows virus as the rest of the world (although it should be sandboxed and not able to hurt your Mac files, it can still wreak havoc on your PC files).
Of course, a 1 in a million chance of getting a virus and the good internet Samaritan syndrome doesn’t mean you need to run out and drop $100 on a Mac anti-virus program – there’s a perfectly capable, AND FREE Mac anti-virus app out there called ClamXav. Read more
Review: RichardSolo 1800 battery charger for iPhone has Frickin’ Lasers!
With all the external iPhone batteries out there it can be hard to decide which one is right for you. But here’s a helpful little tip that has always served me well – when buying any electronic gadget, I ALWAYS go for the one that has FRICKIN’ LASERS! Read more
Review: IDAPT I3 – Our pick for the geeky Dad
Filed under: Awesomeness, Product Reviews, iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch, iPod nano
This year anyone looking for the perfect Father’s Day gift for the tech obsessed Dad need look no further than the iDapt I3 charging station. Well, MY kids at least need look no further (and yeah, I suppose there might be a geeky Mom or two out there who would love it as well).
The I3 is available in “Manly Pink”, as well as 8 other colors.
Designed to minimize the cable clutter and outlet overload of today’s kitchens, the I3 get’s its name from the three separate charging “tips” you can pop into the available openings which will allow you to charge pretty much any handheld device known to geeks. Each I3 comes with tips for the iPhone/iPod, as well as phones from Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia, and both a miniUSB and a microUSB tip, pretty much assuring that you can charge anything from a GPS or digital camera to an iPhone external battery from the likes of Mophie, Mili, or Novothink.
Awww… it’s like they’re getting a couple’s massage…
Swapping tips is easy, simply press on the two raised pressure buttons on either side of a tip to lift it up, and snap in a new one.
The I3 ships with a nice assortment of popular tips, or you can order your own.While odds are the I3 will meet all your charging needs out of the box, you can order additional tips on a tip-by-tip basis if you’d like. For example, being a 2-iPhone, 2-iPod house, I figured I needed 3 iPhone tips. IDAPT sells tips covering most mobile phones, as well as other gadgets like the Nintendo DS, and it even has an adapter for Read more
Review: Griffin TuneFlex AUX SmartClick for iPhone/iPod touch
Filed under: Product Reviews, iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch, iPod nano
In a perfect world, like above, the TuneFlex can position your iPhone perfectly. But not in the Camry…
Lord knows the Toyota Camry has its problems, but all the highly publicized defect recalls and deaths are really taking away from the biggest problem the Camry has – namely that there is no decent way to mount an iPhone it it. I’ve tired suction cup mounts which are annoying to have on a window with the various cables hanging down, I’ve tried junky vent clips that invariably break off and fall into the vent, never to be seen again, and cup holder mounts that pop out of the Camry’s removable cup holder divider. So it was with great hope, tempered with much pessimism, that I decided to try out Griffin’s TuneFlex AUX SmartClick for iPhone/iPod touch.
This kind of seems like a waste of plastic, no?
The TuneFlex AUX aims to solve most of your in-car iPhone/iPod needs by delivering power to your device, audio out (via the AUX jack in your car, if you have one), and a remote control for changing songs and such. I already had a car charger and a line out cable to my AUX port, so what really enticed me was the flexible positioning stand and the remote. Read more
These iPad apps are so stupid they’re brilliant
If this sign doesn’t bring in the ladies, I don’t know what will.
Digital signage apps have been around for the iPod Touch and iPhone for years now, but the iPad brings a whole new level of cool to the using-your-$600-gadget-as-a-$1-”For Rent”-sign game. Check the two new (Free) iPad apps by Laan Labs. First up is iSigns HD, a collection of over 150 high quality signs covering most road signs, warning signs, and international signs you’re likely to run into.
A nice Coverflow interface lets you quickly flips through the signs. You can also type in keywords int he search field.
From Kangaroo crossing to high voltage warnings, iSigns HD has you covered. (I’m not sure what the sign in the middle is for… “No Humans”?
Awwww yeah… NOW we’re talking. (There’s also a “4-Way” sign for the truly adventurous)
Laan Labs’ other digital signage app, iBanner HD, is pretty cool too, although it loses a couple points for Read more
